One month anniversary

The monthly anniversary of Lilah's arrival to her new home in Canada has arrived and we are pleased to be able to update you with new photos (below this post) that we've had professionally taken in the past week. They are a celebration of our family and kudos go to Gerri Weatherbee from Gerri's Photography in Colborne for the excellent artistry. I think you will agree that the photos are stunning and both Joel and I were crying in Walmart as we ordered them!

It seems like much more than a month has passed in this journey as Lilah is surpassing milestones by leaps and bounds! She has gone from a scrawny 13 lb baby at her Beijing medical to 17.3 lbs -- all courtesy of a HUGE appetite! Her cheeks continue to grow, as does everything else. Lilah has also progressed from not being able to sit up, to a kid who hates to sit down. She loves to stand (assisted) and particularily enjoys dancing with her big sister. I think she'll soon be giving Naomi a run for her money when it comes to energy. She pulls herself along the floor and is close to actually crawling, although I don't imagine she'll crawl for long as she's figuring out how to move her feet and walk when assisted. She is determined. She's also learned to shake her head no, courtesy of her big sister who is now on a mission to teach her how to nod her head yes. It is truly amazing to watch the two of them together - they adore each other (and I don't even have to lie cause it really is the truth - as you tell from the pictures below).

Naomi is also growing like a weed too! She's suddenly gone from a size 5 foot to just shy of a size 8! Pants are getting shorter (thankfully it's capris season) and I've been madly pulling out new clothes for her! I can't believe that just 21 months ago she was the baby who had just arrived home! She's definately not one now and in fact is quite the little girl. She has likes and dislikes, as well as "favorites" (animals, colours, foods, clothing) that she expresses well. She talks in full sentences and it's so fun to hear what's going on in her head. She loves to sing and most times you can find her belting out the "eensy weensy spider", "the more we sing together the happier we'll be", "jingle bells" or "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands". She's a bundle of happy energy. When you push her on her swings she wants to go "straight to the moon" and I wouldn't doubt she'll find a way there someday.

Together the girls and I have enjoyed the warm weather at the Toronto Zoo, the Cobourg Beach, a donkey sanctuary and our own backyard. We sure do appreciate when the weather has been glorious, just the thing we needed to get over the jetlag. We also celebrated my second mother's day this month, ironic that our second daughter was here on my second mother's day! I was thrilled to get a special handmade card from Naomi and gift certificates for a spa.

On top of continuing to get to know and love Lilah, over the next month and a bit we are looking forward to many things. Our basement renovations are nearly complete and we are hopeful that by the end of next weekend we'll be able to put the tools and paintbrushes away. Linda came through for us again and was a fantastic painting partner for Joel last weekend, while the girls and I enjoyed Sydney's company. We are hosting a family BBQ on June 4th so that Lilah can meet more of her new relatives. Lilah's first birthday is on June 29th and we are pleased to be able to celebrate this milestone with her. Since the girls are exactly 18months apart (to the day), we'll also celebrate Naomi's 2.5 yr old birthday with her local friends. Hopefully it will make Christmas 2006 a little less overwhelming for the gal.

I'm hoping to be able to post updates and photos as often as I can -- being the mother of two busy girls often leaves me with little time to myself and even less time on the computer. So check back periodically and I promise to try to post monthly! ENJOY THE PICTURES!