Christmas with Rob

On Christmas Eve, John ran an errand and when he returned home, Uncle Rob was with him.  Helena was so surprised and so happy to see him!  Since his sister adored him so much, it took all of five minutes for Benjamin to love Uncle Rob just as much.

It was so great having him here for Christmas Day.  This is our second year celebrating in our home, which we love, but having family to celebrate with us made it just that much better.

The highlight presents around here with pillow pets and Benjamin's train set.

There was a lot of time to just play, read, and snuggle with Uncle Rob.

We took a trip up to the Lego Land Discovery Centre one day.  They had constructed all the famous buildings in and around Toronto.

Rob's highlight of Lego Land was building a faster race car than all the kids' who were racing theirs.  Helena loved everything.

Rob and John took an afternoon to go see the Toronto Marlies play hockey.

Rob also cooked some delicious dishes, like Pad Thai and apple pie.  Every night was game night for us adults.

It was such a nice visit.  Come back anytime Rob!

Events of December - before Christmas Eve

It was a fun month for us, one full of special activities.  Scroll through for a quick synopsis!

 

Allan Garden Conservatory Christmas Open House - They had wagon rides, which were lots of fun, and apple cider.  This was the first time Benjamin had tasted apple cider, and once the liquid touched his lips, he would not take his mouth off the cup except to ask for more.  We obliged, and I believe he had four cups. 

Christmas books kept Helena busy!

During a visit to the mall, Helena asked to have her picture taken in front of every single gigantic pink reindeer!

 For the most part, B-boy was a terror around the manger scene but I did observe him doing something other than destroy it a couple times.

We had snow, and lots of it, for a few weeks before Christmas.  It was all gone by the 20th, which meant this was the first non-white Christmas of my life.

Why would anyone walk on a cleared sidewalk when there's snow to tromp in?

Of course the traditional sugar cookie decorating happened, with Benjamin asking if he could eat a cookie each time he decorated one.  When I finally said yes, he happily scarfed it down, and then proceeded to no longer ask but attempted to take a bite of every cookie when I wasn't looking.  He's a clever one!

A trip to the Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery District.

Helena was an angel in the Christmas pageant again.  Here she is with her good friend Holly.  Notice her socks - they're Elsa socks.  She asks me if she can wear them every day.  When the answer is no (which is more often than not since I don't have a washing machine), she asks if we can do laundry.

Benjamin and I were invited to visit Helena's preschool to make gingerbread houses.  It was fun to see her in that environment with her schoolmates and her teacher.