Eggs in the Morning

There is nothing like fresh eggs in the morning

or so I've heard.

Not a big fan of the egg thing myself.

Never have been.

But these two

sure make eggs a whole lot more appealing.

Only one casualty too!

Beautiful!

The Hunt

Buckets were waiting.

There were eggs hidden everywhere....

and I mean....

EVERYWHERE!!

Two of the cutest kids arrived...

.....and hunted high,

and low.

Their buckets got fuller,

and fuller,

until there was nothing left to do,

but find a perfect spot,

and dig in.

Sick Day

Let me start this post by saying that Sofia is not a very sick child.

I can probably count on two hands the number of days I have had to take off work to take care of her. And that is not too bad for a kid who spends three days a week around a whole bunch of other kids and their own little greeblie germs.

She is a real trooper when she is not feeling her tip top best.

So, on Thursday, when I went to drop her off at school, she had a fever and I decided, given tax season is over, to take her home (well, she actually came into my office for 2 1/2 hours so I could get some essentials done). 

But after that, it was ALL Sofia and Mama.

Sofia got this princess fort building kit for Christmas, so what else could we do while the sheets were in the wash, but build a magic, feel better fort.

We spent hours in here....

reading

chatting

resting

rearranging

snuggling

hanging with her "friends"

It worked.

She's feeling great again.

Back Peddling

I have been shockingly bad about keeping up with this blog.

But since it is refusing to really and truly turn into Spring around here,

I figured I could still get in some photos of some of our Winter fun.

This was Sofia's all time favourite event on our trip up to the snow.

She ditched the sled  and opted for some good old bum sliding down the hill.

Lily and Sofia

We are so lucky to have a little group of Guat kiddos and their parents

who meet every couple of months....

somewhere

so the kids can play together,

and the mom's can compare stories about their feisty (for yes, that fire seems to be a common trait) tots.

It is nice to be able to chat

with people who have a shared experience,

and the same questions about adoption

that swirl about in my head all the time.

Every time we meet it seems that the kids have grown

and changed.....probably 'cause they have :-)

And this particular time,

maybe because it has been a few months since we attended one of these gatherings,

the big people were actually able to sit and visit with each other

and the kids were content, for the most part, to do their own thing.

Sofia was most excited to see her friend Lilyana.

These two are like chalk and cheese....

and yet somehow it doesn't seem to matter how long it has been since they have seen each other

and they fall into step

and become goofy, giggly, silly girls.

I love that they have this bond.

And I really hope that they can keep some form of it for,

as Sof would say,

a long, long, long, long,

LONG time.

This little game they had going on I was pretty sure was going to end in disaster....

but it didn't.

They look so much older in this photo than their 4 and 5 years.

This is where I get a glimpse of them at 13 and 14.

Goofballs.

I couldn't get a serious photo of them.

This is what I got when I asked for just one photo with a smile.

Goofballs again!!

This one was hilarious.

They were walking around the playground with their "walking sticks" saying

"we are the grandma's"

Happiness is having a friend who will just sit with you

and shoot the breeze

(oh yeah.....and have bark fights, and grass fights, and stick fights).

They are oh so cute.....

but feisty

remember?

Mr. Snowman

Probably the highlight of the day.....

making a snowman.

.

And a mighty fine looking snowman he was.

Snow Play - Part 1

This last weekend we snuck away for a quick trip to the snow.

How lucky are we to be so close to such a great winter playground?

We took Geema and Papa with us and headed for the hills.

Luckily, I bought a jacket extra big last year,

and we squished the feet into snowboots one size too small

and headed out to play.

I can't tell you how funny the following was

and unfortunately I didn't take a picture that adequately sets the scene.

But there were two of these contraptions that each took a dozen kids on a ride

around and around and around.

With their bums firmly squished inside the inner tube,

they were pulled round and round in circles

by a machine with four long posts

each with three kids and inner tubes attached.

First time around Sof was on the inside track 

and this was about the extent of her excitement.

Second time, Daddy put her on the outside loop which traveled

a little faster much to the delight of our speed demon.

Gotta tell ya.....

sure beats me trying to pull her through the snow.

Jeeves

Jeeves,

our first baby

and now almost 16 years old

had been losing weight and not looking the best.

One trip to the vet,

a prescription for some fancy (read expensive) food

and a month later

he has gained back the pound and a half (a lot for an 8 pound cat) he lost

looks terrific

and has his spunk back.

And much to the delight of Sofia

is constantly looking for a warm lap to snuggle up on.

Advice

"Mama.....

your hair is a disaster"

"Tomorrow, you will get up,

take a shower,

soapy scrubby your hair,

and make it flat".

Really?????

Am I supposed to take fashion advise from someone who dons a get up like this one?

Four years ago

Four years ago

this beautiful little face 

popped onto my computer screen at work.
It took the breath right out of me
and I couldn't stop staring at her,
trying to figure out who she was,
what she was like.

It seemed to me she was looking right back at me
trying to figure the very same thing out for herself.

Four years on and

I count my blessings every day

that I get to hang out with this girl
and stare at her beautiful face
and watch her become the wonderful person that she is becoming.

To steal from a fellow adoptive mother....

 It is Sofia's first mother who created this beautiful face

I am just the one lucky enough to help make it smile.