Yesterday.

We had so many giggles together and it all started with a game of peek-a-boo.  I love that she thinks I'm the funniest person ever.

Nory, you're the cat's pajamas!  I LOVE YOU!!!

Nory's FIRST TRIP to the ZOO!!!!!!!!!

Today we ventured across the bridge to meet some friends at the Detroit Zoo.  Yep, we braved Nory's hate for long car rides, Phil's hate for finding new places, and my hate for scary graffiti and '8 mile' in order to reunite with two wonderful people we met in Kuwait.  Alas, it was a no-brainer.  Kate and Matt had a baby girl named Ada Kay 7 weeks ago and we needed to see their sweet little bundle before she started walking and talking.  Besides an embarrassing poo situation in the Tim Horton's drive thru (thanks, Nory Darling!), the trip was a great one and Nory was INCREDIBLE in the car!  I'm starting to think this hokey amber necklace is the real deal.  Enjoy the pictures!

Here we are waiting for our friends to arrive at the zoo entrance!  We seemed to be a big hit with the Zoo Volunteers.  A whole pack of sweet old ladies were eager to obtain a Parkinson Biography.  They pulled out a map and made sure we knew how to locate the lion enclosure, too.  The zoo's lion, Simba, came all the way from Qatar and they thought we could communicate with him in Arabic :)

Lily Pad Lake.  I'm not sure if it was actually called this but we enjoyed an entire boardwalk of these suckers.  You'd think we'd be able to spot a frog or two, but NOPE!  Not a single leaper in sight.  Perhaps they were taking advantage of their habitat and staying submerged to beat the heat.  We were DRIPPING FOOLS I tell ya.  Talk about a SWEATY DAY at the ZOO!

Break time!  Time to play around in the park while Ada Kay has some lunch.  It's so much fun when Daddy lifts me UP, UP, UP in the air!!!  Mommy thinks I'm funny and laughs especially hard when I make cute photos even MORE amazing as I giggle and spit all over my chin! 

This picture was taken seconds before a bunch of summer camp groups walked by.  The campers were supposed to be checking out the camels and deer, but Nory became the main attraction.  "Hey!!!  Look at that baby!!!" was a common phrase.  Yep, our little darling was a temporary zoo attraction :)

This guy's a real stud.  He walks with such swag - attracting visitors with the littlest effort.  I think he was my favourite animal of the day! 

Outfit change (for both girlies)!  When you sweat through your first one, getting into something cool and dry is a must!  This picture is here for two reasons - her hair looks really red and her eyes are so captivating!

Favourite face of the day.  She's just a ball of AWESOME.  You can see that Patches came too!  The two of them made some happy memories at this picnic table.  Oh - and check out Phil's new ring!  It belonged to his Grandad and his Dad gave it to him this week!

We LOVE playdates!  Is it sad that the best picture of the two of them involves HANDS ONLY?  YEESH.  Baby photography is tough work, y'all.  Em has a real knack for it though.  Too bad she was all the way north.

LUNCH TIME!  We were hoping for an air-conditioned venue, but sometimes your stomach takes over and leads you to wherever the closest food is.  This was my first time eating french fries in.........YEARS???  GROSS.  Oh well.

We left the zoo just before the rain came - PERFECT TIMING!  The trip back to Canadian soil was easy-peezy and we arrived home tired from a great day out (and grateful for A/C).  Nory hit the sack early and after this episode of Big Brother, we intend to do the same. 

Thanks for a wonderful day, SCHWARTZ FAMILY!  Your daughter is a real beauty and we can't wait to watch the little ladies run around together next summer!

BIG NEWS in the LITTLE MOUTH DEPARTMENT!

An itty bitty piece of one of the bottom teeth peaked out this morning!  This explains the rosy red cheeks, puppy-dog drooling, and all-around not-herself-ness that's been going on for the last couple of weeks.  

Grandma got her an amber teething necklace while we were out and about today.  It sounds hokey but it's supposed to reduce the pain associated with teething and some even claim it stops the slobber!  Nory wore it all afternoon and, I'm not sure if it can be attributed to the necklace or not, but her mood improved ten-fold (although the drooling held strong).  To add to the "amber jewelry case", Grandma purchased an amber bracelet for her arthritis and said she didn't feel a thing when the storm came in this evening (usually, she does!).  SO STRANGE.  Perhaps we're victims of the placebo affect, but when you become a mom, the motto becomes "WHATEVER WORKS"!!!

I'll keep you posted in the days that follow :)

IF YOU WERE HERE FOR TEA.

