Christmas Morning

After a pretty disrupted sleep, waking G up every few hours, we actually slept in a bit on Christmas morning. The kids were so excited when we woke them up. G tore into the big present that magically appeared over night, and was thrilled to see that it was a SmartCycle from his wish list. The kids were very excited to see a letter and filled stockings from Santa, and L said over and over again, "Santa Claus made all our dreams come true!." She was thrilled to get the "Sleeping Beauty Barbies" she'd been asking for. M was just happy to play in the wrapping paper.

G had bought presents for each of us on an evening out with his respite worker, and he was very excited to give each of them to us. He was very thoughtful in choosing a present for each of us. Grandmas and Grandpas came over for a brunch of home made waffles with white sauce, then we spent the rest of the day playing with toys. G and L got to choose whatever they wanted for Christmas supper...and it was extravagant...hot dogs, mac & cheese, and broccoli ;-) Later that evening, Grandma and Grandpa brought Auntie Al over.

waiting for Santa

Things have been busy here! Yesterday the kids had their Christmas program in Church. G played three songs during the prelude, and did really well. During the program, the kids went up to say their poem. L mainly stood there looking cute, but G was enthusiastic in his performance :-) We had lunch with some friends, then went home to clean the house before the gatherings began. While we cleaned, the kids made a gingerbread house with Grandpa. This year, the process ended up being more successful than the actual house itself... everyone was so eager to start the decorating...before the icing holding the walls and roof together set.

Today we had Christmas with Ralph's family. The boys played hockey with Grandpa after brunch, then we opened presents and played. Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie all had an after-lunch nap while we played.

After supper, we went to Church for a Christmas Eve service. The kids were excited to go up to the front to help find the final advent candle, and when they were coming back to our pew, G tripped and hit his head really hard on the corner of the pew. The whole congregation gasped. He instantly got a huge goose egg that is pretty close to his temple, so we rushed off to the ER. Luckily, the bonk didn't knock him out, but it sure seemed to hurt a lot. So far, there have been no signs of a concussion, but we'll be waking him up every few hours tonight to make sure he's okay. Not exactly what I had hoped would be the cause of a poor sleep on Christmas Eve :-(

When we got home, the kids were excited to prepare a snack and a letter for Santa, which they set up in front of our Christmas tree. I can't wait to see how excited they are in the morning when they see the snack eaten and the deliveries from Santa!

ho ho ho

Very exciting day today...last day before Christmas holidays and a visit from Santa! The kids were SO excited to hear that they are all on Santa's "good list" and that he's very proud of them for playing nicely and listening to their parents. Santa read them a story, sang songs with them, and talked with them. I just love the magic of Santa :-)

I am also so grateful for the wonderful, caring, and gifted people who care for our children at daycare and at school! The kids just love these adults! Nita especially has been such a gift in our lives. She is so naturally talented at helping G learn to be a friend, and he loves her a lot! Every one of the childcare staff are so caring, and they take such good care of our kids! It really makes it much easier for me to be at work, knowing that our kids are so happy and loved.

Other exciting news today is that we have gotten the ball rolling on working with an RDI consultant (who is also an OT). I'm very excited about what that is going to mean for G's future.

Finally, our little baby is turning into such a big girl much too quickly. One of her new favourite past times at both daycare and home is lounging on the kid-sized furniture and paging through a book (sometimes right side up, sometimes upside down). It's way too cute :-)

loud and proud

Two Christmas programs in two days, and we've got some over-stimulation going on! But, he did SO well...knew all the words and actions, sang them really really loud, and did all the actions! Yesterday was the program at school. L was invited to come along, and even got to join the children on the steps for storytime. She was so serious, and acted so grown up. After the program, we got to do some learning centers with the children. We looked at two books that the class made. One was the Christmas story, and one was "If I were a gift I would be...". Of course, G wrote that he would be a Leapster, and he drew an incredibly accurate picture. There was also a snowball toss game, a "Pin the star on the tree" game, a guessing game, a matching game, a listening center, and snack time. The children did a few more songs to end the party, and then brought us some gifts that they made.

Today, was the preschool program. The younger children started with some songs, and then the older children did some songs. G belted out the songs...there was a bit of a competition between him and the other children to see who could sing the loudest. His little sister was a lot quieter, and his baby sister just clapped and bounced to the music, and they were all super cute!

They're eagerly counting down the days till Grandma & Grandpa come home, and they're excited about Christmas, but I think that's about the time we'll spend with family more than the actual presents :-) This is such a great age for Christmas... I just love their excitement! It's so contagious!

This time of year is hard too though. G has a tough time adjusting to all of the changes in normal routine, to the crowds of people, and to the general busyness. He's managing, but I can tell that it's stressful for him.

