Santa's haircut

This whole Santa business can get tricky - and Matthew is only 4! We were sitting admiring our new Santa photo when Matthew asks me why Santa's beard was so short this year and more grey than silver. I claimed that I didn't notice any difference, so he went a got last year's photo to show me. Sure enough, last year Santa had a (fake) long, luxurious silver beard. This year Santa's beard was grey, shorter and much coarser (and real!)

I quickly explained to Matthew that just like everyone else, Santa needs to trim his hair and he must have done it recently. As for the silver/grey discrepancy I think he forgot about it while we were discussing Santa's haircut. Good thing too because I'm not sure what I would say.

If you have any suggestions let me know - the topic is likel to come up again knowing Matthew.

I forgot to tell Santa what I want for Christmas!!!

This was my last day off before Christmas break begins and the malls really get crazy, so I thought I would take them to see Santa. We were the first people in line to see the Big Guy and only two other families were waiting. Great! Matthew immediately sat on Santa's lap, Michael too. Within a second though Michael was screaming and reaching for me. We tried to calm him down - no luck. So I resigned myself to the idea of a photo of Matthew only with Santa. They took the photos. Then Santa was chatting with Matthew and gave him a candy cane. Santa also offered a candy cane to Michael. All of a sudden Santa was Michael's best friend! The VERY kind ladies at Santa's workshop noticed and suggested we quickly try to take a photo of Santa with both boys. It worked out beautifully (if you look closely Michael has a candy cane in each hand).
I was so thrilled we were there at such a quiet time as I am sure they would not have so patiently allowed us to sit with Santa for so long if it was a crazy shopping day.

I was thrilled with their photo and thought we had somehow managed to have a relatively stress free trip to see Santa, until we were in the van on the way home and Matthew blurts out "I forgot to tell Santa what I want for Christmas!!"

We decided to write Santa a letter instead of returning to the mall.

SNOW!!!!

This Sunday we got a bit of snow. Starting first thing in the morning Matthew was asking to go sledding (the snow wasn't even sticky to the ground). But by the afternoon there was a bit sticking to the ground so away we went. There was a whole crew of boys from the complex that went over to the school hill. They had a blast. Some of the bigger kids took turns going downhill with the little ones or pulling them on the sled. Michael liked to lie down on the sled either way.
(Michael is not falling off - he is purposely laing down and dragging his arms through the snow.)

Matthew learned from the bigger boys how to run, dive and slide head first down the hill.

Only one injury, when Matthew and Joel flipped the sled and snowplowed through the thin layer of snow and right into the gravel - with his face. Road rash! But he got up and kept on playing (after a minute of tears). Not too serious though.

With VERY rosy cheeks (we spent nearly 3 hours out in the snow), we all headed indoors for some hot chocolate and marshmallows. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Christmas Concert

Matthew had his first stage performance today. He played Frosty the snowman in his preschool performance. I was impressed that he did not get stage fright as the Terry Fox Theatre in PoCo was packed with parents and grandparents to see the production.

I unfortunately had to edit the video because it was too large to upload, but you still get to see most of the performance ( I just cut the beginning where he is supposed to be standing still).

We were very proud of our little snowman. (In case you didn't recognize him he was the one in the red scarf.)

He had a long wait before his part of the show. The boy next to him kept him entertained. At one point he even tried to eat Matthew's carrot nose - too cute.

They spotted Santa up on the balcony of the theatre and were a lile distracted. They even started waving at him.

This was Matthew as he sat on the stage and started to see the theatre fill up with people - just a little stunned, but he survived.

First Skating Lessons

This Saturday was Matthew's first skating lesson. His instructor Anthony is a fun guy. To get the kids out on the ice he skated each one out and plopped them on the ice. Then they spent a lot of time crawling around on the ice, laying on their tummies, and trying to stand up.

Once Anthony got them up on their fee he had them practice stomping their feet to make ice shavings. That's when most of them lost their balance and fell. No wonder they all have to wear snowsuits and full face helmets.

Despite spending most of the time sitting or crawling on the ice Matthew had a great time and can' wait to go back next week. Maybe he'll actually stand up on his own next week.

Hockey Gear

Matthew is getting ready for his first skating lessons. He is so excited to learn so he can start hockey lessons.

Happy Halloween!

What a perfect night! The weather was warm and dry - we couldn't ask for anything better. There was even a nearly full moon which made for a bright evening. The boys had comfortable, cute costumes and a gang of friends to trick-or-treat with. We went out with Joel & Cooper, Marcus & Victoria, and Tristan.

Matthew is a very handsome Batman - Dark Knight. Everyone LOVED Michael's little monkey suit. The banana in the back pocket was a cute finishing touch. The way he waddled he truly looked like a little monkey.
Matthew of course knew what Halloween was all about, but Michael caught on quite quickly. He was running up to doors with the big kids, pushing his way to the front and then reaching into the bowls of candy and helping himself. Everyone thought he was so adorable they let him take as much as he wanted. He either really likes the colour orange or he loves peanut butter because he seemed to grab alot of reeses peanut butter cups and reeses pieces.

After we finished trick or treating in our complex I dropped Michael off at home with John so Matthew and I could continue trick-or-treating with the big kids. We also got Matthew a new bag since his was getting so heavy. At the end of the night we came home for a hot drink and
Matthew got to eat some of his treats. We dumped all of his goodies out on the table (no this doesn't not include all the candies Michael got!) and he sorted through it all. When we said it was time to go to bed he actually asked if he could have another minute to look at all his candy. He was in heaven.


