A Bit of November and December

Now that 2013 is upon us, I thought it high time I got a few pictures from 2012 up before it just doesn't ever happen.  So here are a few events from November and December that the camera captured:

At the end of November our temporary abode from June-October was ready to come down!

We spent a few days being a bit destructive with a hammer and crow bar (which looking back, was probably a grand waste of time!), and carried stuff out to a burn pile out back.  There was something fun about being destructive and the kids loved driving the lawnmower and wagon with the loads of wood all day.

Then came Saturday and the time for the hammer was past!  With a lot of manpower and some tractor power, this happened:

Somehow she just wouldn't come down.  It was a lot stronger than we thought!!!

But they kept at it . . .

 . . . and then there was this!

Thanks to all those who came to help!  It was a very tiring day (Jonathan was exhausted!) . . . but before the day was over, he had yet another committment!

He had been "drafted" to play in a game against some Maple Leaf Alumni.  So he girded himself up, and headed out. 

Before the game there was an autograph signing session.  Kevin and Kade had some cards of some of the players that they got signed.  After the game, there was a sponsor/player reception and the boys got their jerseys signed all over. They got to talk to most of the players which was pretty neat.

(Jack Valiquette and Gary Leeman)

Jonathan had a blast playing in this game.  He really, really enjoyed himself.  The alumni won quite handily and you can tell they still have loads of skill!  If you've ever been to one of these games, you'll know they are filled with humour too.  We had fun watching too.  Even Kylie thought it was pretty cool (they had a few girls playing on Jonathan's team and now, when they play in the basement, she is the one girl).

Group Picture

In December Kylie had some of her friends over between services on Sunday.  They got all dressed up and we had a little hot chocolate party.

                              

We caught two parades . . . with some family. 

The kids read some books . . . I love it when they actually sit down and read for a while.  They rarely do except in bed, so I think it is picture worthy when I see them all hunkered down with a book.

We went out for a family dinner to celebrate my parents 35th anniversary (which was back in August). 

This was a great evening. It took us a while to get it done, but it was cozy and worth the wait.

I didn't get pictures of everyone for some reason, but here are the ones I did have . . .

(maybe you'll have to send me the missing ones Kate!)

  

 

 And we put up our Christmas tree (which may I say, never looks as good on camera as it does in real life?!)

Kylie was very sad when we took it down last week. It got a big, big hug:)

And that is just a bit of what has been going on . . . besides Karter getting months older:)

(which does happen to be coming right up again:o))

My Littlest Boy is Eight Months!

It seems like Kylie was just excited that her and Karter were both five! (5 months and 5 years), and now Karter has caught up to Kade and they are sharing the number eight!!

Here is the man of the hour in all his toothy glory!!

His arms and feet are still often in motion.  He moves his feet like a choir director would move his hands.  It is really interesting . . .and always makes us smile.

I LOVE having windows/doors that he can sit in front of and look out of.  I've never been able to do that with any of my other kids, and I think it is so neat for them to take in the outside world.  (what is maybe not so neat is the fingerprints left behind . . . .but that is completely off topic!)

This is a picture I found on the camera which was taken by Kylie . . . with Kylie's hat on Karters head.

Kade and Karter . . . .Do they look alike????  I still hear that he looks a lot like Kevin from some people, like Kade from others, and like neither from still others.  I think he's got a bit of each kid in him which gives him his own unique look.

Our new bathing station. It's quick and easy, but doesn't allow for splash and play time.  We do the big tub occasionally for that and he still loves it!

Karter is not crawling yet, but he is certainly beginning to move.  He can turn in a pretty quick circle and he inches around slowly but surely.  He is also starting to pull himself up . . . which is a little dangerous.  This chair came tumbling down on him once already, and he's pulled his highchair over and an island stool . . . and all this before he has started crawling.  Let's hope he figures out that it can be slightly dangerous.  So far only one has landed on top of him. The other two fell beside.

At eight months Karter:

• has seven teeth.  Does that seem like an awful lot to you? It does to me.  I affectionately call him "tooth" or "teeth" sometimes.  His teeth often surprise people when he gives them a big smile!
• is starting to play strange.  He has always been really quick with his smiles - stranger or familiar face.  Now he takes a few seconds (or longer!) and sizes the person up before either giving them a smile . . . or a really, really sad face which quickly turns into a wail/shriek, unless I distract him quickly enough!  It's too bad . . . but he still does nursery etc. no problem . . . and it is super cozy and cuddly for me when he snuggles into me b/c he is shy/scared or sad.
• LOVES to eat.  In fact he is quite intense about his eating and does this really funny thing that makes us all laugh.  He eats everything we give him (still pureed mostly).  Sometimes the first time he tries a food, he doesn't like it, but now it seems like he'll take anything.  He is not real good with chewing yet, so we're still doing mostly pureed and mashed. 
• enjoys cheerios . . . especially banging his highchair tray so they all fall to the ground. I don't think he's ever gotten one into his mouth on his own which is interesting b/c everything else seems to make it in his mouth no problem!!  (I guess his hand/eye coordination is not as good as I thought it was!)
• is quite pale . . . pale skin, pale hair.   He looks like he needs a week down south.   His hair is really growing now and he gets some pretty crazy hair sometimes - especially with hat season being here.
• goes to bed really well. He never ever cries when I put him down for a nap or bedtime.
• still does not sleep through the night . . .but he had a pretty good night last night;)
• still nurses regularly  . . .and yes the teeth do sometimes make the experience a little less cozy.
• seems to love being at home.  This is where he is in his element now.  Not that he is bad when we go out, but he seems to be especially cheerful at home.
• usually has a morning  nap and an afternoon nap (which added together would very rarely amount to more than 3 hours) and then he goes to bed around 8pm.  (can we call that a routine??;))
• was 19 lbs when he was last at the doctor - around 7 months.
• loves mirrors and pictures of himself.
• claps his hands and folds them.
• shrieks like a girl when he is really excited.
• hates having his nose blown.
• LOVES his mama and papa . . .and we sure love him too.

