Christmas 2007

Collin, Ronan and I spent Christmas in Canada, dividing our time between our two families. On Christmas Eve we stayed the night at the McLoughlins and opened presents with them the next morning. Then, shortly before noon on Christmas Day we headed over to my parents (the Holtes) to open presents there.

Ronan checking out the stash.

Getting some help from cousin, Lauryn.

Daddy opening one of his gifts.

These puzzles were a big hit with the little guy.

Christmas with the Holtes - the "before" picture.

Mommy & Baby Boy

This dump truck that we got him was a big hit too.

The Magic School Bus

We had one of these pop-up school buses in our one-year-old class in the fall, and Ronan went nuts over it. I finally found one at the mall and he just loves spending time in it.

Momma and Daddee

Ronan is starting to talk! I finally got some of his words on video...

Buckets...

Visiting Santa!

Along with our friends, Krissy & Danielle, Ronan and I went to the mall to visit Santa today...

Ronan DID NOT like Santa, but would tolerate him if Mommy was sitting there too.

Ronan looking very dapper in his dress-up clothes.

Aren't I handsome?!?

Danielle was looking super cute too!

The toddlers checking out the Santa display.

Danielle

Fun with Hats!

Ronan and I had a great time playing with the toques that my mom knit. Ronan is wearing Daddy's toque.

Pics from the week...

I'm talking to you!

Watch me sit on Lily the Cat

Sitting on Lily is fun!

Pooped out!

Bottle time with Daddy

The packaging is the fun part!

For kids, the best part of a new purchase is the packaging...especially if the purchase is a big one, like a new Christmas tree.

The Christmas tree box and the other packaging materials kept Ronan busy almost all afternoon.

A perfect chair for Ronan.

Oh Christmas Tree!

Ronan and I had a very busy afternoon putting up our new Christmas tree. This year I decided to go with a color theme rather than using all my mis-matched handmade ornaments that I've crafted over the previous 10 years. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Ronan is going crazy with all the ornaments on the tree; he points to each one and says "ball".

Little man and his first Christmas tree (we didn't have one last year since we were away for the holidays).

Whistler 2007

Collin, Ronan and I spent the last week at Whistler with my side of the family. We stayed in my parents' condo which was a short walk away from the village. I was a photo-slacker this past week though, so I only have a few pictures to document the trip.

Ronan all decked out in his new winter gear courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa Holte. Notice the gloves - he's wearing Grandma's!

This past week it was all about Grandpa. Ronan just couldn't get enough of him! At one point Grandpa had to go down to the lobby to get work done because as long as he was in the condo, Ronan was right there with him.


Again with Grandpa...reading "Women's World" together after a bath. Grandpa was pointing out all the pictures to Ronan which he was very interested in.

It was a great trip for Mommy & Daddy too! Ronan's grandparents were so helpful with him and that gave Mommy a much-appreciated break. In fact, she felt as though she hadn't seen Ronan all week. Her and Daddy even got to go on some date nights!

Finding out the hard way...he can reach further than I thought!

Ronan and I were in the kitchen this morning and I needed to go into the living room, so I placed my coffee mug on the counter a few inches from the edge thinking that it would be safe from someone's little hands. A few seconds later, I heard the mug and coffee hit the floor, along with the screams of a certain little boy. This is what I found...


Don't worry, the coffee wasn't hot - just slightly warmer than the temperature of his bath water. He wasn't hurt, just scared.


Ronan enjoying the comfort of his bottle after the frightening ordeal in the kitchen. Notice that his forehead is slightly red from the warm liquid.

Perhaps it was a good lesson and he'll remember what can happen when he pulls things down off the counter!

Halloween

For Halloween this year we trick-or-treated at three different places...

First we went to Daddy's office, but they didn't have any candy :(
I guess that's OK because Mommy wanted to show Daddy how cute I was in my dragon costume anyways.

Then we went to Fairhaven where all the merchants on the main street were handing out candy.

When Daddy got home from work we went to our neighbors' houses to trick-or-treat.

I took my time deciding which candy I wanted. After I chose it, I had fun placing it in my Jack-O-Lantern bag.

Mommy, Daddy and I went to four houses.

I decorated the pumpkin on the right all by myself!

Hope you enjoyed my Halloween pictures,

Love Ronan

The One-Year-Old Class

Ronan and I attend a class for one-year-olds and a parent or guardian that is run through the local technical college. The classes are two and a half hours long, once a week, and they are a lot of fun for both Ronan and I. In addition to singing, playtime, and time for making crafts, there is also time for the Moms to have an adult discussion on topics relating to emotional growth, nutrition, and language development, etc away from the toddlers. Half of the Moms watch the kids for half an hour and then we switch. For class today many of the toddlers were dressed up for Halloween.

A group picture - Ronan and I are in the back row, third from the left.

Ronan during snack time in his adorable dragon costume.

He loves bananas!

When it was our turn to watch the kids we took them to the Tot Lot which is right across the street from the church where the class is held.

He can't get enough of the corkscrew slide.

Rear view of his super cute costume.

Trying to go up the wrong way, AGAIN!

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!