The New 'Do'

I continue to feel the need to change my hairstyle... So here is the latest .. Being a mom has inspired me to have shorter hair. We will see how long this lasts.
Thanks to Jenny, our neighbour, who came and did my hair at our house for a real deal - cut, color and highlights for 50 bucks!

Christmas 2008 - Lyla's 1st Christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone and boy oh boy did we have a great Christmas. We were fortunate enough to be able to spend it with our families this year, as this was the first year that I didn't have to work Christmas day. It was great to get to see everyone!

We first went to Pickering to spend time with Ryan's family. Ryan's parents held their Christmas dinner on December 21st. There were a large crowd there, with most of the Hewlett side there. Both of Ryan's grandmothers were there which was a great treat.

We then headed back west to Granton to spend some time with my family.

We enjoyed our first Church service, other than Lyla's baptism, on Christmas Eve, and we got to see my immediate family. All but Darren and Christine, as we missed each other this year. We even got some time to see some of my Great Aunts - Aunt Anna and Aunt Amelia, which is something I had been wanting to do since Lyla was born.

Lyla had these special pajamas for Christmas Eve, they had a letter to Santa on them.

I think Lyla's letter worked, because we woke up to find that Santa had arrived to bring Lyla what she asked for. She sent Santa the following letter a couple weeks before Christmas . .

Dear Santa,

My name is Lyla. I am 7 months old and I am really looking forward to my first Christmas. I have been a very good girl.
For Christmas I would like some blocks with numbers on them and some books because I like to read.
I can say hello and wave, so please say hello to Mrs. Claus and Rudolph for me.
Merry Christmas.
Love, Lyla

Both the blocks and the book where found by the fireplace when we got up, along with some other treats that Santa thought Lyla would like.

Nana and Papa gave Lyla a toboggan. She first tried it out inside, and then we were lucky enough to get outside to try it in the snowy weather. Lyla loved it!

Here is a picture of our family, the three of us, by the same trees that we had our wedding pictures taken 5 years ago. How things have changed for the best!

Here are the cousins. . .Lyla and Jillian, I can already tell they are going to be great friends! I can already see Lyla following Jillian around next year. Lyla was smiling so much a Miss Jillian!
Then there is Mr. Matthew. He sure is a ham. Here he is with his new G.T. Sno-racer. We hope that you can use this soon!
Here is Miss Emily. Our Big niece, who I still picture as a young girl. We are so proud at how responsible you are becoming. We love you, and Lyla looks forward to spending time with you.

This last pictures pretty much sums up how we all felt after our week away. We hope that you all had a great Christmas. It was our best yet!

Christmas in the past

First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all! This is the best time of the year and I hope you are all enjoying a fun filled day with your families. I am at home with my parents, this being about the first time I have been home on Christmas day in about 5years. Seeing that as a junior nurse we are often the ones working Christmas day. However, this year, I am not working, so I am able to be home! Yippee!!

This holiday season has left me with some reflection upon how things were at Christmas for our elders, that being our grandparents and our great aunts and elders. Luckily for me, the holidays is a great time for visiting with family members and I was able to talk to some of these elder and wiser folks. So with visiting I asked each person what their family did for Christmas.

Ryan's Granny, who is 85 and in wonderful health described her holiday as traditional. Her father was English and very proper. On Christmas morning, the children would have to be properly dressed before they could even exit their bedrooms to open their stockings and gifts. What was in their stockings? An orange, maybe an apple too, some hard candy and some nuts. They may have gotten a gift from Santa, but "nothing much", and an example that was given was some skates. Ryan's Great Aunt Peggy who is 84, stated that herself and her sister, Ryan's Grandma, would hang their stockings on their bedpost. And a stocking was nothing like the stocking I have made for Lyla. Rather, it was just the stocking off your leg. Their stockings would be filled in the morning with hard candy, nuts, and an orange. Now these 2 ladies did each get a lump of coal in their stocking. Something that no one else told me about. When I questioned why did they get both coal and goodies, she just chuckled and answered that she didn't have a clue. The stocking hung on the bedpost was placed there so that they could "nibble" on the goodies in their stockings until they were called out of their rooms to see what Santa had brought them. Gifts again, were stated to be "nothing much", and a doll seemed to be what Aunt Peggy could recall.

