All I Wanted For Christmas....

was my two front teeth. 

I used to hate that song.  What a silly song.  I guess if you were 6 years old, with two big gaping holes in the front of your mouth, it would make sense.  But for the rest of us...  kinda silly.  Mind you, there are Christmas songs about Donkeys and Hippos, so I guess it's not the silliest song out there.

Well...  I have my two front teeth, and have never known a child to get their two front teeth for Christmas.  Until now.

Besides a tonne of presents and clothes, Ethan got his two front teeth for Christmas.   One cut through on Christmas Day, and was in by the 27th.  And yesterday, he cut the second one, which is in today.  These teeth moved very quickly, and provided a few rough nights of sleep.

But something changed this teething time around (they are teeth 5 and 6 if anyone is keeping track).  Ethan slept!  During the day, he slept a lot - not at one time, but the days have been filled with naps.  He wakes up, has something to eat and goes back to sleep.   Wakes up, cuddles for a bit and falls back to sleep.  Wakes up, plays with some toys and starts yawning, cause it's time to go back to sleep.

Night time doesn't allow for a long- through the night sleep.  But he's waking up between 5 and 6:30.  Next week he'll be getting up at 6:30 anyway to get ready for daycare. 

So forget the Hippos and Donkeys.  (Ethan didn't get any of those - but cute puppies that say his name, and Elmos galore)  Ethan got something every kid sings about at some point in time.  He got his two front teeth for Christmas. 

Six down, Fourteen to go!

Merry Christmas To You!

Being Ethan's first Christmas, I'm sure that there will be some spoiling.  I know there will be.  I'm sure that he will get more gifts than he needs.  I'm okay with that.  However there is one thing that I'm so happy Ethan will get this Christmas.

Okay, here's me getting Corny; Family. 

He's such a lucky boy.  He has a huge family, right here close enough that he can spend Christmas with them. 

This is his Great Grandma Janzen, sharing such a nice kiss with him during our Christmas on Sunday night.  What a great picture (captured by my Aunt Mary).  I'm sure that I'll cherish this picture for years to come. 

Out of all of the things wrapped under the tree, nothing can replace the rituals and the traditions that we create with our families over the holidays.  It's true.  When your Christmas changes for the first time in years, it doesn't feel quite the same. 

I'm so excited to start some new traditions with our family this year.  And I'm so happy that we have so many wonderful people in our lives that will be part of those traditions.

Merry Christmas From Our Family To Yours!!!!

Don't touch the tree.... Even if I place you in front of it

I must say, What a cute kid we've got!

Ryan and I did this picture in our livingroom the other night for Christmas cards (pretend you haven't seen it yet when you open your card) 

Things that I thought were important for the picture -

Socks...  I wanted to have Ethan in his cute little shoes, but he only has one pair right now that fit (besides slippers and boots) and they didn't go with the outfit.  But socks go with everything.

Turtle...   Ethan loves his turtle.  Turtle goes everywhere with us.  I bought it when Ethan was 3 months old so he could have something new to entertain him when we took our first plane ride to Montreal.  That's right, Turtle has even been to Montreal.

Corny Christmas Sweater-vest...   We can only dress them like this for so long before they start to protest - except my brother.  He wore 3 piece suits for school pictures well into elementary school.  Long even that I knew they weren't cool anymore Mom - and I'm 2 years younger than him.

Decorated Christmas Tree (with presents)...  It really sets the Christmas tone.  Otherwise it would just be another picture of Ethan, only with him in a corny sweater-vest.

Things I wish weren't in the picture-

The poor excuse for window treatments...  Scroll back up and look again.  You'll understand.

Finally I would like to say that to acheive a fabulous picture like this, it requires teetering your 8 month old on a box covered in blankets, surrounded by pillows, with a Daddy hovering just in case.  They did a good job, didn't they?

Claustrophobia - Check!

Ryan and I went Christmas shopping yesterday!  And it wasn't even that bad.

I actually started shopping over a month ago.  I think it's really easy to buy gifts for kids.  In fact, I could buy presents for Ethan and our friends kids anyday.  I had a hard time stopping.  Ryan told me to stop buying and when we were done getting everyone else's gifts I could continue to buy for Ethan (money allowing).

