Icicle the Snowman

We've seen more snow over the last couple of weeks than the whole of last Winter.  It wasn't great packing snow, but with patience we were able to make Icicle the Snowman.  We also got Nina a snow shovel so she could help shovel the drive way.

Yesterday we went to the AGO.  There were some costume things and ping pong, which Nina tried for the first time.  Nina liked the life-sized snakes and ladders game best.

Christmas Concert 2012

This year the Christmas concert was in the morning.  Probably because of the teacher action.  Still, there were plenty of parents to take in the Christmas spirit.

Picture with Santa

This picture was taken at the Christmas fair at the JCCC a couple of weeks ago.  I was looking for it to post but couldn't find it until now.

Merry Christmas

I looked out the window this Christmas morning and saw a dusting of snow - enough for us to call it a White Christmas. This year Nina and Silvina made a gingerbread house from scratch.

Christmas Angel?

A couple of weeks ago Nina had her gymnastics graduation.  Previously I recall that the girls got to go up one by one to get their picture taken, but this time it was en mass.

Last weekend we went to the JCCC for a Christmas something-or-other.  Nina had a great time making (and eating) a gingerbreadman and other things.  Her highlight was coming second in the musical chairs.

After we went to my folk's place and had a cake for Uncle John's birthday.

Getting Ready for Christmas

This is a joint entry with Nina.

Nina: Yesterday I went to the present-making workshop.
Me: She made a number of neat presents.
Nina: An Advent Calendar, a Christmas tree, and a little snowman thingamajig.
Me: After the workshop she went to a play-date with Abby and Rachel.
Nina: I felt a little ill.
Me: How come?
Nina: Tummy ache.
Me: Anything else?
Nina: Fever.  That's all.
Me: Yesterday morning she was coughing, but in good spirits.  Last night she was flopping.  This morning she looks good again.  We'll see...
Nina: I feel a lot better.

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Halloween Magic

Nina dressed up as Hermione Granger for Halloween this year.  Silvina braided her hair the night before so it would be wavy in the morning.  In case you didn't know, Hermione is the lead girl in Harry Potter.  We laugh because Nina behaves just like Hermione - a chatty know-it-all.

This Halloween, just like last year, we went to her friends place.  It was a bit rainy, but not as cold as last year.  There were a handful of diehard trick-or-treaters around, but not many.  They seemed to have a good time however.

Here are some pictures of the jackolantern.  One side was Silly, and the other was Meowy.  On Meowy I thought she was drawing big eyebrows, but they were ears.  Silly had three dots on its cheek, but I can't remember what they were for.

Hiking in Algonquin

On Thanksgiving weekend we went up to Algonquin Park for some hiking.  It was pretty cold and a little rainy, but the colours were beautiful and Akemi did not complain at all.  We were doing three hikes a day and she was right in there.

Here are some assorted shots from the trip.

Piercings and Medieval Fair

This is a picture of Akemi when she came home with her ears pierced about a month ago.  Every morning and night since then Silvina has been diligently rotating the studs, and Akemi has been equally diligent in allowing her to do it with little fuss.  Well, actually at the start there was some fuss, but now no fuss.

Last weekend we went to a Medieval Fair at the ROM.  We thought we would drop by at the Fair, and then move on to the dinosaur bones and minerals, but Akemi was captivated by the Fair for the whole time - seeing the same cycle of demonstrations until the end of the day.  They had stations to make tiaras, write with a quill, and design a coat of arms.  The quill she was writing with was so long that it tickled the ear of the girl beside her.

The demonstrations were pretty interesting - the first time around.  They had dancing, hunting animals, and old weapons.  She even had the chance to shoot a real bow and arrow.