out!!

Leo's been somewhat hesitant all winter about heading outside in the snow.  I wondered if his boots were too small, uncomfortable, or if his coat was too warm or too cold.  It's impossible to really know.  He has been talking much more lately and I can actually get information out of him so I've gathered that it was none of the above.  I'm not clear on when his attitude changed, but he wants to go out all the time now.  OUT!! he says.

The two of us went out yesterday while Ruby was visiting my parents.  The wind was strong but Leo was determined to walk down the street.  God, how I love watching his little body waddle.  I convinced him to come with me into the backyard, hoping for a little relief from the - 27 wind chill and we ended up building the cutest, smallest little snow man.  I didn't get any pictures but did snap these shots before we went around back:

Here we are making cards for Ryan who is in Austria at the moment:

Come home soon! 

Love, Big L, little r and little l

ox

Costa Rica

From my perspective, the year 2014 came in like a lion!  It started with a wild night in on NYE when Ryan and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary eating Chinese and playing backgammon.  We stayed up well past midnight too.  Our Skype call to Matthew lasted for almost two hours.  Like I said, a wild and crazy night (of which the details cannot be shared with the masses).  

A few days later we packed up and headed to Costa Rica for a much anticipated event (3 years to be exact) - Matt and Esther's wedding.  The journey to get there was a little more than we had originally planned for but it was all worth it.  The week was spectacular!  The weather unbeatable.  The wedding was perfect.  The ceremony took place during sunset on the beach and there was not a dry eye in the house.  All nineteen of us danced and danced and sang our hearts out for hours.  I honestly don't think I've ever been to a better wedding or wedding reception.  Everything about it was perfect, well, except for the fact that we all had to say good-bye a few days later with a huge question mark on the reunion date.

I had never met Esther's family before and it was indeed my pleasure to have finally done so.  They have all made deep impressions upon my heart and I am truly enamoured by her two sisters in particular.  I hope to see them again soon but I hope to see Matt and Esther sooner.  I hate being so far away and having humungous pieces of my life completely unknown to them.  It makes me very sad.  In a perfect world we would all live close to our loved ones.  But for now, we cherish the times we do get to spend with them and sob uncontrollably when it's time to say good-bye.  Some of us may also inhale helium before making a wedding speech.  I have no idea who would do such a thing, but I've heard this may have happened at least once in recent history.

Here are some pieces of our trip to Guanacaste, Costa Rica, January 8-15, 2014.

The Wedding Tree.

The Happy Couple. 

The Boys.  

Two families joined together.  

Me, my brother and his lovely wife.  

Matthew and I having one of the best times EVER! 

The infamous bum dance is alive and thriving! 

Bohemian Rhapsody in full swing. 

Footnotes

1.  Just in case somebody didn't get it, there are no wild and sorted details to share about our New Years Eve.  I was being sarcastic.  It was however a lovely night, thoroughly enjoyable, spent with two of favourite men on the planet.  

2.  The journey to Costa Rica went something like this:  First flight to Toronto cancelled.  Two hour drive from Moncton to Fredericton in hopes of catching flight #2 to Toronto.  Flight #2 cancelled.  Took a flight from Fredericton to Montreal in hopes of catching flight #3 to Toronto.  Flight #3 cancelled.  Really wanted to get to Toronto.  Rented a car and drove for 5.5 hours from Montreal to Toronto arriving with an empty tank of gas at 2:30 in the morning.  Slept in hotel for 2.5 hours.  Caught flight from Toronto to Costa Rica on schedule.

3.  Ryan and I didn't tote the camera around with us for most of the trip.  Here are some shots of 'our' little vacation:

A selfie, taken after a short hike over a very dry hill
to a private beach down from our resort.
It was 42 degrees celsius almost every day.  

The view from our room.

The kids on a private boat tour.

One of my little friends.  

My baby went surfing!  

Ryan on the left.  The waves were actually big.  :)

an unforgettable Christmas

Ice on power lines caused a big chunk of Canada's East Coast to lose power this Christmas and we were among them.  Santa had already been here to eat the cookies and drink the milk, so Ryan and I were in bed when we noticed the power go out shortly after midnight.  It was still out at 6 a.m. when we were awakened by our little boy, Leo.

Having Christmas morning without power was actually really special.  I think I'll remember it for a long, long time.

I may have mentioned before that Ruby was really into Christmas this year.  It's her fourth Christmas on the planet but the first that she'll actually recollect.  People started asking her what was on her "list to Santa" back in November and since the very first inquiry she was adamant that she wanted a scooter.  I'm happy that she kept the list short (the scooter was her sole request to old Saint Nick) and I think I'm going to keep this a tradition for both kids.  One special request from Santa.  That's enough.  They have six grandparents to fill any gift void there may be, although I'm sure that's quite impossible.

Ruby's reaction to the scooter was priceless.  After running into the living room, she exclaimed,
"It is!!!  My scooter!!!!  I've always wanted a scooter!!!!!"

Riding her new prized possession. 

I think Christmas would have been complete just after that moment but we had much, much more to do. We were in Sackville for Christmas Eve this year and the kids both got some BIG wheels! 

