Did we go to the rainforest and the St. Lawrence in one day? Yep!

We had an amazing time at the biodome today! I have been wanting to take Mara-Grace there for so long and we actually bought a family pass today for the price of going 1.5 times! So, now we can visit whenever we want to! Whoohooo! She was so excited about seeing a sloth and the penguins! Thank Goodness we spied the sloth! And the penguins couldn't be missed! Dictator finger!

Serious business!

Not so serious business!

Making wide smiled kooky Cayman faces!

So, there they are- the penguins!!!!!

A special visit!

We had a special surprise visit on Monday!

Tori went shopping with her Aunt and Uncle and we got to spend the day with our niece and nephew!!!!! We had a grand time. Playing at our house, making cookies, coloring, and of course we went to the Ecomuseum!!!!!!

DEFINITELY Mommy's Girl!!!!!!

Calista and Miss Mara played dress-up on Christmas! I had bought this outfit for Livy one birthday. Now Miss Calista and Mara-Grace get some wear out of it! AHHHHHHHH Takes me back!

Tori's Family Parties!

Since Victoria's birthday is over the holidays, and we live where the weather is totally undependable in January, we have always been the ones to 'make the trip' and never really expected so many family members to all drive the winter roads. So, over the years, we have traditionally had a party at Kev's parent's house, then at my folks, and then one with her friends here and then celebrated as our family on her actual day. Yes, 4 parties! Who ever said that when your birthday falls over the holidays you get 'gyped'?!!!!!

This year she will be having 10 friends over for pizza and a movie/party on Friday. And we will also take her out for supper just the 4 of us to celebrate her 14th birthday! 14!!!!! Where did the time go?

Merry Christmas!

What a beautiful Christmas it has been!

I woke up extra early 5AM on Christmas morning so that I could be completely ready once the girls got up. I thought with the excitement that they might waken anytime after 6. Well, I showered, got ready, woke up Kev, made breakfast, we packed the car for our trip and then Tori woke up first. We let her open her stocking and then at 7:30 the three of us woke up Miss Mara-Grace. We wanted to be on the road by 9:30 AM.

Getting up extra early makes things that much more enjoyable. I love to watch our girls and not be hussling about. I don't like to miss a minute! So, that aspect of our day went so smoothly. I even had a cup of tea and sat down with Kev by the tree before our girls even awoke!

Mara-Grace sprang up the minute we came into her room and announced that it was Christmas! She was so incredibly excited to see if Santa arrived in the night and to check to see if he drank his milk and ate his cookies. But, even more exciting was verifying whether or not "Rudot" and the other reindeer had enjoyed their food on the snow! Apparently they had, and we could even see some hoof prints!

We opened presents and had breakfast and did a little playing when we packed into the car and headed to Mom and Dad's for lunch. The weather was lovely for driving so we made it in about 2 hours 40 min. We had a beautiful lunch and visit with everyone and then headed over to Kev's parent's house for supper. Again, it was a lovely visit and meal.

The following day we celebrated again with my Grandma and our large family! It was a lovely time!!!!

We had a beautiful Christmas Day and we definitely counted our many blessings. We couldn't help but think of our Hannah and wonder if she will be home to celebrate with us next Christmas.

P.S. Note Victoria's outfit. We bought her a lovely Christmas dress to wear, that she chose btw, but she left part of it at home and forgot to pack the needed leggings and wrap. So, note Victoria's new jeans and sweater! Perhaps next year:) hehe Poor Tori she was so upset when we arrived and she realised what had happened!

Happy Christmas Eve!!!

What a lovely Christmas Eve it has been.

We awoke to around 20 cm of new snow (rather unexpected as they predicted 5) and what looked like a winter wonderland outside!

Our day was spent casually getting ready for tomorrow's travels.

Mara-Grace scattered her Reindeer food outside! She was so excited all day regarding the special visitor tonight. We followed Santa's journey all day today on Norad Santa Tracker!

We attended mass tonight at 5:30 which was lovely. Mara was her busy self, but good. It has been such a lovely Christmas Eve.

After mass, we came home and had supper, both girls opened one present (the traditional new Christmas PJ'S) and then Mara had her bath, got ready for bed and we set Santa's plate of goodies out with some milk, read stories and off to bed Mara-Grace went. As a side note, Mara-Grace's PJ's have owls on them. I thought that very fitting since that is what she really asked for from Santa. Tonight we thought we saw Rudolf (or Rudot as Mara pronounces) in the sky! I suppose I better get myself to bed soon so that Santa can arrive!!!!

May you be filled with the beauty and peace this special Christmas season brings.

Much love from your home to yours.

xoox
Merry Christmas!!!!!! xoox

In the land of Froggy....

