You've Come A Long Way Baby ...

Friday Photo challenge once again.

This Week's Topic: Gotcha Day Clothing ...

Now this week I have a slight problem.

I'm sure we are the only family on earth that does not have any still pictures of our child in their Gotcha Day outfit.

We only have video !

I'll post that along with her pictures in her Gotcha Day clothing that I took yesterday.

Same beautiful cheeks in both posts, only chubbier ..........

Ok, I'm motivated now to get the video clips broken down into still shots .

Thanks Donna !

January 2007

April 2007

To see the rest of Donna's photo families.......go here ...... http://2happy.typepad.com/double_happiness/

When Dad's away ......

the mice in this house play ....

and go the park,

and visit the swing sets

and the monkey bars too!

go to the pet store,

go to the ice cream shop

and onto the garden centre to visit the iguana and drink in all of the colors of summer.

Shhhhhhh .....don't tell Dad, he'll be sorry he missed it !











It was a super day !

Alyana and I went shopping today and we couldn't pass by this store
without stopping in for a quick peek.

We found this ........

When we got home , we decided to try on her new duds .....

Here is Alyana in her new dress ....

Drum Roll please ....

Ta Daaaaaaa ......

Ahhhhh ......wait a minute .....

Sorry about that ,

HERE is Alyana in her new dress .....

Ooops .........

Ok ...... one more try ......

HERE is Alyana in her new dress .....

Finally ......

What do you think ???

The Many Faces Our Alyana

My Favorite Snapshots Of The Week ....

Our Tree Monkey

and one of his best pals ....

Our little lady ......soon, she will be in the tree with her brother !

My Sweetie

Who's that at our front door ?

Ben in his Daddy's Boots

This is the face of a future heartbreaker

FFFF Challenge from Donna's Double Happiness Blog.

This week's topic is: Toddler Art.

Here is a sample of our little Picasso's finest work.

Sugar Before Bed

Auntie Gail came to visit the other evening and brought with her a chocolate treat for both kids.

They both had a taste or two ( or three when Mommy wasn't looking ) and it was all down hill from there ....

You can see how it "possessed" our sweet, quiet (?) little angel and by the time bedtime rolled around ...well .....she was somewhere in the clouds on sugar !

Confessions From A Mammarazzi

The first step is admitting it, right?

Hello my name is Andrea and I'm a Mammarazzi.

It's true.

The camera is never far from my sight, it fits nicely into my purse, around my neck , in the diaper bag or in the glovebox of our car.

I've taken 100's in the last few months. Thanks to my handy dandy digital camera I just delete what I don't like and go back for more.

It's getting harder to get Ben and his Daddy to say cheese in my direction though but as for Miss Aly Cat ....well ....she always has a smile that is ready, willing and able.

Here are a few snapshots from this self confessed Mammarazzi .....

My awesome boys are included in this stack as well and if you ask me the camera loves them :)

Where Are You Springtime ?

Another grey and rainy day today ...

I saw this sign outside one of the local garden centres and had to get a snapshot of it.




I hope their promise holds out .....

A Lot Of Sunshine On A Grey Day .....

Today Alyana and I stepped out into a dreary, damp and cool day in search of a bit of sunshine and we found it here at Angela's along with her beautiful daughter Rachel.

Krista and her lovely little Lily braved the weather too.

We sipped on coffee, snacked on tasty treats and enjoyed some adult conversation while we watched our China daughters play and enjoy each other's company.

I am thrilled that Alyana is now connected to these amazing little girls and the fact that they have terrific Mommy's ....well ... that is just icing on the cake.

Not all of the China sisters were there. Next time ....

Thanks Angela for having us today. We hope to see you again soon.

Ohhhh, I almost forgot .......

Here are a few snapshots of the playdate.

This Is What Cute Looks Like

Those the know me well will tell you that I'm not into wearing T-shirts that have logo's or messages on them. It's also rare that my kids wear anything like this as well.
Not that there is anything wrong with it but I guess I'm just a "plain Jane" clothes wearing kinda Mommy.
HOWEVER ..... while out shopping today for a pair of shoes for my cutie patootie daughter, I saw this little t-shirt that practically screamed ( actually I think it did scream)
" THIS SHIRT WAS MADE FOR ALYANA !!".
So, to make a long story short, 2 pair shoes , 4 t shirts ( 2 logo) and 2 plain tees later Alyana and I headed home from the mall.
As an offside, I went shopping for one pair of shoes for Alyana and came out with my hands full. How does that happen?
Anyway, here is a snapshot of one of the t shirts and I couldn't have agreed more with the message it states.
Awwhhhhh ..... I'm lucky Mommy.

See for yourself,

As for the other t shirt , the message simply says Never Crabby .

It's for a 18 month old so I guess we'll see if the t shirt tells the truth as the Tough Twos approach !!

