Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas! Obviously 2010 was a busy year and it seemed to ramp up near the end, as is evident by our all time low blog posts for the month of December of n=1. Even now, I am sacrificing sleep to post. But I can't not blog about Christmas; this is our family journal after all.

True to form, Massachusetts delivered a carbon copy Christmas day as it has for each Christmas that we've been here: snow a few days before with warmer weather and a melt by Christmas Day, but enough snow left on the ground that technically, we are 3 for 3 for white christmases in this state. Somehow the elder Fennells managed to get all the Christmas preparations done in time (with the exception of Christmas cards) and Christmas and all its festivities went off without a hitch, despite our really, truly believing that we'd never get it all done in time. Healthy we were not, but we enjoyed it just the same. It was Kai's turn to be the most sick for Christmas. He spent the few days leading up to Christmas looking like this:

Cuddled up on the couch with LOTS of kleenex and various entertainment. Poor guy wasn't much better by Christmas day and was a little lackluster opening his gifts. Teia made up for it, opening every gift with gusto, even ones that weren't hers and playing, playing, playing, playing. Kai has improved his gift opening speed. We managed to get through all but one or two gifts b/tw Christmas Eve and Day which is a big improvement from the 6 or so days it usually takes him. 

Here they are on Christmas Eve opening gifts from the New Jersey Fennells.  

To avoid a repeat of last Christmas when Greg and I almost didn't get to open our gifts at all due to being overly ambitious with a turkey dinner, a 2 year old and a newborn, we decided to have turkey on Christmas Eve instead this year. Teia gobbled hers up and Kai continued his lifelong turkey strike. Kai loved the traditional British Christmas Crackers but the hats, not so much. Teia was briefly a hat fan, at least long enough for us to get some photos. 

Here she is sans hat. Gotta love the face!

Christmas Eve before bed: we got all set up for Santa with cookies, egg nog and of course carrots for the reindeer. The kids slept great. In fact, Kai didn't even get up until 8:45! I'm thinking that this is probably the last year we can count on that. 

Santa came!!!

Like most days, Teia was the Christmas morning rooster. Greg has nicknamed her the "Waimanalo chicken" and if you've ever seen one, you'll know why. But she reminds me more of the ubiquitous Hawaiian neighborhood rooster: loud, persistent and early. Greg took her down for her morning bottle, figuring we'd wait until her sleepyhead brother woke up before checking out what was under the tree but Teia is an observant one and as soon as she saw that big puppy peeking out, the squeals started and Christmas was on! By the time I found my slippers and made it down the stairs Teia and her new stuffie were fast friends. 

Kai was quite pleased to find a chocolate Santa in his stocking. Chocolate is almost the only food group consumed on Christmas day at the Fennell house, starting even before breakfast!

We took a little hike in the afternoon, enjoyed mulligatawny soup and chocolate mousse for Christmas dinner, got the tired kidlets off to bed, and then packed, packed, packed for our drive up to Canada on Boxing Day (Dec. 26 for our US readership). In true Fennell style it was crazy busy but really, there is nothing like Christmas with kids. Okay, maybe Christmas with kids AND lots of sleep and free time would be ideal, but we'll take what we have with a smile. 

I think they like Christmas :-)

Our 2nd Christmas and New Year in Canada was mostly fabulous (aside from my second stomach flu in a month!) so will be back with photos and stories soon. 

Blog-less December or Hurtling Toward Christmas

I was beginning to think that we weren't going to create a post this month, for the first time since the inception of our blog in 2008! The last few months have seemed even a little more overwhelming than usual and then throw Christmas and seemingly continual illness in our household and there just hasn't been time to keep up. But I managed to find a moment to say hello and to post a video of our little dancer. This video features the circle dance with a little bit of a weave :-)

We interrupted Kai's inhalation of mac & cheese for a little discussion of Santa's homeland. And no, I did not tell him this. He came up with it on his own. 

Too Much of a Good Thing

Look at these two. Look like they're up to something eh?

