Happy Birthday Aidan, from Maya

Bowling Birthday

Aidan decided that he wanted a bowling party for his birthday... so off we went - it was the first birthday party not in our house. The bowling alley was small and we had our own party room so I felt it was more intimate that some venues. The kids all seemed to have a great time.

Here he is with a classmate and his brother playing foosball before the bowling started.

More bouncing than bowling of balls but the kids all had a great time!
Ready to bowl (or should i say bounce)

Aidan with his neighbourhood pal, Eric

Aidan with Eric and Brendan in the party room

Aidan with Eric and cousin Justin

Aidan with the requisite cupcake tree

Aidan's 8th Birthday

Two weeks ago, Aidan turned 8! He's growing up so fast. Here are a few snaps from his birthday dinner.

Maya got all dressed up for the occasion I'm cool!

Cheese!

I think Mike needs to back off on the blue food colouring...

Aidan thrilled to get Little Big Planet, the video game he really wanted

Thanks for the National Geographic Kid's Almanac, Julia!

One of his other favourite gifts was the Guinness Book of World Records

With Nana

Three Down in Two Days

After not losing any teeth for the last year, Aidan is now the gapmeister!

I Do It!!!

That's Maya's refrain these days. Can I help you brush your teeth? I DO IT! she says Can I help you put on your pants? I DO IT! she says. Would you like Mama to put some cream on your face? I DO IT!!! You get the picture.

Our 1 Year Anniversary

Today marks one year since Maya joined our family! We feel so blessed that she is our daughter! Here is a photo from our G&R ceremony (my smile says it all!). A link to my post that day can be found here. Here is a link to when we first met Maya earlier that day.

Aidan's Recital

Last Sunday was Aidan's piano recital. He is old hat at it now - it was his third. He did the first one when he was five and really he was a bit young for it. And it was super stressful for me. Now he doesn't seem too phased at performing in front of a large group and he really seems to love music. I will post a video soon. In the meantime, here are some shots of us before the recital and of Aidan sitting at the piano. He also performed a singing number with the rest of the piano students. Although it's a lot of work, I'm a fan of Music for Young Children - they really teach the kids to "make music", encouraging them to write their own compositions and to play ensembles right from the very beginning.

What Maya Has to Say (Feb 2011)

At the end of this video, I asked Maya who she loves and I thought she was going to say Mama... but alas she chose something else...

Skiing Lessons

Aidan and I continued with our skiing lessons this winter. Aidan has caught on to it and is doing well. He is now able to do the intermediate runs and take the chair lift. I'm glad he seems to enjoy it and be able to do it. His ankles are extremely weak and he had trouble with skating. But he has a lot more support with the ski boots. I am doing ok myself. I can now traverse the intermediate runs and am not too freaked out by the ski lifts.

Unfortunately, i didn't get any video of Aidan - just this one photo. We hope to get out one more time to practise before Spring is upon us.

Be the Difference

Our adoption agency is putting on a gala to raise funds for a social centre in Vung Tau province. Click the link below to see how you can help.

http://www.tdhcharitygala.com/2011/02/tdh-tree-of-life-for-long-hai-centre.html