Milayla's Christmas Outing

We like to keep gifts pretty simple around here at Christmas time. This year, the kids just got one present from us under the tree (plus one gift to all three of them) and then one special surprise outing. When I pitched the idea to Jason back in August, he was all over the idea but deciding which child we would take where proved to be a challenging task. Since this was the gift for the big kids we wanted to make sure it was the right pick for each of them. In the end, we splurged a bit more than we likely will if we should do this in other years (which we are thinking and hoping we will!). They ended up being some pretty big outings for the kids. 

I know the price point doesn't matter to the kids, we picked the outings that we did because we knew they would be something that the kids would enjoy. We had selected a show for both Milayla and Atticus and after our little surprise outing to the ice show in the fall, we knew it was the right pick for them.

After Christmas dinner the kids opened some very special cards telling them that they were going for a surprise outing with Mommy and Daddy and which day they would be going but the card didn't mention what they would be doing.

Milayla was the first to go out on her date (on Monday December 28th). She had absolutely no idea where she was going. And in the weeks leading up to Christmas she (completely unconnected to our outing) was falling more and more in love with The Nutcracker story. On one of our outings to the library she brought home every nutcracker book that she could find which amounted to 6 or 7 at home AND she got a special nutcracker book for Christmas from us (which was planned). It was so fun to see how much she loved and knew the story. To add to the fun, when we did a family outing downtown we saw all the posters for the nutcracker and Milayla was in awe at the costumes she saw. 

She was excited that she was going to get to wear her new 'princess' dress from Grandma Wendy and Grandpa Bob and asked if her and I could get ready together and curl her hair. I was so happy to get that bit of time with her before hand. She is so lovely to talk to. 

We made sure to snap some pictures with her before heading out the door. (we had some great babysitters to help us out with these outings, but I'll have to write more about that another day!). She kept looking out the window in the car and trying to guess where we were going. We stopped to grab a little snack for the outing and she started guessing all the things that were around us. It was so cute. Jason also won the jackpot on our little stop - ha! Not really, but he did manage to get the only bird in the parking lot to use him for target practice. I'm pretty grateful for how easy going Jason is about things. 

When we arrived to Place des Arts, Milayla thought that maybe she was going to the musical see saws in her princess dress? Nope. And then she thought the little Christmas market out in front - no, again.

When we got in line she still didn't know but she was really excited about the decorations. I love her smile. I was telling her the other day how much her eyes sparkle when she smiles and she didn't quite seem to understand, but they sure do sparkle!

Once we sat down, programs in hand, the pieces came together and her first thought was - but the Nutcracker has a scary mouse king! When we explained to her that it was all dancing out the story with ballet dancers, all was well. She was completely captivated and the 8 minutes that were left until showtime seemed to go very slowly for her.

We passed the time by chatting with our splendid little girl and taking some pictures. We had some really lovely seats in the front row of the first balcony which were perfect for Milayla to see everything going on on stage.

The show was wonderful, but my favorite part was seeing how Milayla reacted to the outing. She loved the show and come intermission she wasn't ready for it to end. She kept making remarks about how she wanted to be onstage. Jason just smiled knowingly at me because she has definitely inherited a love for music, performing and the theatre, and we see a lot of the same excitement in her that I have about it all. I love that our children appreciate the arts and it will be interesting to see what passion, skill and talent Milayla applies to it (or chooses to use in other endeavours!). Milayla is a wonderful, talented, intelligent, confident and caring daughter of God.

Before we left, Milayla asked Jason to take a picture with the nutcracker statues out front. He was happy to oblige.

Loved this time with 2 of my very favourite people. And we sure loved getting to spend a little bit of extra time with Milayla. She is so vibrant and thoughtful with a very big heart and it is such a pleasure to be her mom.

Christmas Day 2015

Teething with Phineas has been a long process. An odd thing to start our Christmas post with, I'm sure. But that is exactly how our Christmas started. Teething. In the very, very early hours of Christmas morning. I was with Phineas for the first 'shift' then Jason was with Phineas until we deemed it late enough to get up (5am!). Good thing we love him so much. And that massively cute morning hair.

The big kids were (miraculously!) still sleeping when we were up so the first little bit was pretty quiet morning hours. And then stockings were opened once the big kids were up. Stockings really do provide a good dose of enjoyment for a good amount of the morning. We typically put in a colouring book, some colouring implements (pencil crayons this year), a few chocolates and some Christmas oranges. I think I put a few extra little items in each of the kids' stockings more specifically aimed at them (like hair clips for Milayla) but I can't seem to remember those items right now. Once big surprise was the electric train that Santa left with the stockings for all of the kids. Jason and Atticus delighted in setting that up around the Christmas tree.

