Christmas 2009

We so enjoyed the Christmas season with our family of 5! The boys were excited for every activity and just darling with their little sister.

Talia did feel like our gift this Christmas. Life is just such a miracle and truly a gift. She has been such a fantastic baby which makes us feel even more thankful.

The boys enjoyed decorating the Christmas tree and house, decorating sugar cookies, building gingerbread houses, watching Christmas favourites like Veggie Tales, Frosty, Rudolf, drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows, riding the train at Bright Nights, tobogganing, several play times with family and friends and many many other activities. We enjoyed Christmas celebrations with each family separately and then all together with both grandparents on Christmas day. What a treat for our family!

Talia at 1 month

Talia continues to grow and delight our family. She still sleeps well, averaging at least a 6 hour stretch at night. She loves to eat and although is growing, still fits a lot of new born clothes (so different than the boys first month!). Some of her favourite activities are a nice warm bath and snuggling on a caregiver's chest. She likes being on her tummy and loves her hands. She wore her first dress (thank you Duane, Val, Steve & Kathy) at Christmas time, around when she turned 1 month! Mommy still needs to get in the dress "groove" with all the little extra accessories of tights, shoes, etc. Fun times ahead!

Nate's acting debut

Nate's preschool performed the nativity story for their party day. They worked hard to memorize lines and learn several songs celebrating Jesus' birth. Nate played the part of one of the wise men. This video is a bit long and a bit quiet, but if you are interested it is cute 4 year old acting and singing.

For some more amazing video, pictures and an eloquent write-up of the December party day, my friend Lynda has an amazing post.

Sugar Cookies

The boys and I made sugar cookies for the Christmas season. It is a fond memory that I have from my childhood and want to carry on the "tradition" with my own children. Nate loves to help me bake things and Jadon is starting to want to help more too (especially when it comes to licking beaters, sampling, etc.). They both helped me make the dough and then decorate the cookies. They generously added multiple candies to each cookie. I started to get frustrated with how many candies they were using as I couldn't keep up with replenishing each emptied candy dish. THEN, I realized, those actually were the tastiest, most desirable cookies. They both were very creative in their decorating and lasted much longer than Mommy with their patience and attention to detail. Talia peacefully slept through all the activity. I'm quite certain this will be the only year she doesn't try to participate (or interfere) with the cookie decorating.

Brotherly Love

Nate and Jadon have become fabulous "big brothers". We were not expecting the interest and attention they give to their new sister. Each day, they both come up to Talia on numerous occasions to shower her with kisses and hold her hand. Nate, in particular, is developing his caretaking role and will sit with Talia while Mommy showers or takes care of other duties around the home. They both help entertain her, sing to her, talk to her, read her stories, and "translate" for her. This stage is THOROUGHLY being enjoyed by Mommy especially. Already it is passing too quickly.

A Visit with Santa

Brent's school hosted a party with Santa for the teacher's children again this year. Nate and Jadon are starting to anticipate time with Santa and are a little more brave in their interactions with him. The boys made a variety of crafts, played with several "Best Buddies" (student helpers), and asked many, many questions about Santa. Talia enjoyed many cuddles and basically slept through the party. Even a visit with Santa did not wake her up.

Roar Like a Dinosaur

In November, Nate's preschool class learned about Dinosaurs much to his delight. He continues to run around the house singing snipits of his dinosaur songs (especially about "fighting"). The students also learned about George Seurat (thanks Lynda for the link) and his pointillistic painting style. Jadon can't help but giggle about the "monkey on the leash" everytime he hears the song. Just possibly these parents (& brother) are learning along with Nate!?! Talia enjoyed her first party day at Nate's preschool on her 10th day of life. (Sorry about the dark videos, I think you'll "get the picture" though).

Talia Katherine Joy

We welcomed a daughter into our family on Friday, November 20th, 2009. She has melted our hearts (particularly Daddy's) already. Nate and Jadon have become protective big brothers and are also big helpers for Mommy. Of course, they are still little boys FULL of energy.

Her arrival was blissfully "short"and thankfully, mangeagable. Friday afternoon around 1ish, I started to feel like maybe contractions were starting, but they were definitely not regular and didn't necessarily even feel like contractions. On my way home from running a few errands, I started to feel like maybe things were progressing and thankfully my dear friend, Lynda, encouraged me to go get Brent from school and head to the hospital for an assessment. I picked him up around 2:15, we parked at the hospital around 2:30ish, I was assessed maybe 2:40ish and was almost ready to deliver a baby. My doctor arrived in time to get his gloves on and request the delivery trayfor her arrival at 3:47pm. The very first glimpse we had of Talia looked exactly like Jadon (except much smaller) and so we prepared to welcome another little boy. You can imagine our surprise when she showed herself to be a little girl. She was 6lbs 10 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. Beautiful and petite in comparison to her brothers.

