Jingle Bells

T'was the week before Christmas
And in front of the tree
Contemplating the ornaments
Sat Liam and Lily

(Ok you sort of have to force that rhyme. Sorry, I'll try harder next time.)

Saucer Saturday night

(p.s. don't worry, our undying love for that other great game on ice hasn't changed.)

Happy (US) Thanksgiving

Yum. This weekend was the annual feast-to-end-all-feasts courtesy the Willis household's American Thanksgiving dinner. And what a feast it was. Craig was out of town curling and Liam stayed home with his grandparents, so Lily and I made sure to eat their share of delicious turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, veggies.... I am still feeling full. And sleepy.

Lily greatly enjoyed her first taste of pumpkin pie, but I think she enjoyed the pleasant company even more. Not to mention the retro 80s dinner music, that was pretty cool, too.

No DNA required

Yes, sir, that's your baby.

Me and Ed

Something about little girls turns big men to mush. This unexpected cuddly gift came Lily's way from our dear friend's father, Ed. As the patriarch of four females (two daughters and two granddaughters), Ed knows what it takes to please little ladies. As the story goes, he saw this bear in the store and decided on the spot that it must be Lily's. The bear -- also now named Ed -- is a big hit. Thanks, Ed.

Deck the halls

The Halloween treats are long gone and it's time to look forward to our next fun event: Christmas! Yesterday the weather was good for putting up the outdoor lights. However, first the strings needed to be unfolded and that calls for family participation.

(Please don't picket, the kids were offered a fair wage in exchange for their labour. And, no, we didn't send them up on the roof.)

If you, like me, used to help your dad do this annual task, you will remember the steps were as follows: untangle the strings of lights, check for wear, check for bulbs with blue, red, green or yellow paint chipping off and replace (with the same colour of course), plug the whole thing in and if it doesn't work, check bulb by bulb to see which one is burnt out and causing the whole string to fail.

Sheesh! Things are a lot easier these days with these fancy schmancy eco-friendly lights. Somewhere, you know Clark Griswold is shedding a little tear. And, yes, now I do feel very old, thanks for pointing that out.

Liam's first crack at this task was in 2005 at 10 months. Lily at six months in 2007.

Trick or Treat!

Liam was Diego, Lily was a buzzy buzzy bee. Both were extremely cute! Liam trick or treated for about an hour, and was jumping out of his skin to get outside for an hour before that.

Liam is all about the candy. At about the third house he started demanding access to his trick or treat bag. Went something like this: "WANT CHOCOLATE! HAVE CHOCOLATE ME!" All the other parents found this very amusing.

Needless to say, fun was had by all.