*  Our former deputy principal stopped by the house for lunch the other day.  He spoiled Nory with a whole bag of clothes!!!  This is hilarious because people keep commenting on Nory's endless number of outfits and we just thought that all babies have TOO MANY clothes.  Honestly, disposable laundry is a legitimate option for us.  Thank you to everyone who has given so kindly to Nory's wardrobe!

*  I LOVE ANDY MURRAY and I'm all goose-bumpy thinking about yesterday's big win.  He's a WIMBLEDON CHAMPION!!!!!

*  Speaking of "Murray"......I have a new baby cousin!!!!  No, his name is NOT Murray.  But the last text message I sent to my Dad read "let me know the name!" and when I saw "YEAH MURRAY" on my phone a few hours later, I figured that was in reference to the family's newest darling.  WRONG-O!  Dad was totally referring to the tennis match.  But here I was bouncing around with a big grin - thinking about HOW COOL my cousin was already.  BABY MURRAY!  Haha, silly me.  His ACTUAL name is Fionn (pronounced FIN) and the one picture I've seen reflects his totally gobble-up-able self :)  WELCOME BABY FIONN!  XOXO    

*  Has anyone else tried the Tim Horton's Grilled Cheese combo?!  MY OH MY.  Just another reason to fall head over heels for Canada's Best!     

*  The lady we purchased the house from is a real sweetheart.  She organized a party for us on Friday evening so that we could meet the neighbours.  The neighbours seem great - both friendly and funny!  Nory already has a clubhouse with the neighbour to the left and she was given a small wooden toy by the artist who lives to the right.  It is quite reassuring to know that these kind of people will be around. 

*  I miss GEMILY.  Even with our iPhones, I'm feeling BFF-deprived. 

*  After about a six hour journey, we arrived in Wheatley on Saturday afternoon.  Nory still isn't a huge fan of her car seat which made parts of the drive a little unhappy.  Alas, we are HERE and the longest drive of the summer is (hopefully) behind us!

*  We've been pretty busy here at Mom and Dad P's!  The first day we arrived was a whirlwind of Christmas, Birthday, Welcome to Canada, and Anniversary celebrations!  We also toured the house for all things "NORY" and she feels right at home here in "Nory's Nook".  Thank you Grandma and Grumps!!!

*  Never in my life have I had red, itchy eyes that last for days....until now.  Too bad I'm a big wuss when it come to eye drops.  Phil and Mom P almost had to hold me down in order to get the drops on my eyeballs!  The good news is, it got so bad in the night that I did it MYSELF!  WOOT!  Now to conquer the middle-of-the-day eye drop phobia.....

*  Nory is a full blown ROLLOVER BABY.  She rolls over any chance she gets (both ways now!) in one smooth, well-rehearsed move.  It's AWESOME.

Back to AMAZING Monday night television.  The Bachelorette and Mistresses!  JEAH!!!!!!!

4th of July Pictures!

Two Americans visited the Hoit house for the 4th of July holiday (I initially called it "our" house, but given the recent purchase, that could be confusing)!  They worked with Uncle Graeme and Aunt Dana to throw one outstanding BBQ - or 'cookout' - on the lake.  Here are the photos I promised....
    

I think Nory is getting used to the camera.  She's quite good at flashing her smile when she sees one come out!

Nory and her new friend, Penelope.  Penelope was born one day after Nory!!!!  They are 24 hours away from being BIRTHDAY TWINS!!!

That pretty lady on the left is the reason we celebrated the 4th to begin with.  Nory and her Auntie Aubrey wore matching outfits :)

You'll be happy to know that Nory gives it her all with any task.  Check out her passion and intensity for a holiday that isn't even her own!!!!

Look who NORY met the other day!!!

Her older cousin JOYCIE (or her "sister" as Joyce likes to refer to them as)!  She also got to meet her Bubby and Auntie Taylor!  What an exciting day :)  We had a wonderful afternoon walking around Lakefield, playing in the park, and throwing stones into the water.  Joyce was a big help, too - always offering to hold, feed, or push Nory in her stroller.

Thanks for driving to see us, family!!!!  WE LOVE YOU!

XOXO

IS THIS FOR REAL?!

I thought watching Baby Einstein was supposed to make you SMARTER. Apparently that's not true for everyone. While Nory was admiring the simple figures that ruled the screen for way-too-long, I couldn't help but feel more and more like a senseless FOOL for not creating this program myself.  Had I have know it was THIS EASY and THIS UNCOMPLICATED to stimulate a baby and make millions, I would have done so years ago.  Alas, I missed the boat.  

