The Rest of the Weekend

We held the Christmas party for the Fab Five on the first day Lesia and Mylan arrived.  It's always a special occasion when they come over to visit, so there was much more to come!

In the morning we met with Nathan and Nhan for breakfast at a restaurant near the ocean.  It was a beautiful sunny morning, so we took the kids to the beach for a little while to enjoy the weather.  Here are a few pictures of our adorable children:

After naptime, we got all dressed up again, and went to another Christmas party!  This time a bigger party for families who have adopted Vietnamese children.  This party drew together families from far and wide, families who adopted in past years, and families who adopted more recently.  It was quite wonderful to see all the kiddies enjoying themselves.  There was some great entertainment, and of course, Santa!  Santa had a gift for each of the children, but we also brought a gift that we gave to Santa - a package that will be taken to Vietnam and given to children living in an orphanage.  The evening was lots of fun, and I appreciate all the planning that the organizers did.

The next morning, the same group of us went back to the same restaurant, but this time Merel was able to join us as well.

We took the kids to a playgroup at a community centre on Granville Island, and had a blast!  There were so many great toys to play with, and the kids had free reign in the room.  It was so fun to watch them play:

Finally, a quick trip to Ikea on the way to the ferry, and we had to say goodbye to our dear friends again.  We hope to see them again soon!

The Fab Five Christmas Party

Lesia and Mylan came over from Victoria for the weekend, so we all got together to celebrate Christmas.  Lesia and I hosted the gathering at my place, so I got the tree up and the house decorated on December 1st!  Rita and Ninh and Uncle Ron all came over to help decorate.  Rita brought greens and poinsettias, and Ron ended up decorating the tree when I was putting Molly down to sleep later in the evening.  What a beautiful job he did!  My 'Charlie Brown' tree is trimmed, garlanded and dusted with pipe-cleaner snow.

Molly was amazed at what she saw the next morning - I snuck out of bed early to plug in the lights before she could see it.  I taught her to only touch the tree and the decorations, not to pull anything off.  So now she stands in front of it saying 'touch, touch', and touching the bulbs and lights with one finger.  It's so sweet to watch her.

Then a few days later, our guests arrived, and the party began!  We had a potluck dinner, eggnog, and lots of different desserts to fill up on.  Suddenly, there was a 'Ho ho ho!' and Santa had arrived! 

He scared the kids, but had presents to give them from his sack.  Molly broke the ice by sitting on his lap for pictures, but we cheated a little bit.  We peeked behind Santa's beard to find that it was Uncle Ron who was dressed up, so she was happy to sit with him.  I don't think Ninh ever got over it though - he wasn't happy until Santa left.

Christmas cheer and chaos reigned for the rest of the evening, but I think everyone had a really good time.  A huge thanks to everyone for bringing food, dressing up, and decorating, but most of all, thanks for being there and creating lovely Christmas memories to treasure.

Merry Christmas!

Another Special Offer from Robeez

Robeez has just launched a great new sale, offering Eric Carle Boys' and Girls' gift sets (shoes + a miniature The Very Hungry Caterpillar book) for only $19.99 and shipping is free.  You can have them gift wrap and ship the gift sets directly to your recipients, and your Christmas shopping is done!  Click on the text links on my sidebar to get started.

Be sure to change the currency to Canadian dollars before purchasing.  Click on the link in the top right hand corner of the website page when you enter the site.

Thank you for supporting the "Get Molly a Baby Brother Fund".

Christmas Shopping at Robeez

Robeez has just offered a 20% off promotion for purchases over $50, plus free shipping!  It's available only on December 3rd, 4th and 5th.  Use the coupon code ROBEEZGIFT when purchasing from the link in my sidebar to get the discounts.

Keep in mind, too, that for a small charge, Robeez will gift wrap and deliver your gifts on your behalf, which makes Christmas shopping so much easier.  Is anyone else doing a lot more shopping online since they adopted a child?  I have done lots this year, as I don't have as much time to run around the city to shop anymore.

There are lots of new shoes, winter boots, socks, and always a selection of sale items.  Have fun shopping, and thanks for supporting the "Get Molly a baby brother fund!"