The holiday season is truly and exciting time for us. There are so many things going on, it's at times overwhelming. The house is decorated early, anticipation of Santa arrival is prolonged and the general sense of good cheer is all around. It's true this time of year is all about family. Tracey and Roger try their best to instil some tradition with the kids. Tracey had lots of Christmas traditions, but Roger's experience was a bit more spotty. To his recollection, some years they had a tree and some years they did not. With Tracey's experience things were more established. Her grandpa would make a huge breakfast, their stockings would hang at the end of their beds, etc... In light of our efforts I think the kids do really enjoy all the events at home and around town. This year the family was able to go to the Stanley Park Train, see the Trinity Street light display, Gingerbread houses at the Hyatt, Christmas Tree displays at the Four Seasons, the Christmas Market, visiting with friends, and last but not least have their picture taken with Santa. Just as fast as it all went up, all the decorations (with the exception of the outside Christmas lights) are now packed away for another year. Here are some pictures from the past several days celebrating all the events leading up to Christmas including some from Christmas morning. As always, Malcolm and Melody both got up early to see if Santa had dropped off some gifts, you can see the magical wonder in their faces.

Science World and Olympic Village: Vancouver Christmas Market: Visiting with Friends: Trinity Street Light Festival: Christmas Day:

"Mommy do it".

Melody has been going through a preference phase where she wants Tracey ("Mommy") to do everything for her. It's even got to the point where she's ridiculous about even the smallest things. To give you an example, she was looking for her soother the other day and Roger had it in his hand to give to her, even though he was just inches away she exclaimed: "Mommy do it!" Hopefully this will be a short lived phase cause it's harder on everyone when she only lets one person do things for her. Melody has also been tougher to put to bed again. It may be because she's not feeling well, who knows! There was a pretty good stretch there where she was going down without much fuss.

Malcolm is now on winter break, already almost 1/2 way through the school year. He's doing very well at school. His behaviour is good, he's learning new things, and more importantly he's developing his social skills and getting along with his classmates. I think he's pretty excited to have a break though. Waking up early isn't always his preference, not to mention the mad dash to get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth and get out the door in time. Despite the school being a block away Roger and Tracey find themselves rushing a lot of the time.

Christmas is quite an event at our house, there has been a lot of lead up to the big day. Malcolm is very excited. I'm not sure Melody really understands, but she's going along with it all in stride. She's learned new words like: Christmas Tree, Gingerbread, presents, Santa, etc... Here are some pictures from last week at the Stanley Park Christmas Train and then dinner at Lombardos.
 

Christmas traditions.

Well the family trekked downtown today to make their annual pilgrimage to see the Gingerbread Houses and decorated Christmas trees at the Hyatt and Four Seasons Hotels. This year Melody was able to walk around all by herself discovering all the interesting sites. Christmas is truly an interesting time around the house, decorations are up, the sweet aroma of baked goods fill the house (from Grandma's kitchen) and that general sense that the holiday season is upon us. The family will be heading down to the Stanley Park Christmas train again as well later in the week. I wonder what else is in store?

Happy Birthday, again?

I wonder if it was confusing for Melody that we celebrated her birthday more than once. On her real birthday we went out for her favourite meal, breakfast, only we had it for dinner. She didn't disappoint; she ate bacon, sausage, eggs, etc... and came home to blow out the candles on some Dora cupcakes for dessert. A very quaint affair if you ask me, very cozy and nice. On Sunday, we had Melody's birthday dinner with all of her favourite family members. Roger bought an Elmo cake from T&T and despite the original snafu with the colour, it actually turned out ok. Grandpa Harry even had seconds! So another round of birthdays have passed for the family most notably ones for Malcolm and Melody. We officially have a 5 year old and a 2 year old in the house now. Here are a few pictures from Melody's party on the weekend. Next up, Christmas!

Happy Birthday Melody.

Happy Birthday Melody, you're brightened our lives and continue to be the brightest beacon. Two years ago today you came into our lives and as your Mom puts it "you've made our family complete". Really, you've simply been a delight. We love you dearly and hope that the ride thus far has been fun. Please continue to do what you do, you make us laugh, your sense of humour is really killer. We're so proud to have witnessed your development and growth, it has all been so amazing to watch. Your sweet little face is enough to warm our hearts forever. We love you dearly.

Five years late...

Here's a video Roger finally got around to editing. He's been running out of space on the computer so he's been working on various projects to make some more room on the hard drive. Here's a link to the original post when Malcolm was born as well, link. Oh how he's grown, already a kindergartener.

Whew!

A good night's sleep can be so illusive when it comes to having kids, let alone sick kids. It feels like we've been dealing with sickness in the house for months on end. Good news is that it seems like everyone is on the mend and we have hopefully put it all behind us now. Malcolm's cough is finally subsiding, and Melody's viral condition has seen much improvement in the last few days. Roger was even fighting an infection for the beginning part of last week and luckily with a dose of some anti-biotics he's back to normal. 

