More Christmas Fun

This past Saturday we had my side of the family over for brunch and our gift exchange. Having missed Christmas dinner with them we were excited to see everyone. This year two new babies joined the family (a new nephew and a new niece) so things sure are a lot crazier around here at holiday time! but it is so fun :) 

Here is cousin Lexi playing with the boys, she followed Owen around like a little puppy :) they played really well together even though she is quite a bit younger. 

The Christmas tree full of gifts again! 

Grandma and Grandpa surrounded by all of the grandkids. Can you see Grandma in there somewhere? Lexi came wearing an outfit that totally matched with the boys - so cute!

Here are the new babies! keeps things busy around here for sure. Glad it's not just us that's sooo busy anymore ;)

Why yes that is a giant batman

This batman stands taller than Grayson & Noah loves it! he keeps it beside his bed & I must admit it startles us sometimes when we enter his room!

Grayson loves his new chair from Grandma and Grandpa :) talking on his cell phone already.

Owen was so surprised to get a new guitar just like Daddy's. He loves it and has barely put it down. I suppose lessons will be in the future.

We had a great morning with my family & miss them already.

 I think I may actually have all of my blog posts caught up for the year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Christmas Morning

The flu hit Grayson, Noah and myself on Christmas Eve :( Noah got the worst of it & wasn't feeling well for a few days. We decided to skip out on Mass that evening & not spread the germs to others & we mostly lounged in our PJ's all day. We had dinner planned early which was good because the power went out for over two hours! we decided to take the kids to go see some Christmas lights just to get out of the house for a bit.

Poor Noah was up sick a few times that night & even Christmas morning when we went downstairs to see if Santa had come, he just went straight to the couch to rest :( I had to carry him over to the presents & soon after he livened up a bit & played. We missed having Christmas dinner with my side of the family & basically stayed in our PJ's and played with the new toys most of the day. We even got to have a nap in the afternoon and by evening most were feeling a little better. Eventually we got dressed and went on a search for somewhere to eat on Christmas day - finally finding a pizza restaurant. 

Here is a video of our Christmas morning. Owen was so excited to come downstairs to see what Santa had brought but for some reason was so quiet while checking everything out!

The gifts under the tree! Owen's main gift was a telescope, Noah's was his favourite schleich zoo animals & Grayson's was a toddler climber. The boys got a joint gift of a workbench & some tools.

Despite people feeling under the weather, it was so nice to have a relaxing few days at home. The kids could play with all of their things, we opened gifts in stages & had some great quality family time! 

The boys love a spoof video of 'gangnam style' here is their rendition of it :) notice Grayson in the background bouncing to the music & his perfect timing with the monkey stuffed animal! so funny. I noticed while uploading the video, the time on the clock is 1:45 & the boys are still in their pajamas. We don't have many lazy days around here, but we sure have gotten used to the slow pace since we caught the flu on Christmas Eve :(

Fun In the Snow

The kids were excited to get out in the snow and play! last year we didn't get much snow & I can't remember if they got to toboggan at all. According to the news, we've already gotten more snow than we have since March of 2011, so hopefully it will stick around and we can get a few more days of play out of it. 

Grayson barely moved when he got outside & the couple of times he did he ended up falling over & crying. Here is a short video of his first time getting out in the snow.  Notice what happens to Owen in the background :)

Today Grayson enjoyed going out in his sled with Papa, & I think that was more his idea of fun in the snow.

The friday before Christmas vacation Owen had his kindergarten Christmas concert. His class prepared for the last month, practicing songs & learning the actions to the songs. Owen did a great job at keeping his class songs a surprise & while there were a few slips of information over the last month, I still wasn't sure what songs they would be singing. Based on how early we were last year & our horrible seats, I knew we had to be really early this year to get near the stage. We were over an hour early but got second row this year! the downside to being that early is that it's really difficult to keep the other kids entertained - oh well we managed :) Owen did such a great job on stage, it truly is something he loves doing. Last year I was so nervous for him, but this year I was just excited to see him   sing - I knew he was excited to perform on stage & he wasn't nervous so the least mommy could do was keep her own nerves in check :)

His class sang "The Little Drummer Boy" & "The Virgin Mary" The grand finale was all four Kindergarten classes on stage (108 little kiddies) singing "The bells on the sleigh", "Must be Santa", & "Feliz Navidad" They were so cute.

Great Job Owen! Mommy is so proud of how well you did :) 

Noah wrapped his own gift for his Dad :) he was quite proud of himself. I like that he chose 'Cars' paper instead of Christmas wrapping paper & that between him & two other preschoolers they used an entire roll of tape ;) great job Noah! Daddy sure loved his present too.

Surprise Lunch With Santa

Noah's preschool had a lunch with Santa this past monday. We surprised Owen by taking him out of school early for the lunch & we didn't tell the boys that Santa would be there. As soon as Owen saw Santa he said " that's NOT the real Santa" I thought he'd start putting things together quickly since we've visited a couple of Santa's this year, but his comment caught me by surprise. We told him that this Santa must be one of Santa's helpers because Santa is so busy this time of year. I wonder how long it will be before he really starts to question things?

