Well! We finally got our new camera! Just in time for holidays. I'll admit I could have been sharing pictures last week, but I was tired from busy Christmas stuff and this week, I have been in a very relaxed, lazy mood...and Ben has one new sock (knitting instead of blogging)
On with the photos...A little fuzzy but otherwise a great family picture. This was a few days before Christmas.
Big news this year...at the extended family Christmas dinner at GG Mary's on Dec 23rd, Katie's loose front tooth was SUPER loose. She was playing with it all night and then came running to show me that she had twisted her tooth all the way around and it was stuck. After trying all evening to pull it out, this time it finally came out!
And this is Katie's new smile! It's adorable and hilarious and a week later I'm still laughing in my head at how funny it looks (like she got into a fight!). I'm sure the other top tooth beside it won't be long now, it's been getting looser too.
Sam played Santa at GG Mary's. She did really well even though she pulled all sorts of presents for other people before getting one for her...and she was pretty happy when she did.
The dinner with family was great...our first of 4 in a row...and the girls were in perfect form, funny, silly, independent and thankfully, not afraid of anyone.
I should note that we had a great dinner at my Auntie Diane's house with Papa's side of the family the day before GG Mary's, but didn't have any pictures from it. Rest assured, it was a great evening...a lot like ones I remember when I was little...full of people, kids running around and lots of laughter and noise. We were a bit worried that the girls would be shy amongst so many people, but we had a plan. We got there early, brought a lot of colouring books and a comfy blanket and that seemed to help. We only had one tantrum the whole night, when Sam wanted a chair that she had previously had and left...she got over it though...the promise of presents and petting my cousin's pet hedgehog (for real!...cute cute!).
Christmas Eve we spent at Gram and Grandpa's house. A nice, quiet evening...Sam had thrown up a bit early in the morning and we were worried that we were in for a long Christmas, but though she was quiet and a bit tired, she was fine and much better the next day. Katie got the Zu Zu pets she'd asked for for Christmas. I'm not sure if she really knew what she was asking for (I think she got the idea from a school friend) but they are little motorized hamster type "pets". It's amazing that I haven't taken the batteries out yet. (ha ha) Sam got some tiny My Little Ponies that have been a big hit with both girls.
Christmas morning was delightful...The girls wore new nightgowns that they got to open on before bed on Christmas Eve and they were happy to see that Santa had filled stockings and brought presents. Gram and Papa and Auntie Andrea came to open gifts and have brunch...Gram and Grandpa opted out as Gram had a worsening cold. The girls received many awesome gifts...too many to mention, they were definitely spoiled. They are so cute when they sit together and play.
They have surprisingly, really enjoyed the "Bucket of Penguins" that Santa brought...48 Penguins and 3 Icebergs in a handy storage bucket. Lots of different shapes and sizes to organize and play with.
At our 4th night out visiting my mom's side of the family out in Bon Accord, the girls had a great visit (again, we very thrilled when they don't cry seeing family they haven't seen in a while!...seriously, seeing that the girls are growing up is SO SO much fun). Having a plan to keep them busy (penguins and books!) was helpful. And playing with the pool table up in the loft was fun too.
The weekend after Christmas we saw our friends Russ and Steph and their kids. (See little N in the background...she is SO close to walking!)
We have enjoyed reading over the holidays too...some Ramona Quimby, some Nancy Clancy Super Sleuth (follow up chapter books to the Fancy Nancy books we love so much and some Lion, Witch a and the Wardrobe). Katie is kind of actually reading...she doesn't like when I make her read, but whenever I do manage to get her to sound out some words she usually gets it. And we are almost surely done spelling in front of her...she gets it almost every time. Not sure what we are going to do about that...though Ben's French improved when he and Gram Cheryl took their French course this fall, I'm not sure he's ready for spelling in French! (also, this shawl in the picture I knit in the spring sometime and it may be my favourite knit thing EVER)
Sam found a box just her size the other day...and Katie was very kind to push her around. (though the box broke pretty soon after Sam tried getting out of it.) Sam's mood this holiday has been amazing...after our moody November (where she was sick and had a urinary tract infection that antibiotics fixed) we are seeing the return of a wonderful silly 3 yr old. It's truly been a joyful season where Ben and I have spent lots of time smiling over their heads at the kind, generous and silly behaviour of our girls.
Last night was New Years Eve and we had such a perfect simple evening. (if you count making our own pasta from scratch simple..ha ha). We brought out the Extrme Jenga and had some fun. Katie joined us first and had lots of fun.
Then Sam came to see what all the laughing was about. (previously, she had been playing with some toys in her room, her choice)
The excitement and thrill of picking an placing the blocks and trying not to make the tower fall was lots of fun.
Seeing these kind of smiles is such a great way to end a year.
I could have gone into more detail about our Christmas events or shown more presents but I thought it better to catch up quickly then draw it out over multiple posts. We do have a lovely new camera (a nikon J2...Thanks Russ!) and hopefully, we can get back in the habit of taking lots of little pictures and sharing more regularly.
Happy 2013!
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