Leah, Emma and Claire (and Jen and John)

Leah and Emma really got Christmas this year and it was a lot of fun. They have had an ongoing holiday theme at preschool so there was no way that Christmas could sneak up on us this year.

The official holiday started on their last day of preschool. They had a holiday party where their families were invited. For 45 mins they did crafts then sang us all the songs they’d been taught (including my favourite, Feliz Daddydad). Claire really enjoyed the singing and was clapping and rocking away. At the end of the party I got two really nice (I’m serious) wooden trees that they’d worked on. The whole day was really nice.

The build up to Santa was pretty fun. We drove around admiring xmas lights and the girls really got into it this year. Last year they’d point them out but gradually lose interest. This year they were directing John down the street and squealing with excitement every time we found a good house. Unlike their neighbours, 3 year olds really appreciate those houses that really do it up with blow up Christmas characters and as much tacky crap that you can shove on your surburban postage stamp lawn. At least we had lots of snow to brighten it up.

They also learned all about Santa this year and were very excited about Rudolph and Christmas Eve. They settled on their gift from Santa in early December. Leah wanted a Dora Mermaid doll, Emma wanted a baby doll, and we were told Claire wanted a toy dog. Easy enough for Santa this year. They even told him he could find everything he needed at Costco.

Christmas Eve we went to Aunt Bonnie’s in Whitby to celebrate Great Grandpa’s 95th Birthday. The girls helped him blow out his cake and open his presents. We left there just before 8 and headed over to Great Grandpa’s house to get ready for Santa. They put out cookies and the reindeer food they made at school. They were easy to get into bed and Emma fell asleep quickly. Leah was up til 11 and kept on telling us she’d heard Santa and couldn’t sleep. Way too much excitement for Leah! John took 30 mins off their clock.

Christmas morning they woke up at 7:24 (6:54 their time) and sat in their room and talked. At 7am they started calling for us. They were super excited to see that Santa had delivered and were really excited about their stockings (which I had nearly forgotten about). They played with their Santa stuff and when everyone else was up we started to open all the presents. Needless to say they had lots of fun opening presents.

We all did really well with them this year and they loved everything they got. The biggest reaction was when they got a Dora DVD. They did a little touchdown dance and started screaming with excitement. It was funny.

Claire was really good and let everyone pass her around. She even managed to get a new tooth while we were in Oshawa and I didn’t notice til we got home. She really likes music lately and the maracas and drum set she got are a big hit.

All in all it was a very relaxing holiday. The girls enjoy seeing their family and we are happy to share them at a time of year that really is fun with kids around. 

It’s the mad dash out the house so only pictures for now. Merry Christmas everyone! Leah and Emma are over the top excited. Rumour has it Santa has secured the Dora Mermaid, baby doll and stuffed dog for Claire.

Today was Patrick’s birthday. They had been predicting a snow storm of ‘bring in the army’ proportions all week but I wasn’t worried. The party was maybe 6 blocks away. We are Canadian - we can drive 6 blocks in the snow.

I have no idea how much snow we got. I did wade in some stuff that was well up to my knee. I also have no boots - I threw my old ones out in a tidying fit and it’s been on my list since October.  So anyway I got all three bundled up while John cleared the driveway and warmed the car. He was taking a really long time so I brought the girls out myself one by one. He was pretty skeptical that we’d be able to even get out of the driveway. I wasn’t. He was right. We got stuck half way out the driveway and then about 10 more times on the 100ft journey to the end of our street. Before the last push that got me on the more travelled road, he told me to wait for him once I got going. I was all set to stop but there were 2 more stuck cars and I thought I should keep on moving and save John having to dig us out again. I  went what I thought was really slow but still John wasn’t coming. Finally he appeared in the rear view mirror running in the snow. As he approached I yelled out the window for him to jump in the passenger side so I didn’t have to stop. He then disappeared from my sight and I had a moment of panic where I thought I’d run him over. I stopped the van I found out he had just stopped running in exhaustion. He was not impressed that I hadn’t stopped. I couldn’t stop laughing.

So we got to the party and had a good time. It was fitting that Patrick (the true Canadian) got a blizzard for his birthday. The girls had their cake and played with the other kids. Claire crawled around after Patrick but thankfully only tried to tackle him once.

So then we had to get home. We borrowed the Dempster shovel in anticipation of another rough drive. We didn’t even make it out of their driveway. With the help of the neighbourhood we were on our way again until we once again got stuck in the 100ft drive to our house. This time our neighbours came to our rescue and we were finally home. They still haven’t plowed and it’s safe to say we’re not going anywhere until they do.

Emma and Leah thought the whole thing was a very funny adventure. The highlights were when John and I watched in horror as a tandem plow blocked our way in and Leah piped up with ‘That truck is clearing a path for us’. We then did a family cheer when John got up enough speed to blast through the drift. And then with John and two neighbours pushing, the girls were chanting ‘Go Mommy Go!!’ at the top of their lungs. It was a tiring but entertaining day.

Yesterday we were in Sarnia celebrating Christmas at John’s Aunt Tina’s. The girls were really excited to go see Jeff, Tom and Steve and they had a lot of fun. When we got there Steve asked if they wanted to go play downstairs and off they went. We didn’t see much of them for the afternoon.

Last weekend we were also busy. John’s parents came down on Friday night so we could go to the Umbra sale early Saturday morning. We got there early this year and we had a lot of fun and got a ton of nice stuff. Saturday night we went to a Christmas party with my bookclub friends and then Sunday night we went to dinner. Monday we went to see Golden Compass.

The weekend before that we had John’s children’s Christmas party at the Science Centre. Emma and Leah really enjoyed the party and they got to sit on Santa’s lap. Claire was on his lap for a second but then started crying. After the party we went to the children’s exhibits which they loved. On that Sunday Drew and Jen came over to watch the girls while John and I did some shopping and then went to see a movie.

Those are the highlights of the past couple of weeks. December is always so busy. Next week the girls finish preschool til the New Year with a class party on Wednesday. They are teaching them all about different holiday traditions and they are really enjoying it.

Claire is eating well and sleeping well. Leah had another ear infection but it’s all cleared up now. All I want for Christmas is 3 healthy children and maybe some sleep!

Hair:
Not much change.

 Eyes:
Same.

Teeth:
Still no more teeth. 

Eating:
I guess the big news this month is that I weaned Claire. The night time wakings were getting a bit out of control so I just stopped. Going into Baby C I was pretty worried about breastfeeding and I am happy that it was such a positive experience in the end.

So now she still gets up twice in the night but now she gets bottles. John and I have worked out a system so that we don’t have to go downstairs and make/heat bottles. She is consistently eating in the night around 11pm and 3am. Usually settles right back to sleep after eating but she went for a week this month of being awake for 2 hours in the middle of the night.

She is more scheduled during the day and it goes something like this (I was writing this out a lot sooner for her sisters!!)
7am - wake up
8am breakfast (fruit and cereal)
9:30am - 6oz bottle
11:30pm Lunch - whatever I can get in her. Veggies on a good day, yogurt on a bad day.
2:00ish - 6 oz bottle
5pm - dinner - see lunch comment!
7:15pm - 6oz bottle then bed
11pm - 6oz bottle
3am - 6oz bottle

What she eats is still all over the place. She had another cold this month and completely lost interest in everything except yogurt and formula. When all things are going well she’ll eat most mush and try table food. Bread is her favourite but she also ate chicken, sweet potatoes, pasta and grapes. The rest was methodically deposited on the floor.

She also rarely finishes a bottle. She gets 5 bottles a day totalling 30 ozs. I’d say she drinks closer to 20ozs now. I’m supposed to be putting her on whole milk next month - we’ll see. I’m not convinced she’s eating enough yet.

Sleep:
Except for her week of midnight partying, she has been sleeping really well…well, really well for Claire. She goes to bed right after her sisters and she is much more settled since I’ve weaned her. She usually wakes up once for her soother before we go to bed and maybe 3 or 4 times in the night she’ll settle again with her soother. You know when she’s hungry because she gets insulted when you try and give her the soother.

She does really well at napping if we’re home. If we stayed home all day long (which we don’t do much anymore), I know she would nap at 9:30 and then again around 2. Instead she tags along with her sisters and naps in the car. It used to be that I could get her inside or into the stroller without her waking but the cold air wakes her up everytime now. Most school afternoons are spent with me reading my book in the car while she naps.

Getting Around:
She is now pulling up on everything and getting better at balancing. She can stand up without pulling herself up but she needs something for support (like the wall or my leg). She isn’t steady enough to stand on her own yet but she’s getting there. She is walking along the furniture and can walk holding on to your fingers.

She is now really good at crawling and can pivot etc with ease. She is just all around more steady.

Things she’s saying:
-She now says dad dad dad for John…and squeals with her sisters when he gets home from work.
-hi and bye have been separated.
-she says mmmmaaa when she gives or blows kisses
-she says fsssss for fish
-she is babbling a lot and likes to talk. I am sure she’s saying other stuff that I’m just not connecting.

Things she’s doing this month:
-she loves playing peekaboo and now puts things over her head in addition to using her hands and poking around corners
-she does the sign for milk.
-she watches and learns how to play with toys - like dropping balls in a hole
-she loves baby dolls
-she loves other children and can be quite aggressive in trying to touch (maul!) them. Just ask Patrick!
-she blows and gives kisses
-she shakes her head
-she can be very interested in the tv.
-she pulls up and looks out the side windows of the front door, waves and says bye bye
-if she can hear but can’t see her sisters she goes looking for them
-she loves putting her hand in the toilet and is there in seconds if you don’t close the bathroom door.
-remembers things you teach her and can do them again later. Things like showing me where Dora’s eye is on the bath toy or getting me a fish.
-checking everything out. She isn’t scared of anything and she loves it when I use the dustbuster to clean her tray off.
-flipping through books more than chewing them
-scribbling on the drawing boards
-she likes to pass you something then take it back over and over again
-singing her abcs - just kidding.
-she is now completely comfortable when I drop her off at the Early Years Centre. They really enjoy her there and I know she is spoiled with lots of attention for 2 hours.
-she is getting more social again and will smile and laugh at strangers.

Personality:
Her easy going personality is really starting to show. I often call her tag along Claire because she gets dragged everywhere and thankfully rarely complains. She is happy to play and follow her sisters around and we only hear from her if she’s tired and hungry - both which are easy to anticipate.

She definitely has her mommy suck moments but she has recently started making eyes at John (and so it begins…). She willingly goes to most people once she has warmed up and doesn’t miss me as long as I’m not around. The only thing I think she prefers me for is getting to sleep. I can get her to sleep in minutes - it’s not so easy for others.

She is still very interested in her sisters and they continue to be very patient with her. They are always looking out for her and recently their stories have started to include things that Claire will do with them when she’s bigger. They still remind me of all the things that Claire can’t do because she’s a baby. They are always watching out for her - opening the basement door can send them both into a panic if Claire so much as makes a move towards the stairs.

With the last month of her first year coming up, I find myself full of reflection. This time last year I was very pregnant and very ready to have Christmas over with and to meet our new baby. This year I’d like the month to slow down so we can enjoy it.

I’ll get her 11 month picture up asap!