So, last time we left you, it was just a couple of days before Christmas. The kids were on their best behaviour in anticipation of a visit from St. Nick! And on the big night, they got ready for bed without a fuss, enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa with a candy cane each, put out some cookies and milk for Santa and headed to bed. And once their sweet sparkling eyes were closed, that is of course when the magic happened! And Christmas morning they awoke and ran dowstairs to find a pile of presents under the tree! I guess the Little Dumers were good because they got just what they asked for from Santa and lots of beautiful gifts from Mommy and Daddy and many other loved ones. Thank you everyone who sent gifts and cards for the Little Dumers (and the Big Dumers!)
It was wonderful for us to see the kids so happy and excited to look in
their stockings and discover the treasures within. It took us back to our own childhoods.
Jordan did a fantastic job "playing Santa" and reading the gift tags to pass out presents.
Dad (aka "Sparky") got a set of Wally The Moose Mugs to sip his eggnog in!
And a genuine Oregon Ducks Football Jersey to cheer on his favourite collegiate team!
And Mommy even got some pretty earrings!
Cygni and I were pretty darn sick on Christmas Eve and Day. We had that nasty cold and cough that has been going around, and though we feel much better now, we still have a lingering cough nearly two weeks later! At any rate, we found out on Christmas morning that Mark & Aida cancelled their trip to Nanaimo to visit family there because Aida was also under the weather, so we decided that since we were all sick anyway, we may as well get together and share a Christmas meal! So we did. What we had originally planned as a modest feast of Roast Turkey, Stuffing, Mashers and Salad was supplemented with the Drivers' dinner of Pork Roast, Meat Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes and Apple Crisp! We had a grand time together, hacking and all! I was pleased to hear a little while later that Aida was happy and relieved to come over, as being sick and alone on Christmas made her homesickness for family in Mexico that much stronger until she and Mark got our invite.
Jordy had a pleasant surprise when his former Speech Therapist, Ingrid, popped by on Boxing Day!
The day after Christmas, we held our Annual Boxing Day Open House and it was probably our best turnout yet and one of the most fun! It was heartwarming to have so many happy and excited Children in the house playing together and many generous, lovely guests, some of them returning regulars and some new faces too, but every one contributed to the warm, jovial atmosphere in our household, and reminded us yet again why we look forward so much to opening our home on this day every year. Thank you everyone who came, we simply adored having you! We were too busy enjoying ourselves to get photos of all of our guests, but here are a few below:
The conversation flowed and so did the libations!
Everyone loves Naomi!
Cygni barely gave Uncle Jerry a rest from whatever you want to call this ^
We must have made a good impression on Daren and Corree, because they came back! Yay!
We decided that we needed to get out of the house after so many days cooped up with colds, so we ventured out once again to Burnaby Village Museum's Heritage Christmas and illuminations. So yes, we once again went on a carousel! I think our children have a disproportionate experience of carousels compared to other childhoods, not that that is a bad thing.... The best part of going to BVM, was not coming home and feeling suddenly like we wanted to curl up and die because of Norovirus! Happily, we all came back much healthier than we did last year.
This year we checked out the old Interurban Tram car that used to run in Burnaby
until the late 50s and which is now curated at BVM.
Jordan got to ring the bell!
We played it low-key for New Year's Eve: had a nice home-cooked lobster dinner, tucked in the Little Dumers, put on a movie, and then when it was midnight, we sipped a few glasses of Prosecco. 2014 was a great year and we look forward to more adventures to share with you in 2015!
And with hope for the future in mind, I leave you with a video of Jordan reading. The kids received many beautiful books for Christmas, and there were many "ready to read" beginner types for Jordy specifically. Here he is, reading "A Best Friend for Foofa" for the FIRST time!
Happy New Year, Everyone!
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