Ice Skating on Christmas Day

JD was so excited to be the first one to skate on the backyard rink... which was finally ready on Christmas Day.

I think this rink was his favourite gift of all. His new skates were probably a close second.

Merry Christmas!

JD's Birthday: Part 2

We had a party for JD and his friends at our house. Guess what the theme was... ?


The loot bags... filled with NHL wrist bands, hockey cards, a puck, water bottle, and hockey treats. Oh, and Play On! t-shirts.

The cupcakes had NHL team chocolates on top.

We started the party off with a bunch of games downstairs. Scott and I were a great team. I planned the games and he ran them. We played lots of old fashioned games (musical chairs and pass the present) but they all had some sort of hockey twist.


Presents were opened.



They came upstairs for cupcakes and snacks.

We played NHL Bingo until the parents came to pick up the guests.


Nathan was at his friend's birthday party the same day and came home dressed like a pirate.

JD's Birthday: Part 1

We had a birthday dinner for JD on his actual birthday.

He requested fish, potatoes, corn, buns, and jell-o for dinner. There was so much food, he needed two plates!

We were happy to have Nana and Papa come down for the occasion.


Samantha and Hali made a balloon person. So creative!

The cake was Dark Chocolate with Mousse topping in lieu of icing. I was too slow to get a picture before the candles were gone.


Opening presents...




Video chatting with the Alberta cousins!

Landon checking out the camera.

Happy Birthday JD!

It's Beginning to Look a Little More Like Christmas...

Snow Days

Last weekend we got our first snow of the season. Up until then it had been ridiculously warm. The night we set up our Christmas tree it was pouring rain.

But December came, and the weather changed... and we got snow.

Lots and lots of snow.

Our kids had not one, not two, but three snow days this week!

So... we hibernated in the house for three days. We ate soup and homemade baked goods, watched Christmas movies, sipped hot chocolate, wrapped presents, and pretended we were having an early Christmas vacation.

The only time we went outside the house was to build snow forts and go sledding and work on the backyard ice rink and shovel the driveway.

And when I say "we", I mean Scott and the kids, of course.

I stayed inside by the fireplace to stay warm keep an eye on Nathan and Clara while they napped and watched Dora.

Sweetness

Today I was explaining to my sister how hard it is to get Clara in trouble.

Despite the fact that she is constantly getting into mischief of one kind... or another.

As soon as I tell her "No", before I have any time to get upset, she turns into this little ball of sweetness who agrees with me wholeheartedly on every point.

It goes something like this:

I walk into the room and see Clara covered from head to toe in marker.

Me: Clara! We don't colour on our bodies.

Clara: Okay Mommy. (hands me the marker)

Me: See your legs? (Arms, face, hands, feet, etc)? They are all messy now. That is naughty!

Clara: Okay. That's naughty.

Me: You need to apologize to Mommy.

Clara: Sorry Mommy. (gives me a big hug)

Me: Clara, please. We only colour on paper. Nothing else.

Clara: Okay. Paper.

Then she gives me a look something like this:


And I forgive and forget and lose complete sight of the fact that she's coloured on herself (or the walls, floors, important papers, etc.) almost daily for the past 3 months.

Then I go find one of the older kids and threaten punishment if they don't stop leaving their markers lying around the house.

Cubs

Brett has started Cub Scouts this fall. He has enjoyed it a lot. Especially earning his First Aid Badge, visiting a local Police Station, and playing games and seeing his friends every week.




Brett would say his most favourite activity so far this year was Apple Day. He helped his Pack earn a lot of money towards their activities.

Who wouldn't buy an apple from this sweet Cub Scout?

Pierced Ears

Samantha has been waiting for this day for quite a while. I can't decide if she was more excited or nervous. I guess excited because she went through with it without any hesitation.

My Mom had reminded me to make certain the holes were pierced in the exact middle of the lobe. I'm not sure if I took her advice a little too far. But it seemed like my perfectionism was starting to give the poor lady at the jewelery store a complex.

But they look great, so it was definitely worth the double quadruple-checking.

She seemed like a resilient lady...

Here are the results!

Before

After!

November Birthdays

JD & I both celebrated our birthdays this month.

My birthday was wonderful. Scott had planned a day in Toronto for the two of us. We went to the temple with some friends, ate ridiculously good food, did some quick shopping (new bedding from West Elm!) and ended the night with front row seats at Wicked.

Wicked was so good! We both loved it. Scott told me during the intermission that he was torn between watching the actual show and watching the orchestra and conductor, who were almost as entertaining as the people on stage.

Thank you Mom and Emma for watching our kids all day, and thanks Uncle Jeff for taking JD to his hockey practice.

Speaking of JD....

He has a party planned in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime we had dinner and cake on his actual birthday.

The pictures are stuck on my camera right now, so I dug through my older photos and started reminiscing about some of my favourite Jesse memories.











JD is such a special boy. So energetic and fun-loving, yet so sweet and tender underneath his extreme hyper-activeness.

He has really blossomed in the last few months and is doing well at the new school. His reading in English and French has improved dramatically and he has made lots of new friends.

He continues to excel at hockey and piano. He has a wicked slapshot.

He melts into a puddle when he sees his green blanket. And he still sucks his thumb, although after the dentist's lecture at his check-up today, he has promised to try (harder) to quit.

He drives me crazy pretty much on a daily basis... But when I think about how much I love him it brings tears to my eyes.

JD is generally a lot like his Dad. But he and I have plenty in common, besides our birthday month.

We both love shrimp. And babies. And getting our backs scratched.

Happy Birthday JD!