Matthew thinks he has enough treats to last him until NEXT HALLOWEEN!

A day at the PNE

We have had a fun-filled summer, which I will likely not get around to blogging. Sorry. But as we start to think about returning to school and work I will hopefully be better at regularly updating the blog again.

Yesterday we had a fabulous big kids day at the PNE. My friend,Lauretta, and I took Katie and Matthew for a day of junk food and rides - without the little siblings. It was a big treat for us all.

Apparently Matthew thinks we live in Britain - every car ride today he chose the right hand drive.

The kids rode all the junior rides. Matthew was aching to try the big kid rides too - he'll have to wait a few years unfortunately.

This look of joy was permanently etched on Matthew's face during
the roller coaster ride.

The cotton candy was a big hit too!

Both kids bravely stuck their heads in the lion's mouth
as well.

Happy Birthday, Michael!

Although Michael won't officially be one year old until the 30th, we celebrated this past Sunday with Nana, Papa, Grandma & Grandpa Dixon and Aunty Sammy. Aunty Heather and Uncle Corey were in Europe on their honeymoon, so they missed the festivities.

Michael was beaming as we all sang to him, and he did make an attempt at blowing out his candles, but Matthew beat him to it. What a helpful big brother!

As soon as the cake was set down within Michael's reach he grabbed a fist full of blue icing! What a monkey.
We offered him a piece of cake, but he really didn't seem to like it. We have noticed that Michael doesn't have much of a sweet tooth. He did enjoy squashing it though and rubbing it all over his body.

Once everyone had a piece of cake Michael was ready to join the blueman group, so we gave him a speedy bath so he could open his gifts with out recoloring the living room.

This is a shot of the birthday gang. Michael will have to get used to sharing his birthday with the rest of the family (not to mention many friends with birthdays at the end of June too). Papa (June 29th), Aunty Sammy (June 24th), Grandpa (June 26th).Michael knew just what to do with all the gifts too. He grabbed envelopes first, let Matthew open everything, and then settled down to play with a few things while I unwrapped things like clothing and cards.

Once everyone had gone home Michael had a nap. In the evening we took a nice picnic dinner to Harrier Park and let the boys play in the evening sun.

It was a wonderful day to bring to an end Michael's First Fabulous Year.

Kiddie Pool Fun

Auntie Sammy gave the boys a kiddie pool back in the cold days of Christmas time - what a lifesaver it was this week. With temperatures in the 30 degree range the boys had a great time cooling down in the water. Matthew is almost too big for the pool, but enjoys the freedom to splash like crazy - which he isn't allowed to do in the tub. Michael just spends his time crawling in and out, and trying to drink the water.

1st Haircut

Michael's hair was starting to get a bit out of control over the ears and in the back, so I just couldn't wait for his first birthday as I had planned to give the little guy a trim. We made a trip out of it to John's barber in Burnaby and all 3 boys got the haircut. Just like his older brother Michael was curious at first about the razor and then decided he did not want his hair cut. Poor fellow. Depsite the fussing, squirming and screaming I think it turned out pretty well.

Michael had started the haircut sitting on John's lap under the cape. Within a
minute he was standing and the cape was nearly gone.

Up, Up, and Away!

Michael has managed two pretty big milestones in the last 2 days. He has started to say the word "Up!" when he wants to be picked up from his high chair at mealtimes. We think he has also said "Heather" and Bye bye!", but when we asked him to repeat these words he didn't.



His other new skill is climbing the stairs. John and I were both shocked to see him sitting at the bottom of the stairs one second (which he does a lot since Bucca's toys are in a basket there) and then on the 4th step a few seconds later. Since his first (and very successful) attempt at climbing all he has done is practice. Here is a video of one of his first tries, he slips a little on some of the steps. I should make another video because in the past 2 hours he has become even quicker and more sure footed.

Aloha!

Aloha! It has been awhile since my last post due to creating wedding invites for my sister and a close friend, hanging out with the boys, holding stamping classes, and most recently living island life in Kona, Hawaii with my ohana (family) including my sister Heather. I can't promise I'll fill you in on the past few weeks at home (if time permits I will), but here is a quick look at our Hawaiian holiday.

We spent many days hanging out at beaches. Michael especially loved crawling around in the surf.

We went to the Black Sands Beach and saw the Honu (turtles).

We took the boys on a glass bottom boat & dolphin adventure. We saw spinner dolphins and 2 bottlenose dolphins swam with us for the entire trip entertaining us at every reef we stopped at.

We drove to the volcanoes and stood at the crater at Kilauea. Matthew was a little scared of the steam vents we could walk up to, but thought the big one in the crater was cool. We didn't get to see any flowing lava, but we did get to walk through a lava tube.

We went to Place of Refuge and saw all the tikis. There were a ton!

Matthew was thrilled to be at the luau, eat kalua pork and watch the hula girls. He even got to watch his Auntie Heather go up on stage to dance!

We swam in the pool, walked the Kona strip, ate in too many restaurants and generally relaxed. The heat and the swimming really wore the boys out though. Matthew even napped most days. Then again that may be due to the fact they were getting up around 5:30 am and going to bed around 9pm.

We had a fabulous time and can't wait to go back!