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.