Snazzy

Sophia, Jacob and Daddy were rifling through the closet the other day. Here's what greeted me at the top of the stairs.

Blizzard 2010

We haven't had weather this bad in a loooooooong time. The snow and wind were crazy around here. This led to lovely piles of snow to play in. It was too cold for Jacob to go out in, but it was perfect for Daddy and Sophia to play. I think she was amazed at just how much snow had gathered in our backyard. As you can tell in the pictures, it made for some interesting fun.

Jacob watched every move his sister made. I think he really wanted to be out there.

Cold but happy.


Jacob spent the entire time watching Sophia and making noises to get their attention. Of course, they couldn't hear him, but he was persistent nonetheless.


So deep we almost lost her.

A birthday Party

We got to go to another party this month! This time it was Clare's third birthday. She had a great party that included play time, presents, face painters, balloon twisters and of course, cake. Sophia had a great time, as usual. Jacob, well, he did great but didn't really "play" but loved the balloons.


No Sophia did not ask to be a small pox patient. She wanted to be Uniqua from the Backyardigans. It stumped the lady doing the face painting, but Sophia was thrilled.

A couple of other faces. A lion and a wolf.


Jacob loving the balloon head gear. He truly liked it. Spent a lot of time trying to chew his way through the latex. THankfully, he didn't pop it.


Sophia making a fashion statement.

All the three year olds ina row. Isn't it sweet?

The First Hair Cut

Well, we finally gave in and got Jacob's hair cut. To say that it was a wee bit fly away would be an understatement. It was a little long in the back, and a little sticky up in the back. That cow lick is something else though...got a mind of its own.

The before....just getting ready to cut



The process. Jacob actually sat pretty well for our hairdresser. He liked to spin his head to see things going on around him. Sophia was a great help in keeping him looking down. He didn't cry. He didn't squirm. He didn't look too impressed.

The finished cut.

Looks great, eh? What a little guy. No more baby do.

Preschool Field Trip 2 -RSM

Well, Sophia got another ride on the big school bus the other day. She and her classmates, teachers and many parents climbed aboard the big yellow bus for an adventure at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History. At the museum the children were led through the animal displays to talk about animals and their habitats. I have to admit that the guide, Linda, was great and handled those preschoolers with authority and experience. The kids had a great time, learned lots about the different animals around Sask, and even got to pet a bear.

The only down point was during the tour, the group had to go down the stairs that led to the dinosaurs. Sophia freaked out. She did not want to see the dinos, did not want to go near them. She wouldn't even go down with all her other friends during the free time they had. Nope, not going to happen. In the past few weeks she has been showing more fearful behavior, becoming afraid of things especially the dark. The dinos are big for a three year old. So we just avoided them!

The group being at the start. Don't they look super attentive??!
Getting a closer look at a wolf.
Learning about how air can keep a wolf warm when it is buried in the snow.
Checking out a beaver.
Very carefully using two fingers to stroke a bear skin.

She was pretty tuckered by the time we got home. But she had a great time, and still talks about taking the big school bus to the museum. I guess it was a success.

Ready for my close-up

This is what I get for asking Sophia to let me take a picture with her new haircut.



I wonder where she gets her flair for the dramatic!?

Family time

Part of Sophia's bedtime routine is to watch a little bit of a show while having her evening snack. This is great. Totally helps her to wind down, to get relatively calm (she is three afterall) before bed. Well, the shows are on the computer. When the computer comes out, Jacob becomes keyboard destructo-man. He loves to bang the keys, push the keys, pick at the keys and pretty much cause chaos. This is not calming for Sophia. So, even though we are trying to keep his precious little eyes away from screen time, he gets wrangled. On this day, Sophia, Jacob and Daddy all cuddled on the couch together. Pretty sure the boys are enjoying a Tinker Bell movie.

Sibling love

Just a rare moment of cuteness that didn't end in tears.

Christmas 1 -Nana and Papa

This year Christmas happened in stages. Stage one took place at the beginning of December with Nana and Papa coming to Regina. The weather wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. It was COLD. Freeze your skin in seconds cold. Keep your kids inside cold. The only challenge was that I was to preach in Wolseley the Sunday my parents were there. But it ended up being -45 (Celsius) with the windchill. So I decided against packing up the kids, thinking they were safer at home than in the care in case something happened. Papa braved the cold and came with me.

Christmas was good. Presents were passed around. Delight was experienced with everything. Jacob spent a lot of time just looking around not too sure of what to make of the whole thing. We were all spoiled, that's for sure. The day ended with a wonderful turkey dinner shared with the Mantels, Gerhards and Bussiere-Bear families. We truly enjoyed all that happened, and loved the fact that we could share it with the people we love the most.

Nana and Papa's gifts came in a big box, which garnered a lot of attention (once it was empty). Here you see Jacob using it as a vehicle for squishing his sister. For once the roles are reversed! BTW, he got himself up there....can't walk yet, but can climb pretty much anything.
The chef checks out here new Tag reading system. One of the best gifts ever!
Nana surprised Sophia with a bunch of costumes for a tickle trunk. Here she models the chef outfit. THe other costumes were a nurses scrubs and a fairy dress with accessories. A total hit! Thanks Nana.
Jacob and Daddy. Check out the spiffy Christmas vest that Nana made for J. <

Hair today...

Yup, we finally took the plunge and got Sophia's hair cut. Her hair was driving her crazy. We were getting tired of hearing "My hair is in my face...I can't see, my hair is in my face." We were also finding it hard to get her to stay still enough to do anything with her hair so that it wasn't in her way all the time.





Cute, hey?

Santa Pictures

Tricia took Sophia and Jacob to see Santa back on the 12th of december. As usual, the santa machinery required that we pay 9 dollars for a single photo opportunity, so Tricia took some more photos as they were on "the lap". This particular santa wasn't particularly enthusiastic or aware or present, but he was wearing the outfit so it was OK. Sophia sat and smiled as you are supposed to do, but Jacob wasn't sure what to make of this. He looked at Tricia, then looked at "Santa", then realized that this wasn't really what he wanted to do or where he wanted to be.

And this last shot, with Jacob crying, is the one that the "real" photographer chose to develop and sell to us. Go figure. Note that Santa did not flinch or move or respond at all through the whole event.