Methinks that we've just experienced some karma for thinking that we are entitled to celebrate Thanksgiving twice a year simply because we're a CAN-AM family. Maybe we have been a bit too gluttonous with the pumpkin pie! We haven't had the best of luck with American Thanksgiving, with illness striking two years in a row. This year Mama got it the worst and the kidlets spent alot of time in their jammies doing puzzles.

Doesn't look like they minded too much.

We had to delay our Thanksgiving plans by a day because of Mama's stomach flu but a good time was had by all, even if it was a day late. Teia entertained as usual.

Here she is all messy-faced from her pumpkin pie feast! And who would have guessed it. She has now decided she likes green beans! Notice her new stylin' do. I cut her hair.

Everyone was still feeling a bit green the day after our Black Friday feast but we headed out to pick out our Christmas tree nonetheless. Here is Buds looking like quite the woodsman.

While Buds loved the candy canes at the garden center, Teia LOVED the goats. I wish this was a video and not a still photo. She was literally shouting at them she was so excited.

I guess I am truly assimilated. Our Christmas tree is up and decorated before the first of December. Shhhh....don't tell my Canadian friends :-)

Our Beautiful Children

I think all parents try not to brag about their children, but really, we all want to right? It's hard not to talk about little people you love so much you sometimes think you might explode. So I am going to indulge us and post a few photos from Teia's 1st birthday photo session, held at our home in MA. Our wonderful photographer dropped off our CD of photos today so we are now free to share them! Some were linked in an earlier post so I've selected different ones to show off.

Teia snuggling with Blankie.

And of course a few photos of Kai were nabbed. I love this one. It might not be his natural smile but I think we'll see more of this in future once he is old enough for school photos!

Here is our blue-eyed boy again. He really looks like he is up to something in this photo!

And our brown-eyed girl (at least it looks that way in this photo - her eyes are still keeping us guessing!) She was so tired during the photos and you can see it in this one but gotta love those eyes!

She got a little more energetic playing in our "pumpkin patch" with Mommy.

And look at that smile for Dada!

I had to post this one b/c you can clearly see where the genetic patterns run in this family!

The Apple Bandit and Other Misadventures

Whoever said being a mom/parent wasn't intellectually stimulating? These kiddos are constantly challenging me to be a novel problem solver, linguistic interpreter and have given the term "think on your feet" entirely new meaning. Some of my more challenging moments lately have involved the washroom/bathroom/toilet. Peach is fascinated by the porcelain bowl. Since potty training Kai about a month ago we've spent ALOT of time on, near, around the toilet and Peach must figure it is a pretty important venue. When we hear random splashing sounds and she is not within an immediate eyeball's distance we find her enjoying a splash-fest in the lou!

The other day I took Teia with me into a fairly spacious public bathroom. She immediately sighted la toilette and made a beeline. I quickly thwarted her and tried really hard to get her interested in rolling all the toilet paper off so I could do my business and keep her hands relatively clean and occupied at the same time. Usually she would love an opportunity to unravel or rip an entire roll of toilet paper but the public bathroom was far too interesting and seeing as I had occupied the toilet she went for the garbage. I managed to keep her out of that and get myself up but as soon as I had done that she pounced and nearly got her little hand into the as-of-yet-unflushed-toilet. She was fast but I was faster and I gripped that mischievous mitten in my hand, only to be foiled as she swung the other hand in, complete with the container of cheerios she was holding, right into the pee. Yuck! And guess who got to carry the pee-covered cheerios container home in her pocket? Yep, Mama. The things we do for our kids.

Given that we have potty trained Kai over the past month we obviously could write a number of blog posts on that topic but I thought I'd stick to the public restroom theme for this post. Unlike some newly trained tots, Kai has no problem with public toilets. At home he can be particular about whether he wants to use the green winnie the pooh seat or the blue diego seat but out on the town, anything goes. I think he likes the novelty. So at our favorite playground the other day he used a porta-potty for the first time. Now imagine how this must seem to a little kid: a toilet in its own little house, with a very big door and large easy to manage lock on it, not to mention the fact that it is a made of plastic and is bright green. Oh, and it had no sink, Kai mentioned that a few times. Well he asked repeatedly during our time on the playground to go to the washroom (yes, he does speak Canadian). At first I was proud of his thinking ahead of the pee attitude (it doesn't always go that way), until after our 3rd visit with only the tiniest tinkle, I realized I was being duped. At least I didn't have to retrieve anything on this outing!

