Merry Christmas

We know it is late, but we wanted to get a holiday post in. We've had a great holiday so far. On Christmas Eve we were lucky to have Cathy, an old friend, stop by and share with us our feast. This year we successfully cooked a Christmas goose. It was delicious.

Heidi was great. She took everything in and, again this year, knew that something exciting was happening. Though she is less and less afraid of Santa (she still calls him "scary"), she hasn't quite figured the whole story.

On Christmas morning Heidi did very well under the tree. She has been enjoying her Duplo Lego and all of the new toys with smaller pieces. She has also been modelling all of the lovely clothes she received. Thanks to all of the Santas who helped make this a great Christmas.

In the evening we visited the Allen's for a Turkey Supper. It was yet another great meal and time with 'family'. It was great to see everyone.

Again, let us take this time to wish everyone all of the of the season, a great New Year and we hope your Christmas was as great as ours.

C, C, & H

The Tree is Up

The other day we had Ellen and Corinne over for supper and tree decorating. Some pretty good times with the girls in Victoria! We had some high priced help with the decorating and Heidi got to see the Christmas tree choo choo train! It was a lot of fun. Heidi is really getting into Christmas. She no longer calls the Santa hat "scary hat" anymore - instead she will actively seek out the hat and say "Ho Ho Ho" when she puts it on. I think she is beginning to understand that something is going on and the best is yet to come.

After the tree was put up, we all sat down to a delicious Swiss Raclette. I think that
both Ellen and Corinne have been converted to fans of this great Swiss culinary tradition. Unfortunately when Christa went to Thrifty Foods, there was only one wedge of Oka Cheese available at any Thrifty Foods grocery store in Victoria. We had to make due with a substitute, but it wasn't a big deal. Melted Cheese seems to be a favourite no matter what variety.

Finally, an update on the move. Chris, Christa and Heidi have all moved back to Victoria now. We are still making the odd trip to do some repairs and painting in Nanaimo. Fortunately we have been able to to find someone to rent the place in Nanaimo starting in February. Christa is completely done with school and has started the process of finding a teaching job. In the meantime though we are having a great time getting ready for Christmas and the holiday season.

Christa is a Teacher

We are all together in Nanaimo for the last time in a while. Christa has finished her education programme completely. She will be going to her convocation ceremony on Friday. Heidi is enjoying her last few days with her Day Care friends as well. It will be sad to separate her from the good friends that she has made there. One of her favourites is Dudley the dog.

In the mean time Christa and Chris are preparing to rent the property we have here and preparing to move everyone back to Victoria for a family Christmas there. Now that work and school are simmering down in intensity we are all getting into the holiday spirit. Heidi saw Santa Claus at the local mall (though she cowered and hid behind Mommy's legs).

Christa's Movie List

General Heidi Christmas List

Clothes:
We've linked to a few items that we saw at Baby Gap, but clothes in general are great gifts for Heidi. She is wearing size 2 now and if the item is seasonal like a coat we think she can wear a size 4 even. She could always use a cute dress, but everyday clothes are nice and useful.

Toys:
We are just about are running out of cages for all of the animals at our stuffie zoo, so please choose stuffed animals wisely. We are big fans of the Imaginarium brand of toys at Toys R Us. this brand seems to have nice simple wooden toys with lots of imaginative uses. Heidi seems to enjoy drawing, and playing with blocks; she is figuring out simple puzzles, dances and sings with music and loves being active. We are trying to keep clear of large toys and really branded toys like Elmos, Bratz and Doras. We've thought about things like magna-doodle, blocks, and wooden train sets. She already has a big can of Duplo Lego coming her way.

Other:
Heidi has really enjoyed reading books and having books read to her. Often, her favourites involve animals. The Bombay Company sells mahogany steps for short people to climb into a tall bed and Heidi is just such a person.

Clothes for Heidi

Here are some jackets we tried on at the Gap:

• Plaid Wool Coat
• Brown Wool Coat

We tried on the coats in both size 2 and 4. Both sizes fit. The later size will of course last longer.

Weekend Winter Wonderland

We are just wrapping up a great weekend together in Nanaimo. Chris was able to make the trip up from Victoria (hopefully he can make it home tonight despite the snow). The weather up in Nanaimo has been wild. After a clear day on Friday the snow fell all weekend.


We were able to get out and enjoy it though. Bowen Park was completely blanketed in snow and we found Heidi's snow suit (a little small) and her sled. She enjoyed the snow a lot more this year and had a great time sliding down the hill.

Overall it has been a great weekend together. Do take a look at Heidi's hat. It was made for her by her mother and she doesn't leave home without it.