My great Aunt's - Aunt Anna(94) and Aunt Amelia(90), both shared the same sentiment that Christmas gifts where "nothing much". Similar stories were shared with me about how an orange was found in the stocking. An orange would be a highlight, my mother recalled from her mother. As you couldn't get oranges with such ease as you can now a days. Stockings where found from every where from the fireplace, to under the tree, to the bed post, to a string stung between the rooms. The highlight of Christmas was not the presents, rather the gatherings that would ensue that day. The family gatherings where laughter and love would be shared.

My parents recalled their Christmas to me.

My dad's father, my grandfather, owned a China Shop. So their gifts would be something from the store, thus making their Christmas morning somewhat elaborate. A new watch would not be an uncommon gift. Since my grandfather was a merchant in a local community, he would buy goods wholesale from other merchants to get a variety of gifts for the family. Church services were a center of the attention. They would walk up a half a block to the 11 pm Christmas Eve service for communion and then again on Christmas Day. A large family dinner would be prepared by my grandmother. Christmas morning would be exciting for the three children of the Waters' household. To my uncle John, who was mentally handicapped, this was the highlight of the year, he looked forward to this day from the fall. The family made this day special for John, as this was his day for he was always young at heart.

My mother claims that Christmas day was "the best day of the whole year". Her family would have Christmas at her grandparent's home, my Grandpa's parents, for noon, with a large family gathering with lots of food. They would eat a large lunch with all the Christmas trimmings. The women would clean up from lunch, the children would go upstairs and play in her Grandma's store rooms, and the men would share stories about the neighbourhood. My mother recalls Christmas pudding, which is a tradition that Ryan's family still holds. Gifts would be opened. My mother would get Two dollars from her grandparents, and one dollar from her uncle. "What a treat!" my mother exclaimed. My mother's grandmother would give the same gifts every year to the older people. A flannel sheet to the ladies, and a flannel shirt for the men, "probably out of the catalogue", my mom said. Later in the afternoon, my grandpa and a great uncle would go home to do the chores on the farm. While they were gone, the ladies would get dinner started, left overs from the lunch before. The children would continue to play and the day would end after dinner.
Sometimes I wonder if things would be easier if we lived in the "olden" days. Sure, there were hardships like no running water in the house, no electricity. These are obvious, but sometimes I wonder if the commercialization of society has overtook our family traditions. For example, today's child asks for electronics, a cell phone, an I-pod, whatever is the current craze rather than a pair of skates or a doll. Whatever the case may be, family should still be the center of the reason for the holiday. For it is Jesus' birthday, and birthdays should be shared with those you love. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the prospect of opening gifts this evening. But hopefully in the excitement of presents being opened, I can take some time to sit back and take in all of my family members joy. Hopefully you can enjoy your families and take time to reflect upon your past Christmas. Like my elders, is it the gifts or the gatherings that you remember most?? My hope is that it is the gatherings that you recall.
Either way, enjoy your day... and Merry Christmas to all!

The Mother Letter

This is a wonderful project that I want to encourage you all to do. Please follow the link and send you letters to the Mother Letter Project. This is a project that a gentlemen is doing to "create" Christmas. Rather than spending money on his wife, for gifts that aren't as sentimental as he would like, he is asking all of us mothers to write a letter on your motherhood wisdom, advice and rants. Check out the link and again - I urge you to do it. If you write before Christmas you will get an electronic copy of all the letters, and as of December 14th he had 440 letters. His goal is 1000, so please help him reach this goal for his wife's Christmas gift.

Merry Christmas

A Stocking for Lyla

Well, I finished it. Yipee... Here it is, Lyla's Christmas stocking. Here is the presentation to Miss Lyla.. I think she really liked it.. She liked the shiney colors and glitter. She would have loved to put it in her mouth that is for sure. Here it is hanging on our mantle, just waiting for Saint Nick.

Cuddles

Some pics of our little cuddler...I love the Cuddles. She is starting to become such a little cuddler.

Rocket

Lyla LOVES the Little Einsteins television show on Disney. She lights up when it comes on and really enjoys the music and the characters. So, Lyla had her first Christmas present that she got to open. We got her the Rocket ornament from Little Einsteins. It sings the theme, and she loves it.

Here is some pictures from her opening her first Christmas gift.

Single Digits - 9 days until Christmas

Yep that is it. Only 9 days, and of course Ryan is just getting over a cold. I am just beginning a cold and I am sure Lyla is about to get one in a couple of days. Ugghh! Nothing I hate more than being sick over the holidays.
Lyla's stocking is almost done. It would have been done by now, but we all went to bed early last night due to the cold. I will post a picture of Lyla's stocking upon completion.