Mealtimes also make great blog topics and provide many challenging parenting moments. We learned long ago never to try to reason with a person under 4 feet about eating. If Kai wants cheese and there is a cheese pizza in front of him, it matters not if the cheese on that pizza does not look like the cheese in his head. As he has become more verbal over the last year he now has names for the various cheeses he chooses to consume. Problem is, he doesn't always let us know which cheese goes with which name so we are left to try and figure it out. The other day he asked for "big cheese," apparently not satisfied with whatever he had in front of him. In a stroke of brilliance Dada guessed that big cheese was cheese cut into cubes, just like the free samples at Whole Foods that Kai loves. BINGO! Kai happily ate his big cheese. Tonight Kai asked for "big regular cheese" apparently the Whole Foods style cubes in front of him were not cutting it. Dada to the rescue again, shredded cheese this time. Who would have known?

And finally the capers of the Apple Bandit. The Apple Bandit stands less than 3 feet tall, has been known to shout "ba!" assertively and sneaks into the kitchen unseen and unheard until she emerges with a big apple in hand, teeth biting into it. Said apple has not been washed or peeled so it is taken away. She then plays for a few minutes to throw her parents off the trail and then sneaks again into the kitchen to steal another apple. Finally, mom gets smart and the bag of apples is relocated to a higher spot in our spacious ;-) kitchen, but not before tiny teeth marks are discovered in nearly all the apples in the bag! I can only imagine what adventures await us once we have a Christmas tree and presents in the house!

Wonder

I really should have some great video to accompany this post but we haven't been very good about taking much lately. Teia is up to so much these days that we really should have the camera rolling non-stop. Watching a little one grow and change really is a wondrous thing. It is beyond my capability with the written word to capture what we experience with her every day.

A newly minted one year old really is amazing. There is still so much baby: (very) chubby legs and chubby cheeks, drool and slobber, baby babbling, giggles and that sweet baby smell, not to mention a tiny little warm body that loves to snuggle. But there is so much growing-up-too-fast person too. Teia tears around our house, a little too fast for her own comfort sometimes. The other day on her way to give me a kiss she leaned into the kiss a little too much a little too soon and came tumbling down. Most of the time she is pretty teflon but sometimes there is occasion for tears after a fall. Big brother has taken to practicing his soccer ball chest deflection skills on his little sister and this almost always brings on the water works. I think he figures that technically he is still using "gentle hands" if he bumps her with his chest!

Teia has a few little words these days. The most consistent are "ya!" said after offers for food or a trip outside, and "hi!" She also says Mama, Dada, more, a da (all done), and ba (which seems to be a multi-purpose word for ball, bottle and baby). She has also picked up a few signs and will actually sign to us when she is sleepy. Seeing as her 3.5 year older brother will only, under the most rare of circumstances, ever admit to being tired, we find this truly amazing. She also still takes 2 naps a day at 12 months of age, which to anyone who knows Kai, is also truly amazing.

One of the most fun things she does right now is dance. She has a few moves too! There is the toddler bounce which sometimes evolves into a continual deep knee bend. I remember so well when Kai used to dance this way too. Now he does a stiff legged walk as his main dance move and that is worth some video! Teia also sways back and forth when the music is more sedate and sometimes throws in some swinging arms while looking at us seriously. My favorite is her one foot stomp, which has a bit of a country feel to it.

