Down Memory Lane with the Ornaments

We put up our Christmas tree yesterday and I realized how special each and every one of our ornaments are.  So much love and memories are in each ornament that we put up on the tree every year and then store carefully away after the holidays.  These are a few I wanted to share with you.

I've had this on my tree ever since I was a kid.  Sisters, do you remember this one?

Tobi ornament that Susan bought us soon after we got Tobi.  I miss him terribly.

Carleen (Kaili's mama) had made these 'R' and 'A' balls for the girls the first year they were born.

Susan (she has bought so many ornaments for us) bought us this ornament the year that James and I got married.

One of the most meaningful ones on my tree.  We used to have 2 of these birds.  My grandmother would place them on the tree so that they could see each other.  I think this ornament is over 30 years old now.

Got to have a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament.

One of the hand made ornaments on the tree.  Reminds me of the lovely afternoon that Papa, me and the girls spent at the community centre when they were 3 years old.  We ate pancakes and then made about 4 different ornaments.  But at 3 years old they weren't able to make the crafts themselves so Papa and I had fun making it with them.

One of the ornaments that Kaili has passed down to the girls.  It used to be on her tree when she was growing up.  She gave it to the girls when they were really young and loved Winnie the Pooh.

The first ornament I bought for James after we were married.  We moved out here in B.C. and had NO ornaments for the tree.  So we started buying a few every year and building up our collection.

Joyce made this Santa and Mrs. Claus ornament for us.  We went to Walmart, picked up some crafty stuff and then made ornaments one afternoon, way before the kids were born.

This one is 25 years old.  Can you believe it?  I have other ones that are older than that but this one actually has the year written on it.  Susan and Joyce, do you remember where this one came from?

Our tree is also covered in Princess, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Dora, Pillsbury Doughboy ornaments.  Ornaments that I'm hoping will be passed down to the girls when they are older and have their own homes.  I love our tree.  It's an artificial one and not all fancy smancy but it is so personal and so 'us'.  What ornaments are special on your tree?

Concert

Piano Recital & 1st Snowy Day

The pictures are not in order.  This is Sophia hanging out in the Exersaucer while her sisters are outside playing in the snow.  We skipped skating class this morning because I was feeling overwhelmed with a very messy house.  Kaili and Jaia were over and all the kids went outside to play in the snow while I made a feeble attempt at getting things organized.  We saw the skating teacher this afternoon at the piano recital (her daughter plays piano as well) and Alex went up to her and told her...Sorry we didn't come to skating class, I was making snow angels.  Totally busted with the truth by my 5 year old.
Alex and Rachel did so well tonight.  Alex played Eency Weency Spider and Rachel played Old McDonald had a farm.   It's amazing that they never get nervous playing in front of a crowd.  They had a great time.  A lot of their school friends were there playing piano so it was fun for them.  It was held at a Senior's Centre and the residents there looked so happy to see these young kids.  I always have a soft spot for Seniors.  I guess they always remind me of my own grandma.  

Sophia was awake for the whole recital.  Kaili got her dressed up.  I think this is the 1st time that she is wearing a dress.  She really likes crowds, people watching, noise, etc....

And this is the snow princess that the girls made this morning.

What's been going on

The girls didn't have school today because it was teacher/parent meetings at the school.  I met with the teacher in the morning and she just raved about how obedient, sweet, smart the girls were and what great role models they were.  It was really nice to hear all these good things from the teacher and made me feel very proud of these girls.  

Then the girls went for their very first playdate at a school friends' house WITHOUT me.  I didn't want them to go over to this certain friends' house.  She's a little crazy.  She jumps up and down, talks with this crazy silly voice, likes to lick my girls' faces and basically isn't what I would call calm and sweet.  But as you know we can't pick our kids' friends.  I encourage the girls to play with these other girls in their class ... but they LOVE this other little girl.  Anyhow I was pretty nervous dropping them off but to my surprise they did crafts and ate gingerbread cookies there and they had a great time.  I totally misjudged the mama and I feel guilty about it now.

