Sunday, November 29, 2009

two and a half

Wow, was it six months ago that we celebrated our girl's second birthday. It was indeed and our beautiful little two year old is now two and a half. She's been saying the half part now for over a week, don't even try and say JUST two now, you'll stand to be corrected!

Happy two and a half Lilah Grace. We love you so very very much our sweet girl, you're growing and growing and learning every day. It is truly precious to watch.

birthday girl - cake

birthday girl - cake

birthday girl

birthday girl

Friday, November 27, 2009

santa claus

To Lilah, he's a man called Santa. But more importantly, if you sit on his knee and smile really really nice, even if it's fake, he'll give you a sweetie! And he came through. Life is good.

Yesterday we met Colin for lunch at a local shopping mall. I had it in my mind that I would take Lilah to see Santa sometime in December, because really, who goes to see Santa in November?! Obviously nobody. He was sitting all by his lonesome self and gave Lilah a big wave as we were walking by, yep, he totally sucked us in. I didn't even have my own camera to get a few shots. Oh well, this one turned out as nice as we're going to get. Her fake smile even reached her eyes which is unusual, maybe it wasn't really fake or maybe the basket of red and white striped Candy Canes sitting close by helped!

Lilah told Santa she was going to "irnand at trismas see nono papie".

She was as brave as I knew she would be.

santa claus

Thursday, November 26, 2009

caterpillar eyebrows

I can still remember the first time we saw the frown, which seems like forever ago. We declared it 'The Caterpillar Eyebrow Look'. Those little eyebrows, all furrowed up and wrinkly. They get like that when she's concentrating, when something goes wrong and now when she's making her 'tross (cross) face'. They are so darn cute and I don't think she's going to lose them or that name any day soon!

caterpillar eyebrows

caterpillar eyebrows

sweetheart

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

animals of all kinds

animals of all kinds

I'm being a very proud Mama here and I apologize up front for it.

I bought Lilah a 54 pack of animal flash cards for her second birthday. They are for ages 4 and up and each card has lots of animal facts on the back that we aren't too bothered about right now. The cards were ignored for a long time, that was until about five weeks ago when I added the pack to her 'Church bag'. At which point they started getting a lot of attention! Lilah now knows 39 out of 54 animals. She recognizes them and can say each of their names. Amazing I say, amazing.

does know:
moose, kangaroo, alligator, birds, pig, giraffe, owl, butterfly, rabbit, ducks, cows, fish, sheep, penguins, spider, chickens, tiger, zebra, wolf, koalas, turtle, fox, monkey, elephant, bees, squirrel, panda, deer, ants, snake, camel, dogs, mouse, frog, horse, lions, bear, goat, cats.

the leftovers:
raccoon, octopus, dolphin, rhinoceros, jaguar, chipmunks, gorilla, toucan, skunk, whale, grasshoppers, armadillo, ostrich, seal, walrus.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

panda pinafore

panda dress

My fellow blogger and sweet friend Tiffany, passed this adorable little panda pinafore on to our little Lilah about a year ago. (It's hard to believe that this time last year we were gearing up for our travel to China.) Tiffany also sent me pictures of her absolutely beautiful daughter Lily, who is from the same orphanage as Lilah, to give to the staff at Yangdong SWI. Here and here are pictures of the staff excitedly looking through the beautiful scrapbook style card she sent. To say the staff were thrilled would have been an understatement. It was obvious from their excitement that they were just so happy to see Lily FeiFei growing up and so full of life!

So last week I pulled out the beautiful pinafore that was so kindly sent by this family, hoping it would fit. It's plain to see it does, it fits her just perfect, in fact, it's gorgeous on her - she suits red so well. Indeed, if I remember correctly, this little dress was made by red thread stitches, might I add, another excellent shop to spend your money in! Thank you so much Tiffany and family. I hope Lily and Ty are having a fabulous time with Mickey & Minnie Mouse right now!

panda dress

panda dress

panda dress

panda dress

panda dress

[ more pictures here ]

Thursday, November 19, 2009

our little foody

our little foodie

I don't think Lilah has ever turned down any food we've offered her. However, when we first met her in China she wasn't eating well because she was still drinking thickened milk formula, even though she was 18 months old. Obviously because of that she hadn't mastered the chewing and swallowing technique and the slightest lump made her gag. We've also had a few teething episodes since she came home and they were also times that she was totally thrown off her food. However, thankfully those days are long gone.

our little foodie

From the second she landed in Canada and for another ten long months Lilah had the same thing every morning for breakfast, Weetabix. Then early one morning about a month ago we decided to bring on a change. That change was porridge. I'm so glad she gets this healthy start to her day. I personally can't stomach porridge, but I'm truly thrilled that she loves it.

our little foodie

For lunch, she gets a variety of whatever is left over, however she ADORES noodles. She could eat them 'til the cows come home. Really loves them. Being the health nut that I am (not), I don't mind her eating noodles. I just add peas, sweetcorn and red pepper to make it colourful and the veggies also give it a healthy look! She also loves shepherds pie and pasta with sauce. I make a variety of sauces including curry, chili, garlic, etc. I generally add a little extra milk or cream to Lilah's, just to tone it down a notch.

our little foodie

Every day after lunch Lilah gets her special glass of 'nana juice'. I've been making a banana juice for her almost every day since the month of August. 'Nana Juice' consists of a glass of milk and a banana whizzed up in the blender. She REALLY loves it. In fact, just this past Monday she kept asking for more and more and more. I should have seen this coming, two glasses later she said to me, 'Belly hurts, tiss it'. So I being the ever loving Mama kissed her belly and then I saw it coming, we ran to the sink and she lost one of those glasses of banana juice, along with a few peas. Seriously, does anyone throw up without some kind of vegetable in there? Anyway, that was a first, she's never thrown up before. And literally within the minute after throwing up, she said "Feel better Mama". Phew! Now she warns me before I pour her banana juice, "Not too much Mama". Lesson learned - times two!

our little foodie

Just this week I bought pomegranate (from Costco) for the first time this season. I love this tarty sour fruit, however I never imagined Lilah would. Well I should have known better since this same girl loves loves loves bitter grapefruit. Lilah loves fruit: apples, bananas, mango, grapes, plums, oranges, pomegranate, grapefruit, pears and peaches. They all get her two thumbs up. Strawberries and blueberries on the other hand, she will tolerate them, but still doesn't show as much love for either.

