Julia and Emily's World

Today we took Jacquie and Roland to Niagara Falls. Julia stayed with Grandma and Papere. Sheryl and I went to the casino (no luck) while Jacquie and Roland took in the sights. Afterwards we all went to Grandma and Papere's for dinner.

On Christmas we went to Uncle Gary and Autie Jackie's for dinner. The food was great and Julia had fun will all the cousins. Family gatherings are getting quite noisy. There were lots of presents for all the kids. They ripped through them all in about 15 minutes flat!

Today we went to Grandma and Papere's house for Christmas Eve dinner. We were there with Jacquie and Roland and Aunt Weezie was there too. There was a ton of food and still 3/4 of a ton when we left. I was stuffed. Julia had fun opening all of her presents. She got a new "Baby" from Grandma which looks like the original baby but a lot bigger. We are hoping that she gets attached to this one because original baby's head got crushed at daycare...it's on it's last legs. On Friday Julia and the rest of the kids at school went to the auditorium to watch Beauty and the Beast. Julia and the little ones didn't last too long. This was Julia's last day for the year so she wore her pink dress. Surprisingly it was still clean when I picked her up. Tomorrow we are off to Uncle Gary and Auntie Jackie's house for Christmas dinner...oh and of course church in the morning.

Today Julia went to the ear specialist to check out her tubes. He said they were perfect. We go back for another check up in 3 months. Julia was very good about letting him look into her ears. Before the appointment I warned her that the doctor will look into her ears. She seemed prepared and didn't cry. Julia is spending the rest of the day at Grandma's house. Tomorrow the entire daycare will be going to the movies. Luckily it is on site in the auditorium. They are watching a Christmas movie, not sure which one. I don't think that the little ones will be able to sit through the whole thing. Jacquie and Roland are in Peterborough until Saturday visiting friends.

On Saturday night we picked up cousin Jacquie and her finance Roland from the airport. They had a 24 hour journey from their home in New Zealand. Julia met them this morning. She was a bit nervous at first but they are all now best of friends. I think we may even have a picture with just Julia and Roland before their visit with us is over. Jacquie and Roland will be staying with us during the Christmas/New Years week. This week they will be in Peterborough visiting old friends. The picture of Roland is blurry but you can still see that he is enjoying reading the various books we have lying around here.

On Saturday, Julia and I took advantage of the snow we got this week. We took Julia's new toboggan ("Julia's Blue Car" as she likes to call it) out for a spin. It was tiring for me. That thing doesn't slide too good in deep snow.

On Friday, Julia had another encounter with Santa. This time Santa was at school. All the kids had a chance to sit with Santa and tell him how good they have been and what they want for Christmas. Grandma, Papere and Mommy made the journey to school to see their little darling face her fears and sit with Santa. Well, it didn't go as planned. Julia was still scared of Santa even when she went up to him with Mommy. She cried, snatched her candy cane and held on tight to Mommy. She knows Santa is good but I guess she realizes something that we adults seem to overlook...Santa is kind of strange. Bright red suit, big white beard, big "HO, HO, HO"'s, he hangs out with elves. Oh well. Maybe next year. After the party we went to Jack Astor's for dinner with Grandma and Papere. Julia and Ashley wait for Santa. Grandma and Mommy wait for Santa with Julia. In comes Santa! Then the fear sets in. Got the candy!

Today Julia and I went to Grandma's for dinner. Mommy had to go to a work party...again, which left me with Julia. Having dinner at Grandma's is a big help for me. Julia ate lots of fish and mac & cheese. Julia was in bed before Mommy came home but didn't ask for her once. How about that. Friday is Julia's Christmas party at school. Santa will be visiting. Hopefully this goes better than the visit to the mall Santa. Maybe Julia will be a little braver seeing her friends with Santa. Mommy, Grandma and Papere will be coming too so I hope the snow storm will be over by then.

Today we went to Kitchener to visit Auntie Linda. Linda just bought a new condo so we went to check it out. It is really nice and large. Auntie Linda has lots of toys there to play with so Julia had a good time. She made a mess of the place by the time we left. Auntie Linda took us to a local sports bar for dinner. The food was great and the atmosphere was to Julia's liking...LOUD! It was football night so lots of cheering going on. Yesterday Julia got her flu shot (the first of two shots). She handled it pretty well. A tiny bit of crying. Later we put up the Christmas tree while Julia napped. In the evening we went to the Leaf game so Julia went to Grandma's. The Leafs are sucking. I'm not sure what's going on but Julia was up all night last night. She has a molar coming in so maybe it was bothering her. Or maybe the flu shot was bothering her. I'm hoping it's better tonight. Tomorrow I have the day off. I'm going to try to do some Christmas...

Today I had the day off. I was going to take Julia to school but with the overnight snow storm I decided to take her to Grandma's instead. Luckily Grandma had an opening in her schedule and was able to take her. This saved me a lot of driving. So with this free day, Louis came over for a visit and help with a few jobs around the house (fixed the fireplace, put snow tires on). Julia had fun at Grandma's and had a nap mid-day with Papere. Yesterday, Julia and I met up with Grandma and Papere for dinner at Crabby Joe's. Mommy had a work function to go to so we were on our own. I had hockey so Grandma came over and gave Julia a bath before Mommy came home. Tomorrow Julia gets a flu shot.

