Christmas photos

There are so many photos to share with everyone that maman, papa and I are having a tough time deciding which ones we want to post. Here are several with a brief play-by-play, but rest assured there are plenty more still to come.


This was the first present that I unwrapped and it was from Grandma and Grandpa McHardie. I opened it first for the simple reason that it had been wrapped the longest and I had chewed on it enough times that the paper was nice and soft, making for some easy access. Belle and I have discovered in the few days following Christmas that the greatest thing about Little People is how easily they fit in your mouth.



Although there was no unwrapping of this present, maman and papa finally let me play with the Camion interactif on Christmas morning. The Finding Nemo car came from great-grandma and great-granddad and it is a sight to behold. It plays music, offers ocean sounds and has little flashing lights. What more could a baby want in a toy?



What more could a baby want? Well, a car with a phone attached of course. Everyone in this house has mobile phones or Blackberries, so Grandmaman and Grandpapa finally levelled the playing field. As you can see in this picture I'm also wearing the pretty red dress that Grandma McCormick made for me. Whenever a girl is test-driving two new cars on Christmas morning, it is critical that she be wearing a red dress.



I ask you, is there something not right in the world when a Golden Retriever is denied access to a toy cellphone? My good deed for the day on Christmas was allowing Belle to make all of her calls on my phone. What can I say on Christmas, I was all about magnanimous gestures.



Talk about cruel injustices, if it isn't hard enough to put the rings back on this holder, try doing it with maman holding you. I admit my hand-eye co-ordination could use a bit of polishing but under these circumstances it was clearly like trying to hit a moving target. Life is just not fair sometimes.



This is me being cute and pretending that eating Cheerios was sufficient as maman prepared the most amazing Christmas brunch I had ever seen. Ok, it was the only Christmas brunch that I had ever seen, but it was far more enticing than Cheerios and apple juice. But such is life when you are stuck in a high chair and can only eat what is placed in front of you. Let it be known, that I have a long memory and the next time I get my hands on pasta, only one would will come to mind: retribution.



This was a part of the afternoon present-opening session. As I am clearly demonstrating now, what I may lack in gross motor skills, I more than make up in sheer determination. From my brief experience in opening gifts, when you have a tough corner to rip, it always helps if you soak it for a few seconds with your mouth and then claw at it with your finger nails. And if that fails, a sad look to papa and he will offer to start a hole for you. If this Christmas taught me anything -- other than I have a great family -- is to never give up.

Chrismas Eve storytime

Papa always says that Christmas is about family and observing traditions. In our case, this year was about making our own traditions. On Christmas Eve we visited my friend Jaime and her parents for some fun. When we returned, I was rather sleepy but papa read “Twas the night before Christmas” to me.
The version below was not read, though papa assures me it really happened. All apologies to Clement Moore.

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the home
Every animal was stirring and on the roam.
Belle had finally snuggled into her crate,
For Gribouille's nerves she had started to grate.
Emmanuelle was nestled tightly in her bed,
While thoughts of pulling Toulouse's tail playing in her head.
With maman in her mismatched cotton PJs,
And me just trying to avoid causing a flap,
We had settled down for a nightly nap.
Then out on the lawn arose such a clatter,
I bolted from the bed to see what was the matter.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a outdated sleigh and eight frazzled reindeer.
The visions were so vivid and stark
I knew in a moment my meds failed to work.
More rapid then Belle's recalls
His coursers they came
The fat guy chortled and called them by name.
Now Lips! Now Sebestien!
Now Patatoff and Lilie!
On Tigrou! On Eeyore!
On Winnie and Lumpy!
To the top of the porch
Just get over that wall
Get going right now
We're going to stall.
Suddenly, with no notice,
The sleigh landed with a poof
And I could hear the collapse of each little hoof.
Toulouse was now hiding under the bed,
With Gribouille sleeping like the dead.
The fracas had to be explored,
Finally turning around I gathered my druthers,
In Santa ran, Belle's heart now aflutter.
The next moment went by like a blur,
Belle was now licking all of Santa's fur
From his head to his foot,
My reputation was now tarnished
Our good named turned to soot.
That bundle of toys for Elle left on his back,
The sour old man threatened to take back!
His eyes how they glared
The man suddenly lacked merry
His cheeks were all chubby
Really he was quite scary.
Elle's first Christmas poised for ruin
The dog and I sprang into action.
Begging and pleading to his sense of duty,
We offered cheese, crackers and drinks that were fruity.
The stump of his pipe
He held up to my teeth
With a large finger he ordered me under the wreath
Finally he mellowed a tad.
Then he grabbed his big belly
And it shook when he laughed
Belle just ate his sandwich of jelly.
Now comfortably at ease
That silly old elf
He scoffed at Belle
In spite of himself.
A tip of his cap
A quirky tilt of his head
Soon sent a signal
Any legal action was now dead.
He stepped over Gribouille
And quickly began his work
He filled Elle's stocking
Muttering still, “Belle you jerk.”
Extending his right hand
To offer a truce
Tis Christmas after all
Even for Toulouse.
He stumbled to his sleigh
His minions at the ready
Away they all flew
Gone at last, nice and steady.
But I heard his exclaim as he drove out of sight:
“Good riddance to Belle
To everyone else a good night!”

