The Circus

For cousin Dexter's 6th birthday, Maya and Aidan attended a circus birthday party .  With 15 boys between 6 and 9, it was a circus!!!  Maya was the only girl and the youngest but she held her own.  Here are a few snaps from the day...

Justin on the trapeze

 Maya giving it a whirl!

 The birthday boy in the ring

 Aidan on the trapeze

 Dexter blowing out the candles

The birthday cake (and one that Aidan can eat because Dexter has multiple food allergies too)

Halloween Fun

This year our pre-Halloween activity was a trip to the local mall for Malloween.  They had crafts and loot bags for the kids,  pumpkins to carve, a spooky science show, and an animal show - all free!!  The kids enjoyed the animal show and the glow-in-the-dark  vampire teeth they got in their loot bags.  

Maya decorating a bag for her loot

Aidan hard at work carving his pumpkin.  He later lost it!

I want to suck your blood!

Me too!!

A lizard at the animal show

More interesting animals

The kids were very excited about Halloween.  Maya went as a princess again this year.   I got her a new crown to go with her outfit.  Aidan went as a ghoul.  Turns out one of his good friends went as one too, except his costume had "blood" that trickled over the mask.  This scared Maya  A LOT and she had a nightmare on Halloween night.  Even though it was rainy, the kids didn't mind as they got lots of candy!  Here are some snaps from the night.....

I know I shouldn't encourage princess culture but she is so damn cute....

Aidan's "Movember" Pumpkin

Vampire Princess!!

The two ghouls

Aidan (right) with his buddies from the neighbourhood

First School Trip

At the beginning of October, I went with Maya on her first school trip to an apple orchard. Unfortunately, there were not many apples, but we had fun anyway.  It was interesting to see her with her new friends.  Right off the bat, she insisted on holding hands with Maddy (girl in navy).  This upset the other little girl in pink as they had been friends since they were infants.  They finally decided to all hold hands!Very cute - and so much drama already.  Here are a few snaps from the day.

 The threesome

 On the wagon ride with her friends

 Enjoying the nice weather

 They had a puppet show

 Watching how they peel apples 

The best part... the playground!

First Day of School

It's taken a while for me to add these photos, but here's Maya on her first day of preschool.  She goes 3 mornings a week and is loving it!  She will definitely be ready for full time kindergarten next fall. 

 Wearing a dress we bought in Vietnam, with Minnie Mouse backpack

Big brother Aidan with Maya

Somewhere Between

Did you catch the documentary, Somewhere Between, on TVO tonight?  It's about teenage Chinese adoptees living in America and coming to terms with their identity.  Very moving.  Mike bawled and he never cries.  Check out the trailer here. It plays again at midnight tonight.

Paradise on the Bay Revisited

We spent the last week of August at a cottage outside on Meaford on Georgian Bay.  It was very relaxing - a little slice of paradise!   My nephews came to visit and they enjoyed playing on the rocks and in the water. The kids enjoyed endless fun on the beach and roasting marshmallows.  We went into Blue Mountain village a few times to go on the mountain "roller coaster" and to do the "Low Ropes" suspended obstacle course.  All in all a wonderful week!

Centre Island Says Summer 2012

Summer is not complete without a least one trip to Centre Island!  It is one of my favourite spots in the Toronto area.  It was a gorgeous day and the kids had a great time....