windsor outdoor pool

Today was hot and sunny, the perfect day for a trip to the local outdoor wading pool. Lilah and I loaded up the stroller and of we went. The water was freezing, unfortunately the pool is filled and emptied every day, but the cold water didn't hold Lilah back. She loved it!

Now that I think about it more, Lilah seems to have a very positive attitude/personality and makes the best of just about any situation. The only time we get to call her 'The Bear' is when she wakes up after her midday nap. Not every day, but some days it ain't pretty!

The first picture below is the moment I told her we were going to the pool, is that the happiest smile on earth or what?! And this picture was taken a few minutes later when I was taking her picture instead of taking her to the pool, ha-ha! Her little personality, it sure does make me smile. More pictures from our day here.

sunflowers and a wagon ride

Probably not the best day to wear white, but yes, Lilah and I spent this morning checking out the experimental farm. The big attraction today was a horse drawn wagon ride for Lilah, and sunflowers for me! Lilah is much more interactive now, she continually says "Wassa?". We had a lovely time and it was such a beautiful day. The word of the day is...wait for it...'barley'! More pictures from our morning at the farm here.

Oh, and Lilah's Na and Pa are going to be sad to hear this, but Lilah will not make a good farmer's wife! The whole way around the animal barn all she could do was point and say 'messy' and 'dirty' in utter disgust!

the princess and the frog

Did you know there's a new Disney film coming to theatres in December called 'The Princess and the Frog'? Yep, just in time for Christmas! When Lilah was dancing around the house in this outfit this evening, it made me think of it.

It's been awhile since I bought this beautiful set from the very sweet and talented Wendy at Waterfalls*n*Rainbows, and I just realized yesterday that it actually fits Lilah. Her favourite parts are the little frog bell (that is attached to the skirt) and the belt! She was thrilled to have a belt, just like Baba and Mama! She danced around the house in it for a long time, just loving the feeling of the long flowing skirt and the bell jingling away of course! Thanks so much Wendy for making this beautiful froggy shirt and skirt for Lilah, you are an amazing seamstress and Lilah adores it! A few more pictures here.

precious

there is no beauty like happiness

happiness is you
happiness is to love and be loved
happiness is infectious
happiness is a trip to the park
happiness is running in the wind
happiness is picking flowers
happiness is seeing you so happy, Lilah Grace

[ more pictures from yesterday here ]

beautiful 'lilah' bracelet

My fellow blogger and adoptive mama Gin, who brought home her adorable Kerry Lu a little over a month ago, sent Lilah this sweet personalized bracelet in the mail a while back. I finally got a few pictures of her wearing it recently. It's beautiful, you are so kind Gin, thank you so much! There are a few more pictures here, you can see she is rather taken with it!

happy birthday nono!

To the best Nono and Mama around, happy birthday!
We love you so very much, enjoy your special day. xoxox

ontario day at britannia beach

Yesterday was a Civic Holiday called Ontario Day. We spent the day mostly relaxing, had lunch and then headed to a man-made beach on the Ottawa River at Britannia Bay. We realize now (after our trip to Picton) how much Lilah loves the sand and water, so we plan to try and get as many as possible of these kinda days squeezed into our schedule this summer. Here are a few more pictures of Lilah loving every minute of dipping her feet in the water and getting buried in the sand.

oh the difference six months makes

I took a few pictures of Lilah at lunch time today and when I uploaded them, I realized they looked similiar to some I'd taken a while back. So off I went in search... Yep, same chair, same bib, only six months earlier. Where on earth does the time go and what a change those six months have made on our sweet daughter. A few more pictures of our little foodie here.

cooling off in the shoppin' bin!

Buying a little paddling pool (for Lilah) has been on my mind for awhile now. It was a lovely hot first day of August and definitely would have been a good day to have one, but I still haven't gotten around to it. That being said, I use a shoppin' bin to lug around Lilah's outdoor sand and water toys and it just dawned on me today that it would be perfect for a little pool. Well she loved it! I set it out on the front porch and she spent so much time playing with it and in it. She especially enjoyed trying to wet me! Our girl is always up to some rascality! Her gorgeous smile of pure joy just melts my heart. More pictures from today here.

baba's socks are quite the fashion statement!

This morning I had a few piles of laundry sorted for washing. Well, wouldn't you know, little Miss Lilah found her Baba's socks in the dark wash pile and pulled them on. I think it's pretty obvious from the pictures below that she was quite proud of herself!

goodbye papie & nono, miss you already

I'm not good at saying goodbye and it seems since Lilah joined us I'm more emotional about being separated from family and whatnot! I do not like to see the people I love leave. We had such a great time together, so many fun times, fond memories and lots of pictures too! Why do Ireland and Canada have to be so far apart?

'fove you papie'

My Dad has always been my hero, right from when I was a little girl. In my eyes my Dad could do anything and everything; he could build a house, he could fix a car, he could make things out of wood, etc, etc. I just thought he was the cat's meow and I still do. While he was here on 'vacation' he put a new timing belt and hand brake in our car, he fixed the brakes on our Jeep, he rebuilt our back deck and last but in no way least, he plays endlessly with Lilah every day. He's such a great Dad and I adore him.

Just recently Lilah started to say 'fove you', that's 'love you' in Lilah language. She is most certainly hearing that little phrase twice as much (and more) these days, than she normally would. So like Lilah would say, 'fove you Papie', you are such a great Dad and Papie. Thank you for fixing our car and for the endless fun times we share together. In no particular order, here's a few pictures of those fun times!

'nono bess'

If we ask Lilah 'who's the best', she'll look around all four of us and with a twinkle in her eye she'll make her choice, knowing full well that the three who weren't nominated will all exclaim in disgust, 'nooo, I'm the best'! Haha, she loves that game! My Mum, or should I say 'Nono' because that is what she is called around our house now, made us the most fabulous steak dinner tonight. I am definitely vouching for Nono next time we play that game! She always has been and always will be the best cook I know! Here she is, in her glory, with an antique patchwork quilt. Making quilts is one of her favourite hobbies and she is 'Nono bess' as Lilah says it, at that too! We even found a quilting/material store in Picton and she actually talked me into buying something to make, me, me that can't even sew a hem. Oh dear! I should also say the little high chair next to Mum was made by our B&B host (Mick) for his children when they were young, isn't it fabulous?