Photos of Addi

Just some photos I snapped today of Addison.  I can't get enough of her gummy, drooly smiles, they just light up the room!



Look mom at what I can do now....

Addison is now 7 months old!  Such a fun age and developing new skills.

Today naps were a bit thrown off, so Addi ended up taking her last nap at 4:30pm, but only woke close to 11pm.  I let her play around a little before putting her back down.  I just happened to get the video camera as lately she's been going into crawlilng position, so just waiting for her to take off.  Now talk about timing, but just as I walked back into Addison's room and pressed record, Addi did this..

So proud of her, she's been working hard at this for a few days now!

Soon soon she'll be crawling too...she just can't wait to chase after her Karch (big sister).
Bracing myself for when I need to chase after her and continously pick things up and out of her way, bringing on a whole new dimension of BUSY!

My sweet sweet girl, I love you so much!  Thank you for 7 wonderful months of being in our lives, you've spoilt us!

Sounds of Addison

This is Addi's latest....she's so funny.
She just gets louder and stronger....I no longer need to shower.

Big sister likes to join in too....oh boy!

Vancouver

I'll eventually catch up on this blog...

Still dwelling on April and the last part of it we made a trip out to Vancouver.  Finally!  Can't believe that it had taken us so long to make a trip out and also to post this, but what made it even more special was that we had Addison with us and the family could meet both our girls.  The last time I saw my family was 2004.

A long journey out, but worth it!  Nothing better than to have family and friends meet the girls, but also for Emma to meet more of her family and add to her memories!  Emma was so excited to fly on the airplane, saying that she gets to go this time, not just daddy.  We took the long route to get to Vancouver, first stop Houston, second stop Seattle, then a 2 hour drive to Vancouver.  Thankfully we stayed at my cousin's and Aunt and Uncle's home, Casa Laubrador.  Called Casa Laubrador due to their love for Labradors!  They live just 15 minutes from the border.  Poor Emma, every time we landed and got off the plane, she would ask to see Kung Kung's brother.  Must have felt like an eternity for her to meet this man!  Emma and Addi did really well on the plane, both slept most of the way (so great that for Emma we just had to have her little pillow and lamb blanket and she was happy to take her nap).  I was so proud that even though we put Emma in pullups incase of accidents, she didn't wet herself and asked to go potty each time, there were definitely times I wished she'd just pee in her pullup.  Taking her to potty in that tight cubicle not the easiest, esp when you don't want them touching everything also trying not to let her pants or underwear touch the seat or the floor....ugh!

We were so spoilt by my family, all the good food, eating in and eating out!  So welcoming to have a home cooked meal after a long journey over.  Aunty Lily, Wendy and Tessa love to cook and bake, you almost had to be careful what you say, cos the slightest mention of something you feel for, they're sure able to whip it up!  They have a beautiful and such a huge kitchen with so much storage that they're able to carry almost every ingredient you can think of.
Some of the yummy things we got to try, regular waffles, liege waffles, shortbread, chocolate chiffon cake, biscotti, pizza, biltong, scones....we were continuously snacking throughout the day!

Our first breakfast - Fruit and regular waffles, always so nicely presented 

Tessa making Liege Waffles

more snacks

Last dinner, chinese and sushi

Emma took to the family almost immediately, I think it was the special princess chair that was assigned to her, her little princess drinking cup and jug of water to pour each time, which was often as the the cup was so small.  Lots of spills, but the family were patient enough to just wipe it up and refill her jug.
Wendy and Tessa had a snack draw and everyday Emma would want to take a look in this draw to see what she could try next, amazing how they know where the good things are.
Emma finally got to meet Kung Kungs brother who she was shy of for just a bit, then continuously asked where he was in the house, wanting to see him as soon as she woke up, and then wanting to wake him up!  The family kept teasing Emma as it sounded like she was saying, "coco butter", or "kookooburra", along with, "I need to go potty", they heard, I need to go party! party, party, party!!

Casa Labradour has an elevator which Emma loved riding in, she even knew how to operate it.  The grounds are so big, which allowed Emma to roam around the yard in her rainboots, we had to buy a pair the day after we arrived, she loved picking dandilions, dandilion puffs and blowing them, also picking up stones, sticks and anything else interesting she found while exploring.  Em got to ride on the John Deere, and enjoyed telling Tessa where she wanted to go.  Wendy and Tessa also made some homemade bubbles, which Emma had fun chasing and popping, Rod and I actually went out for breakfast that morning and left the kids with them.  Was nice to have babysitters who were more than happy to look after the kids and entertain.  For the first time in a long time Rod and I were able to have a HOT breakfast, then drove around a bit and browsed a few stores!    

Emma's bumblebee rain boots

fun picking dandilions

blowing dandilion puffs

Sitting by the tree of heaven

Going for a walk along the trail at the house

Enjoying the John Deere

Despite the early mornings, 5am for Emma, which eventually became 6am or 7am, the girls adjusted well, Emma slept in her own room which was great.  She got to sleep in a day bed with a steel white frame and gold posts, which made it seem like a princess bed to her, so she was more than happy to sleep in there.  I would give Emma her breakfast when she woke and once she was done with that, I'd take her upstairs to Wendy, Tessa or Aunty Lily and they entertained her while we had a few extra minutes of shuteye until Addi woke up.   Just before Vancouver Addi started sleeping her 8 hour stretches, with the time change, a different story, only once we got home did I realise I was actually feeding Addi around the clock every 4 hours!  No wonder I was so tired!!