Phineas, very thoughtfully, collected everyone's oranges for them and was quite ready to eat each and every one of them.

And for a long time, we just munched on chocolate and oranges, enjoyed some Christmas music and all the christmas decor (like the pictures Milayla coloured for the wall) while the boys set up the train and Milayla and I coloured in her new book. It was a really nice, relaxed pace.

Then Atticus got just too excited about giving his presents to his siblings so Milayla and Phineas opened up their presents from Atticus. Both Atticus and Milayla had paid chores to do around the house to earn money for gifts (they each have chores that are expected of them like tidy rooms, organized drawers which they do AWESOME at, made beds etc that need to be done before they can ask to do a paid task). And they were pretty excited about giving those gifts. Atticus got Milayla a doll stroller which she loves. And Phineas got some new lift the flap peek-a-boo books - his favourite.   Some great picks.

And Milayla got her brothers new toy cars. She was so deliberate in which ones needed to be for Atticus and which ones for Phineas. She picked really well.

And my favourite part of all the gift giving between those darling children is those big hugs and 'thank you''s that spill out from them. They love each other and that is a splendid blessing.

Then it was on to breakfast. Waffles were the request this year. With scrambled eggs, fruit sauce and whip cream. Always a hit.

Atticus has been asking to take more and more pictures as of late. It's really cute and sweet. So the one of Jason, myself and Phineas is from the creative point of Atticus. The other day he showed me how he liked that the background goes all blurry when he focuses a picture properly. So I taught him a little bit about bokeh. I love how kids just soak up learning and discovering and play.

Then it was on to the other gifts at a relaxed, no need to be anywhere pace. Which is great because the kids like getting to check out their gifts a little bit in between. They got cards from great grandparents, swimming lessons from one set of grandparents and some clothes (along with a toy) from another set of grandparents. Skype is awesome because we were able to get some grandparents on Skype to open the gifts which isn't as good as being together in person but it's better than nothing.

Gifts from Jason and I were kept simple as the big kids were getting a big special outing for their gift. Otherwise, the big kids got some clothing (I made a dress for Milayla), some books (Atticus got a few new chapter books that were part of a set), and a couple toys to share. We made them a balance board and they got a bucket of lego that Atticus declared would be a life time supply of lego :). Phineas gave Milayla a new baby doll and gave Atticus another book (he's reading so much now!).

Then for Phineas, he got some clothes, a few books and then Jason and I made him a rainbow rocker. Which was easily the quickest and most popular item. Phineas loooooooves it. And so do his big siblings. It gets used a lot. I'm so glad we made it for him. And he is so in love with these books we found at the art museum where you can push a button and hear the sound of the animal (or instrument depending on the book) that you are looking at. He has those animal sounds down really well!

I'm also really glad that we did make several of the gifts this year. The kids just seem to genuinely love that they are made by 'Mommy and Daddy'. And I love that it opened up some options to really pick something for them that was more fitting for them.

Dinner was our classic homemade perogies (with sauce!), green beans, sweet potato dollars, salad, rolls, steamed baby carrots, sliced ham, sliced tomatoes, and another side dish that I cannot seem to remember. Which is why I write these things down, so I have a reference point for the next year. I really just love the company around that table. Each one of those little kids spilling over with excitement about the day and all the time off that we still get to enjoy with Jason. And it's a special treasure to hear how they love their gifts BUT their favourite parts of the day all have to do with being together and celebrating Jesus' birth.

This was also the time when the big kids got to open their last present - cards from us that told them they would be going on a special date with just Mommy and Daddy along with when it would be happening. It did not say what the special date would be though. That part was a surprise. I made sure to pick out the most decked out, swanky cards I could find. We really wanted this gift of 'time' with them to feel extra wonderful and special.

The choice for dessert this year was unanimous between Atticus and Milayla - it needed to be Daddy's delicious Lemon Meringue Pie and they were determined that they would be helping him make it.

The pie was delicious, as always. I love lemon desserts. But the most perfect ending to the day was just getting to snuggle this family close and talk about the day and the days ahead. I really do love time together with them more than anything else. It is a special gift and such a perfect way to spend the holiday that celebrates the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I hope each and every day brings our children closer to Christ, but I especially hope that Christmas brings their hearts just a little bit closer than a normal day would otherwise. It always makes me so excited for Easter.

We hope everyone had a splendid Christmas Season. Love and miss you all!