Nich just called. He was giving me my daily reminder that I'm not allowed to drive. You see, the roads are icky/snowy/icy, and i KINDA freak out in the car. Buuut, I hate being house-bound. Maybe I'll bundle Eva and I up, and we'll venture out for a walk to Starbucks.

It's supposed to be getting warmer, so hopefully the roads will clear up for Saturday, cuz we're going to the States to see the Lights of Christmas. Which is like Christmas Wonderland. It is super cool, have you been?

Well, here's a pic of Eva that i love. It's so funny when she pulls out the smiles for the camera. She totally knows when she is being adored.

Sporting her jacket from Great Grandma

So, what's new with the Braam's? Not much, so this will be a boring post. Here is a random update.

-Turkey Soup is simmering on the stove

-Eva is snoozing

-I watered our Christmas tree this morning so it wouldn't die

-I bought super cute Hallmark Christmas wrapping paper- every single gift is wrapped in this super cute paper.

-Nich is at work. He bought new work boots, so his feet will be dry and warm all day despite the snowy, freezing weather.

-I reeeeally need more winter clothes. I only have 2 sweaters that fit, so I'm rotating them every day.

-I tried to drive to Starbucks today, but where I was supposed to turn off, some idiot-stick in the oncoming lane wanted to turn into me, so I just kept going. No Starbucks for me.

-Eva is being really snuggly today

-Wow, my life is boring

-I'm going to go chop vegetables for the Turkey Soup

It's been a fairy-tale day today. We slept in until 8:05...and Eva slept in to an unbelievable 8:20. It was wonderful starting the day, just the two of us, sitting on the couch, staring out the window at the mountains of snow that appeared overnight.

When Eva woke up, we all snuggled on the couch and watched the rest of the movie that we didn't finish the night before. We attempted to go to church, but our car slid the whole way up the parking garage ramp, so we just turned around and stayed home.

Nich can't sit still for long, so he decided to brave the snow with his new truck, and brought us home a beautiful Christmas Tree.

The rest of the day was filled with Thanksgiving leftovers (yes, American Thanksgiving), decorating our tree, wrapping presents, and baking Christmas cookies.

We also attempted a Christmas photo shoot with Eva. But, as you see from the picture, she wasn't too thrilled with the idea.

Eva is so adorable. Lately she has been affectionately hugging and caring for her stuffed animals. A couple days ago, I spotted her giving hugs & snuggles to her oversized bear. (It's about twice her size)


And of course, Eva's favourite forbidden area is the bathroom. Because she can flush the toilet and unroll the t.p. to her heart's content...until we charge in there after her of course.

We are supposed to move into our new townhouse on December 21st. We are all prepared for it, it's only 29 days away.

Then, 1 hour ago the phone rang. It was our real estate agent. The builder's have extended our completion date again. To January 15th. Is this legal? It is written in our contract that they have to give us 30 days notice. Well, ahem, 29 days is a tad shy of the contractually agreed upon 30 days notice. Grrrrrrr.

On the bright side, because there is always a bright side, we get to decorate our apartment for CHRISTMAS! To say I am a little excited is an understatement. You see, I have had to use what I call my "portable Christmas tree" the last few years. You know the type: 2 feet tall (that's including the star of course), and fragile branches that droop to the ground if you attempt to hang an ornament. It's cute, but it just doesn't shout "Christmas" as loud as I would like it too.

So, i'm off to clear out a corner of our living room for Nich and I's first real Christmas tree. Yay!

Eva had a high fever all night long. Therefore, she didn't want to sleep. And when I say she didn't want to sleep, she really did not want to sleep. She was awake from 11:47-4:00am.

I have never had a worse night.

To brighten my mood, I made myself an EggNog Latte this morning. I am such a good girl, I didn't go throught the Starbucks Drive-Thru and spend $7. I used my resources at home and created my own specialty drink. (In other words, I was too tired/lazy to get in the car and drive).

But all is well, Eva has been sleeping all morning. For almost two hours now. I am so jealous.

Labels: baby, starbucks

We went to our first Canucks game last night in Vancouver. We were pumped, the Canucks rocked the house, and they won. It was awesome. I would post pics, but I have none. The D's, who invited us, brought there camera, so maybe i can steal some pics of theirs later.

Eva has been waking up at 5:15 the last three days. Why? I don't know. I wish I knew. Then I would fix it. Because she used to sleep until 7:10, and that was good. I felt well-rested when I got up. But now, no well-restedness for me. That glorious feeling has been replaced by bleary-eyed confusion.

