Tobogganing at Seymour.

Roger and Tracey said that it was a fantastic day on the hill today. As they cut through the fog, they were greeted with glorious sunshine and a temperature inversion at Seymour. Their initial thought was to have the whole family up for the ride, too bad Melody wasn't being compliant. She's certainly difficult to convince once she's made up her mind. In fact, yesterday she missed her skating lesson cause she outright fought to stay home. Roger and Tracey thought it would be okay since she has been fighting a cold, but today was really no different. Luckily, Gomo came over to watch her while Roger, Tracey and Malcolm headed up to play in the snow.

Malcolm really had a stellar weekend. His behaviour has been much better over the last several days. He even got back all of the toys that were temporarily confiscated during the holidays. Now the question is whether he can keep it up. Yesterday, despite his initial reservations about going to skating, he did very well. We know it can't be easy being the smallest and youngest kid in the class, but he really did put a great effort forward. Today, he spent over three hours tumbling, sliding and rolling around in the snow. Let's just say that he was asleep in 10 minutes and has been sawing lumber since 8:30pm. He loves playing in the snow. I think that's pretty clear in the images below:

A year in review, 2012.

I know it's a little late, but Roger wanted to add his year in review to the blog. In his words, he'd like to thank everyone for all their continued support.

Skating lesson 1

Well, Melody's first skating lesson didn't go as well as we had hoped. I guess the excitement of the lessons didn't meet her expectations. She cried a little, then was pretty defiant about not participating. As good natured as she is, when she doesn't want something it can be pretty clear. I guess feisty is the word that I would use. While all the other kids were pushing around little shopping carts, she pushed her's to the side and said: "I'm pushing NOTHING". Luckily the skating coordinator has allowed us to join the parent and tot lessons for next week. Roger is going to join her so make the transition smoother. I hope that will help.

Malcolm on the other hand did fantastic. Being the smallest and youngest in his class gave Roger and Tracey a bit of an uneasy feeling, but he managed quite well. He may not have the speed yet, but is certainly following along well. Roger and Tracey felt very proud of him. Even after a bit of a fall, he choked back the tears and soldiered on. The family is all going to go skating more to help cement what they have learned. No one said it was easy. Here are some pictures from the lesson.

Transition to daycare for Melody.

Roger and Tracey had hoped that the transition to daycare would have been more seamless, but they're yet again met with tears and cries. It was hopeful that Melody would fair better, but like her brother and perhaps many other children before her she's having a tough time adjusting. It's certainly a better situation than it was 2 and a half years ago with Malcolm, also adding the fact that Tracey and Roger have no worries about who's taking care of her makes it somewhat easier. We had all just hoped that she'd take it all in stride. It's a work in progress we all know, let's hope that things get better through the week.

Christmas 2012

Christmas is truly a magical time and for the most part Tracey and Roger try to keep the spirit alive by keeping up with traditions. I think the toughest thing that they try to deal with is to keep the kids grounded. Sure it's important to have family come together, sure it's great to exchange gifts, but crux of the situation is that they want the kids to really understand what it is to be grateful, what it means to feel fortunate and not to be greedy and entitled. We have so much to be thankful for, we have so much and the kids get spoiled by all the people around them. Perhaps these are difficult concepts to teach, maybe it's something that has to be drilled in over time. It's just their hope that by the time they are adults they'll understand more about what it means to be generous, to show humility, have compassion and as mentioned previous be thankful.


Our annual trip to see the gingerbread houses at the Hyatt Hotel and the decorated Christmas Trees at the Four Seasons.





Christmas Eve:






Christmas Day:



Whoo hoo, my Christmas present:



Double hugs from Grandma and Papa:

High 5 Uncle Glen:



We made dinner this year, I'm telling you Butterball turkey is where it's at!

Christmas fast approaching.

For some reason this year's holiday season feels like it's coming up faster than normal. There are only 8 days before Christmas. The good news is that the Christmas shopping for the kids is now finally complete. Roger and Tracey are for sure spoiling the kids. Malcolm for one is super excited about it all. I think he takes after Tracey, she's always had lot of Christmas spirit. I'm not sure what Melody thinks of it all, but she seems to be taking it all in stride, despite her ongoing reluctance to get dressed out of pyjamas every morning. Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. Last week the family took Carol and Gomo on the Carol ship cruise.







Here's the annual trip to Stanley Park to ride the train and see the beautiful lights.











As tradition would have it, they went to dinner at Marcello's for pizza and pasta.

Princess Melody.

What a busy weekend it was. We celebrated Melody's birthday with a small friends and family brunch. This year we tried to keep is small and only invited the people she wanted at her party. Also, breakfast being her her favorite meal, what else could be more fitting. It's amazing how many sausages and bacon slices she can eat. I think it's safe to say that she had a great time. She wasn't shy at all, it wasn't that long ago where she'd cry when someone new came into the house. When it was time to open her presents, she even declared out loud: "Thank you to everyone". Really we are very thankful to everyone for their kindness and generosity. Let's just say her doll collection now has been injected with a new cast of Disney Princesses. She even slept with Snow White in her crib last night. Here are a few shots from her party over the weekend. Here's a link to the whole set on Flickr.

Help-Portrait Vancouver.

The Help-Portrait Vancouver movement is something that is very important to Roger. He's been volunteering his time for the event every year. This year, he was the lead photographer for the event at the BC Children's Hosptial. Here's the behind the scenes video shot by Steve Tan:



The main event is happening on the 1st of December this year. The group from Help-Portrait Vancouver is currently seeking donations to cover supplies and insurance. Here's a link to the donations page. Help-Portrait Vancouver Donate Here's also another fabulous write-up about Help-Portrait Vancouver from the wonderful folks at 12x12yvr: 12x12 Photomarathon

Malcolm's Birthday Party.

Despite the downpour of rain, we think that the kids had a lot of fun at Malcolm's birthday party over the weekend. There's something special about having the whole facility to yourself; no need to deal with strange kids and parents (other than your own). It's really just an opportunity to run around, burn off some energy while celebrating the boy's 6th birthday.

Special thanks to everyone for attending and showing such generosity in showering Malcolm with such an awesome array of gifts. He spent all day Monday playing with everything! We're all so lucky to have such amazing family and friends. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for help making Malcolm's birthday so special.

Oh by the way, Tracey and Roger are officially off of Subway and sushi for a while, ah leftovers! Here's a link to some of the pictures from Malcolm's Birthday via flickr: Slideshow

Happy Birthday Malcolm .

Our boy turned 6 years old on Monday. Time sure does go by fast. It doesn't seem that long ago he was in diapers. He's now a first grader and well on his way. From what I've witnessed he sure is a special boy. Things that I noticed from the very start are still very apparent today. He's got an impeccable memory. He really does love to laugh. He likes new experiences and travelling. Also, deep down inside he does really likes to take it all in and savour traditions, he's a lot like his mom that way. Anyway, happy birthday to our boy, you sure have come a long way. We all love you lots. Tracey and Roger order some Octonauts toys from the UK, as they are not available in North America. He sure was surprised and happy! Just look at that face.