Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Time!

Time is passing by oh so quickly! We've had Thanksgiving and Halloween and our second referral anniversary since I last posted, not to mention the everyday comings and goings of life in general.

I can't believe we're already a week into the month of November. Clocks have been moved back and the chill of Winter is hanging in the air. Boots, hats, mitts and snowsuit are at the ready. Keira is excited for the arrival of snow. I'm not! 

Words Keira couldn't say last year (like "snowman") are now part of her everyday vocabulary and she is talking up a storm. Life is busy but oh, so good. 

She loves her balance bike! 
AdoptWalk 2013. She was more interested in gathering treasures along the route but still managed approximately 2.5 of the 5 km.

At the Fair. 
In line for pony rides. She was most perturbed when it was time to get off the horse. 
Halloween!!! Sorry, the pic below is fuzzy. I need to download a pic from my "real" camera. 


Referral Day!!! It was two years ago that I received pics and info that would forever change my life. 

Joy! 
Bubbles! Enjoying the nice weather while we can. 
















Sunday, September 15, 2013

A Trip to the Farm - One Last Hoorah!

The Friday before I headed back to work, Keira and I met my mother and niece at a local petting farm where we spent almost three hours playing, petting and feeding the animals, and simply enjoying the day. Our last hoorah of the summer holidays! 

Keira loves animals and was quick to fill her hand with goat feed, making the rounds to all of the goats in the barn. I have to watch her closely. If not, she'd potentially feed her fingers to the cows! 

Over the course of the summer the baby chub has disappeared. My toddler has been replaced by a little girl. How did that happen? I tried not to blink but it happened anyway! 












Saturday, August 17, 2013

Lover of Sand and Surf

Yes, we're home but I'm still dreaming of the Cape. It was a wonderful getaway! The weather was amazing, the scenery incredible, the beaches plentiful, the shopping TOO much fun, and the company....perfect! We regretted not having stayed longer (no surprise there) and we will definitely go back.

Keira has been talking about the beach all week. She will tell you about her sand castles and the crabs we caught, and that she played with Marcus, a little guy just five days older than herself who befriended her on one of our beach outings. If I mention swimming, she's quick to ask if we're going to the beach. Love my little beach bum! I think it's going to be a tough adjustment for both of us when I have to go back to work in a couple of weeks!


She would stay here all day if I let her.


Big bucket, little girl. 
She even had Oma hard at work helping her dig a big trench!




Monday, August 12, 2013

Provincetown, Cape Cod

While in Cape Cod, we stayed in Chatham. We were told however, that no trip to the Cape is complete without venturing into the well known town of Provincetown so that's exactly what we did on Tuesday. We drove the 50 minutes or so to Provincetown and pretty much spent the day there. The actual entrance into Provincetown is fascinating. It literally feels as though you're driving through sand dunes. They actually had signs along the side of the road warning drivers of blowing sand on windy days.

The town itself is very much a tourist town, full of fun souvenir type stores, galleries, street side artisans, restaurants, and multiple ice cream shops. Artisans have little shops/booths along the waterfront and a number of artists had tables set up where kids could try their hand at painting shells and rocks, or whatever else. I would say Provincetown has to be one of the most inclusive and friendly towns I've been to. You name it, you see it in Provincetown. At one point I ended up driving down the main shopping street....mistake! People literally walk wherever they want to! Approximately one block from the main shopping district is the waterfront which included the pier where one could hop on a boat to go whale and dolphin watching, charter a boat to go sailing, catch a ferry to Boston, putter on the beach, or check out the artisan booths and see what various artists had to offer. The place was busy - there were literally people everywhere!

At one point while we were enjoying some time on one of the beaches and I was down by the water with Keira, a gentleman started chitchatting with my mother who was further up the shore (she had to be careful to not get water on her leg), and later ended up chatting with me too. It turns out he was there with his wife and two daughters, fourteen and ten, both adopted from China. They had come for his eldest daughter's travel group annual reunion. They had chosen to stay an extra day. Had we come to Provincetown on the Monday, we would have met up with a whole crew of thirteen and fourteen year olds all adopted from China! Wouldn't that have been something! We ended up chatting for quite a while. It can be a small world, the adoption world.

It was a great day. We didn't get back to Chatham until almost 9:30 with Keira sound asleep in the car. When I went to Cuba in February, for the most part I managed to keep her on a pretty good schedule. The week in Cape Cod? Not so much!!!

I drove down this street! What was I thinking?!? People everywhere!!!

She really wasn't sure about this guy! She danced with him but when he started to get closer so I could snap a picture, it was "No, way!"
A colourful town!

We couldn't pass a beach without stopping to put our feet in the sand and water.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Certified Beach Bum!

We are loving our Cape Cod vacation! I can see why people come back year after year. It truly is a lovely little corner of the Earth. Although we are staying in Chatham, the different areas (or districts) all run into each other and we have managed to catch a good glimpse of what the Cape has to offer.

Yesterday we drove to what was deemed a kid friendly beach and although the breeze made it a bit chilly for we older folk, we spent much of the day there digging in the sand, exploring, hermit crab hunting, and simply enjoying being able to relax on a huge expanse of beach once the tide went down. Watching the tide go out was incredible. It seemed as though one minute the water was there, the next minute it was gone! 

There are stretches of beach scattered literally everywhere throughout Cape Cod and we've managed to check out a few of them. Keira is loving it! She is a bonefied little beach bum! Every chance I get, I stop so she can take a stroll along the sand or hunt for buried treasures. 

Today we spent the day in Provincetown.  It was another awesome day!

   Watching the catch of the day come in



         Our bath tub isn't big enough! 
            Checking out Noah's Arc
                  My beach bum!



               Low tide - beautiful!













Friday, August 2, 2013

Cape Cod Bound!

Yesterday my mother, myself and Keira packed up the car and settled in for the long trek down to Cape Cod. 

Keira did very well for such a long trip! We stopped twice for food breaks and leg stretching and once for gas. What the  GPS claims should take approximately 8 and a half hours with no breaks took us a smidge shy of 12 hours with breaks. It was a long haul but worth it. The place we're staying is beautiful and we're looking forward to exploring and spending time at the beach. Keira is super excited that Oma is with us 24/7! 

This is our first time in Cape Cod. It is absolutely beautiful!!!
                Stretching our legs!
Love that she can now drink from a straw
       Yum! My very own vanilla shake!
  A waterfall right outside our back door. 
                         Our patio
                       Welcome!
                 Our home till Friday. 
          The grounds are gorgeous! 
They have a resident cat, a dog, a parrot, and koi fish. The front desk hands out fish food. We'll have to add that to our list of things to do!