Christmas Favourites

This year the boys had requested only one thing from Santa! Owen had really wanted a stuffed puppy dog (that ebay didn't deliver .. shame on that ebay seller!) and Griffy wanted a guitar.

Owen was delighted with his new blue beta fish named bluey .... a great substitute for the puppy
and Griffy was jumping for joy with his new guitar!

and anything with Diego on it!

Besides the death of my mother's cat on Christmas morning, we had a lovely day!

Christmas Eve Traditions

It started when Owen was two. He has loved Rudolph from the very beginning. Tony had convinced Owen he saw Rudolph flying outside on Christmas Eve and to watch out the window for him. He then put on my brown puffy coat and a flashing red nose and went galloping outside the front lawn. Owen was amazed!

Since the year, we have made it a tradition to make Reindeer food and spread it on the front lawn for Rudolph to stop in for a snack. Once he made his visit the boys would find a present waiting for them in their bedrooms from Rudolph!

This year our neighbours participated and the children loved it!

and of course.... some cookies for Santa too!

New Moon Fun!

Tony surprised me with many great gifts this year... but the one he was most excited about didn't come in the mail until yesterday....

Yep... a New Moon skin for my laptop and my cell!
I feel a little silly about the whole thing, but honestly I love it!
Make fun if you must :)

December Highlights

December is probably the best month of the year. From decorating for the holidays, to shopping for the perfect present, to wrapping, to spending time with friends at assorted holiday gatherings.

This year didn't disappoint. We had many highlights. To mention a few, gingerbread house decorating with Tyler and Liz. Breakfast with Santa. Christmas Crawl. Family Skate. Owen making cards and wrapping presents with me. Griffy getting a big boy bed. Secret Santa. And a surprise visit from Santa!

We hope your family has a wonderful holiday season and we hope we can share some of it with you. Merry Christmas!

My 2009 Christmas Card

Gingerbread Perfection

Two minutes later

My little self-proclaimed artist making Christmas cards
The card he wrote for his teacher went something like this:
Mrs. Wright is the best teacher in the world.
I hope one day she will grow up to be as tall as my dad.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. True Love, Owen!

Love it!! My little artist!

His collection seen here first!

Santa and his girls...

Surprised by a visit from Santa

Family Skate.... helmet didn't look too bad after all.... HA!!

Griffy and his big boy bed.... so cute!

Neighbourhood Christmas Crawl

We had our 2nd annual Neighbourhood Christmas Crawl on Friday night.... FUN!!! What do you expect when you get a bunch of young parents together that don't get out very often without children.....





Can't wait till the next one!

Breakfast with Santa

Today we had breakfast with Santa, Mrs. Claus and Jingles the Elf! It was a great way to support the Gleaners Food Bank. Everything had been donated right down to the staff volunteering their time and tips.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus were great with the kids and took the time to the let the kids warm up to the idea of having their photo taken with Santa.

Outside their were two reindeer that had traveled with Santa. Both Owen and Griffin loved getting to pet them.

Merry Christmas!

My Little Elf

Could he be any cuter? This boy is wonderful. So full of life, love and adventure. It amazes us how quickly it picks up on things. He is smart! He already knows his abc's, can count to 10 and sing O'Canada! and funny, like make you giggle all the time.

But he is getting big. I want him to stay little for a while longer. People are mentioning all the time how he isn't the baby anymore, but a little boy. Stay my little baby just a while more.

Reading Buddies

I have been lucky enough to have my class visit with Owen's class this year for Reading Buddies! It is so much fun to visit with him in his class, his environment, to have him show me what he has done and learned at school. Not to mention he is very excited to have mom come to his class. I have been snapping pictures during every visit and keeping a daily school log of all of his adventures and learning this year. The completed album will be a great keepsake of his first year of school. I feel very fortunate to share in his first year of school. This is just one of the reasons I wanted to become a teacher, to share in my children's education! I don't want to be an interfering mom, I just want to be part of their experience. I realize at some point they might think it is cool to have mom at school, but for now, it is perfect!

Dear Santa

The boys had fun writing their letters to Santa Claus this year! Owen and Griffy both had a certain special item they were both hoping Santa would bring. Even when asked they both can only come up with one toy they really want.

After writing the letters, we were off to the Santa Clause Parade to personally hand deliver our letters. The boys could not wait to see Santa, although all of the treats inbetween helped to keep them occupied.

Tonight we were off to the mall for our annual visit and picture with Santa. As you know, these little monkeys don't always cooperate for pictures. Tonight was a success! They both told Santa what they wanted, that they had been good boys all year and sat on his knee for a picture. I can't tell you how happy this made me :)

Christmas is going to be fun this year! Both boys are really excited and the countdown has already begun.

Beautiful November day!

We took the boys to the pirate ship to play on that beautiful weekend we had not so long ago!

My Little Puppies

This will probably be the last time my boys will choose to wear the same costume.... so two Dalmatian dogs it was! They both had a blast trick or treating last night. Owen actually made it through the whole neighbourhood collecting his treats. He was so excited to come home and sort his candy, and decided on two of his favourites to eat. He couldn't wait until after lunch to chose another candy, but by supper time he was back to wanting his popsicles for dessert. What to do with four big buckets full of candy! Please get it out of the house!

LOVE MICHE BAGS

OOOOO, I love a good purse! and this is a GREAT purse! The best part is that you change the outside shell of the purse with many different options and for a great price. Check them out: www.michebag.com
and if you would like to come see them yourself come to my party on Wednesday at 7pm :)

Annual Family Photos

So by now, I think you know my love of photos especially of my little boys. Recently we had our photo shoot with Jenna and we love the results even though we didn't make it on her blog
this time :) Check out her work at: Jennafayephotography.com

And check out these cute photos....
too small... will have to get different ones!

Fall Favourites

I love Fall! There are so many good things to look forward to, but one of my favourites is visiting the apple orchard. The boys love it too! Picking the perfect apple, munching on two or more of them in one visit, picking the perfect pumpkin, hay rides, petting the animals, feeding Wilbur the pig, candy apples, apple cider, fresh veggies, smell of autumn air.... Halloween just around the corner! Love it!

Halloween Party

AWWWWW!!!! Scared to death...... this party was too much!

My centre piece!! Loved them!!

Dear Santa,

I know you are probably really busy, and don`t have a lot of extra time to read blogs, but if you happen to read this one (and who doesn`t... HA!) then maybe, just maybe you will treat me with a little something special that I have had my eye on for a long time.

This may seem a little early, but this may take a little bit of time to arrive. The picture above is an example of just one of many to choose from.

Thanks Santa!
http://luxedesign.blogspot.com/search/label/Kids%20Names

Charlie's Cougars

Deerfield County County Cougars
hitting the town!