12 Great Things in 2012!

Looking back 2012 was a great year! We have enjoyed many blessings and so here are the top 12 of 2012!

1) I turned 30 in January and was surprised with a visit from my closest University friend, Megan. A great weekend of catching up was had!

2) I got a new job (that started on the exact day of the end of my mat. leave) in Arborg. I was blessed with an opportunity to move to the public school system and have enjoyed my time there immensly!

3) Griffin started walking (at just under 10 months) and the fun began! The monkey continues to be an active boy! Jumping off the stairs is a wonderful pastime around here now!

This is a more recent picture but walking is a favourite pastime of the little Dude!

4) Griffin started Daycare and mommy had a hard time adjusting. Thankfully the Riverton Daycare cuddled and coddled and loved my goofy boy!

5) We celebrated a wonderful boy turning 1! How time flies when you are having the most enjoyable time raising a sweet, polite, spunky little boy!

Happy Birthday!

6) Jay got a new job, after his term at Sport Manitoba ended, that he is very much enjoying. Rec Connections has been a great job for him and he is enjoying looking toward the future there.

7) We puchased our first house in the town of Gimli. It all happened so quickly but was such a great decision!

New house

8) We introduced Griffin to the wonderful world of swimming during his summer swim lessons in Arborg and have continued his love of the water this fall/winter as we continued lessons at Misty Lake.

SWIMMING!!

9) The move came and went (with minor hitches) and we spent time getting settled in our new home.

10) G an dI enjoyed our summer outside, playing, sliding, walking and hanging out in the back yard. Moving to Gimli really allowed us to enjoy the outdoors more than ever.

Swinging!

11) I headed back to work and Griffin started a new (home) daycare. The transition was way easier than I expected and he has been so happy there!

12) We had a wondeful Christmas break that we are enjoying as a family!

Smiling 18 month old goof!

Merry Christmas!

I will post a life update at some point but it is Boxing Day so a Christmas post makes sense!!

I L-O-V-E Christmas, and having a 20 month old makes Christmas better than ever! We decided to spread Christmas out over many days and just a few events/gatherings. It has been relaxing and exciting all at the same time.All through December Griffin celebrated Advent by opening a different Christmas book. i had a bunch and bought some more in November. I got a wonderful 5 book box sent of little board books that tell the story of Jesus coming to cave the world. He really enjoyed those ones the best (good for his level, and I liked the message). By the end of the month he looked forward to each opening in the evening.

We enjoyed  a lovely Christmas Eve service at our church here in Gimli and spent Christmas morning at home (AWESOME). We decided not to go crazy with presents this year, in fact Jay and I did not buy each other presents at all. Instead we watch Griffin open, play and explore the gifts he received. His excitement and love of his new toys has been awesome to watch, and despite us not going present crazy he has racked up a nice present haul thanks to the generosity of others.

While Christmas is not all about presents Griffin is at the stage where his child-like wonder makes his reactions so much fun to watch! My crazy generous sister-in-law (and brother) got him a kitchen, complete with tea cups and pot, pots and pans, and a ton of food. He has been saying "cook, tea, hot, cook" very, very often since we opened and put it together on the 23rd. It has made going to bed at a reasonable time impossible, he is absolutely enthralled by his kitchen! Thankfully we have spread out the present opening because on Christmas morning Santa delivered a farm, complete with animal sounds, and his Great-Auntie Linda (Boaz) sent a truck with cars and animal drivers. Both these presents have been played with; when asked if he wanted to open more presents he responded enthusiastically with a "NO"! His Spiderman mitts have been adored and the books have been read. Finally he agreed to open play-doh from friends, and a Bubble Guppies book and dvd from Mom and dad. He was also given a truck by one of my students that has kept him occupied at family gatherings!! The best gift for sure (in my opinion only) was a BC Lions t-shirt :)! Clearly he did not suffer from our frugality this Christmas. He was in need of new toys as he was getting rather bored of his old stuff, the thought and care put into each of his gifts has made him a very happy boy!!

We still have a trip to McGregor at the end of the week for a couple of days. Until then we will have some family time and enjoy our little boy! Family time is one of the best parts of the Christmas Season!