So this is Christmas 2007真正的耶誕節

上一次在美國過耶誕節已經是十幾年前的事了。帶著孟田到處瞎逛，希望她也能感受到過節的氣氛
It's nice to be back in a country where Christmas is the major holiday of the year. With the snow and the music and all the decorations we felt most welcome being in Calgary again.

她一眼就看到椅子上的大熊，要去抱抱
Fiona makes another trip to the mall, meets a furry friend

我終於幫孟田修剪額頭前的頭髮了，頭髮老蓋住眼睛，夾髮夾又被她扯掉，乾脆剪成劉海妹妹頭。不過好奇怪，只不過剪個劉海，發現髮色輪廓也跟著變了，似乎變成另一個小孩了！！
We saw some firsts this season: Fiona's first haircut, performed at Mum's salon

孟田的第一個泡沫浴，她愛死了。在浴缸裡又跳又叫，兩隻小手把泡泡弄的到處都是
First bubble bath. Fiona remembered seeing a Kipper the Dog video where Kipper takes a bath, and acted out some of Kipper's motions

幫爸爸裝飾耶誕樹，她很會把小飾品掛在樹上呢！
Decorating the tree. Fiona "helps" Daddy put the angel on the top


我和孟田第一次去「古蹟公園」，裡面有很多卡加利的老建築物，蒸氣火車，模仿早年卡加利的市容所建的公園。爺爺奶奶送我們的耶誕禮物之一就是這個公園的年票，好棒，等天氣暖和些，沒事就可以帶孟田來坐火車玩玩
First visit to Heritage Park, first hay ride. It was a chilly afternoon but we all had fun. Grandma and Grandpa were generous and bought us some 2008 season passes for the park, so we'll be back again

Meeting another new friend, this one not so furry, but charming all the same

還來不及告訴孟田禮物還不能拆之前，一個不注意，她就等不及的撕開一個禮物，害我又得重新把禮物包回去。她很喜歡樹上的裝飾，這個摸摸那邊碰碰，興奮得很
When can we open the presents?! Fiona was excited to see the gifts under the tree

耶誕節當天，全家去Hyatt吃中飯
Enjoying a family Christmas brunch at the Hyatt hotel downtown. As Tiny Tim said, "God bless us, every one"

吃完飯走到附近的奧林匹克廣場溜冰，孟田也有溜冰鞋喔，天黑了還不肯走。孟田的溜冰是──爸爸抱著溜。
After our meal we walked a couple of blocks down to Olympic Plaza and enjoyed some outdoor ice skating

我和孟田做了一個薑餅屋，奶奶做了挪威的傳統耶誕糕餅，最右邊是30年前從挪威帶來的稻草羊
Back at home it was time to enjoy some sweet treats. We made a gingerbread house this year, and Mum made a traditional Norwegian kransekake, the towering cake in the centre. On the right is a traditional straw goat, also brought over from Norway nearly 30 years ago

More photos from November十一月的照片

發現自己好懶，好久沒有放照片了。孟楷放了這些十一月份的照片，我來中文補充一下。
Here are some random photos from November:

孟田喜歡自己刷牙，更喜歡吃牙膏。(那是兒童牙膏，可以吃)當然我還是要幫她補刷一下，免得跟媽媽一樣滿口爛牙！
Fiona learns to brush her own teeth

零下20度還可以烤肉嗎？當然可以，孟楷全副武裝烤給你看。
Who says you can't BBQ in -20c?

孟田在家門前玩雪
Fiona in her snowsuit in front of our house, enjoying a tasty bite of snow

冬天到戶外實在太冷，現在比較常帶她到購物中心裡的兒童遊樂區玩
Enjoying the kiddie play area at the mall

準備吃早餐
Getting ready for another breakfast
11月3日，孟田兩歲。爺爺奶奶Heidy阿姨一家人，連姑姑也來了。
On November 3 Fiona turned two years old! Lots of people came over to celebrate, including Auntie Jane

11月18日，孟楷過生日。奶奶爺爺請客全家去吃日本鐵板燒。這裡吃鐵板燒可真不便宜啊！Then on November 18 it was Gareth's birthday. The whole family went to the Japanese Village for some teppanyaki.

好喜歡我公婆新家的廚房，雖然不很大，但是有一個大島(island)，很多的儲藏空間。
Vivian really likes the kitchen in Mum and Dad's new condo

English vs Chinese中文英文‧‧‧

孟田本來就會一些英文單字，但從未說過完整的句子。來這裡才一個月，孟田竟然會拿起奶奶的鞋子，對她說「You wan dis?」(Do you want this? 你要這個嗎？)也會問「Wha you doin?」(What are you doing?你在做什麼？)
她的中文也在進步。很愛問「媽媽，你在做什麼？」。被處罰，哭完之後說「我好可憐，哭哭」。要吃晚飯了，她叫爺爺「不要看書了，來吃飯！」。
Fiona knew a few English words before we came to Canada, but she never said any whole sentences. Only one month after being here, she picked up Grandma's shoes when Grandma was leaving, and said, "You wan dis? (Do you want these?)" She can also ask,"Wha you doin?" (What are you doing?) Kids are amazing! Her Chinese is improving too. She loves to ask me,"Mommy, ni zai zuo she me?" (what are you doing?) This is her favorite sentence now. She can ask me three times in one minute. And one evening before dinner, she shouted to Grandpa (in Chinese),"Stop reading, come to eat dinner!"

