Tadhg and Sadhbh welcome 2013

Monday was the last day of 2012. Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad started the end of year celebrations in baba and papas house. Baba had some party hats and noise makers which everyone enjoyed. The Irish new year (5 hours before the Canadian New Year) was celebrated with some gutso back home. Tadhg enjoyed watching the party back home in Dublin and Sadhbh enjoyed dancing and wearing her party tiara.

After celebrating the Irish New year, Tadhg and Sadhbh went to bed so mom and dad celebrated the Canadian New Year by themselves by opening a bottle of bubbly. Roll on 2013!

Tadhg and Sadhbh's Christmas!

Tadhg woke up at 5:30am on Christmas morning as per usual. Once he remembered what day it was he led dad down the stairs to see if Santa had arrived. First stop was under the Christmas tree to find it surrounded by presents. Then he ran to the fireplace to check if the Christmas stockings were full, and they were! Tadhg had to wait to open his presents until Sadhbh and mom came down so he was satisfied with looking in his stocking first. He was delighted to find a Pokemon video and some other treats.

Sadhbh woke up soon after her brother and came down like it was a normal morning. Tadhg tried to show his sister that Santa had arrived but Sadhbh didn't understand. Finally she saw the Dora the Explorer chair that Santa had left for her and she ran over to sit in it. She was so delighted with her Dora chair that she didn't notice the other presents Santa had left. Tadhg was excited that he could open the rest of his presents now and was thrilled to see a Nintendo DS and a Pokemon game as well as new Pokemon cards! He wasn't too interested in non-Pokemon presents.

After the present opening everyone sat down to a Christmas breakfast of pancakes and maple syrup. Tadhg and dad went to Christmas mass in the parish church while Sadhbh had a nap and then it was off to Auntie Kay's house for Christmas dinner and more present opening. Tadhg and Sadhbh were excited to be with their cousins and to get even more presents. Mom and dad were happy to put their little Christmas monkeys to bed and relax after a wonderful day.

Tadhg and Sadhbh's night before Christmas

Christmas Eve was surprisingly mild in St Catharines, Tadhg and Sadhbh were very excited about Santa's pending arrival. Tadhg couldn't wait for Christmas morning and eagerly left out some cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. 

After a final look up into the night sky looking for the magical trail of Santa's sleigh, Tadhg and Sadhbh changed into their Christmas pyjamas and snuggled up with dad to read "The Night Before Christmas" and munch on some Christmas cookies. Finally it was time for bed. All that was left was to wait for Santa's arrival....

Tadhg meets Max and Ruby

Max and Ruby is one of the first TV shows that Tadhg ever watched. Dad downloaded a couple of episodes when Tadhg lived in Prague. They hadn't heard about them before but the shows looked fun. Tadhg was hooked straight away. Imagine his delight when he moved to Canada and could watch them every day! Since then Tadhg has watched practically every episode and Sadhbh is even developing an appreciation for the bunny siblings.

Mom and dad bought Tadhg a special Christmas treat - 2 tickets to see the Max and Ruby live show in Hamilton! It was a bit late for Sadhbh so Tadhg and dad went by themselves. Mom had gotten VIP tickets which meant Tadhg was able to go to the VIP room before the show and actually meet the bunnies. There was a big queue to get a photo taken and Tadhg was a bit distracted when he finally made it to the front. The show itself was lot's of fun - Max and Ruby's take on the Nutcracker Suite. Tadhg had a great time but is probably outgrowing these characters. Next time Sadhbh will be interested in Max and Ruby and Tadhg will be looking for Pokemon shows!

Tadhg and Sadhbh meet Santa again

Dad's work Christmas party was on Sunday. It was a long drive to get there so Tadhg skipped his normal swim lesson and everyone hopped in the car early for the trip. Tadhg and Sadhbh were both tired and had a nap on the way. Tadhg was a bit sceptical when he arrived at the venue and said "there's no party on here!". He quickly changed his tune when he walked into the party room and saw the bouncy castle.

Tadhg and Sadhbh had a great time on the bouncy castle, inflatable run, games and activities. Tadhg had some baubles painted on his face and Sadhbh asked for a Santa face on her hand. After lunch, Santa arrived to loud applause and Tadhg rushed up to be first in the queue to meet the big man. It was another great Christmas party with more presents for Tadhg and Sadhbh.

After another nap on the drive home, it was time to put up the Christmas tree. Tadhg was a great help putting up the decorations but Sadhbh was more interested in taking them down! The house looks very Christmassy now.

Tadhg and Sadhbh's Christmas tree

As Christmas is fast approaching, mom and dad decided to pick up their Christmas tree. Tadhg and Sadhbh wrapped up in their winter wear and went to the same Christmas tree farm as last year where they got their beautiful Austrian pine. Unfortunately they didn't find any nice Austrian pines this year but Tadhg picked out a perfect tree. Dad chopped it down much easier than last year with Tadhg's help.

Tadhg and dad dragged the tree back to the car with Sadhbh and mom leading the way. After securing the tree to the car, they made it safely home and left the tree in the garage to dry out overnight. Everyone is looking forward to putting it up and decorating it for Christmas!

Tadhg's Christmas concert

Tadhg had been practising for weeks in  preparation for the school Christmas concert. Baba and papa came over on Thursday so they could see their little grandson in action. Papa stayed behind to mind Sadhbh as the show was on after her bedtime while Tadhg, mom, baba and dad went to the school for the show. After dropping Tadhg off to prepare, everyone took their seats in the packed auditorium. The kindergarten kids looked so cute walking onto the stage and put on a great show singing 3 Christmas carols. Tadhg was confident on stage as always and belted out the songs.

After the show, mom, baba and dad picked up Tadhg from his classroom and were able to check out his cubby hole.Tadhg was nonchalant about his performance but was happy to still have the bell around his neck which he rang for jingle bells. Mom, dad and baba were so proud of their little performer.

Tadhg and Sadhbh meet Santa!

The Welland Croatian National Home kid's Christmas party was held on Sunday. Baba organises the party every year so Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad were excited to go. After Tadhg's swim lesson in the morning (Tadhg can swim widths now!) everyone piled into the car for the trip to the party. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very festive and it rained the whole way there. The party started with some lunch and entertainment from the Smudge Fundaes band who had reformed their original line-up for the special day. Tadhg and Sadhbh enjoyed the show along with their cousins and the other kids at the party.

At the end of the music all of the kids screamed at the top of their voices and it must have worked as Santa heard them and landed his sleigh to meet everyone. The kids were thrilled to see Santa in the flesh and Tadhg was especially keen to tell Santa his wish list. When it was Tadhg's turn to sit on Santa's lap he had enough time to tell Santa his number 1 Christmas wish and get a big present.

Sadhbh was delighted to sit on Santa's lap too and gave a big smile when it was her turn. She kept pointing at the jolly old elf saying "Santa". Sadhbh looked like a little elf herself in her Christmas dress. Santa didn't want to let her go! 

After the present giving there was time for a quick family photo with Santa before he had to shoot off to another party. Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad stayed to help clean up the hall before they could go home and play with their new presents. After a long day full of Christmas cheer, presents and candy, everyone was tired and quickly fell asleep to dream snowy, Christmas dreams.