Day 365 - 2010!!!

We had a girls day out and went and saw Tangled. We missed the first 3 minutes and had to sit in the first row but otherwise I LOVED it! It is definitely one I will see again. And it was a lot of fun to just go out with the girls.

...then Diane and I ran the Resolution Run through the Running Room. It is a 5km run around the lake. I think I have run once or twice since Mitchell was born (I tend to be a fair weather runner) but I managed to do this without stopping. Bring on the New Year! Of course we then went home and had Chinese food and relaxed with Melissa and the other guys.

Day 364 - 2010

Mitchell is enjoying a new pastime - emptying as many containers out of the drawer as possible. It does make it hard to keep organized but I can certainly think of worse things for him to get into. I get a little worried about what he does with the forks though...

And we had to try and get a close up of his new teeth. We're up to 6!

Day 363 - 2010

I got a new EXPEDIT shelf from IKEA (dad picked it up for me - thanks Dad), and it fits perfectly where I wanted it. One of the baskets holds all of our ipod stuff - wires, cases and boxes, and one holds my Project Life stuff for the time being. I'm hoping to declutter the hallway shelf and utilize the baskets more here. The digital frame fits nicely on top. What I like most is that it fits our scrapbooks and makes them accessible for the kids to look at them. I love it when a plan comes together.

Day 362 - 2010

It was so nice to have everyone home and to just relax today. We all played some Wii together - something we haven't done for a long time. I forget that there are other things to do with it than listen to Matt play Mario Cart!

Even the girls got into it!

Day 361 - 2010

Sarah, John, Macy, Mitchell, Marlee and I we went to visit Sean, Sam, Theoren and Autumn so that they could meet Macy. Matt had hockey camp so he had to miss out, much to Theoren's dismay. Mitchell took very well to Uncle Sean even though we hadn't seen him since May.

When we were there we were treated to the best Hannah Montana concert I've seen yet. Autumn was so cute - swaying, singing and lots of dancing! You go girl!

Day 360 - 2010

The IKEA bowls are so easy to entertain with. I guess Marlee was getting jealous that Mitchell was having all of the fun and wanted to get in on the action. I haven't seen him do this with them though...

Day 359 - 2010

Mom asked to have Christmas at their house since Sarah, John and Macy were up. Matt tried his hand at lighting the candles this year. Is he really old enough to do that now?

Once again, on this Christmas day we are reminded of how thankful we are for the most precious gift of all - His son, and eternity with our creator and those who follow Him.

Day 358 - 2010

Welcome to Canada Macy Grace! You have a fan with your cousin!

Mitchell isn't too sure about Linus' kisses but they are more friendly than Kasha's (and humourous to watch too).

We all went downtown for the outdoor service and endured the cold Canadian winter...

...where the kids got a beautiful handmade sheep ornament from Charlotte with the Christmas message.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Day 357 - 2010

Marlee and I went shopping while Drew and Matt went shopping for gifts for our immediate family. She got very creative with ideas for all the kids and even her dad. When we got home we locked ourselves in the basement and did all the wrapping.

Day 356 - 2010

Happy 8th birthday buddy!

Matt invited friends over to the church for slides on the inflatable slide and mini stick hockey. He asked for a LEGO cake and we kept the food at snacks. Our families met at our house for family time and gifts afterwards. The party was a toonie party and Matt is making a list for all the loot he'll get when we match the amount. Us - well we just can't believe that you are 8 already!!! Happy birthday to you big guy of big hair and thumbs out fame!

Day 355 - 2010

Mitchell SOOOOO wanted to join in the fun...

that the other kids were having outside in the snow.

It was our first day of Christmas vacation and by the time lunch was over it was time to get outdoors. Majorly. The kids lasted an hour by playing in the back yard on the swings, and with the sleds and by throwing snow at me through the window. And poor Mitchell was just able to watch. Adoringly.

Day 354 - 2010

We have our Christmas cards back and ready to be addressed. I haven't written a letter yet, but I'm sure it won't take long. We used the photo from September with us all wearing our Terry Fox adidas shirts.

Editor's note: Yeah - these didn't get out until February!

Day 353 - 2010

Mitchell was having a great time entertaining himself in the mirror. He then moved on to climbing on Marlee. She loves nothing more than attention from Mitchell. So cool.

Day 352 - 2010

We had a great re-connect with our moms and baby group for our 8th annual Christmas get-together. Has it really been 8 years? For us it has been 7 since we missed the first one (I think we were in TBay?). Anyway, it always seems to be a struggle to get there but once we are there we have a great time. As usual, Martina was a very gracious host, the food was great and Santa was totally generous. I'm glad that the kids still get along well even though they don't see each other all that often. I miss getting together regularly with the moms though!

Day 351 - 2010

I witnessed (dare I say) a rare moment of the two of you playing well together. It tends to happen when the construction-type toys or creative/artsy type activities come out. It also happens more often when we say good bye to the technology for a while. This may be painful for the first bit but by and large the end result is so much better! (Psst - I think we are gearing up for some big changes in this area!)

Day 350 - 2010

Marlee's drawings are getting a lot more intricate in their detail. I love her creative side. She always has something on the go and it is exciting to see her adding text to her pictures too.

