project 365 ~ month of june ~ 32-61/365

Here are my contributions to the second month of Project 365.

This project is definitely getting a little easier. I wouldn't say I'm getting any more creative though and I had planned to use more settings on my camera, but I'm not doing that either... unfortunatley! I'll have to step up my game one of these days soon!

I have used my new point and shoot for a few of the pictures. They certainly aren't the same quality, but it is nice to have it with me so I can photograph moments that I otherwise would never capture. Like Lilah on her last visit to CHEO - I would be just too embarrassed to carry a big camera into a public area like the hospital, so it was nice that I had the tiny one in my purse. It is proving to be quite valuable!

third (and final) appointment at the children's hospital

Today Lilah had her last appointment at CHEO with Doctor MacDonnell. It was her one year follow up from the last appointment and well, let's just say she got her 'International Adoption Diploma"! Yes, she has a clean bill of health and there are no concerns whatsoever. Now how amazing is that? A little one adopted through the 'special needs' program who's only need was a family to love and cherish her. It amazes me every time I think about it. How God brought us together, how he made his plan known to us - otherwise we'd still be waiting. We sure feel blessed.

After Lilah met her Doctor on Saturday (at the CHEO teddy bears picnic), she got it into her head that she wanted to wear her nurses outfit for her appointment - so that's what she did and it was certainly a crowd pleaser! Lilah really came out of herself and enjoyed interacting with Doctor MacDonnell this time, and I got permission to post a photo of them both on our blog. I wish I had a photo from the first time we visited, what a huge difference in our girl.

And just look at what she got (as well as her diploma), a lovely Franklin book and stickers! I guess that nurses outfit really paid off! Heh! We are so very blessed to have this team in CHEO that have a clinic for internationally adopted children, the doctors really go above and beyond for these little ones.

a new little purse camera

I bought this new little point and shoot camera this weekend. It by no means replaces my DSLR, but I really wanted a tiny camera that I could carry around in my purse or back pocket. You wouldn't believe the many moments that I stop and think, "Oh I wish I had my camera!" It also has HD movie, so that's also a nice little bonus for when I don't want to lug around the camcorder. This little thing is light as a feather and it boasts a fabulous 14 megapixels. Wow. I can still remember my first digital point and shoot, with it's measly little 3.2 megapixels! Isn't technology wonderful? Lilah loves it too. She's been asking me for her own camera for a while now - I guess we can share!

today is called 'equal day'...

Today, Lilah Grace Xiao Tong, you're ours as long as you weren't and you've lived with us for as long as you haven't. You lived in the Yangdong SWI for 562 days, and now you've lived with us for the same length of time - 562 days. That's why we call it 'Equal Day'. You may only be part of our family for 562 days, but we cannot imagine our lives without you. In fact, we can't even imagine a minute of our lives without you. You are loved and adored sweet girl and nothing could equal the love we have for you. Your Baba and I count our blessings every single day.

We walked up to Starbucks today and you had a yummy cupcake to celebrate this special day. I think you probably wish there was something to celebrate every day, knowing how much you love cupcakes!

[ the full photo set is here ]

cheo: teddy bears' picnic

This morning we headed over to the Governer General's residence at Rideau Hall and enjoyed an absolutely fabulous day of FREE fun filled kiddies activities at the CHEO Teddy Bears' Picnic. This event is put on by CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) as a thank you for all the generous support they receive throughout the year.

There was a BASH (Bear Ambulatory Surgical Hospital) tent set up where the children bring their stuffed toy to be cared for... including fractures, breaks, hurts, immunizations, etc. Of course Lilah's very own Piggy Boy was signed in as a patient, he got his hospital bracelet on and then we were ushered to the unit that dealt with 'broken legs'! Yes indeed, he somehow managed to break his leg somewhere along the way? He had his leg set and wrapped with some heavy duty plaster of paris. He was then ushered to see the nurse where he got his 1 year old immunization shots, which Lilah was rather concerned about, judging by the look on her face in the photos! After that he went to the dentist and had his teeth checked and now we're home with all his health records and a brand new toothbrush to boot! Phew - it made for a busy day for poor old Piggy Boy!

There were lots and lots of fun activities. We got to check out the little animal petting area which consisted of goats, ducks, a little pony and a baby calf too. We also stopped to listen to a Chinese childrens choir sing some English and Chinese songs - the first song they sang was 'kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya' - I haven't heard that song since I was in high school, we used to sing it in morning assembly. The carousel was a huge hit as well as the yummy candy floss, and there was a ton of other stuff that we enjoyed and even more that we didn't have time to see.