She definitely loves to eat, just like us! We're all about the food! One evening last week at supper time we were eating turnip and I was saying how much Baba loves turnip, in fact I said, it's starting to be one of Mama's favourite vegetables too. Lilah was sitting in her little booster seat, chewing away, taking it all in. A few minutes later her little voice piped up "Lilah's favit too". Oh the cuteness!

Lilah currently weighs 24lbs. Hard to believe for a girl that can eat so much. I think she has maybe put on one or two pounds since we became a family 11 months ago. I get the odd 'gasp' when I'm asked her weight! She has always been in a very low percentile regarding her weight, but honestly, when you look at her, the first thing that comes to mind is definitely not how thin she is! Those cheeks are as healthy as I've ever seen! On the other hand, she is definitely growing upwards. I measured her height last week and she is now 36 inches, that's 3 feet tall!

Oh, did I forget to mention that she loves ice-cream and candy and chocolate and ice-cream and chocolate and candy and ice-cream?? Oh my, we have a sweet tooth in our house. Or maybe even three, including Mama and Baba!

We love our little sweet tooth foodie and we bond while brushing our teeth...lots!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

swine flu vaccination

Lilah got her H1N1 flu shot today, part 1 of 2. She did great, not even a wimper. Honestly, I've debated this over and over, but I'm not willing to risk anything happening to our little Lilah. And this Christmas we are travelling overseas. In fact Lilah and I are staying in Ireland for 6 weeks - very exciting! But the thought of being on a plane and through a few airports makes me a little wary, which led to the decision.

H1N1

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

sun catcher craft

We picked up this fun sun catcher craft in Michaels last week. Lilah really enjoyed painting them and now they're all hanging on the window, creating a beautiful Christmas glow around our dining room. I love how they turned out. All our pictures are here.

christmas sun catchers

christmas sun catchers

christmas sun catchers

christmas sun catchers

christmas sun catchers

christmas sun catchers

christmas sun catchers

Sunday, November 15, 2009

personalized pigtails

personalized pigtails

I love her hair in pigtails and these elastics, they just make me grin!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

seriously cute handmade clothes

Is it just me or how seriously cute can kiddies clothes get?
I have a terrible weakness for tiny clothes, all ruffly, yet simple and darling...
...just like the ones below.

Growing Up with Charissa - etsy

Growing Up with Charissa on etsy.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

eleven months ago

It's hard to believe that we first held this precious girl in our arms eleven months ago. And now we cannot imagine a day, or even a moment, without her. All the good times we talked about and imagined we'd have together, well now we're living them, x100.

God indeed blessed us with a miracle.
We thank Him every day for our beautiful daughter.

A few pictures I took this morning, here.

eleven months

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

lest we forget

Honouring those who serve our country.
Remembering those who died in service to our country.
Thank You - for your bravery and sacrifice.

" for our tomorrow, you gave your today "

remembrance day

remembrance day

remembrance day

remembrance day

remembrance day

remembrance day

[ more pictures here ]

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

a hula hoop kinda day

a hula hoop kinda day

Another beautiful day, we're getting out and enjoying it while it lasts!

a hula hoop kinda day

a hula hoop kinda day

The little cardigan & tam set Lilah is wearing gets so much attention.
Joanne: You could be a very busy woman, if you wanted!

[ more pictures here ]

Monday, November 9, 2009

a beautiful november day

a beautiful november day

The weather was beautiful today, an abnormal November high of 17°C. We hit the shops this morning and on the way home I knew exactly where to take Lilah. We drive by the park a lot, it's at the end of our street and she knows the exact location. We rarely get to drive by without her letting us know we just drove past the park! I must have told her one day it was too wet to go to the park, because every day since she says, "Parkt. Too yet (wet)". Well today, she got her fill of joy at the park. She absolutely LOVES to swing swing swing. And well, everything else too. While she was swinging she kept rhyming over and over to herself, "Sooo happy swing, sooo happy swing, sooo happy swing". She was SO thrilled to be at the park again. I have no idea how we're going to live without the park during the winter months.

a beautiful november day

a beautiful november day

a beautiful november day

a beautiful november day

a beautiful november day

a beautiful november day

a beautiful november day

[ all our pictures from today are here ]

Sunday, November 8, 2009

every little girl's dream

It's every little girl's dream to be a flower girl.

I remember being a flower girl at my Auntie Hazel's wedding way back when I was around 4 or 5 years old. I just thought I was the bees knees. I specifically remember the huge hoop in the hem of the dress and I also remember finding a shaver a few weeks before the wedding and doing a number on my chin! Thankfully it was all healed up in time for the wedding. That little flower girl dress still hangs in my wardrobe, along with the headpiece, for Lilah to play with some day.

And so today Lilah was asked if she would be a flower girl at our good friends wedding next August, all being well. I just know our girly-girl is going to love love love this little task. Thank you so much for asking C-ella & Bin-e, that's Ciela and Vinny, said Lilah style!

80's flower girl dress

80's flower girl dress

[ more pictures here ]