Live it!

Christmas Babies

I drove up to Toronto area today to take photos of my dear friend Tammy's little angel, Olivia. She loves the camera and was a real trooper. It of course had to be the most miserable wet dark rainy day so I struggled a lot with getting enough light & shot at 800ISO out of need... still, she is so cute and I managed to get some keepers.

Here is a quick preview of some of them for Mommy & Daddy to see ... will pop her photos in the mail Monday morning Tammy :)  She really couldn't be ANY cuter!

Olivia's little playmate Jack was there and although he wasn't as fond of the camera, I did get a few. He was such a serious, thoughtful, little big guy.... total sweetie!

Santa twice in one day

With Shaune in school... I kept the kids busy yesterday by taking them to 2 different small-town Santa Claus parades.

Kerri & Matt were great and we watched the Foxboro Parade from their front yard. Kerri served hot chocolate, cupcakes and hot dogs for the kids. Keaton and Chloe loved the parade even if Keaton did drink a little bit too much hot chocolate. Hey, its not a parade unless someone gets sick on the front lawn, right? ...or did I just make that up to feel better about it. Eek... !!

Foxboro is a small little village near us. I loved that we knew so many people in the parade. My dad walked it with the Church's mens group and there were all kinds of familiar faces... i love that about small towns :)

We rushed from this parade to the Frankford Parade about 20 minutes away. My Aunt Delma was clogging on a float (dancing up a storm!) and we wanted to surprise her by waving and hollering to her from the crowd. Keaton and Chloe managed to get a ton of candy and lollipops at that parade...ah, just what we need when they still have a 1/2 bag of Halloween candy still ;)

On a little side note. I discovered a new pet peeve to add to my list.... ah yes!  When you go to a parade 1/2 hour early to get a good spot where your kids can see... just to have a grown up push their way thru the crowd (a parade photographer nonetheless) and plant herself right infront of both my children... 1 minute before the parade begins. Ya, I just LOVE people like that.  Great view, for sure! ha!

Christmas time's a comin'

...early around here. The kids have all their movies and cartoons on over and over again. I have my favourite 122 Christmas songs playlist on repeat most the day through. We finished our Christmas shopping early for both the kids & Keaton has already written his letter to Santa. I guess Chloe is going to need some help from me :)

ps: if you've seen the Santa Clause movies (Tim Allen) you will 'get' Keaton's reference to Comet.  He really loves that boy humour!

We put the tree up Sunday night. Wow. Sigh. That was crazy. Mayhem. Chloe crying because she wasn't allowed to keep dropping the breakable ornaments on the ground. Chloe crying because she wasn't allowed to stand on the dining room table to reach things. Chloe crying, chloe crying, chloe crying. Did I mention Chloe cried a lot? Ha. At one point I turned to Shaune and said "Wow, this is so festive". All comes with 2 young kids. She cheered up eventually and got the hang of how to decorate in a more "festive" way. Keaton was having fun and loved finding his ornaments like his Batman car.

Some of my songs I love around this time of year:

1. And the angels cried... Alison Krauss & Alan Jackson

2. As long as there's Christmas... Aselin Debison

3. Everybody loves Christmas... Eddie Money

4. Santa Claus Lane... Hilary Duff

5. Where are you Christmas... Faith Hill

6. Oh Holy Night... Il Divo

7. The Peace Carol... John Denver

8. The Christmas Wish... The Muppets!! ;)

9. Believe... Josh Groban

10. Baby It's Cold Outside... Elf Soundtrack

11. Grown Up Christmas List... Michael Buble

12. Hey, Santa Claus... Moonglows

13. Wonderful Christmastime... Paul McCartney

14. When Christmas Comes to Town... Polar Express Soundtrack

15.  Time of Year... Ray Charles

16. Santa's got a brand new bag... Shedaisy

17. Let there be peace on earth... Vince Gill

18. Santa Claus, I still believe in you... Alabama

19. Christmas Memories... Alabama (my most fav i think)

20. A Christmas to remember... Dolly Parton/Kenny Rogers!!!

21. The Greatest Gift of All... Dolly/Kenny again

22. Marshmellow World... Dean Martin

23. Three Ships... Barenaked Ladies

24. Christmas Shoes... Bob Carlisle (wahh!)

... too name a few :)