MERRY CHRISTMAS….

What a day….

Christmas at our house began at 4:51 a.m. when Oliver decided he was done sleeping for the day. I grabbed him from his room thinking he might fall back to sleep snuggled beside us in our bed but no such luck. He was more interested in "chatting" and squirming around. Charlotte and Jacob thankfully slept until shortly after 6 a.m. and we were able to keep them amused in our room until 7 a.m. when we decided it was time to head downstairs to see if Santa had visited. Luckily we all must have been good this year because we were greeted with many treats under the tree and in our stockings! 

The kids wasted no time tackling the loot…and by 8:15 a.m. we had unwrapped every stocking stuffer, present, eaten and cleaned the kitchen from our breakfast of eggs, bagels and bacon! 

We headed to my mom's where we were greeted with more presents and stocking stuffers. After more mass unwrapping we returned to our house for a two hour nap followed by a fun visit with Grams and Grandpa. We then returned to my mom's for a Christmas feast of turkey, cheesy potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies, rolls and Andrew's special gravy. 

The day ended with a quick bath and story for the kids and some wine and TV for Doyle and I. It is hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone for another year. I am amazed at the generosity and want to thank Santa, Doyle, my mom (Grammy), Andrew, Michael. Dad (Grandpa), Sandy (Grams), Jal, Cristin (Grandma) and Doug (Grandpa) for the many gifts they shared with us. We appreciated your kindness more than you'll ever know! Thanks for making Christmas 2013 such a memorial event!

First glimpse of the Christmas loot under the tree 

Jacob and Charlotte checking out their stockings

Oliver opening his new bib from Santa

Charlotte's Hello Kitty from Santa! 

Jacob's new Thomas Train Set from Santa

Oliver's new doggy suitcase from Santa

Charlotte with Uncle Mike and Uncle Andrew 

Grammy and Jacob

Charlotte with Grams and Grandpa

Charlotte and Jacob at Grammy's  

Oliver at Grammy's - what a difference a year makes!
So big now...

T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS….

It is extremely hard to believe that it is Christmas Eve 2013. Where did this year go? It has certainly been packed with endless memories and fun filled adventures. Charlotte and Jacob were so excited when they went to bed tonight. I can only imagine how chaotic and over stimulating tomorrow will be - but that is one of the many joys of celebrating Christmas with kids in the house! 

I'm thankful we have power and that we never lost it. I can't help but think of the many families that will be celebrating Christmas away from their homes or around a tree in a cold living room. I wish you the best of an unfortunate situation. It's times like these that the true meaning of family / togetherness come through despite how dark and cold it may be. 

So…as you settle down for a long winter's nap…I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings….

14 MONTHS AND COUNTING….

Playing with a bus at the
Central Eglinton Community Centre

Today marks 14 months since Oliver joined our family. We have seen the biggest changes in Oliver the past two months and all reinforce how quickly he is growing. Since his first birthday on October 9 Oliver has:

• Started walking on his own
• Increased his vocabulary and uses simple words such as bubble, bap (for bath), nap, hi, dickle, dickle, dickle (tickle, tickle, tickle), nana (for banana) 
• Began pointing at things he wants
• Developed more of an attitude when he doesn't get what he wants! 
• Begun interacting with music and dances whenever he hears songs on the radio or the songs on the toy piano we have
• Become more interactive with Charlotte and Jacob and swats back at them when he doesn't like what they do!
• Made us smile and laugh every day since his arrival 14 months ago!

We truly can't imagine life without him - he's an absolute delight and the perfect third child. 

We can't wait to watch him change even more over the weeks and months ahead!