Christmas 2008 - For Real This Time

We had a lovely Christmas in Toronto with my parents and sisters. We really missed Michael. At least we got to see him in November. Right now my head is being bombarded with information that I want to share. Not posting for over a week is a really long time for me. Let's see where to begin?

-Travelling on either end went smoothly despite the fact that we were pulling into our parking spot approximately 48 minutes before our flight was supposed to take off. It will probably take Matt and I a while to recover from lugging our bags through the airport. Due to the new luggage fees, we carried as much a humanly possible which included Daniel, a stroller, the giant carseat in its bag, a carry on suitcase, a backpack, and the diaper bag in addition to all of our outerwear. For customs we got to carry our other two giant bags as well.

- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were great. Daniel decided to sing along for mass on Christmas Eve. Every time the congregation would sing, he would squeal. The kid knows how to make a joyful noise :) The Brown's joined us for Christmas dinner, so great to see them.

-Matt and I were able to catch up on some sleep because Grampie would play with Daniel each morning for an hour or two. I think they enjoyed their special time over Cheerios and the paper.

-We made a trip to see Niagra Falls. The Falls are amazing. If you ever go, you must cross the border to see the Canadian side. They are much bigger. Matt was a little nervous about the height. That is why he is a little stiff in the video, but he was a real sport and even looked over the edge. We had dinner in Niagra-on-the-Lake where Daniel discovered that he really likes Kraft Macroni and Cheese.

-Daniel loves dogs. As you can see in the second video, he enjoys screaming at them. Unfortunately for all of my family members, this was at 7 am. Daniel would also chase them around (crawling) and say, "Dog, dog, dog, dog..." The dogs were so great. They would just walk away.

Christmas a Little Early

Since we are headed to Toronto tomorrow, Santa came to our house this morning. Here is a long video of Daniel playing with his new grocery cart. I think he likes it. We have had tons of snow this week. I want to say that the total is more than a foot. I attempted to blow the snow off the driveway today, but it was not going so well. The combination of sub-zero temperatures, extremely light snow and swirling wind were a ripe situation for frostbite. Of course I had a lovely snowblowing outfit on. Just imagine every color covering almost every bit of skin. I'm going to have to invest in one of those baklava things that cover everything except your eyes for future snowblowing adventures. Sorry no video or pictures of the snowblowing. Just imagine a person all bundled up in a cloud of snow. It was a whiteout behind the blower.

One of Daniel's Favorite Toys

A few weeks ago, I purchased an enormous amount of daipers at Costco. It took me a while to get them on the shelf and get the box ready to dispose of. I was so happy that I was going to get rid of the box clutter. Well, in the meantime Daniel has taken quite a liking to this box. He has played with it almost every day for three weeks while I get ready in the morning. I'm glad he likes it, but it is starting to give our room that messy feel. I just can't bring myself to get rid of something that allows me to blowdry my hair and put on my makeup in peace.

I had no idea that a box could provide so much entertainment for a baby this age. He likes to make faces at the baby on the box. He sees that little boy and thinks he has a friend. I wonder if he is trying to tell me something. He also stands up on the box. He bangs the box. He climbs on it, uses it as a step, and pushes it around. It can be used in any position - low box or tall box. For only $40 and a Costco membership, you can have your own box. I can see all of you rushing out tomorrow to find a great box.

Here are a few picutres of our latest baby decor.

More Playtime

I'm going to put lots of pictures up today, so that when I slack off over Christmas, you won't feel too deprived :) Our nanny took these on Thursday. She did such a great job. I guess she had a pretty easy subject.

Objects in Motion Stay in Motion

Daniel was having a grand adventure on Friday afternoon.

He had a taste test of the curtain pull.

He played in his favorite drawer!

He found a new plug.

He looked under the tea table. (I missed the picutre of him underneath the cart. Not quick enough.)

No children were harmed in the taking of these photos.

Playtime and a New Hairdo

Here is a video of Daniel somewhat entertaining himself and one of my new haircut. Enjoy!

Where to Begin?

Our normal crazy life has seemed even crazier recently. Well, at least until Friday. Daniel really knows how to celebrate his 8-month birthday. We had been in full holiday swing until Daniel came down with Croup on Friday. We were scheduled to go in for his flu shot with a nurse, but that morning he was so unusual that I rescheduled for a Doctor's appointment. He was being relatively lethargic and quite clingy. No big red flags, but I just wanted to get him checked out. Well, we get to the doctor, and everyone keeps asking me if it started last night. I kept saying maybe. I had to describe his cough about 10 times. Apparently, 'barky' is the correct term to describe a croupy cough. Anyway, they check him out, everything seems ok, and then Daniel let out the slightest cough, and the Doctor proclaims it croup. I guess the cough is quite telling.

Well, Friday night we found out why they kept asking if it started the night before. Daniel went to bed like usual and slept fine until about midnight. Then he was up every hour from then on. All he wanted was to be held. The poor kid was miserable. He would cough, pause, and then cry. It was a long whiny cry. He stayed fairly miserable until Sunday morning. Luckily it is nice and cold outside, so we can expose him to nice cold air to help his throat feel better. He is feeling much better now, but the croup still lingers a bit. It is the worst between 6 and 10 pm. I'm afriad that the sleep training might be out the window.

Daniel also started crawling in the traditional sense this past week. He is getting faster each day. It is really entertaining to watch him learn. His arms will start going faster than his legs, and sometimes he just misses and has a faceplant. He still gets right back up and goes again. Maybe I shouldn't laugh at him, but I need the peace of mind sometimes. He is also getting better at getting down from a standing position to sitting without bonking his head.

The past three or four times I've gone to get him when he wakes up, he'll be standing in the crib. At least twice, he could have been standing there for a very long time. He is a stealthy stander. He'll wake up and stand up with only making the slightest noise. Like a noise similar to a sigh. I'll think his is just napping away only to go in and check and find him standing there looking around the room. I guess if he had a problem, he would let me know.

His top two teeth are just about to erupt. You can see the little white pieces under the skin. I hope they aren't too terribble for him. I'm ready to get back to the normal sleep routine. I'm thinking he will be into a great routine around December 22 when we head to Toronto for Christmas. At least we will have lots of help there!

I'll work on getting more pictures or a video up on Friday.

Swimming Lessons

Peggy came to swimming on Tuesday. She was nice enough to take a few videos. I made a little movie of the videos. I'm still experimenting with the software, so bear with me. After taking the time to get it done, I still feel like it is worth it to post them even if they are just ok.


Winter has arrived in full force. We got 4 inches of snow today (just in time for me to spend my day outside at a farm), and it is going to be in the 20s later this week. I'm not quite ready for this yet.