As usual, the holidays were busy, but fun! While a dusting a snow would have made things more magical, the warmer weather did make it very easy to get around and visit with family. Hailey had a blast this year, because she really understood the concept and the fact that she was being showered with gifts. She was still not sold on Santa though.

Check out the pics.

October was a solid month. Nisha and Dinesh came to visit and we had a blast cramming a ton of activities into the month. We went to Mexico, celebrated Halloween, visited a pumpkin patch, and spent lots of time with family!

Check out the pics.

Halloween was a blast this year, because Hailey not only understood the concept, but was super excited by it! After the second house, she started running through the neighbourhood, squealing in delight. Once we got home, she refused to share her loot, even though she doesn’t eat sweets and thus wasn’t aware of what she was hoarding. What she did know is that she worked long and hard for her treats and no one was going to take them from her… not while she was awake anyway :p  It was also really entertaining to watch her help us carve the pumpkins.

Check out the pics.

A few pictures from Diwali. It’s not a big celebration at our house, but Hailey really enjoyed it.

Check out the pics.

For our latest family reunion, we spent a week at the Iberostar Paraiso Beach resort in the Mayan Riviera. It was a very low key vacation, despite the group size of 17, including 2 toddlers. This was Hailey’s first international and longest trip and she did remarkably well on the flight and at the resort. We were all pleasantly surprised! Hailey really enjoyed herself and truly made the most of her vacation… she swam twice a day, ate more than she ever has at home, took long naps during the day, and danced the evenings away.

As for us, Eric enjoyed a lot of down time in preparation for his conference the following week and I finally got a chance to go scuba diving - what a thrill!

Check out the pics.

-

Yes, this post is long overdue, but things have been busy. As always, this series of pictures captures many family visits which Hailey thoroughly enjoys. Who knew Eric and I would have a social butterfly! Also evident in these pics is Hailey’s amazing sense of humour.

Check out the pics.

-

Hailey enjoyed the many visits we had this Easter. Yia yia and uncle Ken came over with a neat singing card and cute outfits. She spent the long weekend with nana and nani, who got her a Mega Bloks build ‘n play kitchenette. The following weekend, we enjoyed a nice lunch for Greek Easter at Elaine and Joe’s, where Hailey enjoyed cracking Easter eggs and checking out Katie’s pet fish.

Check out the pics.

-

Hailey has had a lot of birthday cake recently! We kicked off April with Eric’s birthday, followed by Murli’s two weeks later, and Bob’s and Sal’s in May. Also in this album are Mother’s Day festivities, trips to yia yia’s and grandpa’s, visiting with aunt Elaine, and random monkeying around.

Check out the pics.

-

We can’t believe how fast time flies, but here we are… Hailey’s first birthday!!! This was the first time since Eric and Bahar’s wedding that both sides of the family had gotten together. There were about 35 people at Hailey’s bash! Hailey, being the cautious and observant girl that she is, took a while to take everything and everyone in, but once she warmed up, she had a blast! It’s amazing to see one little kid entertain such a big crowd, but boy did she ever soak up being the center of attention!!! Check out Ken’s phenomenal pictures!!!

We spent the New Year’s long weekend at a cottage with the family (15 of us and 2 dogs). Eric and I were weary about how well Hailey would handle being out of her environment and around so many people for such a long period of time. To our surprise, she handled it beautifully, without even the slightest glitch. It was a great weekend, with lots of baby sitters, food, and games! What a great way to end the busy and sometimes stressful holiday season!
Check out the pics.

-