Let's just pick up where we left off!
On the 21st Dom's class celebrated his birthday! We brought cupcakes, and Dom was so excited for it all. Their class was doing Family Reading in the mornings that whole week too, so I went to that in the morning and got a sneak of a couple of Dom's art works around the classroom.
I didn't realize how many times they call Charlie Brown "stupid" in that show haha. The kids hardly commented on it which surprised me. I expect some name-calling or questions in the coming weeks.
On the 22nd it was the kids' last day of school. Eva sat in one spot for well over an hour playing with her Calico Critters stuff she got from Oma at our family Christmas which is unheard of. Dave came for pick-up so it was a full pull! The kids both got their learning reports from school (report cards) which is always fun! There were no surprises (which is how it should be). They are both doing great and loving their teachers. Dom is "Extending" in his reading, reading far above his grade level. Emilia is "Extending" in her art comprehension. We are very proud of them both!
December 22 Advent Activity: Happy Birthday Davaughn!
Emilia was invited to her first birthday party and we were lucky enough to be able to bring the siblings as well. It was hosted at the Morgan Play Centre in Morgan Crossing. Sort of like Go Bananas, but less... bananas haha. Makenna was there too, so it was great to catch up with Elissa and talk more than just at drop-off and pick-up. I also got my first Isabelle snuggle in since she wasn't in the car seat/stroller!
December 23 Advent Activity: Family Games Night
I picked up some pho for dinner for Dave and I, and after dinner the kids set up a game of Floor is Lava for all of us to play. We also played some Keepy-Uppy with balloons left over from my birthday. We put Eva to bed at 7 and let the big kids stay up late to play a game with us. We played Frustration. The number of 6's Emilia rolled is absolutely ridiculous. She kicked all our butts. Dom handled it with grace, and the game definitely lived up to it's name! We will have to do this more often. I treasure my evenings, but it was really nice to have that time with just the big kids.
In the morning Dom said to me, "Mom, when do we get to wrap the gifts we got for each other?" I stared blankly at him, because I completely forgot I intended to bring the kids shopping to pick out gifts for each other like I did last year. We all packed up and went to the Dollar Store and traded off who got to come in with me. Dom & Emilia each picked 2 things for each other they thought the other would like, and one thing for Eva. They were very proud to wrap and give their gifts on Christmas morning. Next year I'll have to try to remember to do that earlier... oops.
Dave also changed the brakes and rotor on the rear brakes of the van and invited the kids to watch. That was a lovely treat!
This brings us to December 24. Christmas Eve. The final day of Advent! Before we get to the Advent activity for this day, I will share that Marta took me for a facial at the Skoah Spa in Port Moody! It was a delayed birthday gift and it was also my first facial! What an incredibly relaxing pampering experience! I felt so clean and fresh afterwards, and then proceeded to go buy some skincare products to take proper care of my skin. I couldn't spring for their exact recommendations, but found some stuff that will hopefully work for me! I don't wear a lot of makeup on my face (BB cream at most - never full foundation), so I will try to keep my skin healthy.
December 24 Advent Activity (the same every year): Church & Stockings!
This year church looked muuuuch different than usual! We're a bit between churches right now, but we have visited a church in South Surrey and decided to attend their Christmas Eve service. It was at 430pm and it was a caroling service in a barn! The theme was "We will make room" and it was so beautiful. Eva was a bit bonkers and kept yelling out "Goooo Tell it on the Mountaiiiin" during and between songs, but nobody seemed to mind.
We have some good friends who go there so I was excited to see them and their littles too!
This church typically does communion each week, but during Advent they don't, so we haven't been a part of their communion. At the Christmas Eve service, some members of the community baked fresh bread and we just took a chunk to break with our neighbours. At the back they had pots of mulled wine (like real wine) and apple cider. There was a 10 minute break in the service for the communion/connection portion. Normally I squeam (is that a word? It should be...) at that sort of thing, but it felt very cozy and natural and comfortable.
I don't know what the future holds for us, but for now, this feels good!
At the end of the service everyone went outside for the candle lighting and sang Silent Night together. We gave Eva a candle and her excitement was palpable. She literally squealed, "Eeeeeee hee hee!!! A CANDLE!" It's not a large group of people, so there's not a lot of anonymity when your kid is the loud one. Alas, she was adorable :)
I packed buns for the kids because I knew they'd be hungry after the service. We came home, made sure everyone had eaten, and then did our stockings. The kids each got a stocking from us, and then Dave put together ours. They were all very gracious gift receivers this year and didn't even get upset that Eva got a bluetooth microphone thing while they got a deck of cards and.. I don't even remember what Emilia's extra little gift was haha.