Since we print our posts, and this is my way of journaling, I wanted to mention that Mara-Grace enjoying adding on to her name. For a little while it was Honey Mara-Grace, but now for the last few weeks it is Froggy. Yes, Froggy. If we say anything at all to Mara-Grace and call her anything but Froggy, she says in a chirpy little tone that tell us we are OHHHH SOOOO VERY SILLY, "nooooooooo, Froggy!". Even when we wrote our birthday wishes for my Gran, she insisted I sign her card with Froggy.

Last night we went to 5pm mass instead of this morning as it is snowing like mad here. We are to get 20-30 cm. It looks like a winter wonderland and it is absolutely beautiful to look at until I think of those without a home, or heat etc... Anyway, as I was saying, last evening we went to mass. We don't usually go to 5 o'clock unless we cannot attend the day before. Now, we would never usually attend when Mara hasn't had her nap, but I really don't know what we were thinking yesterday. Mara has been 'napping' but not sleeping. She is far too busy playing in her crib. She seems ready for a bed now, but she herself isn't ready. She loves her crib. We have been talking about beds, so the transition begins. We won't take her out of her crib until she wants out. Obviously, unless it is by far time! Anyway, yesterday we went to mass without a proper nap. Mass itself is so quiet at that time. And Mara-Grace knows how to 'whisper' and stay quiet but she 'talked' through most of mass yesterday. It wasn't that she wasn't listening or behaving per say, it is just that with the silence of that mass and her usual business, it felt like she was going non stop. She always is, it just isn't usually as noticeable. She wasn't disturbing, but as her parents, we are obviously a little extra aware of the fact that it is so quiet and she is so busy. We sit to the left of a little alcove where there is a statue of Mary. It is our tradition on our way back from communion to stop for a moment so that Mara can say a little prayer and blow a kiss. Then, after mass I walk with her to see Mary and she likes to be told the story of how Mary helped bring her home to Mama and that is also how she was named. After Mary (Mara is the first form of Mary). Then we walk to see St. Patrick. Anyway, as we were sitting, Mara-Grace put her baby's blanket up onto her head and held up her arms. Mara is on my left and Mary (posing in the same manner) is on my right. LOL I tried to keep a straight face, but it proved impossible. Before mass even started, our priest came over for his usual chat with our girls. And he called Mara by name, and she laughed and told him, "nooooooooo Froggy!". He burst out laughing! I am not sure how long Froggy will be Froggy, but I suspect, like her crib, she will outgrow it eventually.

Much love from our snowy home to yours. xoxo

I cannot believe I am posting again!

I really cannot believe that I am posting again so soon! I have more pics of our recent goings on
that I thought I would share.

Mara-Grace and I typically share breakfast together when Tori leaves for school in the mornings. I don't sit in my usual chair as Mara requests that I sit right beside her. So, as we are eating one morning I look over to discover this! I adore her imagination and confess that I enjoy playing with my food too. But, this is crafty:)

Here is when Mara's letter from Santa arrived!!!!!

Of course we've also been busy making Christmas cookies. Mara insisted on Gingerbread men. And as you can see, she got to do the sprinkles on the sugar cookies

this year!

One not so thrilling event this month was that Mara-Grace had her first dental surgery. We are followed at the Children's Hospital cleft dental department. At Mara's check-up in September, they told us that she has quite a few cavities. We have taken really good care of Mara's teeth and it isn't a result of her oral care but rather her early care and possibly a lack of vitamins etc... early on. Also, a main contributor is that early on in her life, her main form of nourishment was not formula or milk but rather a 'sweet' milk. Powdered, sugar milk. All of this contributed to the need to take care of these cavities as soon as possible. We made an appointment with a doctor who is also the director at the dental dept. at the Children's. Basically, we went in for the last surgery of the day. It was not at the hospital (the wait would have been over a year, and by that time she would have required root canals. ) but rather at the one and only specialised clinic authorized to give anaesthesia. So, we went in, and ended up waiting. Now as a mom, but also a mom with a nursing background, I made sure that she was very clean and ready for her surgery. The funny thing is, when we arrived, there was a chalk board in the waiting room. She played with that and was literally covered from head to foot in colored chalk and then got into the building blocks! Oh well, so much for clean! Mara's appointment was scheduled for 12:30 (the last surgery of the day) but we waited about an hour and a half. She hadn't had anything to eat since the evening before. Thankfully I made sure to make her one of her favorites and I also stuffed her with extra yogurts etc... at bedtime. Then in the morning she was allowed apple juice until 4 hours before, and water until 2 hours before surgery. Poor little pumpkin. I was ready for her to be a grizzly bear, but really she didn't seem hungry. She was in good sorts and we went into the operating room hand in hand. We spoke for a few minutes and they got the IV in on the first go and she was asleep within a second or two. It was alarmingly fast. I confess, it was very difficult to leave her there sound asleep looking so vulnerable and tiny in the big chair. Thankfully, I also knew that she was in good hands and they reassured us that we would be with her when she fully awoke. The surgeon explained that she would have some fillings and caps and that he would have to extract her little tooth inside her cleft. The procedure itself took about 1:45min. and then we waited another hour for her to begin to wake up. I could hear someone whistling. The building had become so quiet and the staff had gone for the day as it was a Friday and Mara was the last patient. I kept hearing this whistling and I was aching to hold Mara and finally the whistling got closer, the door was opened and there she was still asleep in the anesthetist's arms! He had been pacing with her for the last little while. He explained that she would be sleeping like this until another 20 minutes or so. She had already regained her reflexes and woken with him and it was now safe to take her home. She was sound asleep and we carried her out in the blanket to the waiting car. I sat with her in the back and she woke up about 40 minutes later. With the snow storm and traffic, we were still in the car. We were told once home, to start Mara off slowly with 2 tbsp of water and if that was tolerated after 15 minutes, to give her gatorade, wait and then if that was tolerated soup. So, we followed each step and she did really well. She was such a brave little trooper! We had tried to talk a lot about her operation and explain a little about what to expect. I am thankful it went so well. She was groggy that night, but back to herself (aside from being a little extra tired) the next day. Here is a post op pic back at home.