Our littlest one is also quite determined and looks to have a stubborn streak. Like her brother, she has developed a strong "lovey" attachment. Teia's lovey is a little blanket which we have creatively named "Blankie." Unlike bunny 1, 2 & 3 we only have one currently so Blankie's whereabouts is a matter of utmost importance in the Fennell household. Teia clings to Blankie as if her life depends on it and like most second time around parents, our second time around "lax-ness" is starting to bite us in the derriere. We set limits with bunny (at least at first) so we weren't worried about leaving him places b/c he never went anywhere outside of the crib. Blankie goes everywhere and wrestling that thing out of Teia's little paws is next to impossible. If the iron grip isn't enough the loud howling makes sure that Blankie stays with its rightful owner. As a result, Blankie should be re-named Stinkie, at least until we can find some duplicates and begin regular laundering.

We couldn't have asked for a child more full of love. She has smiles for everyone and snuggles and kisses for loved ones. Today while Kai cried out of frustration and jealousy (he really wanted to karate chop his little sis this morning), she tried in vain to kiss him and make it better, not realizing that he was really mad at her. I'm sure they'll work this sibling rivalry thing out but with her ever increasing mobility, her tendency to steal the Lions, and her constant plays for parental attention, poor Buds is beside himself some days. Most often his competitive strategy is imitation and as a result, dinner time has become a cacophony of whining lately. Dada keeps reminding me that we need to "dig deep" as in any endurance event so that is what we try to do when the going gets tough. But with these two characters in our lives, the pay off for all that digging is exponential.

Granddad's visit and Halloween pics

Trying.really.hard.to.blog. - That is the sound of me speaking in "blogese" (b/c isn't that how you stress something when writing on a blog? with lots of periods?) Seriously, read that sentence with a strained sound to your voice, like someone struggling to cross the finish line of a long race. Life is feeling like that a lot these days, like a really long race without enough rest stops. My blogging is suffering for it.

But enough of my complaining. We just spent a lovely week with Granddad Dave who drove all the way down from Ontario, after driving up to Peterborough and a few days before that, all the way out West to see Uncle Meeko. Call it the Retirement Tour de Kids (and Grandkids). But I think it was worth it to see everyone and to get all kinds of Teia-Love.

To say the little Peach was a bit smitten with Granddad is an understatement. This is where she spent as much time as she could, snuggled up on Granddad's lap. She'd wake up in the morning or come down from her nap and beam her biggest smile before toddling over to Granddad and requesting up for a snuggle.

I don't think Granddad minded at all :-)

These two were a bit of an item all week long and these are just a few of the Granddad/Teia photos I snapped.

Here she is stopping in for a little snuggle time during play time when, to her delight, she found big, tall Granddad easily accessible at baby-level on the floor.

But let's not forget Kaister-Moo who enjoyed his visit as well and even peed on Granddad during one of his snuggle sessions. Good thing Granddad is good natured! Here Kai is posing with "weekend bear" a special friend he brought home from preschool for his mandatory weekend visit. To say that Kai enjoyed weekend bear is a bit of a stretch. Let's just say weekend bear was dropped, tossed from a swing and almost thrown in a lake. The latter activity was even accompanied by some evil laughter! But Kai did his duty (or rather mommy did) and weekend bear was toted around all weekend long. Good thing we didn't lose him!

And finally some Halloween pics. This year Kai only tried to walk into one house before figuring out that the open door was an invitation to take candy, not an invitation to come on in!

The lion costume Kai requested turned out to be a perfect choice (even if a recent growth spurt resulted in it being one size too small) b/c the night was very cold, the first chilly Halloween since we moved to Mass. As a result, Teia looked more like a little skier than she did a princess, with her winter coat and toque on!

Weekend Bear had to get into the action too. We dressed him up like an elephant. Teia gave him lots of hugs and kisses to make up for his school buddy's disdain. She rather liked weekend bear.

Kai lying on the floor in this picture turned out to be a bad Halloween omen because before the trick or treating was finished the poor guy had a raging fever that ended him up in the ER by Monday night. Luckily he does seem to be getting better, and feels a bit better too. Thankfully, we discovered that the fiesty growth spurt of his also resulted in a weight gain requiring a bit more fever medication than we thought he needed! So one sick little baby last week, one sick big baby this week, let's hope we're done for awhile. Mom and Dad need some Zzzzzzs....