Happy New Year!

We rung in the new year at 8pm. After some kitchen fun with balloons and noisemakers, we headed outside to light the sparklers. Bundled up the kids and sat on the front steps. Woo hoo! It's a party!
Rob lighting the sparklers







Outside in pjs after dark! How fun.

Holiday Fun

We spent the last few days in S'toon with Nanny. Lots of post Christmas shopping deals to be had. Some new clothes for the kids, winter boots that should fit Isaac and Ruby next year, with Norah on track to get Isaac's hand me downs from this year. Some fun accessories for the kitchen set, the Elefun game that all 3 are enjoying, a couple new books and dvds we have been wanting. So much fun using up the Christmas money. Oh, and a pair of ice skates for mom - now her and Isaac can hit the rink and practice. Not sure who will be holding who up.... ;) We also enjoyed the Enchanted Forest drive through light display in S'toon. Almost a million lights, and lots of fun displays to look at. Isaac and Norah were enchanted, Ruby was asleep.





Playing Elefun









Exciting news was waiting for us in the mailbox when we got home. French Immersion seems to be a go! If the numbers pan out as they currently stand, Isaac will be in a K/1 split class of 17 kids. Nice and small class, with what will hopefully be some good academic challenge for him. Not only that - they are going to hold it at the closer school to our house! Not that the other one is really that far, but closer is great.

We are hoping for a fun (if early!) New Year's eve tonight. Finger foods and fizzy drinks and sparklers in the backyard. Norah is a little sick with a fever, so not sure if she will make it until our adjusted "midnight" of 8pm though.

Happy New Year to everyone!

more on Christmas

What a great couple of days!

December 23 was rather quiet. Dad was preparing for 3 services on Sunday, one on Monday. The last minute shopping was done. The kids were getting excited. The gifts were assembled with minimal stress and swearing. ;)

Christmas Eve was busy for dad, and kept him on the go most of the day. The kids were excited, but all napped. We all enjoyed a 7pm service on Christmas Eve, followed by a drive around town to "see the pretty lights". Kids were late to bed, but that was ok. Final preparations on the gifts requiring assembly were done, stockings were stuffed, wine was consumed. Ruby got an early exposure to the "big gift", and was beyond thrilled. All slept, not quite long enough, but all slept.

Christmas morning arrived just before 8am. We were all up and unwrapping by 8:30. Took a break for breakfast at 9, then all headed out to church. Home again for more presents and a sorry attempt at napping. Overtired and excited is the theme for today. As I type, Isaac is playing with his new "overhead rejector", Norah is dancing to the Wiggles, and Ruby is sort of jumping on the new trampoline and the turkey is smelling delicious. What a wonderful couple of days this has been. Christmas is so much fun with little children in the house.






Strong man Isaac doing his weight lifting












The kitchen. Only one fight over it so far.













Ruby joining in with Dad in leading worship












Hanging out in the pulpit (after the service). Following in dad's footsteps?

Merry Christmas!

Enjoying the new gifts. Spinning on the new Bilibo seats.

we survived this week!

Oh yes, we managed to make it through this very long, hard week. The death of a beloved church member, along with the funeral and other services involved. The funeral in the middle of a snowstorm. The Christmas pageant, along with the lunch afterwards. General life with kids, who always seem to pick on the stress of their parents. It's good to hit Sunday night without losing our minds.

The pageant went well. Isaac was an adorable shepherd. This photo was the only one I got without the crook in front of his face. Norah was an angel. She wandered down the aisle right after this photo was taken, sayin g "see Daddy, I go see Daddy". At which point, pretty much the whole church stopped listening to Rob and "oohed" over Norah. These aren't great shots, but they were all I could get while holding Ruby, directing the kids, and leading the songs. Norah, however, is convinced she was a princess, not an angel.

today we had a lot of snow

took the kids out to play for almost an hour. All 3 loved the slide in the yard. lots of fun, but were we ever snowy afterwards! not the best job of videotaping - but it was one adult to 3 kids, one of whom needed to be carried.

what happens when you skip a nap

busy days

We had an emergency trip to S'toon on Monday. A favourite church member was dying, and Rob was rushing to be with the family, and we all tagged along to keep him company.
So glad we got there when we did, and Rob was able to spend some time with her before she died Monday night.