Congratulations, Lady Who Created Baby Einstein Videos.  I salute YOU and the MILLIONS you've made.

Happy Birthday to the COUNTRY we call HOME!

That's CANADA, not AMERICA!  This post was started DAYS AGO but......you know how it is.  Apologies if I appear to be an anti-American fun-sucker on this day intended for our neighbors to the South (in fact, I'm SO SORRY that I used YOUR spelling for the word NEIGHBOUR).  I promise to take some darling "4th of July" pictures to make it up to you :)  For now, let's enjoy these darling "CANADA DAY" gems......

Nory's first CANADA DAY!!!  We're so happy she was in the country to experience it :)

Her first boat ride!  Clear Lake is a real beauty.

There are two things I love about this picture.  #1 -  Their genuine LOVE for each other.  #2 - Nory's cowlick blowing in the wind! 

Canada Day celebrations downtown Peterborough!  We had a picnic in the park with some other young families and soaked up the fresh air, musical entertainment, and oh-so-random, fire-twirling dancers. 

Simon/Simone also attended the event.  Can't leave home without the Parkinson family's most beloved bilingual.

I love watching men push strollers.  I didn't get a great shot of it, but I believe this crew has the potential to set up a fantastic Daddy Daycare.

See this sweet guy here?  After a sleep-less weekend in New York City, he drove all the way to Peterborough to see his sweet girl Eleanor for a couple of hours (HOURS!).  Yep.  He fought through exhaustion and long weekend traffic just for her.  Talk about GOD DADDY of THE YEAR.  We love you, Uncle Dain!!! XOXO

Cupcakes decorated by Dana and I.  Our love affair with this country is written ALL OVER THEM ;)

DATE NIGHT!

The other night, Nana and Grandpa offered to babysit Nory so we could have a night out.  Our last outing was in Kuwait, where we ended up at the shooting range after our Thai cooking class was cancelled without notice.  For this outing, we decided to do something a little less nerve-racking and a little more giggle-inducing.  I don't think 'guns' are considered appropriate on a date intended to celebrate three years of marriage and the purchase of your first house....

Check out what we did on our wild evening in Peterborough (besides checking the cell phone every five minutes and pondering whether or not to call home to check-in on Nory)!

First stop - the SOLD sign.  What first time homeowner doesn't take a picture of this?!  Exxxxxxciting! 

Next stop, let's take a "we're on a date" picture in the parking lot!!!  (I have the world's best hubby.  He's always a YES MAN.  Except for when it comes to a year-round celebration of Christmas....)

Dinner at my favourite restaurant!!!  I love me some HOT BELLY'S!!!!! 

One thing I adore about this restaurant - the princess elephant wearing GREEN beads.  How I wish I could pull a garden-gnome-trick on this sucker and keep her in my home, permanently. 

The Beer Sampler.  Five different kinds served in five little glasses.  A clever idea, yes?!

This meal has GOT TO BE award-winning.  The Caribbean Roti.  I dream of thee ALL SCHOOL-YEAR LONG!!!

Last stop, MONSTERS UNIVERSITY!!!!  A must-see this summer.  We were laughing throughout the whole thing. 

Date night was SPECTACULAR and, despite what we had imagined, Nory didn't scream the whole time we were gone!!!  Nana and Grandpa had a wonderful time granddaughter-sitting and they even offered to do it again.  HOORAY!  Another date night can exist in our future :)

THANKS, NANA & GRANDPA!!!!! 

See this pretty little thing right here? This cute-as-a-button dollhouse?

It's OURS!!!!!!!!!!  (Somebody pinch me!)

Our FIRST HOUSE is the PERFECT HOUSE for our family!  It's walking distance to everything in the charming village of Lakefield.  A minute away from Tim Horton's.  Has a washer and dryer steps away from where we sleep (Phil's DREAM!) and a heating lamp right outside the en suite shower (MY DREAM!).  The inside is beautifully renovated and the outside is beautifully landscaped.  It's a little "city" for me and a little "country" for Phillip.  I really believe that "perfect" may be an understatement ;)     

I see many tea-sipping mornings on the front porch rocker, many hours of Daddy-organized athletics in the backyard and much laughter while baking on the island in the Parkinson Kitchen!    

It all starts July 24th.  WE. CAN'T.  WAIT. 

P.S.  Before you get too thrilled, it's best I tell you this - for now, this home is just a summer home.  We will still be returning to Kuwait in August!