So, here is Mia at Thanksgiving. Our date of meeting. February 14th. was very appropriate and will never be forgotten. She has changed so much in the last 8 months and is catching up on her language skills and other development. She loves to do puzzles, play with lego, play with her siblings. look at books (though held close to her face) and one of her favourite activities is to sing and to listen to music. For all those of you who contributed to her 100 Good Wishes quilt--thank you! It is still not done but the pieces we have are all sewn together--still taking contributions!
And here she is with her great smile!
And here is Benjamin; exactly 1 year older than Mia and a very fun and active boy. After 3 outings to the local skating rink he no longer needs mom to help him (though she skates close behind, just in case). Hoping for the same success when the snow comes and we get to go skiing. This year Benjamin went out to help cut down what is problably our most perfect Christmas tree yet, and it had to be brought less than a 100m to the house! What was once a fairy ring in the garden has been taken over by many beautiful fir trees. Benjamin loves to dress up. to bake, to build, to tell stories and to have battles with the playmobil characters of many sorts (that would involve marbles and catapults--no one is safe). He is so excited about Christmas that it makes all the efforts worthwhile.
Here is Emily on the ski trails--we went to Forest Lea for a few hours to help clear the trails for skiing but it turned out someone had already done our section so we had some free time to explore. Emily continues to excel at school but now it is also a fun place to be as some really nice girls moved to the area and are good friends with Emily, Emily's racing spirit is still strong with a great finish at our only triathlon this year and for the second year in a row a win at the Ottawa Race weekend--a beautiful watch was the special prize there. Art, music and indoor and outdoor play and a lot of helping with Mia and chores keep Emily busy. After 2 sets of swimming lessons she has completed her level 7 from the Red Cross program making her a very confident swimmer.
Our riding lawnmower was broken most of the summer so we spent an inordinant amount of time push mowing the lawn. Next summer though, Sarah can have the job (unless Daniel is up faster and they agree to share it as it used to be his job though that happened less while the mower was broken). Junior High seems to have come with a smooth transition for Sarah who has developed into a strong student with a very determined work ethic. Cross country running, swimming and music and art are still actively pursued as well as all activities around the home. Mia is excited to see Sarah come home (or sad when she hears her but can not actually see her) and Sarah has become a confident cook and homemaker and babysitter as needed. And, Sarah offcially become a Young Women and went to camp for the first time and to other fun activities.
Daniel should probably be writing his own page since otherwise the wrong thing may be said (and perhaps all the kids will still get a page to update themselves, need to think about that). This teenager, who is officially taller than his mom, but not as tall as his dad yet, is off to a good start in highschool. Another month and the first semester will be successfully behind him. Daniel missed out on some active school activities at the start of the year after pulling his achilles tendon but is working on his Bronze Medallion at the pool, preparing for cross country ski racing with his school and is part of a church pilot program for on-line seminary which he does every school night. And, he has his ipod and a number of other interests that this writer does not know much about.... (he still reads but someone must convince him to play the piano more; he did do guitar at school; we just do not hear it at home)
