Christmas Day 2009

OK here are a bunch of lovely photos taken on Christmas morning.  Thanks so much to my wonderful husband for setting up flashes and capturing these moments so vividly.  I am running on reserve battery power and am in bed - so, not going to say much.

Just that we had a wonderful Christmas!  There is nothing like watching the kids get so excited.  They had been waiting for this day since November 1 (when they could no longer be excited about Halloween!)

Jingle Bell Rock

 . . .  Leif and Laika and I are playing on the carpet and listening to Christmas carols.  Jingle Bell Rock comes on (Brenda Lee's version).  Leif and I start singing along and Laika does a bit of a little dance.

Then she sits down on my lap and says, "Why is this even called Jingle Bell Rock?  It's not really rockin' music."

Gingerbread Curse

The Chef at her preschool came down and made Gingerbread people with the children.  Laika worked so hard and so carefully and gave him pink and purple eyes and a white jellybean mouth.  When I picked her up her eyes were shining with excitement and she had to sort of bite her lips because she was smiling so hard.  I loved it.  We put her coat on, she picked up the gingerbread man and then he fell to the floor and smashed into fifty pieces.  She fell into my arms and cried so hard that she didn't make a sound.  We went back in to the preschool and her teacher gave me a sample gingerbread man that the chef had made.  But it wasn't the same.  It all felt so familiar.  As we left the preschool Laika reminded me that last year on Gingerbread day the exact same thing had happened.  It is a curse.  Luckily we got THREE more opportunities to make gingerbread people this Christmas.  So the ending is happy.  We've all eaten a lot of little gingerbread men with smartie buttons this year.

Now, here is a story from Laika.
It is called "The Princesses of Wonder"


Once upon a time there was a princess named Nina.  Nina was a very nice princess.  She lived in a pink beautiful golden castle.  She played and played with her bunnies and little stuffies.

Then once, there was a mean Queen.   The mean Queen had this potion that was delightful.  But if you pour it on your dress, you become a monster!  But the princess’s molecule thing makes her back into a princess.  She bought it from the toy store.

And then, once came another lady.  And she was very nice.  Then she started to marry her!  But she forgot!  She couldn’t marry her yet, she was too little!  She was just a baby!  She was only one!  So what could she do, she wanted to marry her now, but she couldn’t.

So then she was in a nice crib with her mommy.  And then there was another lady who wanted to marry her mommy!  Then another lady who wanted to marry her mommy.  Then her mommy did get married.

Then her daddy came out and said, “Wo ho ho!” and then he said, “Anita! Wouldn’t you like to go on a walk together?”

“The baby is asleep, so not right now.”

The End

We're Smurfing to a new Home!

Glamour Shots of this Old Place All Cleaned Up

That's my biggest excuse for taking so long in between posts. Trust me, I feel horrible about it, because so many things have happened.

Let's take yesterday for example. We had ice cream sandwiches for dessert. As Erik and I were relaxing in the living room Leif comes running in, yelling, "Mom! Dad! Emergency! Someone pooped on the bathroom light switch! Quick come see!" Faster than you can lower your eyebrows and say, "Eriiikk . . . . " Laika fessed up. "It's not poop! It was my sticky DQ fingers. It was all my thault!"

Anyway. In September we saw an open house in our beloved building, but this home has 3 levels, 3 outdoor spaces (solarium, balcony and patio) and 650 additional square feet. This is our dream come true. But we didn't want to act too quickly, so we took our time and considered other options for a few weeks. Well, long story short - we made an offer and got our house all spiffed up (thanks so much to Auntie K and my mom for all of their hard work! - oh and dad too!) we rented a storage unit and cleared out an obscene amount of toys along with three van loads of miscellaneous junk. All the work did pay off, and our place sold on Saturday after being listed for a week and a half. The little twist here is that the buyers are also the sellers. We couldn't bear the thought of leaving this wonderful area, and neither could the other vendors, who just needed to downsize and lose the stairs! So. We have a little while to dream and plan, as we don't actually move until the beginning of February.

