Christmas PJ's

Christmas jammies are the best. I kind of wish I had gotten these in adult sizes too!

Cozy in their Christmas pj's

 Smooch face!

Success

Preschool Interview

I got this from Cynthia and thought it was a fun idea. I remember wanting to do this before Eli could really answer most of the questions. Now that he can, I had totally forgotten about it.  Here are his answers.  He recently went to his cousin Evelyn's bring a friend night at her gymnastics class and it must have made quite an impression on him.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you? no and yes
2. What makes you happy? Going to the park, can we go to the bouncy castle play area?
3. What makes you sad? when Daddy puts me in time out
4. What makes you laugh? when you tickle me, can you tickle me?
5. How old are you? 3 and a half
6. How old is Mommy? I don't know...3? 5? 4? I dont' know Mom!
7. How old is Daddy? I don't know
8. What is your favorite thing to do? Go to the bouncy castle and play hockey
9. Who is your best friend? You
10. What do you want to do when you grow up? Drive an excavator
11. What are you really good at? doing the gym with Evelyn
12. What are you not very good at? Doing Karate
13. What did you do today? I don't know
14. What is your favorite food? Chicken nuggets and french fries and dip
15. What is your favorite song? Monsters (then went into a made up song about butterflies and dinosaurs)
16. What do you want for Christmas this year? New hockey man
17. What is your favorite animal? TRex
18. What is love? Love, it's just love
19. What does mommy/daddy do for work? I don't know
20. Where do you live? Canada
21. Where is your favorite place to go? To the bouncy castle play area and Evelyn's gym

December

December is finally here and we've been busy.  The turkey is ready in the freezer, presents are almost all purchased, the Grinch and Rudolph make weekly appearances on the television.  All I'm missing is my annual bottle of Baileys - I better get on that.  Here are a few photos from the last week.

The first snowman of the year. Eli named him "Binch".

Backyard tobogganing

Hana's first real extended period out in the snow.  Let's just say she's got her Mother's genes for cold.

This girl loves boots and wears them all the time - even in the house.

Brother and Sister. I think they are starting to look more alike!

Tub time

Crazy Wind

We've been having crazy chinook winds this week in Calgary.  Hana has embraced the weather with matching hair.

Songs by Eli

Just this week Eli has started making up songs.  Usually they involve monsters or dinosaurs or transformers.  He was pretty excited about this one as you can tell by the non stop bouncing.  Hopefully you can understand what he's saying!

Quote of the day

Me: "Eli, would you like a rice crispy square?"
Eli: "Actually Mom, that's a rectangle."

Bieber Fever

I finally figured out who Hana's hair looks like. None other than the Bieb himself! Her hair grows forward from the back and it's quite resistant to any other direction. She's totally rocking the Justin Bieber hair. I wonder if she's show any musical talent too?

Try and say no to this face

Just try...it's not easy!

Group photo

My attempt at a picture of the 3 of us on a really great day at home. Some days I just never want this time in my life to end! Days full of fun and adventure and hugs. Not every day is like yesterday, but the good days make it all worth it.

Little helper

Hana already likes to help. She is great at putting things away where she got them from and passing you things.  She just discovered the broom and now it is impossible to get any sweeping done when she is around.  She sure loves it!

One of my favorites...

A day at the farm

Brent's Mom was given a little jeep from a neighbor. It didn't work when she got it, it needed a new battery.  After a few attempts at getting it working, it finally ended up at the farm where Marvin and Dolly, Brent's grandparents, live.  Marvin can fix anything and got it running with a motorcycle engine.  Needless to say Eli is in heaven out there and he could drive that jeep for hours on end. He smiled all.day.long.  Hana is happy to ride as a passenger for now but I have a feeling she'll be wanting to drive as soon as she can.  It was a really fun day and nice to be out in the fresh Fall air. 

He even got to ride in the digger with Marv.  What a lucky kid!

The things 3 year olds say

Eli's vocabulary has taken off and sometimes I just have to laugh at the things he says.
Today, my favorite was
"Mom, when you are frustrating me, I don't want to play with you".  I took it as a sign that I was free to go have a nice quiet coffee alone.

I think I'm going to start posting some of them so that I won't forget these gems when he's older.

I am not going crazy.