孟田喜歡抱著熊熊(或狗狗、貓頭鷹、企鵝、兔兔)坐在爸爸小時候的椅子上看書。她會說「熊熊(或狗狗、貓頭鷹、企鵝、兔兔)跟我ㄧ起看書。」
Fiona is enjoying reading with her bear in Gareth's old little chair.


這裡圖書館系統很棒(有機會以後再介紹)。我們很喜歡去借書、雜誌、CD、甚至是DVD。我們船運的東西抵達前，幫孟田借了好多書和DVD。她現在最喜歡看Maisy的DVD了(一隻很可愛的老鼠，照片中孟田在看的就是Maisy的書)，還會唱主題曲呢！"Maisy, Maisy, Maisy Maisy Mouse!"還有一隻英國小狗叫做Kipper，她也很喜歡。Kipper和Wibbly Pig是同一個作者。
The library system in Calgary is awesome. We love going there. We can borrow books, magazines, music CDs and DVDs. Fiona's favorite DVD so far is "Maisy." She can even sing along the theme song now: "Maisy, Maisy, Maisy Maisy Mouse!"


通常我在廚房忙的時候，孟田一定是樓上樓下、廚房臥室跑來跑去。她突然安靜了一會兒，去她房間一看，原來找到新的玩法了。不知道這是不是讓她想起還在媽媽肚子裡的感覺。
Fiona usually runs upstairs and downstairs, and in and out of rooms when I'm busy in the kitchen. Today she was quiet for a while. Then I found her in the pouch of the portable cot. I wonder if this reminded her when she was still in my belly.

Snow下雪了

終於下雪了！晚上下起了雨，溫度一降，竟成了雪，而且雪花還滿大片的。第二天早上窗外已成銀色世界。
我們把孟田帶到窗邊，她愣了好一會兒，才叫出「下雪了！」
We finally had our first snow! It started at night just before we went to bed. The next morning, we took Fiona to the window. She stared out the window and didn't say a word. After a while, she shouted out in Chinese,"It's snowing!"





我們做雪人，打雪仗，孟田最愛的應該是吃雪吧！一邊吃一邊說「好冰喔！」，鼻涕還流個不停。
We made a snowman and had a snow fight after lunch. I think Fiona's favorite part was eating snow. Notice the new baby sled we bought in a garage sale... for $1!





奶奶買了這套雪衣，當做孟田的生日禮物。我挑的顏色，但有一點太大。(好像不只一點)等不及到生日，因為已經下雪了！
Grandma bought Fiona this snowsuit for her birthday. (We had to try it before her birthday arrived). It's a little too big!

Vivian's trip to Hokkaido, Japan 意外的北海道之行

(這應該早就要寫的，但是一直沒時間，到現在才有空看照片。)
就在我們忙的焦頭爛額準備搬家回加拿大之際，大姐公司的日本之旅在出發的前一天突然多出一個位子，大姐打電話問我要不要去。就這樣，第一次這麼匆促的踏上我和孟田的北海道之旅。
也真的很高興有機會在離開台灣前和大姊、媽媽一起旅遊。
(I should've posted this earlier, but I didn't have time until now)
While we were busy preparing our moving back to Canada, all of a sudden my sister called me and asked me if I was interested to join her company's trip to Japan. The next morning, Fiona and I were on the plane to Hokkaido. This was my first time going to a trip with such short notice--less than 20 hours. But I'm really glad that Fiona and I had the chance to go for a trip with my mom and my sister.

Enjoying fall in Calgary我們到卡加利了!

終於到了卡加利。經過四、五天的調適，孟田也終於恢復正常作息了！只不過好冷喔！晚上只有0度，白天大概8-15左右。每天總要塗個三、四遍的乳液。不過乾淨的空氣和美麗的秋天讓我了解到，這是正確的決定。只是得被迫離開家人，真是捨不得，只能不去想。
It's October 2007, and here we are -- back in Calgary! Though it is much cooler than Taiwan, and a bit of a shock to the system, the skies are beautifully clear and the air is fresh. It's nice to be back.
這是我們接下來至少一年要住的地方，也就是公公婆婆的房子。在我們到後一週，他們已經搬到新家。
Vivian in front of Morgan's house, where we will be staying for the next while



孟田和她的新玩具房子，是爺爺去車庫拍賣買的
Fiona enjoying her new doll's house, which grandpa picked up at a local garage sale



慢跑推車，也是爺爺去車庫拍賣買的。我們現在喜歡散步，尤其在落葉中。
Grandpa also picked up this sporty stroller! We took it out on a nice day to enjoy the fall weather and the beautiful colors of the turning leaves


Fiona's first time seeing the autumn leaves on the ground 孟田第一次看到這麼多落葉，而且可以玩。剛開始，她還不敢躺下去，看到爸爸躺下了，她才敢開始玩。
Playtime! Daddy buries Fiona under a pile of leaves


Now it's Fiona's turn to bury Daddy
So many shades of green, orange and yellow More playtime as Fiona discovers a new playground

Pretty berries linger as a tree surrenders its leaves to the changing season

雖然冬天就要來臨，但我想，最難的部分應該已經過了。就等待著家人和朋友的到訪吧！
Back at home. Fiona says: After all that playing and my remaining jet lag, it's time for a nap!