Happy Hoildays 2010

Merry Christmas from Jamie, Jan, Adrian and Vivian!

It is hard to believe that the holidays are upon us.  We are so looking forward to a relaxing couple of weeks with nothing to do but enjoy each other's company and refresh our tired bodies and minds.  It has been a very busy holiday season for us but also very enjoyable.  Now it is time to take a deep breathe and relax.

Adrian had his Christmas concert at The Preschool Center and he had a full entourage of parents and grandmothers there to cheer him on.  He had been practising so hard (I knew all of the songs and poems just from listening to him for the past month.)  He got a little stage fright which was amusing because he was fine as long as he wasn't looking directly at us.  If he caught our eyes and would turn around or duck his head behind another child.  (He is the tallest in his class... not sure when that happened!)  Here he is enjoying the 'after party' with his BFF Abby.  (They have been pals since birth and went to the same home care together.)

This past Sunday was our Sunday school concert.  You know that when you get 20 or so young children on stage something funny is going to happen.  It was very endearing to see them doing their best and being so proud afterwards.  I teach the Pre-K class and when we went up I was in a bit of a pickle because nobody seemed to want to sing.  That was until Adrian stole the microphone and did a solo of Away In A Manger.  He did great but unfortunately downed out the other couple of kids who wanted to sing.  (Oh well, they likely didn't know any different.)

Vivian has pretty much refused to wear dresses until Sunday when we got her into this sweet little number.  She got so much attention that she didn't want to take it off after church, didn't want to take it off for the Jones Christmas party and then refused to take it off for her bath.  She now loves this dress and wants to wear it daily.

We are home now for the holidays and enjoying our time together (or at least trying to).  We are keeping busy with last minute preparations and trying to get rested up for the big day.  Both kids are a bit sick so a few days at home will do them good.

Christmas Party-o-rama

Saturday was a day of Christmas party fun for the Joneses.  We had an early afternoon party at Jayden's house where the kids got to do many fun things including decorating cookies and eating cookies.  Oh course Santa stopped in for a surprise visit.  It was love at first sight for Adrian but Vivian was a bit timid.  She did not cry so she did well.  She is only 1 after all. (I sometimes forget that as she seems much older in my mind.)

Concentrating on cookies.

After that party we jetted over to Kingswood for Jan's Accreon kids party.  The kids were hyped up on sugar so it was a good spot because of the play climber and bowling.  Both were a big hit.  We had a pizza party and low and behold Santa showed up again!  Boy Adrian and Vivian are pretty lucky kids.

Adrian got a harmonica that he loved and some books and crayons.  I swear he has a natural harmonica talent because every now and then (he plays it constantly) I swear I hear a real song come out of that thing.  Vivian got a necklace which she proudly carries around with her most of the time as well as her very own markers and coloring book.  She is proud to be able to put her necklace on and take it off at will as well as put it on her teddy bear.  She is also quite pleased with herself when she is able to tell Adrian 'MINE' when is trying to get a hold of her coloring book and markers. (She is not allowed to go near his kindergarten goodie bag so this is pay back.)

Strike?

I am pretty sure they are both better at bowling than Jamie and me.

Adrian loves Santa this year.

Vivian... not so much.  But she was willing to approach him for a candy cane.

School. (The real deal.)

Adrian had a kindergarten orientation at New Maryland Elementary school last week.  It was a special visit because both Mommy and Daddy attended with him and he got to sit in little groups and do real school activities.  He had been oh so excited for this day but I think the butterflies set in because he was rather timid most of the time.  It was a good visit though and a nice stepping stone towards September.

He received his very own bag of school supplies and books which he is very proud of.  He is posing with it in a most unsual fashion above.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Christmas has snuck up on me.  It all starts so innocently... a gift bought here, a Christmas song sung there and then before you know it it is Christmas!  The recent snowfall has certainly helped usher in the season.  We have already been to a Christmas concert and Adrian and Vivian are both hard at work preparing for theirs at Sunday school and Preschool.  Adrian takes this business quite seriously. 

I have embraced online shopping in a big way and have nearly all of my shopping done.  It is quite fun to arrive home to a big box of goodies.  I have a couple downstairs I haven't even opened yet.

This Saturday is the Santa Clause parade.  I am as excited as the kids because I know this is magical for them.  I am not sure why but there is just something so bizarre for them about standing on the street at night watching lights go by and getting candy thrown at them.  (Okay, now that I think about it I know why it seems bizarre to them!) Let's hope for some good weather.

Vivian had her first romp in the snow and it was adorable.  Mind you it wasn't technically her first as she was out last winter but in her mind it was.  When she saw the snow out the window she couldn't stop pointing as if to say 'What on earth is that?'.  It was just a powder but we still got out on the sled and pulled her around and she thought it was fantastic and had a giant grin plastered on her sweet little face the whole time.  (That is until Adrian rolled the sled and she did a face plant in the snow.  Her love affair kind of ended there.)

So we attempted yet another holiday family photo.  This time I decided to skip the department store photo studio and found someone from kijiji to take them in her basement.  She did a great job and was very patient but Vivian refused to look at the camera and Adrian just got plain old tired of it after the first 20 clicks.  So again I am left with mediocre family pictures.  Oh well... at least some are funny. She did a great job!

This was the only way to get Vivian to smile.  Let her have a horsey ride.

Look my husband does smile!  And it is handsome at that.

Getting closer to a nice picture but not quite there.

 

Jamie had a sore back for the rest of the day.

Ah.  My handsome boy.  I love this one.

 

An impromptu hug from Vivian.  Oh they were wiggly that day.