Grayson loved staring at Santa

The boys made more reindeer food - we have 4 bags to sprinkle on the lawn on Christmas Eve. I wonder if we'll remember to do it.

Grayson was fine to sit on Santa's knee & didn't cry. I asked Noah what he asked Santa for & he said "I already told Santa at the mall what i wanted!" so I guess Noah was playing shy for this Santa. Owen asked for a telescope & ride- on motorized car.

It was a fun way to surprise the kids!

In the afternoon we decorated a gingerbread house. It was pre-built (my kind of activity) & the kids had a great time putting on the candy decorations.

The finished product turned out well! maybe next year I'll purchase some houses & each can decorate their own. It had to be well monitored as to who's turn it was, who was putting on what candies etc. But in the end they had fun & are looking forward to breaking it & tasting it :)

16 Months Old

Well it seems I missed posting Grayson's 16 month update on the 12th. This month is just flying by & we've been so busy preparing for Christmas, I just haven't had much extra time to blog.

My youngest is learning so quickly from his big brothers! he follows them around like a lost puppy & plays everything they are playing. Just today, the kids were playing hide- & -seek & Grayson was looking for the kids & finding his own hiding spots. He loves playing ball & continues to throw anything across the room & say "ball" at the same time, doesn't matter what it is. today it happened to be a wooden train on the hardwood floor! we really need to work on that.

He's just recently started to hit out when he doesn't get his way & he never backs down when 'fighting' over a toy. I'm not sure how to reprimand the behaviour at his age besides redirection & trying to stop it before it happens? hopefully he outgrows this stage quickly.

Grayson's been climbing everything, I take him off of the coffee table, kitchen chairs, & even the kitchen table - more times than I can count. Yesterday, I seriously wanted to throw the kitchen chairs out the backdoor, he just would not stay off of them. 

Grayson's learned some new words lately including snack, treat, & he tries to say bubble guppies lol. We've done some Christmas baking & the container sits near his highchair (cruel I know) he often points to the container & says either "treat" or "please". 

The other day the boys taught Grayson to raise his hand when they ask him a question. For example, they'll say "who likes chocolate?" & he'll raise his hand. It's pretty cute. Tonight, he had some ice cream cake for dessert (it was Gavin's b-day) & Grayson raised his hand after he tasted it as if to say " I like this!" He also likes to high five. Grayson also has been giving us kisses and hugs lately - what could be better?

Thomas the train is a favourite around here & Grayson loves these jammies! he says "toot toot" for thomas. 

Grayson has two top molars & his two front top teeth are just about ready to come through. His gums are so bumpy & sore looking :( he might actually get his two front teeth for Christmas. No sign of any bottom teeth yet. I often wonder what he'll look like with teeth, he's been so long without any!

Happy 16 Months Grayson!

Christmas Season

It's been so long since my last post, I've been having trouble uploading photos to the blog. It appears that the web album limit for photos was exceeded, we've found a solution but our computer is in need of upgrading so things are taking forever to upload. Hopefully that gets taken care of soon & I'll be back to regular blogging. I'd hate to give it up, but I have to admit the thought has crossed my mind a few times lately.

We've been busy getting ready for Christmas. Gifts are mostly bought, baking started, crafts made, parades attended, Santa visited & the tree is decorated. The kids are getting excited as the big day nears & every morning they rush downstairs to see what mischief our elf 'frosted flake' has gotten into :)

Here are a few photos of the kids and some of our Christmas season fun.


We love going to a nearby town for their evening parade. It's usually less busy than out city's one & it's not as long. It snowed earlier in the day so it set the Christmas mood, but boy was it cold! the kids did great waiting to see Santa & enjoying the floats. I was very thankful we risked being late to pick up some hot chocolate.

Grayson love watching the lights on the floats. One of his new words is 'Santa' too cute!

We usually try to meet up with friends at the parade - it was great to see the kids hanging out together. Afterwards, we were invited back to their house for dinner & the kids could play together some more! Now that Grayson is older we aren't so tied to a schedule, we sure are enjoying that!

Santa looked right at the kids and waved :)

The next morning we were up early, we wanted to miss the lineup at the mall for Santa. There is a great setup where the kids can play & watch Christmas movies etc. while waiting their turn with Santa. We were early enough that we just had to wait for Santa to show up & then it was time for the boys to sit with Santa & take a photo.

They were excited this year (owen more so than the other boys ;) )

Santa asked the boys what they'd like for Christmas - Owen requested a telescope, Noah said he liked animals (he said it while petting the fur on Santa's coat, too funny! and the boys told Santa that Grayson liked playing with balls. Santa thought they gave him some great ideas for gifts. Grayson did great sitting on Santa's knee. I didn't expect he'd have any trouble with his brother's there with him.

Grayson was so grumpy with a cold the day we decorated the tree. Poor guy could hardly enjoy himself & pretty much cried most of day :( he was also cutting his 2nd top molar - poor baby.

Grayson thought the apple decoration looked good enough to eat :)

We are looking forward to some more Christmas time fun!