It's been humid out this week, which has meant a lot of beautiful hoarfrost! When I downloaded photos from the Christmas program earlier, I was surprised to find this beautiful scene on our camera! I love that there are a few beautiful things about this time of year :-)

running, scooting, and playing hockey

We rented the gym at a local middle school this evening for a Christmas get together with friends. Had a pizza picnic in the hallway, and then the kids had lots of fun in the gym for a couple of hours. They ran, they played hockey, they had rides on scooters, they tried skipping, they played catch, they played "What's the time, Mr. Wolf?," and just burned off a lot of steam! It was great, and a lot easier than hosting in one of our houses :-)



It was a beautiful day here today, a great day for kids to play outside at daycare, and a nice change from the deep freeze that we've had lately. Hopefully the weather stays milder for awhile!

After we got home tonight, we did a whole bunch of wrapping. Our calendar is going to be so full for the next week that we decided we better get wrapping asap. Our tree is looking really nice and full, and the kids have been remarkably good about leaving all the gifts alone!

I have not hired a house cleaner ;-)

So, since my last blog post I've had two people make surprised comments about just how clean M's bedroom is in the photo. I cleaned it myself ;-) Apparently, that's suprising ;-) Don't worry...the rest of my house is a different story :-)

imagine

I am so happy about how well these two are getting along! Since they decided to share a room, we've overheard a lot of amusing conversations and a lot of really funny made up songs. This morning, before heading off to church, they were playing one of their favourite games in their baby sister's room. They improvise with a combination of the Little People farm animals, a Lightening McQueen car, and some John Deere tractors and a combine. The game has gotten a little more complex as they explore the whole world of good and bad guys play... but essentially it boils down to their version of the tractor-tipper scene from Disney's Cars movie. Frank the combine chases the tractors and animals, Lightening tips the tractors, and they all get together to try to be friends, get away from, or scare away Frank. It's quite funny, and always a good opportunity to introduce flexibility into the imaginary play! I just love watching how animated L is when they play these games!

mini darth vader

It's been sleepover central at our house the past few days. Yesterday, L fell asleep on her dinner chair at 6:45, stayed asleep while we put her pull-up on and moved her into bed. Well, she woke up at 3:00 and crawled into our bed for a sleepover. Her baby sister soon joined us, sounding like a little darth vader. She has a terrible cold, lots of chest congestion and a stuffy nose...and she just wants to be held. At least she feels better when she gets to cuddle.

just to clarify

Okay, so I really shouldn't be typing blog entries too late at night, since I just gave my colleague a heart attack (figuratively, not literally). When I said we went to our first (and last) Christmas banquet, I meant for the seasons, not forever ;-) And, if I really did have a terminal illness, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't break the news to everyone with an obscure reference on my blog :-)

Have a great day everyone! Back to work ;-)

Birthdays and busy days

Happy birthday mom & Al! Hope your days are special :-) Can't wait to see you both to give you birthday hugs and birthday gifts!

Our weekend was busy (as usual). Went to our first (and last?) Christmas banquet. Great entertainment, and nice to have an evening out! We took the kids shopping yesterday so they could choose gifts for each other. L was a wrapping machine when we got home! She's been getting lots of practice at the wrapping station at daycare (the kids have been wrapping old christmas cards and putting them into a mailbox there), so she's very insistent on not needing any help. So, if you get a gift this Christmas that has five feet of tape on it, and very bunched up wrapping paper, you'll know which little elf is responsible for wrapping it ;-)

Aside from going to church this morning, we had a nice day just staying home today (those days are feeling pretty rare). We watched a movie with the kids... "Meet the Robinsons." We all really enjoyed it! Finally got around to sorting, organizing and purging toys (making room for Christmas gifts, and donating toys).

It looks like this week will be busy as well. G will have his school Christmas concert this week. He's been singing away for the past few weeks, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the end result! I'll also be taking him back to the audiologist. He didn't do very well on his school hearing test, so he's been referred back to audiology again. I'm thinking he probably just had fluid in his ears again, but we'll see what the test results show.

It's been frigid here lately.... -37 this morning. Brrr. Sure hope it warms up soon!

So grown up!

Just got the proofs back for the gorgeous photos that Kerri took of M last week for her first birthday! I can't get over how grown up she looks in these photos...and how she has a little sneer, just like her dad!

The celebrations begin

Christmas celebrations are officially underway. We set up our Christmas tree last weekend. The kids had SO much fun! They're at such a great age for Christmas. They were so excited about the tree, and were really enthusiastic about hanging the ornaments!

On Saturday, we went for the annual breakfast with Santa for dh's work. As usual, the place was packed, and the kids had a great time. This is always one of those occasions where G surprises me. He often doesn't do well with crowds, but this one is always okay, despite the crowds. It must be a combination of having done this every year, having Santa there, and getting a gift :-) The kids really enjoyed the entertainment. Even M was clapping and bouncing along to the music!



After the breakfast, the kids spent the day with Grandma & Grandpa so we could finish Christmas shopping. I think this is the earliest we've ever finished!

Today, G went to his friend's birthday party. He was really excited, and he did really well. He had lots of fun, especially when he got to play Vsmile with the birthday girl. Leaving wasn't easy, but he did have lots of fun!