I'm behind and one of my commitments for 2012 is to get organized and that includes keeping the blog up to date. So I have a post or two to catch up and then my goal is to stay up to date!

Christmas Eve in Nova Scotia is much more laid back and subdued than back home in Newfoundland. We woke up in the morning (after a late night of gift wrapping, cleaning and gift sorting) and spent the morning in jammies eating buttermilk pancakes shaped like snowmen, reindeer and elves and played with the kids. Austin sang Christmas carols (he wouldn't let anyone join in) and was beyond excited about Santa. We were making some Christmas cookies when he received a special email from Santa. That pretty much did him in...I think he floated on pure excitement and Christmas Spirit all day. In the afternoon we delivered gifts and then went to the early mass.

After mass, Austin opened his first Christmas gift.

No Christmas is complete without new jammies! Austin was showing Amelia all the presents under the tree and explaining to her that Santa was going to come and bring her things to play with and it would be pretty cool. We checked the Santa tracker, he set out milk and cookies and was in bed by 8:30. It took him no time to go to sleep, he woke only once and I had to head him off at the pass to make sure he didn't see Santa's elves at work.



The quiet moment after the elves are done



Christmas morning was absolutely magical. Austin was so excited that the air was electric with Christmas spirit. We woke Austin up around 7:30 and he was so excited to find out if Santa ate the cookies that he left for him. He raced down the stairs and saw the train table and was beyond excited. Hand covering his mouth, he kept saying "I can't believe it!" He tore into his gifts and helped Amelia open hers. At first, she was much more interested in eating the wrapping paper but once a gift was open she'd get so excited!



Amelia's first gift from Santa. Rattle and Shake Pooh...she loves him!



This paper is delicious!!!



humm what could this be?

 

"Don't tell what it is!!!"

And then there was the gift of the year. I kept telling G that he wasn't getting anything that he had asked for but that he was going to be a very happy man on Christmas morning. I took Amelia from him and told Austin to climb into Daddy's lap to open a gift....I think the expressions on their faces say it all...Mommy is bi-winning!



Amelia's first Christmas was wonderful. There was a blanket of fresh snow and a relaxed morning shared with family back home thanks to Skype. I can't wait until next year to do it all again. Austin is so into Christmas, so much so that we're still singing Rudolph on January 4 and next time Amelia will be older and will be able to compete with Austin for some of that gift opening action!

A special message from Austin

O Christmas tree!

I love me a good Christmas tree. I love it when the snow is falling and the hunt is on for the perfect tree. This year the hunt was a little less picturesque. It was raining and the second tree we looked at was deemed  good enough for our holiday center piece. The teenagers manning the lot were short a few bricks for a load which made things interesting. Austin helped bring the tree to the car and my Dad and Gordon secured it to the roof. Amelia's first Christmas tree was en route to our house!!

Sunday morning we had the perfect opportunity to put the tree in place. Austin was gone to the movies with my cousin so Gordon was free to move the tree into the living room without any "help". Once the tree was in place, Gordon removed the wrapping and we had ourselves a little Christmas Vacation moment! The tree was a lot fuller than we had thought!


We let the tree settle for a few days before we decorated it. Austin was a huge help and the tree has several branches that have multiple ornaments on them and a few bare spots but it is his work of art so I resisted and didn't change anything!



The final product (the picture is crooked not the tree!)



I love the smell the tree gives the house. As Austin says "It smells like Christmas!" 

A visit from Poppy

My Dad was in town for work a couple of weeks ago and did we ever enjoy his visit! It's hard being away from my family, especially during the holidays so it was a very welcome and unexpected surprise to have him drop in for the night.



Poppy let him blow the horn!

We decided to go get our Christmas tree even though it was raining. My dad is the master of picking out a tree. I remember going to three or four different tree lots when I was little in pursuit of the perfect tree. Dad would size up the trees and if they didn't meet his standards we were out of there and onto the next tree lot.
Luckily, we found a tree at the first stop that met everyone's standards!



Helping to put the tree on the car

 After a great dinner of Chinese food and some more playing, it was time for Oz to hit the hay. He was thrilled to have Poppy read him stories and tuck him in bed.

Poppy was up early Sunday morning but stopped in again on his way back to NL. We had managed to get the tree up and snagged a few more shots.

Dad's visit made me a little less homesick and I'm so glad he got to spend time with the littles. Now to get ready for the Holidays.



Elf yourself

Its wayyyyy past my bedtime and I found myself doing this:

6 Months

It's been 6 months since our little lady came on the scene. I can not get over how fast time is going. She's really the most pleasant baby and has started to babble all the time. Competing with her brother to be heard! She has rolled over and loves playing with her toes and the toy that makes the crinkle sound. She is changing every day and it's hard to try to soak it all in!



Annette- talk to my mother about these head accessories please!!!



December?

I can hardly believe how quickly this year has flown by! When did it become December? (yes I know yesterday....) My little girl will be 6 months old tomorrow and Austin continues to grow like a weed. His speech is becoming so clear. The other day Spiderman's "leb" was Spiderman's web. It makes me a little sad. I love his mispronunciations. They are beyond cute (and some days that is his saving grace)!

I'm excited to start getting the house ready for the holidays. I've become a little addicted to Pinterest and have so many ideas that I am not too sure where to start. I guess I'll get at it and see what happens. I'm sure Austin will help make it rustic. lol. One thing I do have done is the holiday cards. Andrea was so awesome to come take some pictures of the kids and the photocards have been ordered. She did such an amazing job and it was hard to pick which pictures to use. Here are a few that didn't make the cards but easily could have!



Love this shot!

So many more holiday pictures to come!