So Wendy, Tessa, Aunty Lily, Uncle Sumpy, Murchie and Brodie (their 2 labs) live in the township of Langley.  The funny thing whenever I hear township I think of squatter camps back in SA.  Langley is quite a beautiful area with lots of trees, walking trails, horse trails, farmlands, animals, very quiet and the back drop of snowcapped mountains!   They're about 45 minutes out from downtown, so after the first weekend we spent a few nights downtown, also to be closer to Kung Kungs sister.  We managed to spend some time with my Aunt Mabel, Uncle Thomas, Joanne And Neal and Cyndi.  We ate well, vietnamese, japanese, yummy tiramisu cake, cupcakes...  the weather was a little cold and rainy, but we managed to fit in a touristy place ... Stanley Park.  Had to see the Totem Poles which looked quite different to what I rememebered.  More enclosed and there seemed to be more poles.

Totem Poles

lunch with Anne and Neal along Beach Ave

Cyndi's birthday

While staying close to downtown we got together with some more family and friends and their kids.

First we got together with my mom's cousins for dinner.  We went out for some chinese.  Aunty Cynthia organized everyone to join us, so good to see Uncle Gerry, Devin and Branden, Uncle Basil, Lindsay, Duncan and Gilly.  Such a fun, close family.  I wish I could have enjoyed the dinner more, but Emma wasn't 100%, running a slight fever (think all the late nights and early mornings were catching up to her), she did not want to eat, and Addi was also a bit niggly and tired.  With the little time we had, we at least got to catch up somewhat and more of the family got to meet Rod and the girls.

Aunty Cynthia and Devan

Gillian and Lindsay

We then organized to meet with friends, Sharon and her girls, Nora and Lily, Cindy with Ben and baby girl on her way (who has since been born, little Amelie) and Cherie with her little ones, Megan and Owen.  We met at the aquarium, checked out the Beluga whales, grabbed some lunch (tuna melt sounded good on the menu, but felt a little guilty ordering that at the aquarium, so went for the ham and cheese), then explored more of the aquarium, got to do some crafts and play around.  The kids seemed to have had a good time.  Emma took to Ben quite nicely, they were running around together, laughing and copying each other.  Really really sweet.  After the aquarium and a bit of a meltdown we took the girls to Anne and Neal's house for a much needed nap.  Then we went to Sharon's house for some yummy dinner where we could also meet the other/better half's.  I read everyones blogs, it almost feels as though I knew the husbands already, and then you're like, oh yes we've never met!  Always good to catch up with everyone and see all the kids together.  I always think to myself, imagine if we all lived in the same country, how great it would be to get together more frequently, but most likely if we all lived in the same country, we'd be so busy with everyday life we'd probably not see each other as often as you think.

enjoying lunch by the Beluga Whales

Ben and Emma having fun on a stage

 At dinner, Sharon set up a little table for all the kiddies to eat at, then after dinner and some playtime it was bathtime.  Emma was very interested to see the other kids bath, sticking her hand in the water, I could see she was eager to climb into the bath herself, she kept looking back at me while watching the kids bath, almost like waiting for me to say she could climb in.  Already in the bath were Nora, Lily, Megan and Owen, we asked if we could join, and very quickly Emma was clothes off and ready to jump in.  I still remember asking Ben if he wanted to jump in the bath, and he very politely said, "No" and walked out the bathroom.
5 kids at one time, chaos, I wasn't around to see the chaos as I had to go to the car and get some clothes, by the time I came back, all kids were out the bath and in their jammies, except for Emma.  We then popped them all on the couch and snapped some group photos....such a great moment to have all the kids together.  Very special times!

all the kiddos!  can't believe they're all ours!

That night we drove back to Langley, spend the rest of the week and weekend there, until Sunday morning when we drove to Seattle and made our way back home.  This time round, Emma slept all the way in the car to Seattle, which meant that she didn't sleep at all on the plane, so she got a little antsy toward the end, wanting to "get out", not the best when we're descending and have to remain in seats and wear our seatbelts.  Addi slept most of the way, so at least only had to deal with 1 wiggly worm.

Emma left with good memories of Vancouver.  I'm so glad she knows more of her Kung Kungs family.   When we finally arrived in Durham, and I told Emma we were now home, she said she wanted to see Kung Kungs brother.  I just laughed and said, sorry love, we're not making that trip for a little while now.
 

big milestone - Addi starting sitting

Great catch up time with everyone.  Never long enough, but we left wanting more, which is a good thing, hopefully we can make our next trip in the summer time.

More of our Vancouver Photos

Emma reading a book

Emma enjoys reading a book on the potty mostly when she poops.  The one book she reads often is, If I were a Jungle Animal.  Guess it shouldn't come by as a surprise, but the one day she asked me to read it, but instead I prompted her and she ended up reading the entire book to me.
I had to capture this on video, and I'm so glad she cooperated, especially since we weren't sitting on the potty.

I just love how she turns the pages, sips her tea, tells me the book is terrible because she can't turn the page nicely......so much entertainment everyday!
I put in the text so to help you understand what she's trying to say or "read".

Have a wonderful weekend all!