Sam Skating Video

Here is the video of Sam skating...

Sam and Rogan skating

Matt took Sam, Rogan and I up to the local community rink and we spent an hour or so skating around. The boys really seemed to get it...

Playing in the snow

Yesterday we went over to Dawn and Ryan's to play in the snow. It had warmed up to +1C during the day so the boys could play for a while. They played great together for hours. We played in a snow fort, pulled them in the sled, and Ryan shovelled snow off the roof on top of them!

Darcy gets bigger

Here is a photo, by popular demand, of someone other than our kids :) This was taken with my new 'little' camera using my 'big' camera's flash. She is definitely looking pregnant!

Boxing Day

Today was a bit more relaxed. We had a late start and then I took Sam and Max walking with the Hyndman's along the Elbow River. It was a beautiful day, and aside from Sam and Max turning into ice cubes at the end of the walk (-16C) it was a lot of fun. We basically just played around the house today. Max is feeling a bit better, but sadly Lily seems to be getting a fever...

Merry Christmas!

It is always a joy to see Christmas through the eyes of the kids. It is also fun to see the kids through the viewfinder of a new camera :) Here are the kids lined up on Christmas Eve:
Max looking pretty happy eating a candy cane - with a fever of 103F:

Sam dancing:

Nolan sleeping:

Rogan laughing:

Hazardous week

We had quite the number of mishaps this week. Early in the week the kids pulled over the large wardrobe in Sam's room. Daniel was underneath, but the wardrobe fell onto the corner of the bed and to the side, luckily. It was a close call. It is now securly fastened to the wall, of course. Just a reminder that anything that can fall over, probably will...

Then, yesterday morning Max fell or jumped off the couch and it looked like he had bit his lip right through. There was a 1cm cut on the outside and one on the inside. Darcy and Ali took him and the kids to the hospital and they confirmed it was just two surface cuts, not right through. He is doing well, with barely a fat lip one day later:

The third scare was Sam's lamp. Our cleaner had broken the shade yesterday and tonight the lamp was knocked over onto the bed. Ali smelled something burning (nice to know smoke alarms only go off in false alarm conditions!) and Darcy found the pillow looking like this:


Yikes!

Its official!

I got the e-mail from Claire the morning and they have officially named their new little guy Nolan Eric Wickett Hyndman. And here are some photos:

Daddy with Nolan:

2nd time Mom:Grandpa with Nolan:

Gas? Rogan looking at the new baby:

Molly seemed to be taking Nolan in stride:

Our new baby!

I forgot to put this up the other day. Here is a shot of our new baby:

Molly has a brother!

Claire and Eric had their baby tonight! All went well, and Mom and babe are happy and healthy. They had a baby boy - 8lbs 10oz. Exactly the same size as our boys. Born at 7:47pm MST, on December 12, 2008... No name or pictures yet - seems that baby boys these days don't approve of Madeline or Kate :)

Christmas Play

Sam and Rogan's pre-school put on a Christmas play on Thursday and all the parents, cousins, grandparents and friends were invited. There was a fair crowd present. Sam was absolutely mute almost the whole time, while Rogan took every chance to get a word in :) They basically were all dressed up as bakers, gingerbread men and the rest (dogs, horses, ladies, etc.). The bakers made the gingerbread men, and then the men ran away. They ran past each of the groups and they chased after them. The gingerbread men got to sing 'Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread man!'

Anyways, it was extremely cute, as these things usually are. They sang some carols after and then Santa came. Sam sat on his lap and asked for a bunch of jellybeans, and Rogan smiled away and said he couldn't remember what he wanted.

Andrew was there as well, of course, and the Ross clan was present along with Lynne as well. It was a good time.

Kids having fun

We had a nice family dinner on Sunday night with the Ross's and Ali/Matt. Here is Daniel on the prowl: Going in for a goodbye kiss:

Lily rocking the new track suit (and suitably pink shoes):

Sam and Darcy opening the advent calendar:

Winter has arrived!

Wow! Winter has arrived in Calgary. Cars and trucks were sliding down hills, and general chaos ensued. We went to the community center for a Christmas party and they had Santa, a sleigh ride with two horses and food! It was a lot of fun.

Sam is loving the snow and I pulled him around and around in the yard while Max slept:

Max dives in

I wish I had a photo to show this, but Max has started doing 'rocket ship' dives. He puts his hands together over his head (or almost - they don't touch so he has them a little forward), sits on the edge of the pool and then leans over until he dives in headfirst. It is the cutest thing ever!!!

Max jumps off ground

Max jumped into the air for the first time yesterday!

[Updated with photo!]

Dom, Will, Lucas and Jack

Sam, Dom and Will playing tickle monster:

In our whirlwind trip (mostly working and staff Christmas Party for me) down to Victoria we did manage a night out with friends. Jen and Stu had us over for dinner with Lee-Ann and Scott, plus the four boys. With a total of six boys present plus parents it was quite noisy - at least until Lee-Ann got going on the 'no talking' game. Sam won with Dom a close 2nd. Will was totally oblivious to the point of the game. "Sammy doesn't have green hair!" - OUT! Back in - "Dominic isn't 2..." - OUT!

Jack and Lucas were cute little babies, although little doens't really seem like the right word. Makes me look forward to having our in April, though!

Jack, playing on the floor and looking cute as babies tend to do: