Post-Christmas check in

As expected, it has been a quiet week between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Gwendolyn has been lucky to have both Mama and Daddy home for the duration, and we've been enjoying a lot of family time.

Of course, there has been lots of playing with Christmas gifts. Gwendolyn was well and truly "gifted" by Santa, friends and family -- perhaps overwhelmingly so, but she seems to be coping well with the numerous new books and toys that entered her life on Christmas Day. They're all getting their fair share of play, although not surprisingly, some clear favourites are emerging. You'll see more of those favourites in future posts.

It was quite a different Christmas from last year, as it was clear that Gwendolyn was starting to put two and two together regarding the tradition of Christmas gift giving. Mama and Daddy waited until Christmas Eve to put presents under the tree, and there was definitely a double-take from Gwendolyn when she arrived upstairs on Christmas morning and saw the transformation.

All has not been about gifts and Santa, though. Among her books about Rudolph and the Littlest Christmas Tree, Gwendolyn has a lovely collection of books about the Christmas story, and she has taken quite a shine to them. And really, what two-year old wouldn't love a story with angels and farm animals and kings and a baby and a shining star in it? However you feel about the sacred side of Christmas, it is nice to see a little one so absorbed by such a quiet and gentle story.

Here are some other highlights of the week:

• Christmas Eve was spent with Zoey and her parents -- a lovely, low key affair. Kids laughing and playing, adults enjoying some good conversation and a Christmas spirit or two (nudge, nudge, wink wink): in a word, perfect.

• Much to Grandma's delight, all the Ronaghan grandchildren descended on her home for an impromptu visit on the 27th. It was the first time in many a year that such a feat had been accomplished, and the first for Gwendolyn, period. Little G. had a ball playing with her cousins (who all very much older than she), her Aunt Deborah and Uncle Jan, and Grandma, of course!

• After one abandoned attempt on Boxing Day (the line up was just too long), we managed to see the light display at Vandusen Gardens. It's always a treat to see the gardens lit up so colorfully and creatively -- a Ronaghan Christmas tradition going forward, to be sure.

• Just last evening, Gwendolyn helped Mama and Daddy complete the purchase of a nice little pre-owned vehicle. Thank goodness: the experience of our pre-Christmas accident and the myriad details afterward really dinged our Christmas spirit. Thank goodness we can put that episode behind us now -- and just in time for the new year!

Tonight will be quiet -- a time to reflect on the year that has past and to anticipate the adventures of the one ahead. However you plan to celebrate, we hope you have a grand time. And please, please be safe -- especially if you need to be on the roads this eve.

Happy New Year to you all.

Christmas singalong with Gwendolyn

(UPDATE: we've successfully improved the video quality -- hurrah!)

A few evenings ago, we filmed these clips using the camera on Daddy's Mac. Of course, the video format Apple uses is different from that which we need to post video here.

It took a bit of work to find some simple conversion software, but we were ultimately successful. The resulting video quality may not be all that grand (we'll keep working on it), but the audio is clear and the charm is there in spades.

Happy Christmas to you all.

Gingerbread galore

It was a morning for decorating home-baked gingerbread cookies at the Ronaghan household. And what fun would a cookie party be without your favourite friend in attendance? Maybe we have a Christmas tradition in the making...

Everyone who has tasted the cookies agree: yum! (Well, perhaps Gwendolyn and Zoey would vote for the icing over the cookies.) Here's a link to the recipe.

Getting close to Christmas

Wow -- that car accident has really thrown us for a loop! Our dealings with insurance companies has eaten up a lot of our time, and we're feeling soooooo far behind in our Christmas preparations.

We're doing our best to normalize things, though, and Gwendolyn is right in the mix:

• Decorating the windows
• Helping Mama with baking for the office cookie exchange
• Keeping up to date with her advent calendar
• Eating her share of Christmas goodies (poor Ginger!)
• Working on her imitation of Rudolph (antlers courtesy of Gwendolyn's visit with Santa)

BTW, the window stickers and advent calendar were part of a lovely package of Christmas activities that arrived in the mail at the end of November. Thanks, Auntie Deborah!

Getting into the Christmas spirit

This evening was reserved for Christmas preparations at the Ronaghan household, and Gwendolyn was an enthusiastic helper. We managed to decorate the tree and display a few other Christmas-y items, including Gwendolyn's adorable children's nativity set.

Now it's beginning to feel like Christmas. Too bad we're not expecting much, if any snow this year...

The official Happy Birthday post

Despite all that has happened this week, we did our best to make sure that Gwendolyn enjoyed a very happy birthday. It was a small party this year, but full of tasty food and playtime fun. The round, chocolate, two-candled cake was met with full approval -- thank goodness!

Thanks so much to all of you who sent along your birthday greetings. We're tickled to know that our little girl has made such an impression on so many. As one friend remarked, "she's as bright as a shiny new penny." And she's certainly not shy about spreading that brightness around, is she?

We hope you enjoy the photos:

• Argh! Who invited that pirate to the party?
• Dress up fun with Zoey and her Mom
• Mamma and Daddy corral the two year old for a family photo
• Can't talk... eating cake...
• Finally -- my chance to wear the pirate hat!

What a week!

Of course, today is Gwendolyn's birthday, and we're well into the celebrations, as the accompanying photos show. But let's step back a bit and tell you a little more about what happened this week...

On Monday, Gwendolyn woke up with a bit of a limp and voiced some complaints that her right leg was sore. The limp persisted for a couple of days, so Daddy took her to the doctor to get things checked out. The diagnosis: transient synovitis, or an inflammation of the hip joint. We'll let you Google the term on your own if you're interested in the details.

At any rate, things weren't improving by Thursday, so Daddy called the doctor, and the doctor said: go the Children's Hospital emergency and have them look at things. (Apparently, an unexplained limp can also mean some pretty awful goings on in the hip joint.)

Off we went last evening, and thankfully, the diagnosis at the hospital was the same. So -- nothing to worry about at this stage, and things should clear up on their own by early next week.

Now, this is where the story gets interesting. On our way home from the hospital, literally two blocks from home, we were the victim of a hit and run accident. Fortunately, no one was directly impacted, and we were able to walk away from the car. Gwendolyn was a trooper: no tears, and she seemed to enjoy all the attention she was receiving from the firefighters and police officers attending the scene. We managed to get the plate number and make of the offending vehicle, and had a number of witnesses lining up to make statements to the police.

We are going to the doctor's office today to get checked out, but so far, everyone seems OK. A little shaken and a whole lot of thankful, but OK. Our car has a good deal of damage, and we'll have to deal with insurance and the like next week, but we're not complaining: things could have been much, much worse.

Unfortunately for Gwendolyn, some of our birthday celebration plans have been postponed due to the events of the week. We're thinking a birthday do-over in January might be in order. Today, we're enjoying being happy and healthy with our terrific two-year old.

Happy Birthday, little one!

VanDusen lights: a sneak preview

Daddy and Gwendolyn visited VanDusen Gardens on a sunny day last week, where they saw preparations being made for the upcoming Festival of Lights which begins on December 11. We chatted with a friendly fellow working there, and he told us it takes four weeks to complete the installation. Yikes...

While the plants and lights were interesting, puddles eventually won the day.

What an imagination!

We don't think this film clip needs much more said about it -- the title of the post tells it all. Enjoy!

Birthday expectations

Gwendolyn has recently been sharing her thoughts about her upcoming birthday. This evening, it was, "the perfect birthday means a belly full of tasty food." We think we can cover that one. Then, it was, "the perfect birthday in New York with the warm sun picking pumpkins in the pumpkin patch." Ooooh... not sure if we'll ever be able to pull that one off. (We expect the latter is a recollection of an afternoon in a pumpkin patch in Vermont, on our recent trip east where we also travelled through upstate New York...?)

As for the cake, Daddy knows it has to be round and chocolate flavoured, with two candles. Check!

Lights, boots, trees: a Christmas adventure

The Ronaghan family went on a wee adventure this evening. Off to buy some new winter boots, we kept our eyes open for Christmas lights and saw a couple of particularly colourfully lit homes along the way. We then dropped by a local tree lot, where Gwendolyn helped to choose the perfect Christmas tree. No cultured fir for us; our dangly Christmas ornaments are best suited to the droopy, "Charlie Brown" variety.

We'll decorate the tree tomorrow evening. It should be fun to see how things turn out with Gwendolyn's help!

Another week, another batch of photos (and a wee film)

We're creeping closer and closer to the end of November, and nearer and nearer to a special little girl's birthday. Gwendolyn has been quite engaged with the idea of birthdays recently: Duplo birthday cakes, parties with her stuffies, singing "Happy Birthday To You" to whomever and whenever the mood strikes... It should be fun come December 11.

To close the month, we have a few more photos to share:

• Taking a critical look at some recent artwork
• Diaper, Crocs and bike helmet: didn't you know it's what all the cool kids are wearing these days?
  
• "Talking" to Grandma Ronaghan on the phone (So far we've been lucky and haven't accidentally dialed a lawyer in Zimbabwe or some such thing)
  

And here's a wee film. Do you remember the first time we did this? She was a little less mobile then...

All the news that's fit to print

Here's the latest with Miss Gwendolyn:

Tale of 2 Grandpas: What a lucky girl! Gwendolyn enjoyed visits with both her grandfathers this past week. Papa John (Felicity's Dad) flew in from Toronto for several days of Gwendolyn time in rainy Vancouver, and Grandpa Ronaghan dropped in today for an afternoon visit. It's clear from her interactions with both grandfathers that Gwendolyn loves them very much, and we're so pleased each of them makes a point to visit her when they can.

Swimming up a storm: Gwendolyn completed her latest set of swimming lessons on Saturday. She now has level "Duck" under her belt; next stop is "Sea Turtle." What a difference a warm pool can make: Gwendolyn loves being in the water now and often expressed disappointment when her 1/2 hour lessons were done each Saturday.

And singing up a storm, too: We have a wee song writer on our hands. Gwendolyn has begun recalling memorable activities through her own lyrics that she sings to familiar tunes. An example (sung to the tune for "the ABC Song"): "Gwendolyn went to the aquarium and saw some fishes and stuff, then she saw some whales and starfishes..."

Her own songs are an outgrowth of those she now asks Mama to create (and sing) before naps or just before bedtime, as a way to settle down her mind for sleep (we think). This evening, it was a song about waiting for Papa John's baggage at the airport. Another favourite is "The Duplo Song," which is all about the trip to the bus depot to pick up some packages from Grandpa Ronaghan, opening the packages, finding the Duplo (think big Lego) inside and playing with it along with her friend Zoey.

The songs sure aren't top 40 material, but they seem to be important for Gwendolyn to help make sense of happenings in her world.

She raps to the potty beat: Perhaps it was the book that she found on her latest trip to the library that did it (called "Uh Oh! Gotta Go!"), but Gwendolyn has suddenly taken a keen interest in potty training. With Mama and Daddy's encouragement, she successfully peed in her potty a couple of times this past week. Hurrah! We can't wait to hear the accompanying song.

Play sleeping: these recent rainy days have seen our couch go through quite a workout as a play object. The latest game: pulling the cushions off and creating a play nap space, complete with cozy quilt, requested music (usually her "Dreamland" CD) and dimmed lights. She will usually lay quietly for several minutes, staring up at the ceiling -- or in the case of the photo above, at her mousey-mouse finger puppet. Now, if we could just get her to "real nap" a little more consistently...

Here are some captions for the other photos:

• Exploring her newly received Duplo with Zoey (not actually taken this past week, but hey -- we can pretend, can't we?)
  
• Reading "Applebee's Shapes" with Papa John
• Enjoying bath time, despite giving herself a bit of a bump on the noggin beforehand -- note the emerging goose-egg above her right eye. Note to G.: accidents can (and do) happen when you're overtired and tearing around the house!
  

One year ago today...

We often scroll through Gwendolyn's blog on a trip down memory lane, which gave Daddy the idea for this posting: what did our little girl look like one year ago? Well, here's your answer, complete with pasta meal.

The photo below wasn't included in the November 2008 posts, but it's an awfully cute one. Note the rather precarious seating posture Gwendolyn is enjoying in a kid-size Poang chair. ("No, no -- I'm OK, really. Quite comfortable, actually.") Note also the awesome, "too short in the legs, too high in the waist" jeans...

The hostest with the mostest

Daddy was looking through recent photos of Gwendolyn today and found this little gem. Last weekend, the Ronaghans hosted a baby shower for our good friend Jennifer. There was another wee one at the party (Natalie -- apparently she's not a big fan of clothes) and she and Gwendolyn got busy with playing while the adults enjoyed their tea and conversation. Of course, Gwendolyn couldn't resist also helping out with the opening of the gifts and charming everyone in the room with her lively personality.

(Note the toque Gwendolyn is wearing; it's one of Grandma Ronaghan's creations. G. wouldn't look out of place at a Reggae concert wearing that colourful number...)

BTW, a lesson was learned by Mama and Daddy post-shower. You see, Gwendolyn enjoyed her fair share of chocolate cake during the party, mooching bites from several plates. We've been quite careful with Gwendolyn and sweets, but were a little lax this time around.

Unfortunately, that decision came with some consequences; it was clear from Gwendolyn's behaviour well into the evening that she was on a big, crazy sugar high. As you might expect, we're back to being careful.

One month 'til TWO!

Today marks just one month until Gwendolyn turns two years old. Yikes -- Daddy needs to start thinking about a theme for this year's cake...

We marked the day by doing a couple of measurements:

Height: between 35 and 36 inches
Weight: 31 pounds

Reading update

Gwendolyn has taken quite a leap with her reading in recent weeks. She has been heard reciting passages from some of her favourite books on several occasions while engaged in other activities. When reading those same books, she happily "fills in the blanks" when Mama or Daddy leaves a word or short phrase out of the story. We'll keep trying to get a short film of this; so far, the audio on each of our previous takes has been a bit faint.

Her current favourite? It's safe to say that "Music Is" takes the prize, although Richard Scarry's "Biggest, Busiest Storybook Ever" is probably a very close second. During the lead-up to Hallowe'en, the book of choice was "Dora's Perfect Pumpkin." By the time October 31st rolled around, she had nearly the whole book memorized.

Gwendolyn also has an alphabet puzzle game, consisting of a letter and word on one half of each puzzle card and a pictorial representation of the word on the other half. More than 50% of the time, she is correctly recognizing a letter and/or word and then finding the picture with which to finish the card.

Yes, we realize what we're seeing is Gwendolyn's memorization skills in action, rather than her ability to read what she sees on the page. But wow -- isn't it great that she is so engaged with words, books and reading so early in her life? As we've said before, we think we have a bookworm on our hands...

Having fun with Zozo

You've already met Gwendolyn's friend Zoey through this blog; last evening, we had the pleasure of having "Zozo" over for a play date while her parents enjoyed a well deserved evening out. As you can see from the photo, these little girls really enjoy each other's company.

Two good friends and lots of toys and fresh baked muffins equals one fun evening. All that laughing and running around must have worn little G. out -- she powered through a three hour nap this afternoon!

Some new photos to start a new month

Things keep growing right along with Gwendolyn. Here is this week's collection of photos (minus the Hallowe'en shots, of course):

• Looking every bit the soccer goalkeeper with her big striped gloves
• Doing some puzzling -- a new favourite activity (We've done this puzzle so many times that Gwendolyn is now able to fit in some of the pieces without help)
• Not to worry: when leg warmers get a bit snug, just put them on your arms! (Note the play toy in this photo; Gwendolyn has finally shown interest in the activity snake we purchased for her before she was born. We're starting to tackle buttoning and threading shoelaces...)
  
• Finally -- hair that is long enough to put into a ponytail

Hallowe'en 2009: Year of the Ladybug

What a difference a year makes! Last year's Hallowe'en activities were a bit overwhelming for Gwendolyn, but this year, she quickly got the hang of things. With her cute costume and confident "trick or treat," she was a definite hit with the neighbours around our townhouse complex.

Of course, there are photos...

• Carving the pumpkin(s) with Daddy
• Inspecting her teeny weeny jack o' lantern
  
• All dressed up; look out, little aphids!
• With Mama and Mr. Jack (brother of Mr. Lantern)
• With Daddy at the end of her trick or treating adventure

Happy Hallowe'en, everyone.