I Need a Weekend to Recover from My Weekend...

It seems that the pre-holiday rush has already begun! This weekend was full with all kinds of activities. Even though it's nice to have lots to do, it never seems like we get a chance to relax!

On Saturday morning, Amanda's favourite musical group, Bobs & Lolo, was appearing at Coquitlam Centre as part of their celebration to welcome Santa to the mall. Yes, Santa actually arrived this weekend...it seems now that he always arrives the first weekend after Remembrance Day. As far as Amanda is concerned, having both Bobs & Lolo and Santa Claus in one place at one time is pretty much the pinnacle of coolness, so we had to check it out!

We figured the mall didn't realize how popular B&L are, because they had set aside only a small area for the performance and it was packed!!

We were off to a rough start as Amanda insisted on sitting on the 'A' on the big carpet they had laid out, even though it was at the furthest corner from the stage. Once the music started she was torn about whether to stay on the A or move closer and dance...plus, people were edging her off the A which was causing some distress. She had a few minutes of teariness and we finally had to tell her she had to cheer up or leave! She was starting to depress the other kids! Finally she shook it off and moved up towards the front of the carpet and enjoyed the rest of the show, dancing away. Personally my favourite was when they sang Cindy Seahorse, a slow story song, and Amanda danced her princess dance - complete with twirls and a very serious princess look on her face - throughout.

After Santa made his appearance and the crowd dispersed, we headed over to the Christmas train they have set up - I think this is the first year they've had this and Amanda really enjoyed it.

We didn't do our Santa photos yet - somehow it seems way too early. Probably we'll wait until the last minute like usual and end up waiting in line for hours!

Saturday evening Jeff was singing in a concert, but the kids and I headed over to my aunt Allyson's house to celebrate Chris' 19th birthday. It's hard to believe he is 19 already! Amanda had a great time running around Allyson's beautiful house with her cousin Tristan and generally being a monkey. Sam was remarkably well-behaved, and it was nice that I had lots of arms to hold him so I got a bit of a break! Contrary to his normal "needs to be jiggled constantly", he was content to sit in Nana's arms for a good chunk of time.


Sunday was our usual busy day - church followed by lunch with Jeff's parents. After a brief rest at home we headed out to a surprise birthday party for a friend of ours. They had just moved into their brand new house on Saturday, so his wife invited a whole bunch of people over for dinner. Seems like a great way to do it - no one is expecting anything to be tidy when you're in the middle of moving! Their new house is beautiful and once again Amanda had fun running around with friends while Sam enjoyed being passed around.
All in all, a fun but exhausting weekend!

Only the Beginning...

We are way behind on blog posting again...ack! This summer just seems to be disappearing before we know it!

We will try to catch the blog up soon, but in the meantime I had to post something that happened in the car today. We were driving and listening to some of Amanda's music on my iPod. When the song Evermore by Alison Kraus came on, I immediately said to Jeff "Oh no, this song always makes me cry". It is such a beautiful song and every time I hear it I dissolve into a puddle.

The forests of April awaken from sleep,
And flowers unfold through the snow,
And the wind rushes high, and the river runs deep,
And it sings what you already know, you already know:

(Refrain) Evermore I will love you, evermore I will stay,
Ever right here to hold you, never so far away,
And though I know sometimes you go to find your way alone,
Evermore I will love you, you are ever my own.

Though nothing's as certain as seasons and time,
Though nothing will be as before,
Still every way and always it's certain that I'm
With you forever, evermore.

So, as I sat in the front seat thankful for my sunglasses that hid my embarrassing flood of tears from Amanda, she must have picked up on how I was feeling. She asked several questions along the lines of "why is she going away?", which were interesting to try to explain.

Then, just after the song ended, she suddenly said "Mommy? You know why I'm sad? Because I won't see Baby Tristan anymore." Her little lip started to quiver and the next thing we knew, she was full-on crying in the back seat. Of course we reassured her that of course she will see Baby Tristan soon - probably even tomorrow - and I tried to explain that sometimes songs can make us feel strong emotions. After a few minutes she calmed back down and was back to her regular self.

But Jeff? Was not. I think this was the point at which he fully understood what it sometimes means to be the only guy in a sea of women. A few minutes later, he turned to me and said "Please, please, if we have another child, let it be a boy."

If he thinks that was bad, I can't wait to see how he deals with having two hormonal women in the house in another 10 years or so!!

Shower Fun

The baby shower for Cristina & Tristan on Sunday went very well! We had more than a full house, but at least it was February so it didn't get too sweltering in the house! The food turned out well and everyone seemed to have a good time. Plus, Cristina got lots of lovely gifts to take home...that kid is going to be very well-dressed!

The cake:


Amanda's face after eating the cake:

Cute Baby Alert!

Tonight we had dinner at my parents' house, along with Mike, Cristina, and Baby Tristan. He is doing great and is getting cuter by the day! He seems amazingly awake for such a small baby. Apparently he is actually giving Mike & Cristina some decent stretches of sleep (well, at least decent by 1-month old baby standards) and they seem very calm about the whole parenthood thing. Amanda is very cute with him...she was a bit shy when someone else was holding him, but when I got to cuddle him for awhile, she came over and gave him lots of little tiny kisses on top of his head. She commented on how soft his hair was (so true!). But mostly she was distracted by the cool new firetruck Grandma had bought.

A few shots of Tristan with his Grandpa:

Baby Tristan is Here!!!

Still have to post about our Christmas (which was awesome!) but had to share the exciting news...baby Tristan William arrived this morning, January 2nd, at 3:10 am. He is an astounding 9 lbs, 12 oz (yikes!) and is absolutely beautiful. My "little brother" Mike did a fabulous job of supporting Cristina through a very difficult and long labour...we were so proud of him!...and Cristina is doing well but definitely needs to get some rest.

I was at the hospital until 6 am today and will be heading back this afternoon to introduce Amanda to her new baby cousin. I can hardly wait!

Check out our Flickr photoset for lots of photos of Tristan...here are a few teasers:

Baby L. is Almost Here!

We are so, so excited about Mike & Cristina's baby (Amanda's cousin-to-be), due January 1st but expected "any minute now".