A Birthday Celebration and a Visit from Friends

We've had a pretty busy household the last month, first Kelly came to visit us in November, and then our friends, Nathan and Leslee, came all the way from out west to visit us at the beginning of December, and my sister just left yesterday after a great visit. And in between all that, Lyndon turned 29 in November and we had a really fun birthday party with lots of our friends.
Kallie with her GIANT bear from Nathan and Leslee...she loves it:)!

Kallie and Leslee playing and cuddling:)

Nathan and Leslee are friends of ours from college, and the last time we saw them was about 2 1/2 years ago, so it was an awesome visit, filled with catching up and having lots of fun. They were here for about 5 days, so we really got to re-connect and have a blast:) And it was their first time meeting Kallie, so that was really fun too. Kallie LOVED them...she became an insanely hyper child...completely different than she usually is, and it was pretty hilarious. The first night they were here, we were just telling them how great a sleeper Kallie was, and how easy it was to put her to bed (she'd been down about 10 minutes), and then the shrieking/screaming/crying began. We finally got her up, and she then proceeded to do laps around our living room, waving her hands in the air, yelling...and didn't go to bed until 10! She gradually calmed down over the visit, but you could tell she was pretty excited to have guests staying with us:)

Nathan and Kallie hanging out

Thanks for coming guys, it was great having you here:)!

(Nathan...I definitely expect a comment since you're featured in this post;)

For Lyndon's birthday, we had lots of our friends over, and it was an awesome night of JUST adults, with lots of great conversation and fun:) We had LOTS of yummy food, drinks, and a great cake that was just perfect for Lyndon:) We had it made at a local bakery, and it was delicious (as well as entertaining:)!

Lyndon's favourite beer is Stella Artois

The embarrassed birthday boy as we were singing (his comment after was about how no matter how old you are, it doesn't get any less embarrassing when everyone sings 'Happy Birthday':)

Things these next few weeks should be just as busy as we get ready to celebrate Christmas with our families here and in Winnipeg. We've got our tree up and are decorating it tonight, so hopefully I'll get some pics up of Christmas at our house:) Have a great week!

Finally!!!

Well, here they are...pictures of the happenings around here, I hope they live up to all the anticipation:)!

Our little bear on hallowe'en (who didn't nap, and so wasn't too impressed:)

The candy makes everything better though!:) Sidenote: turns out in our relationship, Lyndon is the 'stickler'...I totally let Kallie have a lollipop (and other such not-so-good stuff) and he NEVER does! I always get a very disapproving sigh and look when I let her...oops:) It's not very often, but I definitely give in more:)
Kallie in her new snowsuit from Oma...our little marshmallow baby!

Reading stories with Dad

Hanging out with Kelly, and enjoying all the loot she brought!:) Kelly gave Kallie an awesome book (it was her favorite from when she was little), and a mommy and baby turtle, who Kallie now sleeps with every night:)

Kallie NEVER sleeps on people...Kelly had just the right touch:)
Relaxing in front of the fire with dad, after a long day of work!:)Helping dad finish the floors in the office. They look great!

These are just for you Mandi:) I love letting Kallie feed herself, no matter how messy the food. She still happens to LOVE pureed veggies, and so...

And my favorite, my snuggly little sling baby:)!

My sister is touching down in Thunder Bay in 20 minutes (Lyndon's mom is picking her up, with Kallie, as I'm working today), and I can't wait! It's going to be 5 days filled with lots of fun and bonding! Whenever we go to Wpg. Dana has her life still going on, and I always have lots of people to see, so even though we visit lots, it's never enough. These next few days will be devoted just to spending time together:)! So have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Still no pictures...but a new blog look at least!

So, I know I'm totally lame with no pictures, but I thought a little Christmas makeover for the blog might save a little face...:) Anyways, Lyndon's parents gave us a very wonderful gift, a new printer WITH a memory card reader, so very shortly I will be able to download pics again! Hooray! We have guests staying with us this weekend (all the way from Alberta!:), so I'm not making any promises for pictures to be up before next week...but I'll try:)!
We've had some somewhat interesting things happening in our lives lately, so I thought I'd do the writing update today and then just put a whole bunch of pictures up once I can:)
Our November started out great, my good friend Kelly came for a visit from Winnipeg, and we had an awesome weekend! She and Kallie hung out lots and really bonded, and I just loved having a great friend to spend time with all weekend! She was our very first 'Winnipeg guest' in this house:)
We're really settling into our house, now with winter here we're using our wood-burning fireplace sometimes in the evenings, and it's just wonderful! One of Kallie's favourite things to do is help daddy start the fire (she hands him wood), and then pull up her little chair, or just crawl into Lyndon's lap, and relax and watch the fire with dad:) It's so sweet to see.
Kallie's vocabulary has grown incredibly this past month, she definitely knows more than 100 words and is just starting to put 3 and 4 word sentences together. She turned 18 mo. on the 12th, and I just can't believe it! Another 6 months and we're looking at a 2 year old!:) She's starting to learn songs really well, she can just get past 'enanenopeeeeeeee' (lmnop:) in the alphabet, and does really well with 'the wheels on the bus' when we help her:) She's such an absolute joy and we're both just loving experiencing her growing up!
Some little happenings in our house: A bird flew into our fireplace (during the day...I'm at home with multiple children, Lyndon at work), it was a bit freaky, but Lyndon got him out when he got home, and showed him to Kallie...she just loved it! She was so sad when she had to say 'bye birdie'. The bird was totally fine, thank goodness.
On a bit more of a serious note, last week, Lyndon was coming home from a friend's house with Kallie, and they hit a deer. Or should I say, a deer hit them. A buck ran into the side of the truck, went through the driver's side window, and actually hit Lyndon in the head!!! Lyndon had deer hair stuck in his hat! It was really scary b/c Kallie was there, glass was everywhere (including all over her), Lyndon had a cut on his nose and chin, and the ambulance had to come to check both of them over. They're both physically fine, praise the Lord. I was at a Sunday school meeting, when Lyndon called me and I just broke down. Even though they were fine, it was scary thinking about Kallie (and Lyndon) being in any kind of danger. And we have actually noticed that she's been very emotional and clingy all this week, so we think that the accident definitely had an impact on her. I've pretty much been carrying her around all week (which is a little tricky when you're running a daycare:), so last week I pulled out my sling, and popped her in it. She hasn't been in it since she was about 7 months old, and she LOVES it! She constantly asks to go in the sling, and it makes my life way easier b/c then I have my hands free. She's actually fallen asleep in it a couple of times, which was so precious and wonderful:) I took a picture, that I'll definitely post when I get the chance.
Lyndon and I have both been working lots these past few months, both at home and at our jobs, so we're really excited for Christmas holidays! We're spending Christmas here in Thunder Bay, and then driving on Boxing Day to Winnipeg, to celebrate with my family and go to my good friend's wedding! (on the 27th:) It should be a great time of relaxation and family:)
Hope December is treating everyone well so far!