December 29, 2011

December 26, 2011

It was a very Merry Christmas


hiding in a box with her new leappad


helping Mommy with clean up



helping Daddy with his mysterious Cube puzzle



Alex's goofy grin












a fun Gingerbread House project during Alex's naptime







Christmas Eve in their Christmas Moose PJs

December 23, 2011

Books :-)



So happy that both kids have a love of books like their Mommy

Her first Christmas Concert









Two pictures are from the evening concert and the bottom one is from the afternoon one done the day before. They sang a cute song with actions about waking up on Christmas morning, rubbing their eyes, waking up their parents, opening their gifts, and saying thank you. Sophie was pretty shy & serious looking. It was so very cute.



Some Pre Christmas Decorating & Gifts


using Alex's mitts so the "pricklies" dont get her as she decorates our tree


very enthralled with the Drill & Airplane a friend gave him



giving some love to the Aussie souvenirs from Auntie Liz



morning snacks on the kitchen floor

Toy Library Christmas Party









December 14, 2011

Recent Pictures


Sophie's new short(er) do



this little friendly fox has been keeping the kids entertained watching him run around the yard, sniffing at our birdfeeder, and digging in my flower garden right below our livingroom window (seen here)



meeting Santa after our Santa Claus Parade



Alex waiting for us to open the next stocking in our advent stockings



some cuddles








December 13, 2011

Just a little update on us and the kids as there was no time to get a Christmas Letter out to all our beloved friends & family (sorry, maybe next year!)

Kids are growing up so very quickly. Alex is now 19m and is finally starting to say a few words such as All done (awdon), Mine (mie), More (moe), Cookie (doe-dee). Mostly he comminicates with a lot of big smiles and nodding of his head. Sophie is doing a great job as his language coach :-) She takes her responsibility as his parent very seriously. He is doing an amazing job at potty training even though we arent putting in a lot of effort. He just seems to get the whole concept without us having to do much about it, a very different experience than our last time.

Alex is such an active BOY and we are constantly renewing our 'babyproofing' around the house as he figures out ways to get around whatever we've created. The dishwasher now has to be turned off by the fuse (or he will run it at random throughout the day), this computer gets put WAY up high so he wont 'type' and reprogram it (it takes us awhile to figure out how he has managed to change various settings), the tv has two rubbermaid lids pushed up against the front with the bench from our table to protect all the buttons that change all the tv settings (something else he is amazing at reprograming), and our island stools are now stored in the bathroom so that they arent used throughout the house to reach all those items we are putting up high. Doesnt make for a very stylish house but it's functional for current purposes.

Sophie is 4 1/2 and in her first year of school (Junior Kindergarten). She had a great report card and seems to enjoy it, always coming home with new songs or tales of her friends. She started writing her name in September and since then loves to get words spelled to her and attempts to write them herself. She's a very artistic girl with a love of crafts & music & being a Mommy. After an incident of a big glued chunk of hair having to be cut off (by Daddy while Mommy was on vacation) Sophie got a new short & sassy hairdo. It has made her look so much older. Next week is her Christmas Concert at school and am so looking forward to it. She started Learn To Skate this winter and is picking it up so quickly. They dont give the kids anything to hang on to like I remember from my childhood. They carry them to the middle of the ice and stand them there. They teach them to fall and get up again. It's been a few weeks now of half hour lessons 2x a week and she is now doing bunny hops and skating forward a bit and starting to skate backwards. In March there will be a Ice Show that should be very adorable with all these new little skaters showing off their skills. These 3 & 4 years olds looks so very small out on the ice next to all the big kids.

Chris & I are both at the same jobs - his is underground electrician at the Red Lake GoldMine and mine is very part time in the office at a local grocery store and still a few hours a month at the Sawmill office. Both of mine are very flexible and I work them when Chris is home with the kids. The best of both worlds - being home with the kids & feeling intellectual and adult while making some spending money.

I went to Las Vegas with my friend Annie for a few days. We had such a blast but wasnt exactly a restful vacation. Even though we were in bed at a decent time every night, our days were filled with many miles of walking to see everything we could in the time we had. Highlights were a Helicoptor Tour to the Grand Canyon, Ziplining down Fremont Street, Horseback Riding at Grand Canyon, winning some money at Blackjack, and just seeing all the amazing sights :-)

That's about it I guess. Happy Holidays Everyone!

December 08, 2011

The Kid's Artwork tonight





Goldcorp Gifts & Holiday Train





Spent the day in VBay for the Holiday Train (Valdy singing) and the Santa Claus Parade










October 31, 2011

October 30, 2011

Pumpkin Carving Time!


"It's so yucky Mommy!"


Alex insisted on getting his own utensil from the drawer - the Potato Masher is a unique choice









even once I finished carving Sophie's designs, Alex insisted on doing more scooping/mashing :-)



Halloween Celebrations



JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN PARTY:





the little dragon









my contribution to the snacks - Puking Pumpkin




all the little JKs lined up - so cute!




love that tail - especially the way is wiggles when he walks :-)



SPOOKTACULAR PARTY in Vermilion Bay


facepainted with some sparkly cheeks & red lips



Alex playing with the big kids




Doing the cup CAKE WALK again after winning a yummy vanilla cupcake