So, I'm gonna go Google "baby wakes early" and see if the glorious internet has any advice for me. Maybe I am letting her nap too long during the day. Maybe her afternoon nap is too close to her bed time. Maybe I should start putting her to bed later. Maybe I should drop the morning nap. I don't know. I just don't know.

This is for everyone following the adoption story of Aaron Pao-An.

My brother and his wife left for Taiwan last week to finally pick up their son. They toured around Taiwan for a few days to get familiar with where Aaron was from. And then they finally got to meet him and pick him up just yesterday. Here is an excerpt from their email:

We have Aaron! Yay! Everything went very well today. Aaron is a very happy baby and seems very healthy. We just got back from dinner and are learning how to be parents. It's a little scary, but we're figuring it out. He smiles a lot and is fantastic! The agency worker said last week the social worker tried to pick Aaron up and he cried, but he put out his arms to come to us and smiled. He knew who we were! :)

Very very sweet. We are so happy for them and extremely excited to meet this little guy.

I just got back from toy shopping at the mall. Both Eva's birthday and Christmas are in December, so we gotta score some fun gifts for her. So far, I got the TMX Elmo, and I just picked up a Glow Worm. What else should we get her? I am in search of the perfect present.

I was thinking of some sort of toy Radio or something. And maybe some Dora the Explorer toy. Not sure yet though. Any ideas?


Speaking of Christmas, I am totally geared up for it now. Originally I was going to wait until after American Thanksgiving. But STARBUCKS (I am such a follower) is now decked out in lights and garland...soo if Starbucks is doing it, so are the Braam's.

I am listening to Christmas music streamed over the internet- we have been tuned in all day. We made a Gingerbread house yesterday. And I've even got my Christmas towels set out. Now, if only we weren't moving on December 21st, I would bring home a Christmas tree.

Eva is eleven months old. Her accomplishments are as follows:

-types jibberish on the computer
-calls me "NuhNuh"
-occasionally claps when asked
-sometimes "gives five"
-goes to sleep when i put her in her crib (this is quite an accomplishment actually)
-eats breakfast completely by herself
-smoothly dismounts from her rocking horse without falling on her head
-stands for 5 seconds
-speedily crawls to the bathroom when i'm not looking, pulls herself up to stand at the toilet, and "flushes" over and over


What she can't do yet:

-consistently sleep thru the night (grrrrr..)
-eat Stage 2 food
-giggle without getting the hiccups

Nich and I love shopping for our soon-to-be townhouse. And our dream is to have a house that is accessorized well. Blame that on the fact that we both work a lot in Show Homes- like the one pictured below, that i work in every friday.

So, when we visited a new show home in Clayton, that showcased my favourite shade of turqoise- I just had to know where the decorator got the accessories. Namely, the amazing throw. (That picture really doesn't do it justice. It is soft, knit and turquoise-y blue.) She told me maybe she got it at Moe's downtown. So we went to Moe's. It wasn't there. So, on a whim we decided to check out Linens N Things. And VOILA, the throw was there..

So, next time you come over, check out the chunky knit throw on the couch. It's my new favourite thing.

Yesterday was the first day of the Gingerbread Latte at Starbucks. I went thru the drive-thru so I could deliver one to the birthday boy at work. And is it just me..or do they taste different?

Has anyone else had one yet? I need to know your thoughts.

In other Starbucks news, the Site Supervisor at work gave Nich a $100 Starbucks gift card for his birthday. THANKS ERNIE!! Is that fantastic or what? Why am i so excited about this, when it is not even my birthday present? Probably because we will be going to Starbucks twice daily until the card runs out. Wahoo.

In case you weren't aware, the O.C. starts again tonight. I know, I know, that show is so "high school". But, we're addicted. Marissa or no Marissa. We're addicted.

Halloween was fun. Eva enjoyed being a purple dinosaur. Although, as it turns out, she wasn't a dinosaur at all. Nich pointed out that her costume came complete with dragon wings. So, apparently, she was a purple dragon.
Well, Halloween is the kickoff of party craziness around here. A quick outlook on the next 2 fun-filled months:

Nov 1 Nich's Bday
Nov 2 Mom's Bday
Nov 4 Nate & Christi's Shower
Nov 12 Jen & Noah's Anniversary
Nov 15 Aaron comes home with Nate & Christi
Nov 20 Nich & I's 2 year Anniversary
Dec 9 Eva's Bday
Dec 10 My Bday
Dec 12 Nich's Mom's Bday
Dec 21 MOVE INTO OUR TOWNHOUSE!!
Dec 25 Christmas in the States

Ok, now that you are filled in on my social calendar, I have to go get some groceries.