Western Day

We sent a bunch of cowboys/girl off to school this morning!

  I realize that most cowgirls don't ride unicorns . . . but it was "U" day for show and tell AND Western Day.  It just worked!

And . . . I guess I actually kept this one home with me;)

 The kids were pretty excited about "Western Day". They prepared well in advance (by notifying Oma that Western Day was coming up). Then they got to practice dressing up a few times too. Kylie thought about it a lot and it popped up in many conversations! 

 (a practice session)

 . . . and just because . . .(it shows some of his "seven month" traits) . . . and b/c I love it.

p.s.  I had to add word verification to my comment form b/c I was getting a bunch of spam comments . . . which though very complimentary (some of them anyway . . .telling me I write great articles ??! etc. . .and much more), were most unwelcome.  I know from experience that word verification is sometimes very hard to get by . . . so hopefully it isn't too annoying.

Its so cold . . .

I wrote this while living in the throes of coldness.  It is inpired by the cold, hard, truth.  (For those of you who don't know - we've lived in an old house for the summer until our new house was finished being built. In our old house,we had no heat.  We removed the source of heat (propane) early in the spring to prepare for building.  So the month of October for us was a little chilly - though we are very grateful for the two weeks in the middle when it was actually a bit balmy!)  Anyhow, though I wrote this a while back, I thought I'd wait till I thawed to share;)

It's So Cold . . .

• the thermometer says it is 5 or 6 degrees celcius INSIDE!

•  you can see your breath inside at any given moment.
• the fruit flies that used to bother you, are long gone.  Too cold.
• bedtime is a much longer affair, b/c you need to heat up so many bean bags (made by my mother and warmed up in the microwave to keep you warm while you sleep) and water bottles to tuck in with all of us.
• speaking of bed - you REALLY, REALLY don't want to get out in the morning.
• the milk freezes in the fridge - not sure why, but it was interesting to see when we poured it onto our cereal and it had all kinds of frozen milk flakes on top.
• the kids ASK for porridge for breakfast. It usually makes them grumpy to see oatmeal being served (they have it three times a week), but now they wanted it every day to warm their bellies!
• we fight over who gets to wash the dishes. (warm hands!)
• that when you straighten your hair, the steam is extremely visible
• that your glasses fog up when you put them on in the morning.
• you wear a minimum of three layers -eg. leggings, jeans, splash pants (and then get VERY hot when you go to town or elsewhere)
• hats and mittens are optional inside

• clumsiness abounds. I can't believe how many things I dropped or spilled in October.
• you might have to go to the van to warm up for a bit
• you dream up very important excuses about why you should probably go to town
• when you get home from town, the thought of leaving the warmth of the van is a bit daunting
• you are very grateful for friends and family who invite you over to their warm homes
• you eat lots of soup
• the laundry on my drying rack is still wet after three days.
• you have to use the dryer (which has a dual purpose - your clothes dry and your house warms up just a bit!)
• if you sit down on the couch and get cozy under a blanket - you probably will accomplish nothing for the rest of the day.  You will not want to get out. 
• that even though you live in a very old house - you probably don't have to worry about mice. Its too cold for them too.
• you tell your kids how lucky they are that they get to go to school and be warm.
• that being a stay at home mom is all of the sudden not the most coveted position - its kind of nice to leave the house and go off to work!
• that if your groceries don't all fit in the fridge - no big deal.
• you don't have to put your kids lunches in the fridge overnight. They can go straight into the backpacks - which also means you can stay in your warm bed for an additional two minutes in the morning.
• you no longer feel the need or desire to ever try winter camping. 
• there is a wind chill factor inside the house too.
• showers/baths are very popular (and LONG).  The kids have never been cleaner.
• you start thinking of your old house (the one we've lived in for the previous 9 winters) as toasty warm! (it was also a hard house to heat - but at least it HAD heat!)
• you start imagining that you may have rheumatism or some other problem with your joints b/c the cold just seems to settle there.
• instead of praying and thanking God for a warm home, your kids pray,"Thanks for a shelter to live under."
• that we've all escaped sickness this year so far.  Too cold for germs too:)

So now we are warm and cozy.  We have a house heated with vents for the first time in ten years.  It is wonderful. We are very thankful.  But, we want to remember those cold days, so that we don't take the heat we are blessed with now, for granted.  Having said that, I don't mind if winter holds off for a few months or so yet . .  though Kylie heard on the radio that there was a possiblity of snow for today and boy was she excited!!