Winter Fun

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the warmer weather we've been having.  We headed to a nearby toboggan hill slash ice skating pond.  Fletcher got a fancy new pair of itty-bitty-oh-so-cute-skates for Christmas from his Auntie Natalie so we thought we'd try them out.  This little boy has the physical capabilities of a star athlete... yep... I'm sure once he learns to control his "emotional reactions" to new things, he'll make a fine young hockey player.  Oh Fletcher... my little softy.

Sunny insisted she give it a try too...  the girls' feet are still so small we thought we'd wait to get them skates

Griff on the hill

The girls taking an easy ride back up to the top

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

The holidays have been busy, awesome, full of wonderful people we love, and lots and lots of FUN! I wanted to share a few snapshots since I haven't had much time to post lately.  We've been enjoying the company of lots of friends and family... just the way the holidays should be!

Grandma & Papa Aadland with all their grandchildren!

The girls in their beautiful christmas dresses my mom made

Every christmas my mom takes a pic of my sisters and I (her 3 "joys")... we included Gibby since she also shares the Joy middle name! She just laid there like a little ragdoll... such a funny girly!

I love this picture of Griffin.  I can still see a glimpse of baby face in it.

Miss Sunny looking very pretty... minus the perma-chocolate-stache

Gibby filled her stroller from Santa with all her stocking goodies

Christmas morning in front of the fire

Fletcher is overwhelmed with excitement... lol!

Gibby feeding her baby :)

Checking out the Park Meadows lights

PJ party on New Year's Eve with Auntie Tara <3

A visit from the Cuthberts!  Love you guys!

Aadland and Cuthbert kids

A special visit from my good friends Sara, Allyssa and Trevor and their precious new baby girl Miss Lydia. Such a beautiful little red-haired girl! I sooooo wish they didn't live way far away in Toronto!

If you visit our house, you gotta be prepared to hold atleast two kids!

All the kids loved little Liddy

Not sure if Liddy loves them back yet ;)

Now back to the regular routine... in two weeks the "babies" will be 2.  And a few days after that I'll be returning to work part-time.  I think we're in for another fun-filled/interesting/busy year!

Multitasking

Today we were multitasking. The little guys made a mess of their hands and faces colouring with markers so we washed babies and dishes at the same time.

Laundry is Fun :P

The other morning Troy and I heard the girls giggling like crazy.  We went to see what was so funny and found Gibby had climbed into the washing machine and was rocking the barrel back and forth - having a great little ride.  My sisters and I used to take turns filling our mom's dryer with pillows and going for rides... probably not something mom would appreciate, but it was great fun back then! Gibby's antics brought me back... but we do keep the door to the washer shut now ;)

You Guessed It - More Christmas Fun!

We started a tradition last year of opening up a Christmas book every night in December.  Sort of an advent calendar deal.  I borrow the books from our library and wrap them all up.  That way they get new books each year and it costs me nothing but the left-over wrapping paper from last year! 

Griffin had his preschool Christmas concert last night. I don't know what it is about watching a bunch of 3-5 year olds sing jingle bells, but I get a lump in my throat every time! I was so proud of my Griff - singing his little heart out up there.  And the babies seemed to enjoy it too. It may have been the first outing that I felt was actually somewhat under control. I wasn't sweating by the end anyway. Hmmmm... dare I say, maybe things are getting slightly easier??  No, no, I better not!

Here's a shot of everyone all dressed up and ready to go!

And because I didn't realize Fletcher's giant head was blocking Griff, here's a shot of my handsome little preschooler.

Fletcher tends to be shy in large crowds, but it was all worth it when he realized there were cookies after!

Sunny - my little miss independent.  Marched right up to Santa and was going to climb into his lap when I caught her cutting in front of a 50-kid-line-up!

I don't know why I don't have a shot of gibby on the camera! She stood right beside me through the whole concert and bobbed her head along.  She loved all the kids and music.

Bring on the Holidays!

Finished up some holiday decorating this weekend, bought a truckload of firewood, and even pulled out the Christmas socks.  We are so pumped for the holiday season!

I LOVE how neat and tidy Troy is with the Christmas lights.  And I am loving our new house!

Kids decorating (and undecorating) the tree

Griffin attempting the star

Sunny thought she could do better with the aid of a chair

Gibby is in love with the Christmas tree decorations.  She likes to take them off and carry around a little collection.

 I guess when you don't understand what Christmas stockings are all about, you naturally assume they go on your feet!

Christmas is coming!

With our recent snowfall I'm really getting in the mood for Christmas!  We just finished doing our outdoor lights and I can't wait for it to get dark so we can see them! I took a couple shots of the kids last night while we were laying out the lights.  Every time they see lights they all say "Whoa!! Wow!!".  It's so so cute.  I can hardly wait for Christmas.

"Show me your cute face"

In the spirit of Christmas, I wanted to share a couple raffle draws with you that a friend of mine has organized.  I had donated some handmade headbands to the gift basket she is raffling off and I thought I should share her story in case any of you were interested in tickets.  In September, her cousin passed away very suddenly.She left behind an 11 month old daughter, Preston, who just a few months earlier was discovered to be completely deaf and in need of cochlear implants.  All proceeds from the draws will go towards helping Preston hear.  You can send an email money transfer to kristawilde@hotmail.com and she can email you back your ticket numbers, or you can buy them at Child's Play & Latte here in town.  OR, if you're more comfortable, contact me and I can arrange to get tickets on your behalf.