Ryan had yesterday afternoon off, and we hadn't bought any of our adult gifts yet, so I suggested a quick trip to the city.  With only one more Friday left before Christmas, a trip into Winnipeg would hardly be a treat.  Ryan tends to get claustrophobic (note to self; CLAUStrophobic - must of stemmed from the Greek word for fear of Christmas Shopping Crowds).  It can be so bad that on boxing days, I can tell when he reaches the point that he is extremely angry and would love to start punching people in the head....   He's not an angry person, and it wouldn't be funny...   But picture it!  This huge guy punching people in the head because they're standing too close and there are too many of them!   The image is hilarious in my brain.

So we trodded off to Polo Park in search of the perfect Christmas Gifts for all the people on our list.  (I am all about buying stuff in our home town, but I had a few gifts that just aren't available in our small town - I looked!)  There was a tonne of people in that mall.  The food court was full, the stores were full.  There was even a wait to use the elevator in the middle of the mall.  And the bathrooms!  UGH!  The bathrooms were gross!  Holiday shoppers are animals!

We spent 7 hours walking around various stores and got about half of our shopping done.  Shopping with a 8 month old in -30 degree weather is not fun.  Whoever told me that a Winter baby wouldn't be good didn't calculate that a Spring baby is too big for a carrier car seat, and to small to walk, and hates being dressed in snowsuits, mitts and touques.  I think a winter baby would have been easier this time of year.

With just a few more thing to get, I think I can get it done.  I might run to our 24 hour Walmart one night this week after Ethan goes down for the night.  Christmas shopping has definately been more difficult than normal.  But it's almost done.  Infact, in 2 weeks it will all be over for another year.  And if you get a gift from us that you hate this year....   It's the thought that counts.

Christmas is Coming!

I'm not normally this person, however.... It's officially 66 sleeps until Christmas! For all of us new Moms out there, you can probably double or maybe even triple that count, cause I know your baby wakes you up just as you fall back to sleep at night. OK... it's 66 nights until Christmas, sleepless or otherwise.

Christmas has never really held much excitement for me. How horrible. I guess I spend too much time worrying about what presents to get people, and how to include everyone that we love on December 25th.

We've had our share of funny moments around that time year. Reese chasing a ball that was accidentally thrown into the Christmas tree. You could see the look of terror in her eyes as she turned to run before the tree collapsed on her, ears back and body low to the ground, toe-nails trying to grip the tile floor. Glass decorations fell to the floor like bombs around her fleeing body. If it was caught on tape, I know that we would be $10,000 richer now, thanks to a popular funny video TV show.
We know nothing chocolate can go under the tree until the morning of, cause Pitunia will sniff it out and it will be no-more.
One year Ryan went on the ice-covered steep-pitched roof to put up the Christmas lights in the freezing cold because he was tired of my requests for twinkling. (I don't nag, I request over and over again until you get the hint) My brother held the rope that was tied around Ryan's waist for safety reasons, but as I said, the roof was steep and covered with ice. You can guess how that story ends.

But I think this year will be a little more exciting for me. Our baby will be 9 months old, maybe even walking if he has his way. And we'll spend our first Christmas as parents.

How exciting to wrap the presents and watch as baby tears them apart only to play with the paper and boxes that toys came in... How exciting to share with our parents a first Christmas as Grandparents.

I'm excited already. And wondering if it's wrong to put up your tree before Halloween. I think Ryan should at least attempt Christmas lights before the ice comes.

Think Pink

So you know that you're going to buy at least one calendar this winter. Whether it's for your Mom for Christmas or for your own house to keep track of all of the important things, like doctor's appointments, birthdays and days you promised to give blood.

You could go to that place in the Mall that appears at this time of year with a calendar for everyone. Puppies, Motorcycles, Funny cartoon characters, your favorite Celebrity, Chickens. They really do have a calendar for everyone. You can buy that calendar, supporting the company that makes it, getting rich putting pictures on days that have been determined since the calendar was created. Or you buy a calendar for a good cause.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It seems that we all know someone who's been touch by it. A local photographer is doing her part to raise awareness and funds for research. Proceeds from this tasteful Black and White spread are going to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. So check it out. Everyone needs a calendar.

www.pinkforthecure.ca