Holiday Results

The paper has been ripped and bows stuck on the heads of various animals and children and now the holiday season is drawing to a close.

Nathan and Alex both did very well despite some very late nights, a lot of excitement and in Nathan's case, a bit of stomach upset. There were some very pleasant surprises.

Both of them played with their cousin at Nana's. Traditionally Alex has ignored her or only been interested in a game of tag but this time he was interacting with her as they looked at puzzles, built towers and played various other games. He even came up to her several times and gave her a hug. Nathan got into a tickling game with her where he would touch her stomach or leg and she'd start giggling. He thought it was just the best game ever.

Nathan did very well at eating a lot of unfamiliar food and he actually fed himself for the most part. I think we may have crossed the bridge into independent eating because he's been continuing it at home here over the last few days. He definitely enjoyed the various cookies on offer, although as mentioned earlier, I think he overindulged a bit.

Their aunt earned herself a place in both boys' hearts by being willing to play the Wii at their direction for hours at a time. Alex's favourite game was the laser hockey. Any goal scored was worthy of jumping up and down excitement and giggles. Nathan prefers cow racing but he doesn't get as excited as Alex. Alex did try the cow racing and target shooting and I think he did fairly well.

I think everyone was happy with the gifts they got. The clear favourites thus far are a handmade red felt stop sign pillow (from Nana) and six inch minature school buses (from Avi and Memee). I'm hopeful that the kaleidescope that Santa brought for Alex will become popular over time, but you just can't compete with the stop sign. He's carried it everywhere since getting it.

We've gone through and cleared out some of the toys that the boys don't play with any more so that there's room for the new additions. It was a little nostalgic, going through the bins but I think we were sufficiently ruthless on cutting down the clutter. With luck and a little effort, hopefully we'll be able to keep things only mildly chaotic.