 

Jamie looks happy but really he is trying to keep Adrian subdued... lol.  Can you see the little veins popping in his forehead?

Not a great picture but I thought it was funny that Vivian had her hands like me.  She refused to pose with Jamie so unfortunately we don't have any of the two of them.

Happy Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween!  I really enjoy this holiday as it is so stress free and easy.  Well sort of.  There is nothing Adrian likes more in the world right now than candy so he was very hyper to get going.  Vivian has her first ear infection and is feeling rather grumpy about it so she was not in the mood.  I let them 'do' their own makeup which they both found quite funny and I guess it got Vivian in the mood because she voluntarily put on the top of her costume (unicorn) although still refused to put the hood up.

Vivian made it to about 10 houses and then Jamie took her home in the wagon.  A good first attempt at Halloween I must say.  Adrian was so excited he could barely contain himself.  After running full tilt about 1km in our subdivision he was exhausted and we ended up just walking straight home.  He actually said "Mommy, I have enough candy... let's not stop at any more houses."   

"Trick or treat"

All Adrian wanted to be this year was a Construction worker.  It didn't really even look like a costume once he lost the helmet and put on a coat... lol.

A moment of excitement.  FYI... don't try to come between Vivian and her bag of candy.  It is not pretty.

Sorting some Halloween party (we went to 2) candy.  They love to play with it.

Examining his loot.  Boy he loves candy. (And mostly the gross sugary stuff, he doesn't care much for chocolate!)

So much candy... so little time.

I think this picture accurately sums up her mood this Halloween.  We had a war of wills trying to get her to say 'Thank-you".  Sadly, she won this round.

Country Pumpking 2010

All I really wanted was a cute picture of the two of them in the pumpkins.... is it too much to ask?  While the pictures below are funny they aren't quite what I had in mind.  Adrian couldn't sit still and Vivian refused to look at the camera.  Little monkeys.

Vivian gets an A+ at hiding.

When Adrian was a toddler he would hide on me all of the time but he couldn't contain his giggling nor could he last more than 30 seconds without moving.  So it was pretty easy to find him.  Vivian, as usual, is a different creature.  She can stay in the same spot indefinitely without moving or making a noise.  This is not good for me because I will loose her and be frantically calling her name and she doesn't budge.  This weekend I found her in the pantry... good hiding spot Vivian!  Luckily she tends to pick the same spots over and over again. I am pretty sure she was in and out of the pantry 100 times that day.  Funny girl.

Sleeping arrangements

Do you think it might be time to move Vivian to a big girl bed?  *SIGH*  Look how much she fills out her little crib.  Of course it would help if she would sleep horizontally but of course she does not go with the flow.

 

Check out Adrian's little habit that has yet to fade away... he still sucks his thumb.  One of the only pieces of baby Adrian I have left so I won't rush it away... even if it does cost me thousands of dollars in braces some day.  (Also check out his orange wall that was a labour of love for me.)

Two peas in a pod

Something funny is happening at our house... every time I lose track of the kids and go to find them they seem to be together.  I am not sure if Vivian is drawn to Adrian or vice versa... probably both... but usually where one is so is the other.  It is funny (and sometimes a bit unnerving for me) to hear them giggling together from another room.  They are definitely buddies.  But believe me, it is not all rainbows and butterflies with these two... the fighting has begun in a big way.  Oh I hate the fighting over petty things but I guess it is just how kids are.  I am sure my mother could tell a few stories about the spats Brian and I had back in the day.

One Mommy lesson I have learned recently is that if I am bringing something home for them to always have two of the item and to make sure they are identical so that there can be no fighting over who gets which.

A trip to the farm.

I am a little late with posting about our afternoon at the farm but the pictures are priceless.  I found out that NB has 'Open Farm Day' every fall and was very interested in taking the kids to some local farms.  I think it is neat for them to see where their food comes from.  We took in an apple orchard and dairy farm.  The dairy farm was by far the winner of the day, especially given Vivian's cow fascination.  I must admit that after seeing the cows in action I now know why I am not a big fan of milk. Cows are dirty. We got to watch the whole milking process which was interesting (but reminded me far too much of nursing... again... another reason why I am not a fan of milk).

Up close and personal with Bessey.

Can you sense he is a little timid about touching her?

Okay, even I have to admit the baby calf was pretty cute.

More signs Vivian is growing up...

Vivian is showing me more signs everyday that she is no longer a baby.  I am starting to accept it because a) I don't have a choice in the matter and b) it is so darn sweet to see her turning into an adorable little girl.

She is proud to take off and put on her own socks now and can do it with ease.  She also loves to play with Adrian and I find them actually playing together more and more often.  (Although he is far too rough with her dolls for her liking so they usually end up playing lego or playing in their 'band'.  Vivian is the drummer and of course Adrian gets the guitar and lead vocals.)

Do you notice a difference in the picture below?  One night Vivian just insisted, out of the blue, that she was going to sit at the table and hasn't been back in the high chair since.  It feels strange but lovely to have all four of us sitting at the table for supper.

And check out her rocking ponytail.  (Adrian overheard Jamie refer to it as a 'rat tail' and now finds it hilarious to repeat that over and over again.  Oh brothers.)

Vivian is getting more girly on her own accord.  When she is in the mood she likes to dress up.  (Notice her silly brother in the background who had to get in on the action.  When Jamie saw him Adrian immediately said 'Look what Mommy made me do!'.)

When I put something especially cute on Vivian to wear I tell her to 'go show Daddy' and she will run out and pat her stomach as if to say 'Look at me!'.  It is so sweet and the funny thing is she now does it everytime she gets dressed.  I guess a girl never tires of hearing that she is beautiful!