Baby's First Christmas

Pecan Lace Cookies

Gingerbread with lemon icing

Peanut butter chocolate "DeeDee balls"

Boxing Day breakfast

borrowing Jordan's hat

Love sandwich

Talk about your free range chickens.

Lily with "Santa"

Lily and Papa

Christmas walk

Christmas Night 

One of the MANY close crib games

Wrapped gift for hubs

Family recipe book

It was Lily's first Christmas and as with most children's first Christmases, she didn't know what was going on. She did enjoy all of the company, music and general jolly feeling around the house. I'll start at the top with one of my favourite parts about Christmas; the food. Dan and I were determined to bake everything this year, we spread it out over the week before Christmas and we ended up with a nice variety of goodies. Here's the list; pecan lace cookies, gingerbread trees with lemon icing, peanut butter chocolate balls, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, sugar and spice candied nuts, almond bark, and eggnog cheese cake bars. Don't worry, we didn't eat it all ourselves, we had about 25 family members over the course of 4 days to help us, although we did eat way too much and we are now on an extended salad binge. We had a lovely sushi dinner with a local tuna for Christmas Eve dinner, a traditional Swiss fondue for Christmas Day and a big turkey dinner with the whole extended family for Boxing Day. Christmas morning was really low key, we did homemade secret santa gifts so there was just one small handmade or vintage find gift for each person. I made Dan a family recipe book with recipes from our grandparents, our parents and our own family favourites and a homemade card with our favourite holiday sentiment "Creamy Hollandaise!".  Lily got two new wooden toys from us: a ball dropper and a shape sorter, a ride on bug from her Nana and Papa, a down quilt from her Grandma and a set of vintage chairs from her aunt and uncle. We went for a lovely winter walk in the sunshine and got some pictures of Lily with "Santa" in their matching jackets (thanks auntie JoJo!). We played lots of cribbage and Cranium over the course of the holidays and spent quiet, quality time with family. Overall it was the perfect quiet and thoughtful Christmas that we intended.

Winter Solstice Family Traditions

We spent winter solstice this year doing what we have been trying to do every day since we got here; going for a walk. We changed up our walking location for our family solstice walk and walked through a lovely forest path to the beach. We decided that since solstice is celebrating the light that is coming, we went at sunset, which is 4:30pm. We were laughing and remembering how we spent summer solstice and how at 4:30pm we would probably be heading to the beach for a swim instead of watching the sun set. It is really amazing how the light of the day changes with the seasons. We talked about what we wanted to do this winter and what our hopes and dreams for our family are for the new year. When we got to the beach we lit a candle and sent our dreams out into the ocean, something we would really like to make a tradition on solstice each year. Happy Solstice and may your dreams come true what ever they are.

Treasure Island

We've been on our little gulf island paradise for 19 days now and we are really starting to settle in. Lily and I are just getting over being sick (somehow Dan managed to escape!) and we are starting to enjoy the crisp air and the quiet days. It's the perfect time to recharge as a family for the busy year that lay ahead of us. With Dan being in school and me working a couple of days a week we never really have large amounts of quality time to spend as a family so this has really turned out to be quite a blessing. Renovations on our house are moving along, we are trying not to think about it too much and just enjoy every day, every moment of quiet uncomplicated life that we are living right now. Well not entirely uncomplicated, a family of three living in one room within our family's house can have it's challenges but it can also have it's perks. Dan and I sat down as our day was winding down to reflect on the day's events and both came to the conclusion that it was the perfect day. We woke in the morning with lots of hustle and bustle in the house, we had company and we all sat down to a big breakfast together, soon the house emptied as guests went home and my parents went off to work. We spent the rest of the day making Christmas treats, reading, drinking tea, going for a walk to the beach and then making a chicken pot pie from scratch for dinner. The weather outside was crisp but there was just the right amount of sun and no wind. Ideal for the perfect family beach walk, we brought our camera to document the amazing things you are sure to encounter on a walk on this amazing island and tried to slow down and take in the breathtaking scenery all around. These walks into nature create such a quiet, calm and peaceful mood within our family and it is amazing to see how much Lily is affected by the crisp air and the magic of outdoor life. She normally spends her days running around the house picking up everything she sees and exclaiming "wassat?" or "wassis?" and busily exploring. On these walks into nature she is quiet and reflective, she doesn't say much, just looks and takes in the treasures all around. We feel blessed not only to be surrounded by these treasures that nature has left us, but also the treasure of our family that surrounds us. Don't you ever feel like you are the luckiest people on earth?

Nature Walks

We've been staying with my parents for a few days now and adjusting to the quiet life on a gulf island. It's so green and lush here and today the sky is so blue. Out the window I can see the green of the trees and the blue of the ocean and sky. Not bad, not bad at all. Lily and I took a jaunt down to the beach to get some fresh air. This is one of our favourite family activities but especially here. It doesn't matter if Lily is in the worst mood ever, as soon as we get outside she is as quiet as a mouse, just staring out into the quiet of the wilderness. She can feel the peace and stillness coming from the trees. It is so lovely to see her looking all around and trying to take everything in. We walk by a few of the neighbours houses, smoke coming from their chimneys as their wood stove is burning to keep them warm. More often than not we encounter a deer or two but other than that it is pretty quiet. Just Lily and I to keep each other company. Hubby will be joining us in a few days when he is done his exams and I can't wait to go on many more family walks.

Baby Steps.

Lily has taken her first steps, 5 days before she turned 10 months.  We'd moved into Grandma's house the day before and Lily quickly made huge leaps toward walking. She went from holding herself up on the wall to walking along the wall to rounding the corner until she spotted... the remote. She took four steady steps from a chair to the coffee table where the remote was. Over the next few days she took more and more steps, now 10 days in, she's up to 25 steps at a time. She can easily walk beside you while holding your hand which is so much fun that we do laps around the house all day. Her toys have been cast aside and her only focus is on walking. She is sure making huge progress and quickly. I am so proud of her but a small part of me is sad that my baby is growing so fast. Time flies when you're having fun.

To Grandma's house we go.

Sorry I've been missing in action, we've been moved out of our house for renovations until January and we are couch surfing with the grandparents. First we are at Dan's mom's house and then a month at my parents house, it has been hard being out of our routine and without all of our stuff but it has surprisingly been a blessing in disguise. We moved into Grandma's house on the 14th of November and on the 15th Lily took her first steps! She's had a blast playing with all grandma's "toys", taking the books off the shelves, throwing the newspapers around, taking all the cutlery out of the dishwasher and taking the toilet paper off the rolls in the bathroom. Grandma has loved every step of the way and so have we, it has been such a fun adventure. Lily and grandma have become so close and have their own daily rituals of walking the halls, hearing their voices echo in the stairwell and getting the mail. It's been really lovely to see Lily's face light up when her grandma walks into the room. Onto the next adventure of a month at my parents over the holidays. I'm excited for crafting, knitting and baking and of course spending quality time with my parents and seeing them compete for Lily's first word "Nana", no, "Papa", no "Nana"... you get the picture.