Preschool Done!

Three mornings a week Keira attended preschool and she loved it. I can't believe the year is over already! How did that happen?!? She is so ready for JK in the Fall. Slow down! Mommy wants to enjoy the summer first. ;-)

First day of school!

Last day of school!

Three!!!

The first couple of months of the year is extremely busy for us. We literally jump from one occasion to another, starting with Christmas. It goes; Christmas, New Years, Family/Gotcha Day, Keira's birthday, Chinese New Years, and my birthday. Then, of course, we have little events thrown in there like Valentine's Day just to spruce up our lives even more! Our province (I think it's province wide) also has a long weekend to celebrate families. That long weekend essentially wraps up our busy period. 

Mid January was Keira's third birthday. Can you believe that?!? She will proudly tell you when her birthday is and hold up three fingers to show you (while telling you) how old she is. She has waited to turn three for what seems to be an awfully long time! As much as I want her to develop, grow and experience the beauty the world has to offer, I also want time to slow down. It's going by incredibly fast and it's all I can do to keep up with the changes that seem to occur on an almost daily basis. 

My daughter is a little firecracker. She can be gentle and loving, and is incredibly expressive. She is bright and loves to be read to. Her imagination is incredible, and her sense of humour and laughter is contagious. She adores music and loves to sing and dance. 

On the flip side, Keira can be stubborn beyond words and has an incredible temper for such a little being. Her vocabulary is extensive but the words that get overused to the point of causing some grey hairs for this Mommy are "No!" and "Why?" She knows which buttons to push and how. She certainly keeps her Mommy on her toes! I foresee some fun times ahead come the teenage years!

I love her beyond measure. I look back to where we were just over two years ago, and find myself thinking about the little peanut who was placed in my arms, scared, timid, confused; an introvert" apparently. Today, I have a vivacious, bright, joyful, chatterbox of a daughter who is overflowing with personality. And she is three!!!

The last "sleep" of being two. 

Excited to be three!

A special breakfast for a special girl

Sharing the backseat with her balloon 

Birthday girl!

The kids sitting with Kathy, a close family friend. 

The morning after!

I Blinked and Two Years Passed Me By!

On January 8th, 2012 I was handed the most precious of gifts. In the blink of an eye I became a mother and I finally felt as though I was the individual I was meant to be. My daughter challenges me every single day to be a better person. As I stated on Instagram (I definitely post there more than I do here), she may cause me to pull my hair out on occasion, but she also brings joy and laughter to our home on a daily basis.

She is bright and as strong willed as they come, has a wicked sense of humour, and gives THE best hugs. I hear "I love you" multiple times a day and it makes my heart sing. I am making every effort to hold on to, and cherish, every single moment, for they are passing us by all too quickly. In the blink of an eye, moments are becoming memories.

As much as I love watching Keira grow and experience all the beauty and wonder of the world around her, I also want to hold on tightly to that tiny little being who was placed in my arms two years ago!

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. 

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! 

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!

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.