I often think that I am losing my mind.  I worry that being off work for 3 years has turned certain brain cells to mush.  I swear that I put something down somewhere and then when I need it, I can't find it.  The phone is often missing, the remote is lost every other day, keys have vanished when I'm trying to head out the door .  But, no, I'm not going crazy.  I have forces working against me.  Living with a 3 and 1 year old is like living with two little tricksters.  Things get put in their proper place and then sneaky little hands take them when you are not looking and put them in totally unexpected places.  The photo above is where I found the remote the other day after 2 days of not knowing where it went.  It's very of reassuring to know I'm not at fault for not knowing where things are around here.

Ten things

I forgot to write a 10 things about Hana at one list.  So here it is:

10 things about Hana at age 1.

1. She is crazy for sippy cups. If she sees one, she makes a beeline for it.  If I'm carrying one she cries with big real tears until I fill one up for her. If Eli has a drink she needs one too.

2. She is always carrying something.  The day is spent walking around carrying miscelaneous objects in one hand or both.

3. Her most favorite game is peekaboo.

4. She is curious about our dog Paul. She is very gentle with him and gives him lots of hugs. She tries to give him things and share her snacks with him.  He's very patient with her!

5. She is an AMAZING sleeper.  She started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks and I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to get up with her since then.  She sleeps 12 - 13 hours at night.  She sleeps with her pinky and soother and they are the key to her sleep magic.

6. She is sensitive to loud noises. Eli can make her cry just by yelling.  He knows it and uses his voice to keep her away when he wants to be alone.

7. She is quiet as a mouse.  I often have a moment of panic that I've lost her when we are out because she's so quiet.

8. Her favorite tickle spot is under her chin.

9. She has 2 bottom teeth, and one top tooth just came through. She eats really well but is not a fan of fruit. 

10.  She is the opposite of her brother in so many ways.  I didn't know it was possible to have two children that are so different!

I heart Dad

I think her pj's say it all :)

She walks!

Preschool

 Eli started his first week of preschool this week.  To say he did great is an understatement. He wasn't shy, jumped right in and made himself at home.  He loves it! He's been painting a lot, I think it's his favorite station at school. When I asked him how is first day went he said " Some kids cried, but I didn't!". This is going to be a fun year.  I'm loving it too since my plan is to drop him off then head for a morning jog with Hana in the stroller.  So far, so good ;)

Cool dude walking so school

 My jogging partner enjoying a guaranteed nap in the stroller.



Happy 1st Birthday Hana

Hana turned one on Tues Sept 13th.  She has changed so much over the last year. She went from a tiny little baby who didn't let anyone hold her, change her, feed her or put her to bed except me to a social happy little girl.  She's come out of her shell so much and I'm so proud of her.  There was no way I would have imagined her enjoying a birthday party 6 months ago. Crowds and new environments were hard for her back then, but she wasn't even phased by it this weekend.

At one, she is walking more and more each day.  She says "Mom and Momma and Mommy".  Her favorite game is peekaboo.  She loves going for walks and being outside.  When she gets excited she kicks her legs super fast, we call it the frog legs.  She is quiet as a mouse most of the time.  She is such a happy girl.  She LOVES to climb the stairs and spends a lot time trying to figure out the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs so that she can bust through and climb.  She gives lots of hugs and is such a cuddler.

We had a little party on Saturday with her cousin Cassie who turned 5 and is also a September baby.   We had cake and presents first, then went over to Auburn Bay lake for the afternoon.  On her actual birthday we went our for a celebratory dinner at our favorite Chinese food resteraunt. She loved it!

The birthday girl!

Birthday cousins

Hana, Grandma and Great Grandma

More cousins!

She was mesmorized by the sparkler

This is how you do it sis.

First taste

The cake was approved :)

Asleep on the living room floor after an afternoon at the lake

Measuring Stick

I found this picture as I'm going through all our photos from this year. It was taken in June, right when Eli turned 3. Uncle Nnamdi makes a good measuring stick for Eli's growth. I wonder if they will ever be the same height? That's a tall order!

Farm visit

We were invited to one of Brent's co-worker's family farm last weekend.  It was a beautiful piece of land near Watervalley.  The owner has moved a 100 year old train station from Gleichen to his property and is restoring it as the family home.  It's quite the project but will be amazing when he's finished.  He is quite the antique collecter and hand some amazing artifacts.  We had a fabulous time there and hope to be invited back when the station is finished.

The Gleichen train station in the process of being turned into a house. It's situated on a ridge with this view:

Eli's dream come true

There is a stream running through the property (heaven!)

and a covered bridge to cross it

Boys...

Antique carriage

Happy Hana in her off road vehicle

The barn was filled with antiques

See you next time!