Do you see what I see?

Earlier this holiday season, I took the boys to the mall to see Santa Claus and have some pictures taken. Ryan was great and Adam was curious. Photos taken by Anne Daine Photogrpahy/Prints Charming.







I also took the boys to Walmart because they have new kid Christmas theme backgrounds that are cute and would make great photos. Ryan was very excited to see Santa in the background when we had the picture taken.



On a side note, we've been to the mall now since Christmas is over and when we walked past the tree, chair and fireplace where he had his picture taken with Santa Ryan asked "Where Santa at Momma?" I explained that Santa and the reindeer had gone back to the North Pole (far away) to start making the toys for next year. That seemed to satisfy him.

Welcoming 2009!

The last year I lived in Newfoundland, I remember my cousin Jim(my) babysitting his sister and I on New Years Eve. He invited some of his frends over and they brought and/or made all sorts of junk food. What a great spread! His sister and I got to stay up until midnight, join in on eating all the junk. Fast foreward almost 20 years and I am spending a similar NYE.

Brad and I are not big partiers, nor are we big drinkers (plus I am still nursing so no big plans to go on a bender to welcome in 2009). Our big plans for welcoming in the new year look like this:



Dinner: fun snack foods (wings, nachos, raw veggies with dip and the oreintal party pack from M and M Meats) with our favorite pop

Entertainment: a House marathon (borrowed DVDs from a co-worker) and two active little boys and maybe some dominoes or Bang! (although we may need to call on our favorite imaginary friends for that)



Dessert: assorted holiday baking and munchies (chips, bits and bites, chocolates) and more of our favorite pop

Besides, it beats facing the weather outside. It is snowy, cold and windy.

Welcome 2009! I hope it brings happiness and joy to all near and dear to us!

Little Angels

Images Studios (a local photo studio) does a special every year at Christmas that they call "Angels". The studio reduces their sitting fee and donates it to Santa's Anonymous. Ryan's first Christmas, I took him to have these pictures done and I surprised Brad with the photos for his office. Last year I didn't do them but I decided to do them again this year with both Ryan and Adam. Unfortunately Ryan was not cooperative and would not take a picture alone. The photographer did manage to snap a couple of great shots of my two boys together. As for Adam, he was his usual smiley, happy self and there were many photos to choose from.

Here are the photos I choose of Ryan two years ago:





And here are the photos of Adam and Ryan from this year:







I would just like to thank Images Studios for doing this and always capturing such amazing photos.

Cold noses, warm hearts and rosy red cheeks

We are finlly begining to get some snow accumulation in our neck of the woods. Last night after dinner, we bundled everybody up and went out to shovel the driveway. Brad did buy a snowblower last winter but there wasn't quit enough to get it out. Ryan had fun with his little red shovel too and I wore Adam in the peapod wrap over my snowclothes, with him in his knit suit from Grandma.




While Brad shoveled, Ryan, Adam and I went for a walk down our road looking at Christmas decorations. Down towards the end of our street there is a house that has two light up reindeer and a sleigh. Ryan knows the word reindeer now and for the rest of the night and so far today, Ryan has been telling everybody that "reindeer live far away". Not because he knows they live at the North Pole with Santa and that is far away, but because the reindeer at the end of our street.

Belated Birthday gift

For my birthday, Brad gave me a homemade gift certificate for some salon treatments. It took me until the 1st of December to find a day that would work with our schedules and that of my hair stylist. When I went to see her, she said that according to her notes, it was 1 year minus 1 week since I had last been in. I knew it had been a while but I didn't think it was that long! So she started by cutting off 3 inches or so and then we started the coloring. We used a mocca brown close to my original hair color with some brownish red and gold highlights. Then she waxed my eyebrows and finished trimming the rest of my hair. Sometimes she styles my hair curly and sometimes she styles it straight. I've never really been a fan of my hair straight mostly because it never seems to last. But this time she did a GREAT job and I am loving it straight so much that I have asked for a flat iron for Christmas.




It was such a great treat for me! Brad drove me to my appointment and then he took the boys shopping at the mall. Just before he and Ryan went for lunch, he dropped a hungry Adam back with me. Adam nursed like a pro under the cape and fell asleep in my arms. He woke up just before we were finished and entertained the other people in the salon before Grandma came to the rescue so my stylist could flat iron my hair and not worry about little fingers grabbing hair, hot flat irons or cords.