Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card Photos

I tried to take a Christmas card photo of my girls this year - much too late because, one by one, they've fallen prey to a nasty bug in the last two weeks and this was the first day that all three were well enough to venture outside at the same time.  The Pipsqueak was still under the weather and not happy at all.   I knew she had about 15 minutes in her before a major meltdown, so all of my visions of three happy and relaxed girls cooperating nicely with a laughing and witty mother who makes them giggle while they pose for beautiful photos went out of the window pretty quickly.  I found myself scrambling to get even one photo of all three of them looking at the camera with even semi-happy expressions.  No go.  Not a single one.  So while the actual Christmas picture will have to wait, here are some of the outtakes:















And here are some snaps from our subsequent walk, when the girls decorated our "Charlie Brown Tree" which we planted in the park in 2004









You never know.  One year I may actually plan some matching outfits, have them ready by the beginning of December, have an early snowfall in usually rainy Vancouver and have all three girls snot free and perfectly cooperating with having their picture taken.  A girl can always dream ...

Gingerbread Houses Galore

Ms. M pronounced her Birthday Bash a success, which is a relief because she has been reminding me pointedly for quite some time now that she did not have an actual party last year while we were travelling.

Sometimes I wonder whether it wouldn't make more sense to have the party at some kind of kids venue rather than subjecting myself and the house to a roomful of excited, energetic, sugar-fueled children.  But then, once the whole thing is done, I'm always glad that I did.  This time here were games, a theme of snowflakes, the stuffing of "stuffies", cake and lots of messy, sticky, noisy Gingerbread house decorating.  Fun was had by all, especially the Birthday girl:




I loved it that Ms. M's little friend offered to bring her violin to play the Birthday Song (on the right)












We will be stepping on bits of candy and sticky icing for weeks .....

7

Seven years ago.  Today.  That is when my life was drastically and irrevocably changed forever.  Around 7:30 a.m., when I heard a little squawk and cry as they lifted Ms. M out of me and I caught a mere glimpse of that slimy, squinty, most gorgeous little baby in the world.  She loves to hear her birth story and I love telling it, how the c-section delivery was planned so the atmosphere in the operating room was excited, relaxed and cheerful, the doctors and nurses quietly chatting as they prepped me for surgery.  How I was scared, nervous and excited at the same time, and all of the nervousness disappeared and was replaced with such excitement, happiness and love the moment Ms. M made her entrance and was pronounced healthy.  Undisputably one of those moments in life that is etched into my memory in all of its most minute details.

And now that little squishy, cuddly bundle is a seven year old girl.  Wow!  She turned from the lovely cuddly baby into an adorable, feisty and incredibly smart toddler who had memorized all of her books and had a huge repertoire of songs, then a cautious, curious and lively preschooler, followed by a confident, social, smart and fun Kindergartener who then morphed into this fabulous seven year old girl.  She is a  kid now, not a little kid, and while I will always look back wistfully at how cute she was in every stage of her life and how she is growing up much too fast, I am so proud of her and loving this stage.   I love the way we can share humour now, the way she comes up with such grown-up insights it blows me away, the way she looks after her little sisters.  I'm so proud that she is adventurous, open to travel and other change, thirsty for knowledge, not defined by being a girl in her interests (Barbie, Dinosaurs and all things Science are all the rage right now), how she is effortlessly bilingual and thinks it's no big deal, how she comes up with quite ingenious arguments when she wants something (she'll give her lawyer-mama a run for her money), how she still wants to be exactly like me and that she still loves to hold my hand.

Today was a family day - with the Birthday Bash to follow in a couple of days!  We spent the day eating all of Ms. M's favourite foods, watching a movie and going to her favourite ceramics decorating studio where she selected, true to form, a soccer-ball to paint.



Happy 7th Birthday, Sweetie!

Thanksgiving

Canadian Thanksgiving was six weeks ago.  It really is mostly related to great big helpings of food.  Is a public holiday but nowhere near as big of a deal as American Thanksgiving.   But once American Thanksgiving comes around, we are inundated with TV shows and other media focusing on it.  Makes me want to join in.  I figure that there is no such thing as being "too thankful" and any reminder to think about all the things we have to be grateful for is a good thing.  

I'm thankful for all of the usual: my wonderful husband and partner in life, my fabulous little girls, our health, our home and our wellbeing.  They are "the usual", and also by far the most important things I am grateful for.  They are the foundation from which everything else flows, all of the other good things which are just the icing on the thankfulness cake.

I am grateful for the most amazing year we have had, much of it spent travelling with our three very patient and adventurous little girls who would probably be just as happy playing at home but put up with their restless and crazy parents who dragged them all over the place.  F and I really needed to get some of our "travelling crazies" out, and the time away has served its purpose: it has allowed us to see and experience some wonderful places but also to really enjoy digging in deep at home and to savour the everyday routines which are so welcome after spending time in places that are not home.

Three sisters, at home:



Kissable cheeks



I love this age - what a privilege to be the center of her world



Morning walks while big sisters are in school



Amusing ourselves in front of the school while waiting to pick up big sisters



It's ALL good!

A Fall Walk ... (October "Catch-up" Post)

Not only has October flown by with lightning speed, but here we are well into November and I have barely stayed up to date with October.  Time for a few quickie catch-up posts.  

We were incredibly lucky with October and early November weather in usually rainy Vancouver, with  many sunny and relatively warm days.   Some of the things we did was enjoy family walks in the park

The Pipsqueak stopped in wonder to admire a kite

And enjoyed harassing the local wildlife ...

We take many breaks on these wanderings

Dolls usually have to come along - their little buggies always slow us down to a crawl and we invariably end up carrying them - there's got to be a "cross-country" version of these (a Christmas present idea maybe?)  ...

And we happened to run into a dragon-boat racer carrying this amazing mask

All in all a lovely little outing