It was a really great day. Lilah had a ball. And poor Piggy, well maybe he didn't have as much fun as we did! But he got lots of hugs and loving, just what the doctor ordered, so I think he's going to be just fine! We also ran into Lilah's doctor through the International Adoption clinic at CHEO, (she was at the picnic with her kiddies) and Lilah's final one year check-up with her is no less than this Tuesday! What a coincidence.

[ the full photo set is here ]

a musical ride by the rcmp

This evening we went to the Sunset Ceremony Musical Ride that is put on by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It was a perfect evening and we really enjoyed the outdoor show. We also bumped into two sets of friends and ended up going to Dairy Queen for ice-cream after the show - such a great night with wonderful friends! It was a very fun evening!

And the highlight of Lilah's night was most definitely going out for ice-cream! However, she also loved hugging the RCMP mascot. She walked right up to him and swung her arms around the big belly and put her cheek into his fur. (I totally missed that photo!) The mascot hugged her back and then picked her up and held her - she talked about how he picked her up for quite some time after!

[ full set of photos here ]

born in china

"Piggy was born in China. He was in my belly and he couldn't open his mouth,
so he got food through my belly button." ~ Lilah

an overnight staycation

We're in the middle of house renovations at the moment. I can't wait for them to be over, my life depends on a clean and tidy home and I feel like it's been neither of those two things for about two months now! We got our inside walls sprayed with insulation yesterday and were advised to stay out of our home for 24 hours because of the fumes.

So Baba booked a hotel downtown through 'name your own price' on priceline.com - just $100 for a lovely hotel just a few minutes walk from the Parliament buildings. It was so nice. And Lilah, I can't even tell you how excited she was - she absolutely LOVES hotels and holidays!

She and I decided to take the bus down to the hotel for some extra excitement, it was Lilah's first time on the city bus and she was absolutely ecstatic about it. We got to the hotel around noon, dropped our few items into the room and walked over to the Rideau Center for some shopping. I'd packed some sandwiches and a little lunch for us and we eat it along the way - Lilah loves picnics. I found out a new thing she loves to do on this trip too...jump on the bed! Baba joined us after work and we went out to Lapointe for some delicious fish. We had such a nice time and it really felt like a break from our normal routine.

Today we got a little shake up. Our city felt a magnitude 5.0 earthquake that hit a little settlement in Quebec just 30 miles away from where we live. Lilah and I were just home from the hotel about an hour, we were on the third level (of our 100 year old semi-detatched house) and I honestly thought the house was going to fall down. If we weren't in the middle of renovations/construction I probably wouldn't have thought that, but we are and it was my first thought. I grabbed Lilah and ran like the wind down those two flights of stairs to the street. Seemed like everyone else in our neighbourhood had the same idea.

[ the full photo set is here ]

happy baba's day

I don't know what it is about these two, but they can turn me into mush in a heartbeat. Really, is there anything more special than seeing the adoration between father and daughter? I don't know who adores who the most, but I'm pretty sure their feelings are quite mutual. Oh how I love them both, so very very much.

Last night Lilah and I snuck upstairs and we 'wrote' Baba's card. Lilah was so proud of all those 'X' marks (kisses) she put on the card, she's just learned to do it by herself. We discussed how the card was a secret and she put it under the blanket in her crib. I told her she could give it to Baba in the morning when he came into the room to get her. She was so excited about it, so much so that she had a hard time getting over to sleep! And I know Baba had a big grin when he brought her (and the card) into our bed this morning.

When we were praying together last night she said: "Thank you God for tomorrow - Happy Birfday (birthday) Father's Day" - it sure made me smile! She's trying to wrap her head around all these celebrations and maybe getting a little confused in the process! Also, last night when we were discussing the big secret and where we'd hide the card, she turned to me and said: "Where's Lilah's secret?" Heh! I guess she thought I'd hidden a card somewhere for her too. I had to break it to her that it was just a special day for Fathers and she wasn't a Father!

The antler hat she's wearing in a couple of the pictures below came from Montanas, where we had our dinner today, after Church.

To all the wonderful Fathers in our lives:
Colin's Dad (aka Pa), my Dad (aka Papie), Lilah's birth Baba and our 'Baba Boy'.
Thank you for the love you've each brought to our lives. We love you all so very much.

[ the full photo set is here ]