We are all getting excited for Christmas. Even though Lyla won't have a clue what is going on, it is going to be so much fun this year. Lyla has sent her letter to Santa. Soon her stocking will be hung waiting for him to come. It is such a wonderful time of the year.
Lyla and I have one more stop to make and then our shopping will be done. We are hoping to get out today, but we will see how we feel.

Here are some pictures of Lyla's adventure with the Christmas tree. Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season.

Lyla: "Hmmmm, I would really like to get my hands on that ornament."

"MMMM. Yummy. I love the taste of plastic. So good on my gums!"

"That was fun! Muma wants a smile, here is one!"

"Ok, now what can I get my hands on. This ornament looks yummy, even though I am sure muma wouldn't want me to have my little hands around this breakable ornament. If I do it quietly, she will never notice...I'll just stretch out my arms enough so I can get it!"

"Yummy! Sparkles taste so .. so... gritty!"

"Yippee! I got away with it. My muma never noticed me touching the shiny, sparkly glass ornament. I am so smart!" "Drats! Caught again! I swear that muma sees everything!"

Continued blessed holiday season.

Teeth Shot

I just wanted to leave a picture of Lyla's teeth for you all to enjoy!

How quickly the Christmas season is upon us..

Here we are 20 days before Christmas! 20 DAYS! That's it! That's all! I know this date with confidence as each morning Lyla and I advance our advent calender closer to the arrival of Santa Clause.I haven't even gotten all of my decorations out! I still haven't finished Lyla's stocking! I still haven't baked any holiday treats! The only thing is that even though the season is quickly enveloping us, all will be accomplished come the eve of December 24th only to have the holiday gone as quickly as it comes.

Christmas is a magical time of year. This is the only time when we decorate our homes inside and out with shiny glowing lights. Our hearts sing the carols that our ancestor's hearts sang. And the children's eagerness for Santa Clause is contagious.

Speaking of Santa Clause, Lyla had her first visit with this jolly old elf. Last weekend we took a road trip to Frankenmuth. As this was Lyla's "2nd" Thanksgiving, because she already had her Canadian Thanksgiving, we decided to start a new Thanksgiving tradition to go overnight to the Bavarian Inn and visit Bronner's Christmas Wonderland to see Santa Clause.

This was Lyla's first trip to a hotel, and her first time to a swimming pool. She really enjoyed the pool, but more than the water and pool she enjoyed people watching. Lyla is really a people person. She loves looking at people and seeing what they are doing. So while she was in the pool, she was preoccupied with the children and people around the pool.


She had her first tub bath in the hotel and really enjoyed splashing in the water in the tub. She liked trying to get the bubbles that she caused splashing. We went out to eat at the Bavarian Inn restaurant, which was also a first for Lyla. This was her first restaurant visit and to say that she enjoyed this would be a lie. She was not a happy camper at the restaurant, but then again neither was I as I was feeling very sick, and ended up getting sick once we got back. Nothing to do with the food, I had started to feel sick the night before.
We stayed in the Bronner's suite at the hotel. This was in the tower entrance of the hotel, and we in the tower itself. There was a small Christmas tree in the room, which was great because we didn't need a night light with this on. Lyla and I had bought all of us matching pjs for Christmas morning and we brought the PJs for the trip. I am always saying that I wish I could wear Lyla's clothes and this was a dream come true for me, such comfy pjs.

The next morning we got up and were greeted by 6 inches of snow. We got a late check out and took Lyla back down to the pool for another swim. After her morning nap, we headed over to Bronner's for her meeting with St. Nick. She was so cute with Santa, they had a bit of a stare off with each other. She didn't cry though which was so good.

So, that is what we have been up to. It was a good trip away, and this next photo sums up how we all felt after we got home...

I must admit traveling with a baby is a lot of work, and I am not looking forward to travelling over the next couple of weeks. She was tired of driving after 1 hour let alone 4. Which has lead Ryan and I both wondering how Pam and Tom and the kids ever made it to Florida with Jillian just being 2 months older than Lyla! Where you guys crazy!!

I better run and get back to working on Lyla's stocking. I am almost done but I need all the time I can get.
Hope everyone is enjoying the preparation for this busy but joyous time of year...

Awesome contest - Check it out!

Hey All, here is a great idea for raising some funds for 3 well deserved organization. Click on the link and buy some raffle tickets. I am expecting a photo shoot with your new camera as a thank you!