Day 349 - 2010

Marlee and I had a lunch date today. She picked Burger King so that she could get a Zhu Zhu pet. It wasn't exactly as she thought but she was still happy and despite the rush (this was a little far from school), she was glad to get some 1:1 time. Me too.


Marlee was so happy to play Mary in the manger scene in the 3rd showing of Back to the Manger tonight. I'm sure she smiled the whole time.

Day 348 - 2010

Mitchell seems to be liking carrots the most at the moment. This whole foods/ baby led weaning is still going strong. Messy and strong.

TIme to share a little mealtime banter.

Day 347 - 2010

Matt is so good about playing with Mitchell (all three are actually). Mitchell wants to do everything that the older kids are doing. Today they were using the automatic mode on the piano and cranking out some 'interesting' tunes.

Day 346 - 2010

Marlee and Matthew participated in one of the three shows for their play production this term. It was 'Back to the Manger' and they all did an amazing job. They met weekly and helped on the creative team, building sets and props. On the final play days they joined the drama team for the manger scene. Marlee was so excited to be playing Mary for one of the shows. We have suggested that each term they choose one play for creative team and one play for drama.

Day 345 - 2010

Mitchell has his first infection and is on antibiotics. We think he may have scratched the inside of his mouth somehow. He is totally unaffected by it other then the fact that the antibiotics taste DISGUSTING (and trust me I know - I tried them - YUCK!!!) and he needs to be strong-armed to have them. This is apparently my job since I have the best success rate. Thanks Drew!

Day 344 - 2010

Mitchell has been really getting into his food lately. I'm liking this baby-led weaning process other than the fact that there is more waste. He is doing so well with managing new foods and not choking. He usually chews and then spits it back out. There isn't a whole lot of ingestion but he is "getting" the whole process. I'm totally impressed.

Day 343 - 2010

The snow has been adding a new dimension to travel these days. Today I decided to try the wrap since Mitchell is feeling a little snug in the sling over my winter coat. He seemed happy enough but he hates having a blanket over himself. Thank goodness it wasn't windy.

I got started on some "Gifts in a jar" for Christmas gifts. I got a great new recipe for oatmeal cookies at MOPS. Yum yum!

Day 342 - 2010

We were hit with another huge dumping of snow so the kids had a blast on the snow hill at school.

This one particular stretch on the way home is probably the last to get cleared. It makes for a fun walk - especially with an infant! I had to go on the road.

Day 341 - 2010

It appears that Mitchell will no longer be using the bassinet portion of his pack and play. It has been a good time buddy!

Day 340 - 2010

Drew has decided to sell his company car and get a less expensive one. It happened much more quickly then he thought it would. Since it sold, his friend Clark has graciously allowed him to drive his Audi TT until he gets a new one. Poor guy. Driving one of his dream cars.

Day 339 - 2010

We went to our friend's house for dinner tonight which started with a game of driveway hockey. The kids (and adults) all have such a good time together.

Since we were last here, they acquired a new pet. I was impressed that Marlee would try holding it. We loved to watch it eat it's meal worms. Drew was not so impressed and wouldn't go near it. They even had to put a cover on it for dinner time. Wuss!

Day 338 - 2010

Today's word was 'family'. They needed to unscramble the word to see where we are going to dinner tonight. God has given us so many wonderful people to fellowship with - people that we can in fact call family. Tell mom or dad the names of at least 5 different families that we fellowship with regularly.
We headed to church for our Christmas dinner. They were one of 3 families with children there - and they did remarkably well. It helps to bring supplies.

Day 337 - 2010

Today's prompt was about service. "Ring-ring-ring your bells ring them loud and clear! To tell the people everywhere that Christmas time is here". We headed to Walmart to man the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle . It truly was a great experience - with maybe a few adjustments for next year but never-the-less we all enjoyed it. More on it here.

On the home front this little guy is getting more and more adventurous. He amused himself for quite a while exploring behind the couch today. Too cute.

Day 336 - 2010

Today's word was "goodwill". We left out a good sized pile of things to pass on to others. I love it when they come to your door!


I got my Project 365- 2009 in the mail! Yey!

Day 335 - 2010

Again I am being a little ambitious when it comes to advent. The kids went on a scavenger hunt for their advent calendars and clues. They love these activities and I admit that I do too. They ended up in the playroom where they found a lego advent calendar and their chocolate count-down calendars. They will have a daily activity in their pocket calendar. More will be posted on my other blog.

Day 334 - 2010

I am still making the amish friendship muffins and loaves. This time I tried it with butterscotch chipits as well as chocolate. I also made a loaf for me as I'm not a fan of the muffins. They were so yum-yum!

Day 333 -2010

I hit a lot of rabbit holes today in my quest to finish off my November To Do list. This was one of them. This sign fell apart shortly after I bought it and has been sitting in the basement for the last 4 or 5 years waiting for me to fix it so that I can give it to Goodwill. I had intended on painting it and putting a biblical quote about our house serving the Lord but it is no longer my style. In the end it took me all of 10 minutes to fix. Now it is gone.

Day 332 - 2010

I started preparing the advent action tags (copied from Ali Edwards) that we will use for Advent.