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!