On a wonderful note, we also celebrated my Gran's 85th birthday with her this month! I adore my Gran and am so thankful that we were able to share in a lifetime of memories with her and this, her special day. It was wonderful to see everyone that we don't get to see often enough. Happy Birthday Gran! xoxo

Special thanks to Angela and Ian who have started our girls on a Hallmark ornament collection from the time Tori was born! They are always a cherished part of Christmas each year. Thank you for the beautiful, kind, generous and thoughtful ornaments you so carefully choose. What keepsakes! xoxo

So here I am one day, doing dishes or something and I turn around to see this! It is obviously a toy, but AHHHH! hehehe What more can I say????

All fooling aside (Is that possible?) I hope that our children know the true meaning of why we celebrate Christmas. We talk a lot about why we have Santa etc... and we often tell Mara-Grace the story of the first Christmas. We also have our nativity set up on our window ledge. One day I looked in to see that baby Jesus was missing from his 'bed'. Hmmmmmmm I know that Miss Mara loves to go over and rearrange everyone and she talks about the special story, but hmmmm, where could he be?

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to one and all. May the peace of this season be a treasure to you and your families. xoxox

December, 6 more sleeps and counting!

Once again, I regret not updating sooner. Here are some notables since my last post. May be point form as my eyes are threatening to close!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells.... Ahhhhhhh You should see our snow! And just as an FYI, today our daytime high was -18 C. With the windchill factor, it felt like -32. Boy was it cold!!!!

-Our Christmas Card picture taking session (part 1 and part 2) was a bit of an adventure this year! Ok, to say the very least! Let's put it this way, we have 5 pages of picture attempts at taking, "a keeper". Ummmm Mara-Grace is a child of perpetual motion!
Here are a handful of action shots!

-Here is a pic of our girls decorating the tree! Oh what fun! Sorry for Mara-Grace's lack of pants! I regret that we didn't get many pics this year of our decorating. Hmmmmmm, Victoria was trying to put the angel on top of the tree! Never mind getting a chair, the couch will do nicely. Look at Mara's face, "wow! Seems fine that we are standing up here!"

-Of course part of getting ready for Christmas is writing a special letter to Santa. Mara-Grace mentioned asking for a "REAL Mermaid". This was thanks to a Diego episode. Thankfully after a descriptive conversation on why Santa probably shouldn't/wouldn't bring a real. live, big mermaid, she quickly became enthralled with the idea of Santa bringing a bird. An owl to be more specific. A snowy owl to be exact. Here are a few pics of the famous letter. Btw, this past week we received a note back from Santa! And he even mentioned that he is looking forward to her fudge and milk, and that Mara-Grace is wonderful at drawing!

Making sure it is definitely stuck!

- You know how I think Victoria has the most glorious hair? Well, next fall she will be shaving her head! Yes, you read correctly. Actually, she asked us if she could participate in this last year and we didn't have enough details. This year however, she asked again and honestly, I am so incredibly proud of her. Victoria will be participating in "Shave to save" at her school. It is a large event where the school watches as a local radio station comes and they shave heads for cancer awareness. Victoria has committed to participate for next fall and will soon begin her fundraising for this cause. Also, her locks will be sent to make a wig for someone battling this disease. She is really committed to raising awareness and fundraising for this cause and I salute her. I am beyond proud. She had everyone sign her arm at school in support of her signing up to participate.

-We attended a local Santa Claus Parade. Victoria was on a float with one of the volunteer youth committees she participates in.
(Tori is in the green shirt- on the float-sitting down-center-black hat!)

Waiting for Santa to arrive....

Nope, that isn't Santa yet..... Not so sure about this!Here comes Santa Claus!!!!!!!!

Much love from our home to yours. May your last-minute holiday preparations be treasured.

xo