Saw an interesting sight just south of town. We were told to stop and pull into the road access off to the side. I saw this coming in the distance and couldn't NOT jump out of the van to take some pictures. It was going SO fast! The pictures don't do it justice to how close it was to us.










Today, the kids were thrilled to recieve Christmas cards with "my name on it! It says Isaac right there!" Thanks, Nanny - they loved them!

oh the fun we had today!

We've been picture happy today.

As per Isaac's begging, we followed (somewhat) the directions in his most recent Chirp magazine for Rice Krispie snowmen. A great mess that was.

Wax paper and sticky hands.







Ruby sat and observed, while being terribly rude. :)














Isaac's finished product.












Norah's snowman













Ruby's hair has grown so differently than that of her siblings. By this age, Isaac had already had a haircut to get the front part out of his eyes, and Norah was having her bangs swept to the side. The front is short - but I managed to put it in pigtails tonight! She kept them in for close to half an hour...maybe this will rub off on Norah, who needs to let us do something with her hair, or we will need to think about cutting it shorter (sob!)

we got camera batteries!

Thursday

It finally warmed up to -15C today, without wind, so we could play outside - for the first time in over a week. It was so much fun to romp about in the snow. Well, it was for all of us, but Norah. She had a hard time walking in the near foot of powder. Ruby got to ride on the baby sled, so was spared the deep snow walking attempts.

Norah discovered that falling off the swing into the snow may not hurt, but it's not a dignified landing at all. Especially when your parents are doubled over laughing at you.

We are in desparate need of new camera batteries, and they are on the 'to buy' list tomorrow. There is a new dance craze in our home, and we are hoping to capture some of it on video to share. Also, we need to prove to our readers that Ruby is indeed walking now.

Oh, and she is walking. Every day, she becomes more and more bold in her steps. Going just that little bit further every time.

who looks proud of herself?

Check out the new skill - climbing on to the big chairs!













What a monkey.

the cookie baking

After publishing the last post, we did make cookies. Here is the photographic proof. Messy kitchen...as per usual. ;)

Tying in with the snow, we went with Christmas music as our soundtrack. Using bells and trees, lightly (um, depending on who was doing the dusting) dusted with red and green sugar.

Rolling out the dough.












Ruby trying to get in on the action.















Expectantly waiting for the end results.

snowstorms & ice skating

We're in the middle of a snowstorm today. All the snow that Rob and Isaac shoveled yesterday off the driveway and walkway...well, it needs to be done again. By noon we had 4 more inches, and the wind is cold. Seriously cold. It's -24 with a wind chill of -32. Rob took Isaac to and from preschool, with a side trip to the grocery store so we don't have to go anywhere for a few days. We are just hoping the winds don't make us lose power. Today, we realised we would be quite stranded without electricity and no fireplace.

Isaac had ice skating again last night. He is doing SO well! The coaches are beyond thrilled with his rapid progress, and one of the coaches even said he is doing better than some of the 7 year olds. Woo hoo for our little guy! He has really gained confidence as well as skills. We need to get him a new helmet though, the one we bought isn't working out. I would go take him tomorrow...but only if it warms up.

Norah is in full out drama mode "but I need it" is a common phrase right now. Lots of fun, really it is.

Anyhow, that's our update for right now - we're off to make cookies now. Turning on the oven sounds like a GREAT idea right now.

there comes a time...

in every boy's life where they realise a power that only males have.

Isaac got to write his name in the snow today at church. We went to both services today, and since we don't have running water at St. George's, he got to do something new outdoors. ;)

He was so proud. I told him he couldn't tell dad until the service was over.

it's official!

Ruby has been taking random steps here and there for a few weeks now. One and a bit steps before she even knew it. Tonight, she took deliberate steps. She would stand up and walk a few steps towards mom and then dive into her arms.

We have a walker!

our synchronised splashing team

one of the many moments

There are so many moments that I wish I could capture on film. Ok, technically, we don't use a camera with film, but you get the point. ;)

Like yesterday, when Isaac was helping shovel the snow and tossed it on to Norah's head. Or when Ruby was frantically signing "more" at me when we pulled the baby sled down the 2 foot hill in the lot next door. As opposed to when Norah tossed a book and hit Ruby in the eye today.

