Santa Baby…

Dear Santa Claus,

It’s hard to believe that 2010 is coming to a close. It seems like the kids just keep getting older and bigger no matter how much anti-aging serum we put in their Shreddies.

I’ve been a really good girl this year so I’m hoping that you’ll bring me a time machine for Christmas so I can go back to times when my babies were even littler.

I know, I know, I’m asking for too much. But it really would be nice. I’m doing my best to savour each moment but they’re all so fleeting. So, though a time machine would be great, I’m keeping in mind that each new day will bring its own gifts of magic and wonder and struggles and smiles and spills and tears and hugs and fort making and lego building and diaper soiling and giggle fests and scraped knees and bruised spirits and sticky hands and jammy faces and story time and boogery noses and book reading and family cooking and snow angels and puddle jumping and bike riding and loose teeth and bannock making and first words read and colour learning and doctors visits and booboo kissing and teeth brushing and hockey games and soccer games and swim lessons and myriad of amazing moments that I’m doing my best to cherish and burn into memory.

Santa, I’m sure you know what a wonderful year our family has had. Moira and Theo continue to grow and make our hearts swell with love and pride every day. They are both so different and we are happy to celebrate their differences and their uniqueness. Kevin and I never could have imagined how challenging and rewarding a job parenting is, but we’re thankful that we were given Moira and Theo as our assignment. So far we feel we’re doing an okay job but Kevin always says that we won’t REALLY know how well we’ve done until they’re about 30. So don’t send us any performance based Christmas bonuses just yet. Fingers crossed for 2035 though!

Theo (now 2 1/2) is a busy boy who is testing where the boundaries have been set and hoping he can nudge them a little in his favour. So far he has seen that the boundaries are rigid and firm and they aren’t going anywhere, but like a wild animal, he keeps trying. He’ll get it sooner or later. He LOVES balls. Soccer balls, baseballs, golf balls, footballs, road hockey balls, christmas ornament balls (oh wait, those shouldn’t be thrown or kicked). He also loves cars and he’s an amazing little thinker who is coming up with the funniest things every day. He’ll sit for an hour if you read to him but no more than 5 minutes for a board game or a craft. He’ll be a prince, a pirate, a dragon, a back up dancer, a guitarist, a ‘dirty cow’ (don’t ask, b/c I don’t know what that is), a goalie, a baby, a barbie or a dog for his sister whenever she chooses he’s worthy of her play time. He does sometimes say no…on rare occasions; like the other day when he said, “Mowa (Moira), I’m not talking to you; I’ve had enough of your behaviour”.

Moira has become such a thoughtful, sweet and talented little (FIVE year old) girl. The other day I was rushing around to get everyone out the door and I came downstairs to find her brushing Theo’s teeth. She sings to him at bedtime and cuddles with him in the morning. She loves music and dancing and bossing little kids around. We’re working on it. She loves to help around the house and takes ANY and ALL tasks very seriously. She’s meticulous in the way that she does her ‘work’ (a characteristic she got from her Dad and her Aunty Erin). Her teachers are happy with what she is learning and doing in kindergarten though they did say that her tendency to be a bit chatty means she can be a bit distracting to the other students (that one’s on me). She’s got her first loose tooth right now and is so scared to pull at it that I’m sure it’s just going to pop out when the other tooth needs the room to move up. She’s playing hockey this year and seems to really enjoy it (much to my delight). Her team got to play at the Moose Game intermission a few weeks back and we had a great big cheering section all for her! She’s got her first hockey tournament this weekend and we’re going to be volunteering at the auction table and eating rink burgers and making tape balls for Theo to whack around with his hockey stick. (He can’t wait to play.)

Kevin is still working at the Northwest Company as their Corporate Controller. He really enjoys his job and the scope and variety it offers. He’s just a few minutes from home so when he’s working long hours (like right now) it’s great that he can be home in time for supper and bath time! He doesn’t have much time for extra curricular activities but he plays hockey on Wednesdays at noon with his coworkers and managed to squeeze in an adventure race in September.

I’m still working in the home but doing a little bit of photography with my business to keep my mind busy and to give me a little spending money. A girl needs a new pair of shoes every now and then, right? I’m on the board for Moira’s Montessori and play hockey twice a week. The kids’ activities, managing the household, eating bonbons and watching Oprah keep me pretty busy otherwise! That really doesn’t sound like much, but, believe it or not, most weeks I’m swamped with a jam-packed calendar!

Our family trip to the Maritimes in July/August was beyond amazing. We went to NB, NS (Pugwash & Halifax) and PEI. I was so excited for it and built it up so much that I was worried I might be a little disappointed. But that was not to be. The time with our family was amazing and rejuvenating and seeing the kids make new and amazing little discoveries each day was so great. If you and Mrs. Claus have a week or two to kill next year before the big Christmas rush you should definitely make your way out East!

Our house has been transformed (though not completed). We looked for a bigger house for 2 years and found nothing that we liked as much as ours (and really, couldn’t bear to leave the neighbourhood) so we decided to make our little 1500 sq. foot 1 1/2 story home into a bigger one. We changed ALL the windows, replaced the siding and added a 1 1/2 story addition on the back (which consists of a big back entrance, mudroom with cubbies and a laundry room which will eventually have OODLES of storage space and a bonus family room upstairs) and a nice big front porch (that gave us a little bit of extra space upstairs for my office/master walk-in closet). The outside still needs a little work: the stone work on the front and the porch need to be completed and the inside of the addition and the whole upstairs need drywall and finishing work but it’s all liveable and we are so excited to have the extra space. Once the kitchen and main floor renovation is completed too we’ll have a crazy house warming party in…oh 2012?

This year has been so unbelievable and I can’t ask for more. So Santa, for 2011 I can do without the time machine. But if you could just continue to ensure that my family is safe and healthy and that we have lots of time to spend together I’d be more than happy with that.

Give our love to Mrs. Claus and all the elves. If the elves are finding it tough when you lay them off after Christmas I’d be happy to pay them $12/ hour to finish the house off for us. I hear they’re really hard workers. Let me know if there are any takers!

With love,

Jody, Kevin, Moira, Theo & Zinnia

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