Adventures in Calgary

Almost everyone at work stopped what they were doing to gather around the TV and watch Obama become the 44th President of the United States. I've never watched anything like that before. I have no idea if other Presidents have spoken with that sort of candor about their predecessors and the challenges before them. I hope the President can live up to his words.

We recently got rid of Molly's toddler bed and moved her 'big girl' bed into her room. She'd done so well at sleeping in the big bed in Hamilton we figured she could handle it. Moving Molly into a new bed also allowed us to ditch her soothers finally. There's only been one night where she really missed them so far. And overall she's sleeping a bit better. I do wonder if she'll ever be a good sleeper. Last night I made the mistake of going in to her because I thought she had to pee and instead I ended up having to listen to a long description of her dream about how we forgot the candles for her birthday cake and that just wasn't good. Too funnny.

This year we tried to keep things as low key as possible. We decorated the tree pretty early. Molly loved it. And we tried to spread her gifts out over a long period of time so that she wouldn't be overwhelmed. All in all, our plan worked out beautifully. We flew to Hamilton on Christmas eve. I was convinced we'd end up stuck in the airport for Christmas but luckily that wasn't the case. Our flight left really early on the 24th. We had to get Molly up at 3:30 am - YUCK! Molly woke up full of vim, vigour and vitality which is more than I can say for Noel and I. It amazes me how little sleep that child needs. It was so great being in Hamilton for Christmas. My mom went all out. Molly ran across the the airport into Grandpa Jim's arms. And seeing Auntie Barbie and Uncle Normie was fabulous. Molly's favourite gift was the Cinderella dress she got from Santa. She hasn't taken it off since the 25th! Our little princess. Boxing day Molly got to come with Noel and I over to Lori and Matt's house for a visit. The princess dress had to come along too of course. I had such a nice afternoon with everyone. I miss them all so much. It would be so incredibly cool if our kids could see each other more than once every couple of years. They're all growing up so fast. On the 27th, we took Mom out to the Keg for her birthday. It was Molly's first time at the Keg and she did really well. Although she didn't really like the Billy Miner Pie so I'm not 100% sure she's my child. As sad as it was to leave on the 28th, we were all happy to get back to our little house in Calgary. Noel was right back to work but I had the next week off with Molly. We had lots of time to play princess. New Year's Brent, Melinda and Zoe came over to play games. What a laugh. Then Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Andrew got home from Florida so we were able to have Molly's first Hanukkah...not the full thing but a taste. It meant so much to us for them to share that holiday with us.

And that brings us up to date for now. I'll try to be more prompt with my posts from now on. I know I've been slack.