Leo's Big Wheel is bigger than he is!

It looks like Ryan was pretty excited about whatever her was opening too. 

We headed over to my parent's house Christmas morning a little earlier than planned because we were hungry and getting cold. Thank goodness there was enough hot water to shower and the sun illuminated things by 8 a.m.   So, the rest of the day went something like this….

Can't seem to get a serious family photo. 

He's really loving Christmas. 

Once we started opening presents, Leo ran around the room saying, "More, more" and signing the word as well.  It's the only sign language he learned and it's served him well.

Snacking on cookies before turkey dinner. 

Two amigos, all bundled up.

Leo officially turned 18 months on Dec.24th.  He's getting big and smart and even more handsome, if that's possible.  He and Ruby are beginning to play really well together and it's a joy to watch them in action.  Here's to a crazy 2013 and an even crazier 2014!!  Bring it on!

playing catch up (again).

Six days until Christmas and here I am playing catch up…. again.

Since my last post, Ruby has become a performing artist, escaped the threat of pink eye, recovered from an ear infection, developed an allergy to Penicillin, has become extraordinarily more mature (in my eyes anyway) and has probably grown about 2 millimetres.

Leo has suffered from the pink eye, decided that picking decals off his bedroom walls is his new pastime and seems to have an aversion to going outside to play in the snow.  (maybe it's that he's just not feeling well…. I'll give him another chance).

Ryan has been sleeping on the basement couch because he has strep throat, a sinus infection and basically feels horrible.  He's missed an entire week of work.  We've missed two holiday parties so far and might miss another one this weekend if he doesn't smarten up!

I have managed to come out relatively unharmed and hope to stay that way.  Six days until Christmas and twenty-one days until Costa Rica.  No time to get sick.

Getting into the song.

(Side note:  I had a different dress picked out for her concert but Ruby insisted on wearing this one because it was more "fluffy". )  Thank goodness I have a few other fluffy dresses available for the Christmas season.

Play dough play time.

The kids have been playing really nicely together and play dough time is a nice break for mama.

Handsome despite the pink eye.

Playing outside during the 1st snowstorm of the year.

It's Ruby's last day of school tomorrow and she's also visiting the dentist later on for her first cleaning.
Fingers crossed that it goes well.

Hopefully our little family will be goo-less soon and looking normal enough to take a family photo in front of the Christmas Tree!

Ho, Ho.

the verdict

Ruby did not have pink eye.  She has an ear infection and the cold that came along with it was seeping out through her eyes and nose.  Lovely.  But, she's feeling much better now and after three days at home, she'll be going to school tomorrow so that she can participate in her very first Christmas Concert performance!

Can't wait.  Pictures to follow the performance.

the colours of christmas

Usually we think of red and green as the colours of Christmas.
This year, for the time being anyway, it's pink and blue.

Ruby has pink eye and she's feeling blue.

A pyjama day with her little buddy Leo.
Snacks and drinks on cushions in front of the tv.  

The truth is, I'm a bit sceptical of the pink eye diagnosis.  Someone at her school has it but the doctor at the clinic today says Ruby definitely has an ear infection and the eye may be just a side affect of her cold.    Time will tell.  So far, attempts 1 and 2 at putting drops in her eyes have been major catastrophes.

In other news - we have our tree!
We went to cut it down late last week without Daddy but he said it was ok.
So far, it's still standing but Leo is fierce.  He's broken two bulbs so far and I've threatened to throw the tree in the garbage if this nonsense continues.  A bit extreme I know, but it was in the heat of the moment.  I gotta watch what I say because Ruby is onto my threats.  She hears every word and called me on that one.  "The tree is WAY too big for the garbage Mommy!"


This is us on the way to Hillsborough to cut down our tree.

Ready to go cut our Christmas Tree!

And, just because it's so cute, here's Leo in the shower and acting silly with his ball cap.

Loving the shower.  

I'm a crocodile.

Chomp!

'tis the season

Ok folks.  I have finally realized that Christmas is just around the corner.  It's in 24 days, in fact, which is not a lot of time.

On the last day of November 2013, breakfast at the Grants went something like this…

Ruby's infamous "joker" nutella face.  

Then we kicked off the Christmas season with two tiny little trees…..

Two little trees for two little people.  

The kids decorated and undecorated and decorated and undecorated…. (you get the point) these trees for three, fight-free hours on Saturday morning!  It was absolute bliss.

A thin dusting of snow fell this morning so we all headed out for a walk.  Ruby insisted on a sleigh ride and luckily the .05mm of snow made for easy pulling.

Weeeeee!  Faster Daddy!  Faster!!  

Leo's not feeling well these days and you can see it in his face.  He was trying to have fun, but really, I think he was happy just to be lying down.

Here's a picture of him earlier this week.  He's learned how to pull his pants down.  Basically, if you were to come to our house at any given moment during the day, he would probably look something like this:

Ya.  It looks cute but when the diaper also goes off and pee is everywhere….. it's not so cute.  He has a new wardrobe of onezies.  Let's hope the phase doesn't last long.  

Hey Christmas!!  Bring it!  Let's get this party started!  

-L ox