Anyhow, here is one moment I managed to catch. Isaac was reading, and Norah snagged a hug as she was on her way to pick out some dressup clothes.

bathing beauty

For the first time in a while, Ruby had a bath to herself. She was calling for Isaac and Norah for a bit, but then decided to enjoy all the space to stretch out in. She has now learned how to ham it up for the camera.













She loves the back floats!

snow, snow, and more snow

it started snowing yesterday afternoon, and by 7 pm it was storm-like. By this morning, we had just over 6 inches and it's still coming down. This morning, Rob had to do some serious digging to get the car out in time to get Isaac to preschool. Lots of drifting snow too.

This photo was taken at 9 am...notice how dark it still is? Winter is almost upon us.

out in the snow

Heading outside into the snow. Ruby has Norah's snowpants on and a hat that is hard to see out of. But it's warm!







All 3 kids. Norah LOVES the hat from Jinx and Valerie.

We had 3 inches or so last night, on top of the couple of inches we already had. After we took the pictures, we cleaned off the van (which hadn't been moved in days) and pulled out the sleds. Isaac and Norah took turns riding and pulling, and Ruby was in the other one. Now we need a sled that will hold 2 kids!




Back inside to warm up! Ruby in one of her attempts to 'break out', by going under the gate.












A mouthful of hot chocolate and marshmallow.












Sticky hands, and cold cheeks.

the new lamp

Woo hoo! thanks to Garth, we now have a nice light fixture in the dining room. It only took us 2 weeks to get a photo up...

Note the new, winter-themed, table cloth. After my scrapbooking incident with the old one, it was time to replace. Apparently, prefect oval cutouts on the tablecloth don't do much to protect the table beneath.

The picture doesn't do it justice, it's so nice!

the adventure girl

Norah has made herself a helmet of our popcorn popper top. She sticks it on her head and says she is wearing a helmet and is going 'adventure'. Yesterday, she took our Thomas the Tank Engine lunch bag with her too. "mommy, I go 'venture" "mommy, I back" over and over. and over.

today, she just decided that it was the accessory she needed to look stylish. in this picture, Rob is assuring her he does NOT have any more "candy candy" or "chocolit bars" in his hands.

when sharing goes bad

the other day, Norah and Ruby were 'sharing' a drink from a sippy cup. Norah would hold it up to Ruby, tell her to 'drink', and she would slurp, then Norah would take a turn. It was very cute. Until Norah held on to the cup, and Ruby pulled - hard. I bet you can see where this is going...

Norah let go, and Ruby got the sippy cup spout in the forehead - hard. Tears followed. Then this bruise. You can't fully see it's purple beauty in this photo - but it's there. just above her eyebrow.

Happy 1st Birthday Ruby

We're posting a day late. It's been busy with visitors and lots of activity around the house.

Ruby is now one whole year old.
Her stats:
birth - 8lbs 8oz, 20 inches
one year - 24 lbs 10 oz, about 30 inches (give or take)

For the record, despite her super quick initial growth, she is within a pound of Isaac's 1st birthday weight (23 lbs 15 oz, 31.5 inches) and smaller than Norah (25 lbs 8oz, 30.75 inches). So she fits right in.

She has taken a few steps here and there, but only when she feels like it. She has a few words too, which is lots of fun. We think she's brilliant too, but we are a touch biased. ;)

Ok, now for the pictures. Which are what we know you are waiting for.


Opening gifts in the morning.














Snuggling with Poppie














So excited to see what dad has, notice her up on her toes.





















After a favourite supper of meatballs and some spaghetti, we brought out the cake. She seemed unsure at first. Angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries.









A first taste













Oh, this is good stuff. Where has it been all my life?












After she shoved it all in and smeared it everywhere, she made her 'pucker up and kiss' face at everyone.

Halloween

.
Halloween was a long day here. LONG. DAY.

Isaac had preschool, and it was their party. He managed to douse his ghost costume in juice.

Then playgroup with all three kids. It was very crowded. And hot. And crazy. Did I mention crowded? Norah wore her 'asian princess' dress Grandpa Tom sent from Hong Kong. She managed to rip the seam right up to her thigh. Good thing we had tights on. Ruby had the puppy costume on that both other 2 had worn. Isaac left his costume in the van, and just had his orange track pants and shirt on.