Before bed, Dave read the kids "The Night Before Christmas" which was a tradition in his house growing up :). Then it was time for our Christmas Eve!
We had some wine and beer, and I made a yummy charcuterie board! We did our scratch and wins (and lost on all but one of them) and reflected on our year. Then we decided to watch the Grinch because we were tired and hadn't done that yet this season!
This brings us to Christmas Day! I woke up at 6am to get the cinnamon buns in the oven to be ready for the kids! They came down around 7am and we slowly opened gifts, played with gifts, and ate cinnamon buns for breakfast. We noticed throughout the morning that Dom's energy wasn't where it should be and he tanked later on with a fever and cough. Shoot. Christmas Day! Good thing we had lots of quiet activities to do!
We had zero plans on Christmas Day, so we just relaxed, colored, played, rested, and hung out the whole day. My Christmas gift to myself was making whatever I wanted for dinner. I love to cook, but don't like sharing my kitchen haha. The kids were all occupied and I borrowed Kirstin's air fryer to help me out. My menu was...
- Pan-fried top sirloin
- Air-fried chicken breast
- Garlic mashed potatoes
- Air-fried brussels sprouts with bacon & balsamic glaze
- Asparagus
It was SO good. I went in with zero expectations of the kids eating it so was not disappointed when Eva didn't want anything. Dom was resting on the couch, Emilia thoroughly enjoyed the steak and chicken, and Dave and I thoroughly enjoyed everything.
After bedtime, we went downstairs and played some darts which I lost miserably. However, when Dave was upstairs in the bathroom I decided to throw three darts to take a picture for the gram. I hit two bullseyes with those three darts. Why can't I shoot like that normally?!
I was really sad to miss out as we were planning for a full day plus a sleepover and then a birthday breakfast for Dom the next day! Poor kid was so sick :(.
While I missed out on all the fun, I did have a super relaxing and productive day. I decided to take down the Christmas tree and got to clean the whole place plus sit down and watch Elf with Dom. Mom brought me leftovers from their Christmas dinner for lunch. I ate leftovers from our Christmas dinner for dinner, and then the next day I had leftovers from Agassiz Christmas dinner! So many Christmas dinners! :)
"Sorry Dom. I hope that you feel better tomorrow for your birthday." *Sad Emilia face*.
Signed "Sorry Dom"
December 27th was Dom's 7th Birthday! He woke up like a new man! He still looked tired, but didn't have a cough, didn't have a fever, and was excited to make the most out of his day. He spent the morning unwrapping all the birthday and Christmas gifts he missed out on the day before so that was special! He's a blessed boy :)!
We warned him we likely wouldn't be able to have people over, but by the afternoon we decided to put out an invite to members of my family to see who might feel comfortable coming over still. In the end Mom, Dad, Jeff and Owen came over for pizza and Dom's dessert request - worms & dirt. D got a hockey net and a shooter-tutor so naturally time was spent outside.
His top front tooth was getting more and more wiggly, so I asked if he'd be willing to take one last selfie with me before he loses that baby tooth and his face changes forever. He obliged, and not 30 minutes later it came out! Now he looks like a real hockey player! :) As a last minute plan, Jeff put Owen down at our place and stayed to watch the new Mission Impossible in the theatre.
The 28th had lots on the calendar too (as this week always does)! There was some time in the morning for Dom to practice his hockey in the garage and I caught Dave playing horses with Eva.
After naptime we got ready for the De Jong Christmas at the Oasis at Elim! We had a full meatballs and gravy dinner (aka "Oma meal") with Bobo Moma and almost a full pull of local family! The cousins all had a stinking blast running around the place and for sure formed some great memories. I remember being D&E's age and running around with my cousins at Opa & Oma Gerber's house making all sorts of noise and playing all sorts of games.
Afterwards, Jeff, Scott and Dad came over to watch the Philadelphia vs Canucks game at our place with Dom. It is sort of becoming a birthday tradition until we can one day take him to a game for his birthday. He was exhausted and both he and Emilia went to bed after the 2nd period. Respect. I would have too if we didn't have company haha! After the game and everyone had left Dave and I played more darts til like 11pm.
December 29 was our only day where we had nothing in the calendar! I walked the dog to check out the damage a very hard-working beaver is doing down the road, and Dom built one of his Home Depot cars from Gramma & Grandpa with his new tools! In the evening I went to watch Owen for Jeff & Marta while they went out with some friends. We figure we can give Mom a break from babysitting and swap off every so often haha. Sounds fair to me. I ate fish crackers and watched the Crown. Not complaining!
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