Cole's 4th Birthday!

The Christmas rush is over and the toys have been organized crammed into the overflowing toy bins and today being December 28th marks Cole's 4th birthday.  The entire day has bittersweet and I just can't believe that my little boy is 4 years old!  As we all know, time flies by WAY too quickly and to think that 4 years has passed since Cole was born is absolutely mind boggling.  I remember 4 years ago quite well and the one thing that stands out in my mind the most is the overwhelming feeling of love.  A feeling I never knew was possible.

Cole's birth story is long, a bit dramatic and something I haven't yet posted, but hopefully will someday.  After the 36 hour experience, I was holding my huge newborn (who ended up being 3 weeks over due, I kid you not!) and I couldn't take my eyes of him.  My heart felt as though it was going to burst and I don't think you could have wiped that exhausted grin off my face if you had of tried.  I thanked God that day and everyday after for blessing our family with a healthy, beautiful baby boy.

Cole, you are so full of life and energy that some days it's exhausting, but in a good way.  On those days I know we've played enough, sang enough, laughed and loved enough and for that I am truly grateful.  We have our arms to hug each other with, our eyes to see each other's smiles, our ears to hear the laughter and our hearts to feel the love.  We are all healthy and happy and couldn't ask for anything more.

You bring such joy in to my life and every single day you teach me something.  Sometimes it's a reminder to not sweat the small stuff and to enjoy life, other times it's the simplest things, something that only an adult would over analyze.

You make me laugh and for this I am so thankful.  You are full of silliness and are such fun, you make everyone laugh with your silly dance moves and funny sayings...a silly boy for sure.

You are a smart boy and amaze me with how well you are doing in school in both French and English.  You are writing letters, recognizing numbers, drawing and best of all, you are expressing yourself in everything that you do.

You have become quite the little guy and I am so proud of you.

Happy birthday baby boy!  I hope that all of your dreams come true.

I love you more than anything in the world.

Love Mommy xo

Christmas 2011

Christmas is definitely my favorite time of year.  I love everything about it...from the decorations to the baking, the music, giving gifts, to our mailbox having all sorts of goodies stuffed in it.

Last year we used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards and I was absolutely thrilled with how they turned out.  C looked adorable in his thermal jammies, long shaggy hair and the cutest, most innocent pose I've ever seen.

This year we had family pictures taken and I couldn't have been happier with the results and the options that were available for our 2011 Christmas card.  While I was pleased with Shutterfly last year, when trying to decide what to use for our wedding thank you cards, I came across Dolcetto Designs and instantly fell in love with all of Shari's work.  Not only are her cards gorgeous, she is SOOOOOOOOOO quick!  I sent her our picture, what we wanted the card to say and she had it back to me within 24 hours.  Not even kidding.  I highly recommend that you stop by Shari's site and see what she is all about, she is great.

Without further adieu...Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

I was in no way compensated for the thoughts expressed in this post, these are my own views.

Christmas Blog Swap

Leigh and Lindsey organized the Favorite Things Christmas Swap for Canadian bloggers and I was so excited to be able to participate.  Giveaways and blog swaps often exclude Canada (not all, I've been lucky to participate in others!), so I jumped at the chance to send some Christmas cheer to a fellow Canadian.

Rachel sent me a box full of goodies including:

(excuse the terrible phone picture)

Santa p.j. pants, 3 packages of window stickers (which Cole LOVED putting up), 2 Christmas cookie cutters, a Starbucks ornament for our tree and a delicious sounding cookie recipe which I can't wait to try.

Thank you so much Rachel for the great gifts, it's so nice to receive mail and to have it be something fun, rather than bills!  A big thank you to Leigh and Lindsey for hosting the swap.

I sent a gift to Jenny, you can check out what I sent her on her blog.

Family Pictures

Am I the only person out there who cannot maintain a blog on a regular basis?  Pretty much ever second random post, I'll start with saying I've been a terrible blogger.  I have been, but I've realized that's just the way it's going to be...  I contemplate not blogging at all, heck I barely blog, but it's nice to have my own spot to open up when I need to.

All that being said, this fall has been BUSY...we had a great October filled with loads of family time and yummy turkey (Canadian Thanksgiving), my birthday and finally some much needed family pictures by Leslie from Lestanto Photography.  Leslie is so much fun to work with and she did a great job, especially seeing as Cole was QUITE silly.

Let the picture overload commence...

Thanks Leslie, it was a blast and we can't wait to see you again!