Then we went to get lunch - took forever at the drive through. Got home just in time to drop off the kids and head out to Ruby's doctor appointment.

Got Ruby to the doctor, and it was ok. I had to divert some questions from the doctor as "not the issue I'm here to discuss with you", assuring him that we are very informed parents, and aren't making stuipd decisions. blah, blah, blah. Ran out to the grocery store, then had to take her for a blood test. sigh.

That's where things got icky. The blood test did NOT go well. They took blood from one arm, but could barely get enough out - in fact they are pretty sure they didn't get enough. Took 3 adults to hold her down. Then they tried the other arm...and that was even worse. They didn't get ANY blood there at all. They wiggled and wiggled the needle, she screamed and screamed, cried and cried, and mom almost threw up. It was not fun. So hopefully they got enough so we won't have to re-do it for some time.

Then rushed her home for a nurse and nap. Just got her down when Poppie and Nanny arrived! Yay - visitors!!

Supper was next, then getting ready to go out to trick or treat.
That was wild! The temps were hovering around -15 with the wind chill. Snowsuits and boots were in order. Extra layers for mom and dad too. Grandparents stayed with Ruby and managed the door. The kids got around the block, and then a bit more. Norah gave up at that point and wanted to be carried home. Isaac and dad did a few more homes and came back. Lots of fun!!

Here is Isaac the ghost. He was sad that I didn't cut 2 holes for eyes at first, then he realised how much easier it was to see this way. Norah was in her 'princess' dress that Nanna made - and it fit over her warm gear too!

They were very visible outside in the dark. Norah was a touch 'waddly' in all her layers and slightly too large boots. She took a few tumbles, and was lifted up and down most stairs.

amusing statements from the kids

Norah and Isaac like to play hide and go seek. Norah's version of counting:
"1, 2, 3, 11, 9 - here I come!"

Isaac went with Rob to the second service last Sunday. They were given some chocolates. Rob put them in his shirt pocket...where they melted on the way home (ick!). Isaac wanted them after supper. Rob told him they were gone. Isaac was so upset, and did his 'slightly too dramatic for the circumstances' cry. Then informed us that "I'm so sad, I can't stop crying. I'll be crying when I wake up, I'm so sad". Wow, and that's just over a chocolate! Hard to hide that we're laughing at him.

new milestone

Isaac has mastered the pedals on his bike. Today, he rode his bike to the mailbox while I had the girls in the stroller. He was fantastic! One small glitch when he had a little fall on the corner on the sidewalk. Only damage was him breaking his front reflector. What a big boy!

more on the recent visit

Our children had such fun with Garth and Mary, or as Norah called them "Garmary". New adults to read with, play with, cuddle and kiss. Fun all around.

Garth changed some of our light fixtures while he was here. We are finally free of the horrible flourescents in the basement playroom, and our 3 year old fixture has finally made it's way into the dining room. Yay! Now to plan paint colours for the playroom...

A wonderful visit with friends is also a sad reminder of how far friends and family are from here. A few night's visit takes so much more than a simple drive on the #1 or a fight through city traffic. It's sad to think about how many moments we are missing out on being together with those we love, and hopefully love us too. It's hard to capture all the memorable moments of our children's days in our own minds, let alone bring them to life on the blog. We're thankful for the modern times of instant messaging, cheap long distance and blogging, yet it isn't fully a replacement for in person laughs, hugs and cups of coffee.

To those we love, who read our words here...
we miss and love you very much.

Baptism day!

Baptised by dad. *heart* He splashed her in the ear, she kept squirming. She was not amused.












Rubbing the wet ear. She also did not care for the bonnet that came with the dress. She's SO not a hat girl.












Sitting pretty in her gown. It is hard to crawl in.














But still possible to climb in! Oh my.










Thanks to Garth and Mary for being here, for being Godparents, for the fun times with us and the kids.

every night this superhero arrives at our home...she wasn't quite her normal self with the camera on

Note the use of the words "can't" and "cause". Superbunny is of unknown origin, and only comes out after bath time. Superbunny is particularly fond of the circuit through the living/dining room and kitchen.

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And where I found Climby tonight...

You can't blink with her around anymore!






We call her Ruby Kong! I grabbed her off as she stood up.