Jennie's 3rd Birthday

Maelyn attended her first birthday party this summer -- Jennie turned 3 years old! As singing is now one of Maelyn's favourite pastimes, we practiced singing 'Happy Birthday' for days!

We joined Jennie's family and friends for a fun afternoon of food and activities...

The birthday girl -- such a cutie!!

Try explaining pin the nose on Elmo to two year olds....hehe!!

Being the only grandchild on both sides of our family, Maelyn rarely has to sit through other people opening gifts -- and she totally wanted to be a part of Jennie's birthday experience. Jennie is such a sweet little girl -- she willingly shared the spotlight with Maelyn.

Love, love, love her!

Maelyn had a fantastic first birthday party experience -- in fact, every day we still sing 'Happy Birthday' to Jennie! :)

Random Cuteness...

Maelyn was soooo quiet during a nap time -- I should have known that she was up to something!!

Today was a rainy day -- perfect for an indoor picnic lunch!

A few days ago I was doing dishes -- and when I turned around, Maelyn had dressed herself up in her sun hat, sunglasses, and had helped herself to an empty can of Daddy's drink...hehehe

Canada Day

I had wanted to get this post up on Canada Day itself -- better late than never! :)

Canada Day, 2010 -- we arrived home from China!

Canada Day, 2011

It is amazing how quickly a year passes -- our little miss is growing up so quickly!

Dragon Boat Races & Centre Island

At the end of June, we headed to Centre Island to watch the Dragon Boat races. We were excited to celebrate another Chinese holiday with our family and friends.

Waiting for the ferry with Auntie Kara...

Maelyn's first ferry ride to the island -- she loved it!

We were so excited that Leanne, Joad and Jennie were able to join us...

Maelyn -- expert dragon boat racer...hehe!

So cute!! The girls just love each other!

We ate our picnic lunch while watching the races. The girls kept yelling and clapping as the boats went by...

Dancing to the music on stage...

The girls kept the audience entertained with their dancing...

We then indulged in yummy treats -- Maelyn clutched that bag of popcorn the entire time... :)

We then headed into the children's area on the island and we enjoyed a ton of rides!

Maelyn's first ride! I was worried that she would be scared...

Nope! No need to worry -- she loved it!

The girls LOVED riding on the cars -- the first time the ride ended, they both starting crying and asking to go again...

At this point we were comfortable that the girls knew what they were doing and I guess we weren't watching them as closely -- because I turned around and saw Jennie standing up during the ride, trying to get to the back of the boat. I was shocked -- and then realized that my own child was already in the back of the boat!!

We had such a good time at Centre Island! We loved being able to take part in a new (for us) Chinese celebration. The best part of the day, however, was being able to watch the girls having a blast together on all of the rides -- we can't wait to go back!

Showering Madisyn with Love

This past May Paul, Maelyn and I went to the airport to welcome Emily, Jason, and Madisyn home from their adoption journey. It was an amazing experience to be able to be there when they landed from their very long flight -- and we were thrilled that Maelyn and I were able to celebrate Madisyn's arrival at her welcome home shower.

Love, love, love the authentic outfits...

Maelyn and Madisyn warming up to one another...

The girls kept each other entertained...

They found their way into the hallway, where they ran after

each other over and over again...

Jason was wonderful with the girls -- he kept them occupied for hours!

It was so much fun listening to all of the giggles...

We are looking forward to many more get togethers with Emily, Jason, and Madisyn -- we all have so much fun together! :)

Family Day Celebration

On June 21st we celebrated our one year anniversary as a family of three. It was Paul's first day back at work and my first day doing daycare drop-off, but we managed to head to Toronto and spend the evening with Leanne, Joad and Jennie. We feel so fortunate that our families are able to spend so much time together, especially on special occasions. We especially love that our girls share a special bond with one another -- it melts my heart every time I see them together.

Two little monkeys trying to cool off...

Leanne, basting the (gluten-free) beer can chicken...

Leanne made a beautiful and delicious gluten-free brownie cake -- yummy!!

Our families -- Happy Family Day!

Summer Fun

Summer has begun and we have been able to spend some lazy mornings and afternoons together -- love getting to spend more one on one time with my little miss.

Spending time together in the backyard...

Enjoying a snack outside...

Kicking back, relaxing, and enjoying a family tradition -- a bushel of peas in the pod!

Maelyn can eat almost as many peas in the pod in a day as the rest of us -- yummy!

Bubbles -- or as Maelyn would say, Bubbies!

Ahhh -- gotta love the summer!