Other news:

Tineke is practicing a lot of words now, and though I would not call this talking, it is that very sweet pre-talking where it's more of a chant. She waves and says "Hiiiii!" She calls Erik "DaaDeeDaaDee"or my favourite, "Daa Eee" and follows me around with the "Mammmammammammamamamama" that all mothers of toddlers are familiar with (I don't want to say it drones on and on - drone has a negative connotation, but it is used a great deal, and generally when I'm not living up to her expectations). She tries to say Laika's name, and though I can't translate it on the keyboard it is recognizable. Our favourite though is "Tickkle tickle tickle" She says this when she's getting tickled and oooh. It is cute.

Halloween Happened:

Leif continues to have issues regarding dressing up at school. It has always been a stress for him! Pajama Day at school! Weird! Who are all you hippies? Backwards day? No way. Halloween? Only on Halloween night, outside trick or treating. This year it was the PA announcement the day before during which the principal said something along the lines of "Looking forward to seeing you all dressed up tomorrow!" So Leif decided that he could not go to school. He WASN'T dressing up, and he also wasn't going to be the ONLY one who wasn't dressed up. This is a battle that I've fought before (and won by the way) but on that dark, rainy October morning I was fine with it (more PJ time for me). Leif stayed home. But that's the last time. On Halloween night we had a great time. The Vampire, Bo Peep,and their pet Dalmatian.

The Paw:

Oh, and Tineke now has a little paw for a right hand. She pulled a chair over and somehow the top of the chair hit her on one little finger nail. I think she is going to lose the nail. The important thing is to keep a bandaid and antibiotic on her sore fingertip. This is a tall order and requires bandaid, medical tape, baby sock up to wrist, girly sock up to shoulder and then shirt on top to hold it all together. It is cute how quickly she's become used to her paw. She picks things up with it, wipes her eyes with it, waves with it. So adaptable. Poor little tiny finger. That's enough updating for today! Goodnight.

Happy Birthday Tineke (Oct 4)

Before you were born, Leif and Laika called you Baby Glitter. They didn't know that Glitter would actually describe you when you came out! But it does. Each and every day you delight us. You make us laugh when you do little dances, when you put shoes in the dishwasher, when you scream and clap your hands and walk backwards. We think you are a monkey when you climb onto the dining room chairs, throw a sock into the toilet or try to put underwear on your head. You are such a wonderful little friend for all of us. You are patient when we dress you up in costumes both normal and ab.

In one year you have gone from red-faced newborn to little blonde doll. You have learned to kiss, to hug, to laugh, to feed yourself and others. You can understand me when I say, "Tineke. Cough. Give me a cough." (sore throat) and you obediently try your best. When you hear the phone ring or a knock at the door you know what to do and run as fast as your little legs can carry you to the door. You get shy when you meet a stranger and hold very still with your head down, but if they are patient they will eventually be rewarded. You are so energetic and already a part of the team. You love to jump on your brother and sister and hug them, and you squeal happily when they carry you around the house. Like a little ant you grab the biggest thing you can find and try to carry it. Now you have a new game called Cirque Du Stroller. It's a little scary. You keep me on my toes!

Being one year old means walking around waving at people you don't know. It means squatting with your little bum one inch off the floor while you study a toy. It means talking in your gibberish language with a serious look on your face, and tucking a phone into the side of your neck while you wander around pretending to chat. It means you are completely innocent, you've never been unkind, and you've never told a lie.

Because you are our last baby everything seems to be going so quickly (too quickly). People don't need to tell me that I will look back fondly on these crazy days because somehow I already do. We appreciate each day of your babyhood and try our best to hold on to every moment. Thank you for making those moments so fun. You are a ray of sunshine.

We love you Tineke.

Happy Birthday.