Reuniting felt so good...

All unpacked and back into the swing of things. Markus is finally on a tolerable sleeping pattern and I'm back to my insomniac self. It's been a busy week for Rodney catching up on his workload. It was so great to have him around all day and all night for a week while in Windsor.

Besides all the new Rexall Pharmacies being erected throughout the city, not much else seemed to change in Windsor since our visit last Christmas holiday. Although one of the first things I thought about when we first crossed the Canadian border was my Lola who passed aways last February. When I visited her place of rest, I was overcome with a sense of peace and happiness seeing that both my grandparents were laid to rest adjacent to each other...reunited once again. They will be forever missed.

On a lighter note, I was humoured by how much Markus communicated in Japanese. Often times while babysitting for Markus, my parents as well as Rodney's parents, would wonder what in the world he was saying. Interestingly enough, our families learned some of his usual Japanese phrases. Each morning he greeted everyone in the house by saying "O-ha-yo go-zai-masu". And when he felt in a mannerly mood, his requests would follow with "o-ne-gai-shi-masu" (please). One of his favourite phrases were, "cho-tto-mat-te ku-da-sai-ne". Translated, it means, "Please wait (a while)". Just like in Japan, before and after meals he would say, "I-ta-da-ki-masu" and, "Go-chi-so-sama-desh-ita". It was funny hearing my parents say "a-bu-nai", which means "dangerous", which they said when Markus would begin playing near the treadmill or, try to carry large objects as he walked down the stairs. Markus had an incredible time with his family and new friends. Since we've been back he's constantly referring to his trip to Canada. He was excited to show Keiko-san all his new toys and was able to remember who gave him what. Hopefully he'll retain the memories for a long, long time.

Below, I put together a compilation of more photos. Markus loves looking through the albums over and over again. Honestly, this child enjoys reminiscing as much as I do.