Then in the afternoon my good friend, Cindy, took them to her work Christmas party.  She works at HSBC Bank and they threw a fantastic party for the kids of the employees that work there.  Cindy just borrowed my girls for the evening.  (BTW Cindy is the manager of Search and Rescue in this town so I had every faith that they were in the best of hands.  Come on...don't you know that I'm super paranoid about them?)  They made the crafts below (so so cute), decorated and ate gingerbread cookies (2nd time today!), decorated a Christmas tree and had a surprise visit from Santa and got a gift each.  Oh yeah, and they got to eat Cheese pizza, their favorite!  I wasn't even sure that the girls would go when Cindy invited them.  But they said YES without any hesitation.  When in the world did they grow up to be these independent little people?  It seems like it was just yesterday that they needed me 24/7.  Anyhow the funniest thing they said when they got back was that Santa lost so much weight. Hilarious.  It must have been some skinny dude that worked at the bank that got dressed up.

And totally off topic, Papa got a brand new bike.  It's an electric bike.  Because we live at the top of a very steep hill.  It was too hard for Papa to make it up the hill on a regular bike.  So this new bike will bring him back home without him even breaking a sweat.   The electric bike part kicks in only when you want it to and the rest of the time you ride it like a normal bike and get exercise.  Anyhow, he got all this fancy new gear to go with it and we teased him to no end the first time he went for a ride.  The girls said that he looked like a superhero.
It feels like the weeks are racing by.  This week has been very emotional for me.  I got terrible news from 2 different families about 2 little kids which left me with a very heavy heart.  I am trying to appreciate my life and my family every moment.  Sometimes I run out of patience with the kids just because it is never ending work but for the most part I look at them and marvel that they are my kids and I give thanks for them.

Pics of Kids November 2008

All About Sophia

Oh Sophia...how much you have changed all our lives.  You make us so so happy.  All of us.  Mama, Papa, Rachel and Alex all ADORE you so much.  And I think that you know it.  You give us the biggest smiles, the best cuddles and many reasons to laugh out loud.  You will go so far because you have so much love and support from us AND the rest of your family and friends. XOXO

And I have to warn you about this video.  I sound 'crazy'.  Valley Girl 'crazy'.

A & R Photo shoot with Papa

So Papa was back outdoors with Alex and Rachel practicing shooting with his camera.  Sophia was taking a nap and had to miss out on this one.

Sophia has started to roll over. YEAH!  So cute.  She has the best cheerleading squad EVER.  We all place her on her blanket and cheer her on.  She rolled over 3 times last night and she looked so so proud as we cheered her on.  And then in the middle of the night she woke me up wanting to nurse and when I turned over to get her she was on her tummy! (yes, she is still sleeping beside me in bed)  We are so proud of her!  I will try and get some video of this momentous occasion or at the very least some pictures.  It never occured to me yesterday to grab the camera I was too excited watching in the moment.

Friendly Visit

Our friends, Shannon & Jeff, came to visit us this past weekend.  It felt so surreal to see them again.  It was great having them here but sadly they wanted to go back to their home in Alberta.  I know, go figure.  It was great to see them and see beautiful Shannon GLOW from her pregnancy.  Alex and Rachel LOVE their visits since they usually include some great treat....like making angel food cake, cherry pie or ginger bread houses!  Sophia loved them too and we were joking that she would marry Malcolm (Shannon is having a boy!).  Shannon and I will be competing for coolest grandma title then.

p.s.  you just know they are good friends when I feel comfortable enough to wear my pink doggie pjs in their company!

Sophia in Brown

Random Photos

Listen carefully Sophia...it's storytime with Alex and Rachel.

Can you say most mismatched outfit for Sophia?

Alex & Rachel's princess playing has changed a tad.  Rachel dressed up as a princess and pretended that she worked at Disneyland and Alex had to ask for an autograph.

I know we are early this year but we are already in the Christmas spirit.  You can't help it when you have 3 kiddies.  This is Rachel's Christmas list for the whole family that she is going to mail out to Santa.  So sweet.

So just a quick post because the grandparents are complaining that I have to update the blog.  These pics are for you Halmoni and Harabogi!