Today was Show and Share Day. Julia brought her quacking duck. She loves that toy (not as much as "baby" though). However, when I went to pick her up it was abandoned on the floor...oh well. Grandma and Papere came over for dinner. Julia was really happy to see them. It's been 3 days since she saw them last. Julia and I will be meeting them for dinner tomorrow evening. Mommy has to go to a party and I have hockey later so they have volunteered to babysit. Julia and I have had some battles this week. She is getting more and more defiant. Terrible-Twos maybe? On Monday she refused to put her mittens on when I picked her up. She was screaming! It wasn't that cold out so it didn't really matter but I couldn't back down at that point (TIP: Pick your battles carefully). I struggled with her for 10 minutes before I called in reinforcements. Mia (Julia's teacher) came over to help. I held Julia on my lap in a bear hug and Mia shoved the mittens on....

Today Julia made her own house with gingerbread cookies (the kit kind). Julia had fun building it and never figured out that the balls and beads were candies and gum (even though Mommy and Daddy snuck a few bites). Julia was convinced that this stuff wasn't edible. We couldn't even get her to lick the icing off her fingers. Earlier, Julia went to church and lunch with Grandma and Papere. Lunch was at the usual Wendy's/Tim's for Julia favourites...fries and donuts. Yesterday we went to Toys R Us to shop for Christmas gifts. That place was a zoo which was expected. Julia got some new Playdough which she was happy with. 3 more weeks until Christmas! I can't believe it.

On Thursday we went for our holiday pictures. First stop was Sears for a family picture. Julia was pretty good when we were all sitting together. Next was a few pictures of her alone. That wasn't so easy. First she wouldn't stop sticking her tongue out. Then she got restless and wouldn't pose nicely. Then she got sick of it and started crying. We got a few good pictures though. Next was SANTA! Julia was so excited to see Santa and Santa's house right up until she had to sit on his lap. She was terrified! Eventually (once Julia calmed down a bit) mommy had to sit with Santa too. No smiles from Julia. After that we went to Dairy Queen for a treat and a ride on the merry-go-round. Julia sure did earn it. Click here to see a video of Julia with Santa

Big change in the daycare class this week. The 4 oldest toddlers have moved on to the pre-school class. That leaves Julia and 2 others in the toddler class. New toddlers will be join them in January so for now there is only 3 kids in that big room. Julia loves it. More toys for her. She never wants to leave now. Yesterday I had to go to the dentist and Mommy went to get her hair done. So Julia went to Grandma and Papere's house for dinner. After dinner they brought Julia home and gave her a bath. Tomorrow Julia will go to Grandma's house again for the morning. We are going to get our Christmas pictures done in the afternoon so we are both working a half day. We're going to try to get a picture with Santa too. We'll see how that goes.

Today Julia went to church with Grandma and Papere. After church she had lunch at their house while Mommy and I cleaned the house ;-(. Later on we went back there for dinner. Grandma made us a nice fish dinner. Julia will be back there on Tuesday for dinner while I get my teeth drilled...not looking forward to that.

On Saturday we visited Grandma and Papa at their new condo. Selena, Mya, Andrew and Nathan were also there. Julia had a good time checking out everything. Later on, Grandma and Papa took us all out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary which was on Saturday. We went to a restaurant in the Scarborough Town Centre. The mall is a short walk from the condo. Julia had fun at the pet store too.

Winter has arrived early this year. For those of you in the Toronto area you already know that. With the new snowfall comes a new experience for Julia. Last year during the winter, Julia wasn't even walking yet so she didn't spend anytime in the snow. Today was her first playtime in the snow at daycare. She HATED it! "No snow, no snow!" was all she would say. Unless a teacher was holding her hand she would be upset. I think she just has to get use to it. Tomorrow there will be way more snow than today because it's like a blizzard out there right now. We'll see how it goes tomorrow at playtime in the snow. Personally, I hate the snow too. Toronto Weather

On Wednesday Grandma and Papa moved out of their house of 37 years and into a brand new condo. I was helping with the move so Julia went to Grandma and Papere's house for the day. As always, she had a lot of fun there. The move went flawlessly and the condo is really nice. Great facilities! There is a movie room so I can foresee "Movie Days" at the Grandparents! It has a great view too.

Friday was another cold day so this time we bundled Julia up and put on her winter boots. Like always, she hated the boots because they were new. She wore them at school for her outdoor play so by the end of the day she was okay with them. Saturday Julia spent most of the day at Grandma's house while I rested at home (still a bit sick) and did a few things around the house and Mommy got her hair done. Later that night Grandma came over to babysit while we went to see the Toronto Marlies play. It was fun but it ain't the Leafs! Today Julia went to church with Mommy while Louis and I did some jobs around the house. Julia went to Grandma's house for lunch after church. This afternoon at home Julia took a pretty good fall. She fell off the Poang chair in the family room and hit face first into the floor. She came up with a fat lip and a bit of bleeding in her mouth. She seems OK now. Her lip looks normal and no signs of any cuts in ther mouth.