The weather has taken a chilly turn in the past several days, but the family ventured out today to Granville Island. They enjoyed some lunch and shared an ice cream cone despite the near freezing temperatures. Everyone found out that Melody really likes mint chocolate chip ice cream. Here are some pictures:

Melody's word explosion has been fantastic to witness. The sweetest thing recently is that she calls Malcolm "오빠 / Oppa". Melody knows so many words now and is linking phrases together. She saw Malcolm climb the ladder while he was helping put up the Christmas lights and she exclaimed: "Oppa, up there!" Pretty cute stuff. 

Happy 5th Birthday Malcolm.

You've come a long way that's for sure. There have been some significant milestones recently and turning 5 years old is certainly one of them. We're all so proud how you've adjusted to school, kindergarten hasn't been much of a transition after all. Doesn't seem that long ago we were waking up through the night to feed you. Now, you've grown to become a big boy. You're strong minded, but kind when you want to be. You're talkative, but still somewhat shy. I hope that you know that you're family loves you very much and does everything within their power to give you a good life and try their best to help sculpt you into a fine human being. They try to give you every opportunity and expose you to many new adventures. You're a lucky boy, we hope that someday you'll realize it.

We're glad you had fun at your birthday parties. Bowling was a lot of fun. We left the guest list up to you and the party was actually quite cozy and quaint. We know how much you loved all your gifts. Here are some pictures your Dad took during the festivities. Near the end of the month we'll get to celebrate your sister's big day of turning two. Happy Birthday Malcolm, you're well on your way. Grandpa Harry wins the prize for biggest gift, even Malcolm fit in the box himself.

Happy 23 months Melody.

Happy belated 23 months Melody, you've been awesome... only one more month until you're officially 2 years old. You've come so far, I don't even know where to start. First of all, it's important to mention how happy you make your Mom and Dad. You've been an absolute dream, despite your incessant demands for "naks" in the car. It's hard to believe that almost 2 years have already gone by since you arrived. Now you're walking, (no make that running), talking, laughing, and even making jokes. You're personality shines through and brings smiles to all those around you. As every day passes you learn more and more, the communication lines become crystal clear. You know what you want and now you're able to let the world know too. I know there have been some bumps in the road, having a big brother in the house can be tough sometimes, but know you've made our lives richer. We are all awaiting to see the next chapter in your development.

Fresh Fall Leaves...

It's the season again, leaves are falling along with the temperatures in Vancouver. We ventured out last weekend to capture some of the beautiful colours of Autumn and headed back to the Shadbolt Centre in Burnaby. Roger wanted to test out his new light modifier, the SaberStrip to take this years' family photo. Such a comparison against last year's photos with respect to how much the kids have grown. Also this time last year the family was in Hawaii enjoying their time in the sun.
In other news, Malcolm has come down with quite a cold. He's even missed some days of school. Last night he coughed and ran a fever of 38 degrees. He's quite lethargic and very sensitive. Anyway, we hope he recovers quickly. Melody is also sick, but she seems to take things much more in stride. Her word explosion is gaining more momentum. She's even now putting words together to form phrases. A few days ago when Roger came home, she said: "Daddy home", quite heart-warming really. It's quite amazing the words she picked up along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving.

The sun broke through the clouds this afternoon, so Roger and Tracey decided to head back to the Pumpkin Patch this afternoon. It's definitely tough to find a dry day this time of year. From the sound of things, the kids did pretty great. They trudged through the mud and managed to pick their own pumpkins.  Here are some pics from today:

Roger's back from Moncton.

Three days may not seem like a long time, but it's an eternity when you're working as a single parent. Tracey's first night with the kids was pretty great, getting them both down by 8:15pm is quite a feat these days. The next two days were a bit more challenging. Sometimes we all wonder if it's actually worth it for Melody to have a nap because on the days she has one bedtime isn't usually until 10pm! Melody's sleep schedule has been a bit different from Malcolm's at the same age.

Malcolm is still doing quite well in Kindergarten, in fact the teacher Mrs. B has designated him as the caboose. This means he's the last one to come out of the classroom and he makes sure the lights are off and the door is closed, quite a bit a responsibility for a little kid. He's accepted this duty with great pride and confidence. We are all so proud of him. Oh, also he's back in the pool again this term trying to get past level 1. The instructor had recommended that he wasn't quite ready to move on. Roger said that he's more actively participating in the lessons now, dunking his head, blowing bubbles and even feeling comfortable enough to float on his back.

Melody is certainly growing up fast. It seems like everyday her words are increasing exponentially. She can mimic almost any sound and the great thing is now she's attaching meaning. Roger has been waiting for this stage for sometime, the word explosion has been detonated!  Malcolm has even contributed to her learning. He tries to teach her new words everyday. It's very cute to see them both grow up, although there are some flare-ups they've been playing quite well together lately.