Post-Christmas Fun

On Boxing Day, we headed to my parents' place for another "Christmas dinner"...but it was just us, so it was nice to relax. Usually we've tried to go over to their place on Christmas day for gift opening, but this was an even better way to do it - less stress on Christmas day, and when is stretching out the gifts ever a bad thing?! Amanda got quite the haul (and we didn't make out too badly ourselves).

When Amanda opened her new doll (promptly Christened "baby cousin"), she immediately had to put it to sleep with her old doll (with the creative moniker "baby"). They're under the afghan Mom knit - a miniature version of the one she made for Amanda and presented the day after she was born.


The next day, we headed over to Jeff's parents' house for gift opening there. Amanda was getting a bit overwhelmed by all the presents but still managed just fine. :)

Playing with her "new iPod":

Our Christmas!

OK, so we are very late. :) But we did have a really great Christmas this year, despite the fact that we were all either fighting off illnesses or right in the thick of them. Amanda and I have managed to pass the same throat virus back and forth multiple times since the beginning of December...of course, Christmas isn't exactly the best time to get lots of sleep to be able to fight stuff off (especially after I was up all night when Tristan was born!).

Anyway, we had both our families over to our place for Christmas eve dinner. This was the second year in a row we've done this, and it works out really well - much less work for Mom to pull off two Christmas dinners in a row, and easier to get Amanda down to bed at a reasonable hour so she's not a total bear on Christmas day. This year it also meant we could start some of the rituals I remember from my own childhood...opening up that brand new pair of jammies before bedtime (made with lots of love by Grandma!), then putting out milk and cookies for Santa (and a carrot for Rudolph).

Grandma finally put a design onto Amanda's stocking (it's been blank for the past two years):

The look on Mandy's face when she realized the carrot was for Rudolph!

Putting out milk and cookies:


Christmas day was a bit crazy, as always. After church in the morning, we came back home for lunch and gift opening, then had time for a rest before heading to Cristina's parents' house for Christmas dinner. Amanda wasn't feeling great, but she's such a trooper...rarely complains about anything!

Crazy hair in the morning:

Wow! A Bobs and Lolo CD! (She made this "excited face" for just about every gift...it was classic!)

Be Very, Very Fearful

A few weeks ago Amanda started telling us to "be fearful". At first we were worried she'd picked up some obscure fear from somewhere or another, but we quickly figured out that she meant "careful". Isn't it funny how the two words sound so close together? Even though I know she's just telling us to be careful, it all of a sudden makes her sound so much more afraid of the world - something we're hoping to fend off for at least a few more years, if not forever!

It has made for some very cute moments though. Mandy is so maternal and helpful these days, and so this phrase comes up very frequently. For example, Jeff was heading out last night just as I was getting her ready for bed, so they said their goodnights. Amanda was a bit perturbed that he was going out so late, but once she figured out he was "going to work" (to help out with an evening event at the school), it was OK. But then she said "Daddy, it's slippery outside - be very, very fearful". Jeff agreed, then it was "It's cold - be very fearful - wear a coat", and "Be fearful and drive slow, it's very icy" (yes, she is already criticizing our driving!).

And speaking of driving...another charming habit Amanda has picked up in the last few weeks is yelling at other drivers. Yes, I am well-known in our household for making (ahem) suggestions to other drivers quite frequently. I don't use bad language or anything (usually) but I do say a lot of things like "Come on dude!" and "Move it, lady!". I never really thought about it, until a couple of weeks ago when I was stopped at a red light behind a woman who was too scared to make her totally legal right turn, and when I sighed in exasperation, Amanda yelled "Come on lady! Move!". We've since tried to explain that it's not really nice to say things like that, but it's also incredibly cute, so I'm guessing we'll just snicker quietly every time it happens and deal with the consequences later. :)

Who me? Yell crazy things at drivers? No way...

Random Acts of Amanda

Although she hasn't seen The Little Mermaid, Amanda is obsessed with Ariel. Now that her hair is getting long, she loves to put her head back and swish her hair back and forth on her back, saying things like "I a Mermaid" and "I have beautiful red hair".

A couple of months ago we bought her a book called Dora's Eggs, about a somewhat dimwitted chicken who is very excited by all her beautiful eggs, but quickly realizes her friends' babies are much more fun than her eggs. Until suddenly - CRACK - the eggs break! She's heartbroken ("My eggs! They're broken!") until one by one, little chick heads pop out. It's really quite a nice story and it has beautiful, simple, colourful illustrations. Amanda loves it, and it seems to really strike a chord with the maternal side she's been displaying lately. One of her new games is to say, while sitting on the potty, "I'm sitting on my nest", then..."My eggs! They're breaking!". She acts surprised at the appearance of her "chicks" and cuddles them, making sure to tell me not to step on them.

So today, these two obsessions of Amanda's merged into one. While sitting on the potty this evening, she started in with the "I a Mermaid...I a beautiful Mermaid Princess". Then, out of nowhere, she decided to add a word. But not just any word, our girl...because we are the proud parents of a "beautiful Mermaid Princess Chicken".

Thank God she didn't put her new identity together with the fact that we'd eaten chicken for dinner...

A new favourite shot...fun in the bathtub:

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: