One more Christmas gathering...

...and we can't wait for the food!!!!

Just kidding - we were doing "shrinky dinks" with the kids after supper and they loved watching them shrink (it is pretty cool). 

Christmas

A glimpse at our Christmas...

Emmett's first time on his skates, at our family gathering on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning, putting the star on the top of the tree.

Opening presents at home - can you guess what Emmett got? ;)

 

Christmas brunch at my parents' place.

Getting ready to open presents at my in-laws' place.

Carey's dad built this awesome workbench for Emmett.

Hard at work decorating a gingerbread train.

Toys for kids, both big and small. :)

We had a great Christmas, and it wasn't even too busy.  In the past it's felt like just "go go go", but this year we've had a little more time to relax and play, which is nice.  Hope you all had a merry Christmas too!

Lights

This morning in church my parents did the advent reading and the kids helped lighting the candles (and they didn't burn the church down!).

Then this evening we continued our tradition of going to see the Winter Wonderland lights display.  We've gone every year since Emmett was born, and the kids love it.  Annika's favorite part was the hearts, and Emmett liked the train.  I liked the mini-donuts. ;)

Christmas pancakes

These have a become a tradition at our place. The pan is kind of finicky and half the time they get a little burnt, but the kids really love them. I love that they've become a tradition for us. When we were first married, and even the first year or two with Annika, we didn't really have any traditions that were our own (just traditions with our families, etc). Over the past few years we've been accumulating our own traditions and it makes Christmas feel a little more special.

Gingerbread houses

Just a few of the masterpieces done today at our annual family gingerbread house decorating event.

Tis the season

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the chocolate Advent calendars. Last year I had a hard time finding "plain" calendars (that is, not Angry Birds, not Disney Princesses, not Lego, etc), so when I spotted these today I threw them in the cart right away, even though it feels a bit early (for me) to be thinking about Christmas.

Paska

I attempted something new today - baking Paska buns (or Easter buns).  For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a sweet, citrus-y bread or bun, topped with icing and sprinkles, made at Easter time.  I found the recipe at Mennonite Girls Can Cook and figured I should give it a shot.  I love Paska - it's been a part of Easter for me for as long as I can remember - but I've never made it myself.  I've never even baked with yeast before, but I figured that given my Mennonite heritage, I must have the bun-baking skill deep down inside me somewhere.  And if things didn't go well, then I'd just add a little more icing and sprinkles to them.  (hmmm, I wonder if that's why the icing and sprinkles are there in the first place?  Did someone long time ago burn a batch and needed a way to cover it up???).

After the first rise

Baking

They got a little dark, but they're still nice and soft inside

YUM!  (Almost) just like Grandma used to make

They got a little dark on the tops, but Annika and I taste-tested one, and they taste delicious.  I got the seal of approval from Annika (she said she was definitely going to eat all her supper tonight, so that she could have one for dessert). :)  Maybe now I'll have to practice baking regular buns, so I can get the Paska perfect for next Easter.

Adding to the collection

Carey and I collect mugs from the places we've traveled together.  It all started in New York, sort of by fluke, since we were simply looking for a souvenir that wouldn't just sit around and collect dust.  Then we added a mug from Chicago, Busch Gardens (Florida) and Toronto.  We limit ourselves to 1 per place, though, otherwise we'd have 2 from Chicago and 4 from Florida (we're missing Dominican Republic though, where we went for our honeymoon - guess we need to go back!).  I find that they're a great keepsake, since we get lots of use out of them (we only use our "matching" mugs when we have company) and I love to think back to our vacations while sipping my morning coffee, or while enjoying some hot chocolate on a cold day.

This week we added this baby to the collection.  Can't wait to try it out!

Vacation pictures coming soon! :)

Our Christmas

Here are a few pictures from the past week!  We had a great Christmas - hope you all did too!!

Dec 22 - on our way to see lots of Christmas lights!  Annika was soooo excited for this.

The nativity scene in lights.

Christmas morning excitement!

Checking out all their new stuff (side note: Emmett wanted to stay in his jammies, but Annika insisted on getting dressed - and dressed up - before opening presents).

Carey's present - can you guess what it is?  (It's a snow brush/scraper for his truck).

Emmett's new tools, handmade by his grandpa.

Something both of them can enjoy at the same time!

Emmett practically licked his plate clean at dessert.

Annika trying out her stocking stuffer - bath crayons (which were a lot harder to clean off than I would've liked).

Emmett got bath finger paints in his stocking, which, thankfully, washed off quite well.

Emmett loved playing with the "photo booth" props at our family gathering on Boxing Day!

So, that was a little glimpse of our Christmas.  I found this year to be a lot easier than last year, but it still was a busy few days (with 3 late nights in a row).  I found Christmas Day to be a bit much for Annika, as we opened presents at home in the morning, then at Carey's parents' place in the afternoon and my parents' place in the evening.  It's a bit overwhelming for a kid, and she was on a bit of a "mood rollercoaster" that day (lots of ups and downs).  Emmett just wanted to open and play with each gift, never mind keep opening presents.  I've always liked that we can spend time with each of our families on Christmas day, but maybe we'll have to see for next year whether something needs to change.  I feel like, since having kids, each year is a bit of a learning experience and just when I think I've figured things out, they change again!

Hustle and bustle

Last year I wrote a list of all our planned activities for the week of Christmas, and it was really neat to look back on it, so I'm doing it again this year.  It's more for myself than anyone else, but in case you want to know what we're up to....

Today: we started off the day with breakfast out with some good friends of ours and their kids, then Annika went over to her Grandma and Grandpa's house to bake and decorate Christmas cookies.  While she was gone and Emmett and Carey were napping, I made chocolate coconut cream balls for taking to a family gathering on Boxing day (they are amazing - I'll try to post the recipe soon).  Tonight we are planning to go see the lights at the Winter Wonderland display.  We've done it for the past 2 years, and it's become a Christmas tradition of ours.

Sunday: church in the morning, nothing planned for the rest of the day except to make our annual batch of "Christmas" pancakes for supper - which are just regular pancakes, but I have a special pan that cooks special designs (snowman, tree, Santa, etc) in them.

Monday (Christmas eve): Family gathering (Carey's mom's side) for lunch and supper - about a half hour drive from here.  This is always a fun gathering, but usually ends up being a late night, which can be hard on the kids (which is then hard on us, the parents!).

Tuesday (Christmas): I plan to make Pilsbury cinnamon rolls for breakfast and we'll have a bit of family time at home to open gifts.  Then it's off to Carey's parents' place for lunch and my parents' place for supper.  We are very lucky to have both of our sets of parents close by us (10 minutes drive or less), so we get to see everyone on Christmas.

Wednesday (Boxing Day): for the past few years we've had 2 family gatherings on Boxing Day (one for lunch and one for supper), and we've made it to them both, despite having to drive around the countryside quite a bit.  This year we again have 2 gatherings scheduled for Boxing Day, but after the craziness of last year (when I felt exhausted and sick and sighing with relief when it was all over), we've decided to only go to one of them.  We'll be going to a gathering with my dad's side for the afternoon and supper - about an hour drive from here.  In the past I really haven't been able to enjoy this gathering as much as I would've liked to, since we often arrived late (after everyone was already sitting down and we had to go sit at a table by ourselves) and I was usually so tired by the end of the day that I just wanted to go home.  I'm looking forward to it this year, and hopefully I'll have a bit more time and energy to visit with family that I don't get to see very often.  It will be another late night, but hopefully the kids will sleep on the drive home.

No plans after that!  Carey "technically" has the rest of the week off work, but chances are good that he'll probably go in for a little while anyways.  But there will still be lots of time to relax and enjoy being together as a family, which is what I think I'm looking forward to the most!

Getting to know you: Christmas version

I saw this quiz on my friend Tammi's blog, so I thought I'd play along.  Merry Christmas!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper.  It's just not as much fun to "tear into" a gift bag.  However, I do also have a fondness for a certain gift box that has passed back and forth between me and the members of my family for quite a few years (no one throws it away, it's kept and used again the next year - it's probably been around for more than 10 years!).
 
2. Real tree or artificial?   Artificial.  I wish we had a pre-lit tree, though - I can't stand putting up the lights.
 
3. When do you put up the tree?   Before Emmett was born I didn't have a set date for putting up the tree (usually end of November or early December), but now that Emmett's birthday is December 2nd, I don't put up the tree until after his birthday is done.
 
4. When do you take the tree down?  No set date, but usually sometime after New Year's.
 

5. Do you like eggnog?  YES!!  Love it!!!  I drink the light version, though, and sometimes I add in a little skim milk, so I don't feel too guilty.
 
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don't know if this was my favorite gift, but it was definitely one of the most memorable - the year we got a VHS VCR.  I remember shopping with my dad at Canadian Tire before Christmas, and he put some blank VHS tapes into our cart and I said to him, "Dad, we have a Beta" and he said "well, maybe they'll fit".  Turns out they did fit - in the new VCR!
 

7. Do you have a nativity scene?  Yes, we have three.  Two are mine (no touching!) and one is a Little People nativity set for the kids to play with.

8. Hardest person to buy for?  My parents.
 
9. Easiest person to buy for?   Annika.  
 
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  I can't really think of anything off-hand, but probably something from a "bring a gift, get a gift" exchange.  I usually would end up disappointed with what I got, so now we only participate in one of those kind of exchanges.
 
11. Mail or email Christmas cards?   I usually hand out most of our cards in person - I think I've mailed cards once or twice.
 

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?  White Christmas.
 
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?   Early December.  Every year I think I should start earlier, but it never happens.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?   Yes.  I don't have a problem with re-gifting - you just have to make sure the original gift giver doesn't find out!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?  Hmmm, that's a tough one - so many yummy things to choose from!  I love "puppy chow" (Crispix cereal coated with chocolate, peanut butter and icing sugar) - it's always a Christmas treat for us.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?  Clear.  We also have clear lights on our house.
 

17. Favorite Christmas song?  My favorite non-religious Christmas song is "Sleigh Ride" (it always reminds me of my high school band), and my favorite religious song is "Away in a Manger."
 

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?  Does going to family gatherings around Southern Manitoba count as traveling?
 

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?  Dasher, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen, Prancer, Comet, Cupid...  Rudolph...  how many are there???
 

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.  However, when I was growing up my brother and I always opened our presents from each other on Christmas eve.  I may re-start that tradition with our kids when they get a bit older.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?  All the expectations - it seems impossible to be everywhere/do everything that we "should" be doing.  My cousin wrote a great post about this on her blog - definitely worth a read!
 

23. What I love most about Christmas?  Now that I have kids I think what I love most is seeing it all through their eyes - all the wonder and amazement and joy of the season.

Christmas is in the air

A few pictures of how we've been getting ready for Christmas....

Putting up the Christmas tree

 

 

The kids did a great job of helping me decorate the Christmas tree last week.  Yes, there is an abundance of decorations in the bottom 2 feet of the tree, but Annika is doing her best to help even things out.  I told her to try not to bunch all the decorations in one spot, and now whenever she notices that there are 2 ornaments on one branch, she notifies me and asks if she can move them (I've since told her that she's free to move them around without always telling me). ;)  As some of you know, I like my Christmas tree the way it is (blue and silver with snowflake ornaments) and I'm not crazy about the idea of a lot of mis-matched homemade ornaments, however, if you look closely at the picture of Annika and the tree, you'll notice that one ornament she made at school did in fact make it onto the tree.  It's a pine cone with sparkles on it.  Annika hung in on the tree, right front and center, and I haven't even moved it!

Christmas cuties

These are actually the kids' Christmas outfits from last year, but they still fit!  Emmett got a new shirt for underneath his vest, and he never actually wore those pants last year (they're a size 12-18m but they're way bigger than that), but I was so glad that his vest still fit - isn't it adorable?  He looks like such a little man, and Annika just loves this dress.

Making gingerbread houses

 

We normally make gingerbread houses with Carey's extended family (it's a family tradition), but this year we had to miss because of Emmett's birthday party, so we made gingerbread houses at Carey's parents' place the other day.  Annika decided that she wanted hers to be a gingerbread stable with a manger, instead of a house, so we left off one side and one roof piece to make it look more like a stable.  I just love her creativity.  I made Emmett's little house out of graham crackers, and he and Carey had a great time putting candy on it.  My house is the one on the left - I love decorating gingerbread houses.  I think it's something I'll never grow out of.  :)

Visiting with Santa and Mrs. Claus

 

Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit the kids this morning at Y Neighbours (another yearly tradition).  The kids aren't crazy about Santa (even though we actually know this couple in real life and I whispered to Annika to look closely and see if she recognized them), so we don't push the Santa thing too much.  We've never gone to see Santa in the mall, but it's nice to get a picture each year from at Y Neighbours.

The advent calendar

This tradition dates back till when I was a kid.  My mom made this advent calendar for me and my brother when we were little and we used it each and every year that we lived at home.  Just last year it made its way to our house, and I'm so glad that we could use it again this year.  The kids take turns putting an ornament up each day - Annika is working from the top down and Emmett from the bottom up!  It's so fun to see them enjoying a tradition that I enjoyed myself as a kid, and to hear Annika's different views on things.  For instance, my brother and I had an on-going agreement that the star would ALWAYS be the last ornament put up, on Christmas day, but Annika decided that it should be the first thing to be put up.  Also, do you see the little green angel (right above the deer, towards the bottom)?  Annika insists that that's not an angel, it's a dinosaur eating a person.  Where does she come up with these things??  She also thought that the baby Jesus looked like a girl. :P

How have you been getting ready for Christmas?  What are your special traditions?

Digital pictures... what to do??

What do you do with your digital photos?  Do you still print photos and keep a photo album, or just look at pictures on your computer, and print off the odd one or two to put in frames or give to a relative?  Do you make photo books online and have them printed?

I'm asking these questions (and I'd love to hear your responses) because I'm having a bit of a dilemma with what to do with my photos.  Since getting our first digital camera about 6 years ago, I've been pretty good at keeping on top of printing pictures and putting them into photo albums (not every picture I take gets printed, but quite a few do).  I don't scrapbook, but I do have organized albums, and I usually write the date and the names of any non-family members pictured on the back of each photo.  Or perhaps I should say that I was pretty good at keeping on top of things.  It's now been about a year since I've printed pictures for my photo albums.  I've printed the occasional picture to frame or put in a baby book or give to family, but I haven't done pictures for my albums since the beginning of last September.  That's a lot of pictures to go through now!

I'm wondering, though, whether I should keep printing pictures and doing albums or if I want to switch over to making a photo book for each year instead (I would then still print pictures to finish off last year's album, but not print pictures from this year).  I've made a photo book for each of our family vacations, and one for each of the kids' first year, and I really like the finished result.  I'd love to make one of our wedding photos some day, but I need to get the negatives scanned first!  We got married just before digital took off. :P  The kids love looking through those books (at first I was quite anal about them, and then decided that they were meant to be looked through and enjoyed, even if it meant the pages got a little creased), and I like that they're easier to handle than a big album (and a photo won't fall out!).  However, I wonder if I'll regret not printing pictures?  If I did photos in a photo book, I wouldn't be able to write on the back of the photos with date/subject info (and it would likely get cumbersome and cluttered to caption each photo with that info).  And if I no longer have a photo album, what would I do with all those photo thank you cards and birth announcements and Christmas cards that I receive?  I always stick those in the back of my photo album each year.

So there's my little dilemma (I know, what problems I have :P).  I want to have some actual photos that I can touch and look at, because it's just not the same for me to gather the kids 'round the computer and look at pictures and reminisce.  But what's the best way to go??  Your thoughts???  If you do photo books, what's your favorite place/site to do them?

Christmas in pictures

Our Christmas....

Annika's preschool Christmas concert

(she's in the grey jumper and green shirt, about the middle of the front row)

Annika, hard at work during Carey's work's open house

The advent calendar, completed on Christmas morning with the star on top

Beautiful ballerina

Christmas fruit tree we made for brunch at my parents' place

Carey loves playing dolls :)

Emmett reading the Christmas story with Grandpa, on an iPad (how things change!)

Beautiful wooden handmade gifts, made by Grandpa

Emmett's newest game, stuffing his socks in the central vac outlet

My gift from Carey - Eggies!

(I love "as seen on tv" stuff - I also have a Snuggie).

Just as much fun as decorating the houses - smashing them!

Emmett thoroughly enjoyed it!

I must've been very good this year - Santa brought me my very own sewing machine (so far I had been borrowing my mom's to do my sewing).  Can't wait to start a new project!

This is what I want to remember from this year's Christmas - the smiles, the excitement, the fact that Annika did so well in her very first school concert, the love shown through gifts, the delicious food and the fellowship.  Hopefully over the years, it will be the memories held in these photos that remain in my heart, and not the stress, the exhaustion, the sickness, or the crankiness (although I want to remember those things enough to try to do things differently - hopefully better - in the coming years).