Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas! 

Wishing everyone a wonderful and joyful holidays and looking forward to all new adventures in 2012!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

We made it out for photos with the jolly man in red. It was a long wait but well worth it when I saw Brea and Rhys rush up to his chair. Brea was all ready with her practiced talk of questions and answers for Santa and Rhys was so excited to be there.

The kids have been really loving December with all the bright lights to look at on our drives and putting up the decorations on the tree in our home. We are lucky to have a couple of really special houses in our neighbourhood who go out of their way each year to make fantastic displays. One collects for the food bank each year and we are always sure to make a visit early on to make a donation and take in the show. Brea calls it the "Crazy Christmas House" because it is so beyond belief.

Brea has been non-stop with her conversations these days while Rhys has added "bird" to his repertoire of two words. Last night while we were driving home from watching Daddy's basketball game - he won the tournament! Brea was exclaiming from the backseat - "goodness", "holy gracious", "that's so amazing"! as we passed by lit houses. We also drove past an auto shop. Here are some snippets of conversation on the 10 minute drive home.

"Where is Daddy going?"
"He's just going out to the bar to celebrate his win. He'll be back soon."
"Why is he going to the bar?"
"Because he's happy his boys won, he's going with his friends."
"I'm happy too, can I go to the bar with Daddy?"
"No honey, you're too little still, when you're older."
"When I'm this old?" (Showing me fingers that I couldn't see.)
"Mommy can't see your hand, can you tell me how many fingers you are holding up?"
"One, two, three, four, five!"
"No, honey, when you're really old like 19."
"Oh... then I can go with Daddy and his friends?"
"Sure."

"Why is the car not running?"
"What are you talking about Brea?"
"That car is not running, is it sick?"
Me realizing, she saw a car in the auto shop we had just past by. "Yes, it's getting fixed."
"Is he waiting for the car doctor?"
"Sure Brea."

Splish Splash!

Brea's well on her way to her next level of swimming. She was very successful with her first foray into the wet all by herself. After doing the parent and tot classes we felt she was ready to take things on her own and it has been so fun to watch her splash about each week. She was quite excited to have a male teacher unlike one of her classmates which is why she seems to be alone in her class. These pictures were taken on her first day when the other little girl refused to get into the water with a "boy" teacher. She has been great at listening to instruction and not afraid at all of plunging down into the water to retrieve rings.

Rhys is really taken with the pool as well. After watching her sister in her class he was very vocal about wanting a try so we put him in the following week and he had a ball.

Where's the dinner bell?

Rhys is still at one solid word: Mama! He understands so much but just doesn't seem to want to speak. He grunts, laughs, and points, he'll ooo and aahh, and he'll shriek if his sister is unkind or takes something away from him. He can definitely make himself understood in many non-verbal ways but no words. So one night this past week when I was getting dinner on the table, I turned to Rhys who was shadowing me in the kitchen and said, "Rhys, go tell Daddy and Brea it's dinner time." I was just teasing him and didn't think he would do much but my little man looked up at me and toddled over to the top of the stairs. He took a deep breath and started calling, "EEEEEEEE! EEEEEEE!". He was trying so hard and it was the cutest thing ever.

Oh October!

October has flown by so quickly! We did manage to cram many activities in though I have not been sharing what we have been up to. So here's the nitty gritty of the last month.

The Ghost Train:
We made our way to the "Circus of Disaster" so that the kiddies could ride the train amidst ghouls and clowns. It was quite busy but I think the kids enjoyed it. I didn't scream like last year when one of the actors crept up behind me but there were defnitely some creepy moments.

The Pumpkin Patch:
October would not have been complete without a trip out to the pumpkin patch to select our pumpkins and for some barnyard fun. The kids had such a great time, they loved the wooden cut-outs as you can see by the myriad of pictures. In the end we made our choice and brought the gourds home for some carving time with me and some knives.

Nothing like a boy and his tractor.

What's that chicken doing?

Picking a good one.

This year's line-up.

C'est l'Halloween!:
Then finally the big day! It was actually quite quiet in our neighbourhood this year so despite just visiting a few houses, Brea made out with a monstrous load of candy - not that she needs it. People were grabbing handfuls for the kids because they weren't sure there would be any more coming. Brea was very excited with her glow stick and Rhys was just happy to have something to poke and hit with. Both kids decided to eschew the traditional "Trick or Treat!". I kept trying to prompt Brea but as soon as the door opened she'd say "Happy Hallowe'en!" with a huge smile and Rhys would try to run in the door - he especially LOVED all the dogs in our neighbourhood and wasn't scared one bit as he petted them and let them sniff his hand. Brea would then be really helpful and tell the house owner that he is a baby puppy and that his name is "Spot".

Woof! Wassup?

A cupcake and a puppy.

It finally happened...

So I was out at the mall with my Mom and the kids. We were eating in the food court. Brea was snarfing her "saucy rice and prawns" (that's what she calls curry). The dish came with a side of potatoes which she also loves. She ate her portion, looked and saw that there was no more and was very disappointed. I noticed that Rhys had barely touched his, so I turned to her and said, "it's okay Sweetie, you can have Rhys's pieces..."

Wordless Wednesday: Tickling the Ivory

Okay, let me warm up my singing face...

La, la, la...

Maestro Rhys