The hat lives on

Apparently the hat wasn't good enough just for drumming.

Gotta wear it while driving truck too!

Cowboy Drummer?

With the arrival of our new addition a mere 5 weeks away, the nesting has begun... and so has the need for me to clean up the area of our bedroom where the crib will reside. The crib spot hasn't gotten cleaned up yet but I did clean up my closet. It would've been fun to show you before and after pictures but do you really want to see how messy my closet can be?! Please be satisfied knowing that it is now organized and much more functional than it has been in a long time. 

What does closet cleaning have to do with anything? Well, I'm glad you asked. Because when one cleans out one's closet, it is amazing what treasures can be found. How does the saying go? One man's junk is another man's treasure? How accurate.

And priceless. 

A squashed straw hat and some kind of ribbon and my son has a whole new look in his drumming world.

He may look a little goofy but he is just as serious as ever about the drumming. 

We'd buy the kid a real drum and drumsticks but we're pretty sure they just wouldn't be the same...

Pregnancy Update

People have started telling me I must be close to delivering so I guess my belly is giving things away. Delivery time is coming quick and we're looking forward to meeting the little bugger. The baby is in the head down position and is not likely to move at this point. I've gained 33 pounds and my wardrobe contains about 3 shirts that cover my whole belly. I'm still feeling pretty good but I do tire easily.... and I can't bend over. At all.

 

Hi! My name is Joelle and I'm 35 weeks pregnant.

My little drummer boy

We came home from Christmas with a "new to us" chair. It's an ergonomic chair that helps you sit with better posture at the computer. I certainly don't mind it as it leaves room for my monstrous belly; Lane likes it because it makes a good drum set. Who knew.

A place to hit the drumsticks, a place to sit and a place to bang his foot. You'd almost think the boy knew what he was doing!

Christmas Part 2

Lane's present from Uncle Mike and Auntie Tara came in a big box. At the time, I think the box was a bigger hit than the actual gift. But only because Uncle Mike made it into a house,

and then he made it into a mighty steed from which one was to wield a sword,

 

and then he made it into a car, complete with steering wheel and racing stripes.

Miraculously, it was still all in one piece when we left. Not that it was in great shape because after Uncle Mike left it was turned into a drum set, but it was still in one piece.

High Chair

Back when I had as much energy as my son, my great-grandfather shipped a high chair from Pennyslvania (where he lived) to my parents for me. It was the high chair my great-aunt Nancy used when she was little. The chair had deteriorated somewhat between Aunt Nancy's time and my time so my great-grandfather re-caned the seat before he shipped it over. I wasn't a particularly special kid but I was the first great-grandchild in the family and apparently that was reason enough. 

The high chair doesn't get used much anymore but it still has a home at my parents' place. My son found it while we there and proceeded to figure out how to climb up into it. As my son, the first great-great-grandchild sat in the high chair, I was reminded of the significance of the chair. So, this is for all you descendants of Norman Wismer:

 

Christmas Part 1

We did Christmas with my family in two stages this year as it was my brother's year to spend Christmas with his wife's family. So those of us who were home did a bit of Christmas on Christmas Day and then we did the rest when my brother and his wife got there. Lane had fun on both days, surprise, surprise.

He coloured in his new colouring book with his new crayons from Grandma Karen:

And read the book he got from Grandma Karen:

And got Auntie Tara to read him a train book from Grandma Cherie & Grandpa Dennis:

And was a bit baffled as to what to do with the big set of play-doh Auntie Laura and Auntie Amy gave him.

Don't worry, that situation has been remedied.

The beginning of Christmas

Christmas was a month-long activity in our house this year. Grandma Karen's Christmas presents for the boy started showing up the beginning of December and then every once in a while someone else would drop off a Christmas present so the boy had fun opening a gift here and there for about a month. 

One present that was a hit was a Cars toque and mitten set. The boy loves to wear it around the house. He can now put one mitt on himself and occasionally he can put his toque on. They aren't warm enough for him to wear outside but he doesn't mind one bit. What can be better than wearing them in the house?!

Our neighbour dropped off a bag full of Christmas presents for the boy. It included all sorts of wonderful things but the biggest hit was a set of trucks. A dump truck, garbage truck and tow truck. And the boy can tell you a story about each one of them. 

The day before we left to go to my parents' place for Christmas we let the boy open his gift from us. It was so hard to wait to give it to him! We got him a new train set; both Jamie and I couldn't wait to play with it. Fortunately, the boy seemed to like it as much as we did. This train set has a tunnel and hill, both of which were big hits. He loves being able to put the trains through the tunnel... or any other toy that he deems small enough to fit. Crashing can be just as much fun as keeping the train going "'round and 'round".

Outtakes

I finally downloaded all the pictures off the camera the other day. Apparently it has been a while. But you probably could've told me that. Anyway, not only were the Christmas pictures still on the camera but these pictures from one of the many days Lane and I have spent together.

We fixed Dad's shirt. And then the boy had to try it on.

But it was a little big. And it made walking a little hazardous.

No shirt is much better!

Still helping

It seems the boy felt he had learned all he could in the nailing department so driving screws was next up on the list. Jamie had to take down a bit of drywall to do some electrical work and Lane quickly figured out how to screw the screws into the empty holes and then how to use a screwdriver to make 'em really stick.

 

I'm scared to consider what skill is to be learned next...

Family

Our family lives pretty close together in the sense that we all live within a 5 hour radius of my parents' place. However, it's been a while since our whole family managed to be home at the same time. Christmas was the occasion this time and it was great... my son loves playing with his uncle and aunties and they all like to play with him. What more could I ask for? 

We had a nice, relaxing Christmas. And we had an exciting Christmas. And I have pictures of both. But you don't get to see them yet. Instead, you'll have to be satisfied with this family picture:

Quilt

In a tradition of sorts, my mom, sisters and I pieced and quilted a baby quilt over Christmas for our soon-to-be-born baby. It is a fun way to spend our time together and it is also fun seeing the quilt come together. For baby #1 we did a turtle quilt; this time around we picked a panda motif and I adapted a 19 inch design to a 42 x 48 inch blanket. It was a bit scary as we starting working but I think it turned out great.

The leaves are only sewn on to the quilt by the stem so they can be batted around by a baby... or toddler...