Wow, Where is the time going?

FFFF Challenge again from Donna's Double Happiness Blog.

Tell me, where is the time going ?

This week's topic is PETS.

Fletch ( 5) and Jingles (1) are our pets and our kids adore them.

Both of these 4 legged fur balls are on the "go" a lot so as you can appreciate , it is difficult to get them to stop, pose and smile for the camera (hence the picture of Alyana with her stuffed larger than life teddy bear).

Here are the kiddies with Fletcher and Jingles.

Ahhhhhh ..............

I'm warm, comfy and I've got my cool shades on to protect my eyes from the bright sunlight.

Ok .....Mommy, I'm all set .....

Take me out for a walk please ......

Yup, this is the life ........

Gosh, what more could a girl ask for ?

Well ......maybe just a nap ....

More Springtime Pictures ....

We took a quick pit stop to a play park this evening and let the kids burn off some access energy.

They had a great time. Ben even pushed Aly Cat on the swings.

You can see how much she enjoyed it ( along with Mommy and Bugs). Her very first time in a swing.

Oh yeah, take a look at what landed on her coat to say hello and welcome to Canada.

A little red ladybug !!

Imagine just for a moment ...

I found this webpage and felt compelled to post a part of this article.

To view more of the article please go here to this page: http://www.baas.org/news_special.php

I realize how well Alyana has progressed since she has come home to live with her forever family but I can't forget where she has been and what she has been through in her short little life.

Imagine just for a moment .....

One cold early Spring morning a beautiful, healthy baby girl, 3 days old, wakes up to find herself alone on a deserted street, hungry and cold. Her mother does not answer her cries, and in fact no one responds for hours. The baby, increasingly agitated and distressed, screams with primal urgency. Eventually a stranger happens by, picks up the crying baby and delivers her to the police station. Through several more intermediaries, the baby is eventually delivered to the local social welfare institute.

Examined by a doctor and then wrapped in blankets and fed a bottle, she is deposited into a crib and left alone for much of the rest of the day. That night, no one comes to answer her frantic cries. More days go by, more cries unanswered. Feeding and diapering are administered on a rigid schedule, since the caregivers have so many babies to attend to, and there is minimal opportunity to be held, carried, or spoken to. Stimulation is limited to what the baby can see, hear and feel from her crib. Feedings are piping hot bottles of formula, propped for maximum efficiency, delivered through extra large holes in the nipple. Occasionally the baby's mouth loses its place on the nipple and the entire contents of the bottle pours onto her body. When that happens she misses her feeding, and her wet clothes aren't changed for another hour or more.

Eventually the baby stops crying altogether because she has learned that crying rarely draws anyone to her. She is often lonely and scared, especially at night. The sounds of other babies crying and in distress cause her great anxiety, which she learns to tolerate by shutting down and withdrawing deeper inside herself in an attempt to protect herself from the constant stressors in her environment.

One day many months later, the baby is bundled up and brought by bus to a city several hours away. She is handed to a stranger with just the clothes on her back and one bottle of prepared formula. Otherwise, everything of her old life has vanished in an instant. The stranger brings her to a hotel across town, where she is changed into new, peculiar smelling clothes. The stranger shakes a brightly colored rattle in her face. The baby's environment has gone from one of minimal stimulation to one of hyper stimulation; new sounds, new smells, new sights, new sensations, delivered in rapid fire sequence. The stranger tries to feed her a Cheerio, but the baby reflexively gags because she's never had solid food in her mouth. The stranger tries to bathe her in the sink but the sensation is unfamiliar and terrifying. The stressed baby, overwhelmed, sinks deeper and deeper into a state of shock and withdrawal.

And they lived happily ever after.





I look back and can only imagine what my sweet little daughter was thinking on this day ......

Wanna feel like a kid again ? Go fly a kite with your child.

Bugs and I ventured out into a pit near our home tonight and took his "bat" kite (that the Easter Bunny left him ) for a maiden voyage.

It was fun , although ,the best part was of the adventure was watching the twinkle in my boy's eyes once the kite was up , up and away .....

I love this picture !

Hey, I'm A Winner ......

Yup, that's right. I made a Top 100 List.

I'm not sure when or how but I'm a winner just the same.

Shucks, I'm speechless.

Go here http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/
to see who else made the list.

There are some pretty great Mommy blogs listed there.

Enjoy!

Thanks Again Easter Bunny ....

It's that time again ..... Grammy and Papa's Easter Egg hunt !

We braved the cold and scaled fresh fallen snowbanks to collect yummy treat filled eggs this year.

Despite the crisp air, the kids sure had lots of fun !

Bugs , J.P and I were glad that Miss Aly was here this year to partake in all of the fun.

Two Very Tired Easter Egg Hunters