Her name, Talia, means "gentle dew from heaven", which seemed to fit her start of life in the womb. Katherine means "pure" and Joy, speaks for itself.

First Santa Letter

Last year Nate started to become more interested in Santa. I usually try to down play the role of Santa in Christmas although realize it is a fun part of the season, especially for young children. Nate has seen Santa at Brent's school during their Christmas party, but usually doesn't want to get too close. This year, as we were finishing up our Christmas shopping, I decided to "reward" the boy's helpfulness with a train ride at the mall. For the Christmas season, the train was moved to a less busy part of the mall that happens to circle around "Santa's House" about 6 times! The visual reminders of Jolly Ol' Saint Nick prompted Nate to actually WANT to talk to Santa. Mommy, being a little bit "cheap" and not wanting to stand around, suggested that we just write Santa a letter. Nate was on board with that suggestion. He is loving printing, word creating, and drawing at the moment, so was delighted to put some thoughts on paper. I realize these are very elementary pictures, but I thought it was precious as it his first "letter".

(An airplane is pulling a "Santa" sign, passing a satelite in the sky. The red rectangle is Santa's sleigh with Santa's hat from the top view & his bag of gifts behind him. The brown smiling creature pulling the sleigh is Rudolf in a red hat with red nose.)

Back to School

Nate resumed preschool in September. He is attending the 4-year old class at Wind & Tide Preschool and is pleased to have his good friend Joelle attend with him again. This year, his class is full (20 children) which is a bit of a change from last year when there were about 14 children. This has brought some new friends. Nate is loving the new challenges presented this year, particularly "letter of the week", "Friday friends", learning about various artists and science topics. He is blossoming in his desire to learn and in expanding his social circle. (I tried posting some video, but lost patience with the uploading process. If interested, take a peak at Lynda's videos posted through Joelle's link above).

Bunk Beds

In preparation for our new arrival, we purchased bunk beds for the boys in the spring. They had a great time playing on them, although Nate slept on the bottom and no one slept on the top. This summer we decided to try Nate on the top with Jadon transitioning from the crib to the bottom bunk. The idea of sleeping without restraints (other than a bed rail) was a bit too tempting and he would inevitably adventure out of his bed shortly after being placed there. He was given one or two chances, and then was placed back in the crib to fall asleep. Occasionally, we still repeat that routine (particularly if he chooses to nap in the afternoon), but on the whole, he has transitioned to a big boy bed very well.

When Nate was 2, my friend Marsalie and I attended Circle Craft and were introduced to B-Cozy blankets. I loved the fleece quilt and purchased a personalized one for Nate.

I was excited to do the same thing this year for Jadon but was disappointed when I learned they were no longer in business. I searched on-line for something comparable and was delighted to find Mimi & Lola. Jadon now has his own blanket too. They both love their "cozy" blankets and I will admit to looking forward to choosing another one for the new babe.

One evening this summer, as Brent was tucking in the boys before our bed time, he noticed they had managed to both fall asleep in the top bunk. Nate finally became frustrated with the cuddling from his younger brother. You may notice his extended arm keeping his brother at arm's length.

Overall, sharing room space seems to have facilitated growth in their relationship. I love to hear their little conversations and desired play time together (even when it is happening before 6am!).

Salmon Arm

At least every 2 years, the Penner family gets together in Salmon Arm at Aunt Joyce & Uncle Emeric's. They have a beautiful home with lots of space to run and have fun. Nate was recalling his last visit to Salmon Arm with key features being the "tractor, trampoline, big dog, and horse". Well, the big dog has been replaced with a younger and so far smaller dog, and the horse was elsewhere, but the other key features were still in place making for an exciting weekend! Uncle Emeric arranged many hayrides throughout the "neighbourhood" and was thoughtful to bring tasty snacks for the adventures too. What delighted our boys even more was the opportunity to drive the tractor. We may have a future on the farm yet!

The boys LOVED all the space, attention, and teasing. Buddy also enjoyed the freedom. It was a fantastic weekend to visit with aunts, uncles, and cousins. There are many little ones all the same age which is delightful as well. The irony of all the girl cousins having baby boys, and the boy cousins having baby girls was discussed many times. I suppose November will prove or disprove certain theories. My Aunt Heather (who has 3 girls getting close to childbearing years) will either be able to relax with the thought that she has the possibility of granddaughters, or fear the amount of grandsons she may have to enjoy!

Brent turns 35

We celebrated part of Brent's birthday by spending the morning at Stanley Park. We played the urban "yuppie" role running along the seawall with a stroller complete with child (and sometimes dog), dog on leash (same dog that also frequented the stroller) and child on bike. Add one blossoming mama and I am sure we were quite the sight. But, we did it (or most of it, the one in full bloom doesn't have quite the endurance she used to, particularly in 30+ degree weather). We only captured a few pictures to commemorate the day.

Another highlight for Nate especially (but also Brent) was a little motorbike ride the 2 of them shared.