Christmas morning

To say the last eight hours have been overwhelming would be an understatement -- not just for me but for maman and papa as well. I awoke at my normal time, had my regular bottle and then was wisked into the livingroom where toys seemed to befalling from the sky. Once one was unwrapped another appeared.
We took a 20-minute breakfast break to give my fingers and seven teeth a chance to rest and recharge. And then it was back to unwrapping.
The gift wrap came in myriad colours. Inside these tape enclosed works of art were things to ride on, things to listen to and, of course, things to put in my mouth. Maman and papa did not admonish me once for eating a toy, they just offered me another. Now I understand why the build up to this day lasted three months.
The funniest part, it is still not done. Shortly after our eight-person brunch I went to sleep. Now we are two hours away from a major dinner. And, perhaps presents to be unwrapped.
This day continues to evolve.

Grandmaman and Grandpapa

Grandmaman and Grandpapa just arrived with more presents. Parrain and ma tante Joanne showed up with more presents. All the rumours about rampant gift giving are true.
MORE TO COME

Santa

Urgent: Santa arrived. Our house is full of presents. Even Belle and the cats have gifts.
MORE TO COME

Newest member of the New Brunswick Press Gallery

Despite the recent crack down on security at the New Brunswick legislature, Papa has been able to get me accredited as a member of the press. My newfound crawling abilities has opened my eyes to the world of investigative journalism.
I shouldn’t have any problems navigating myself around the security pitfalls. My stroller can fit between the large, useless steel pillars that have been erected in the middle of the road. But I'm just curious if the clip attached to my soother will get caught by the metal detectors that are coming. From my preliminary analysis, it is clear that press gallery passes taste much better than they serve as a fashion statement.

Gribouille's Greetings

The life and times of an oversized and underappreciated (in his mind) grey cat are filled with soaring highs (like sleeping, eating and sleeping) and dramatic lows (like new animals or children invading his home). Such is the life of our feature character today, Gribouille. Gribouille was the first addition to Maman and Papa’s household back in September of 2002 and since that time he has had a front row seat to some very interesting events.
When he was first brought home from the Oromocto SPCA, he was known to have a bit of a “personality.” Well that personality has morphed from a cat who would run upside down underneath the bed at 3 a.m. and bounce off walls at mach speed into a feline who epitomizes compete domestic domination. Belle is roughly four times heavier than Gribouille and 10 times his size, but if he says play time has begun or is over, the Golden Retriever listens. If Gribouille wants to cuddle with Maman, she dutifully puts down her book or postpones her chores.
Without a doubt, Gribouille is the Don Corleone of our family, minus the severed horse head-in-bed situation. Look at him, he has the size, and he even meows like Brando. If cats could wear a ring, does anyone disbelieve that we would be kissing it right now?
That is why when Gribouille said this morning he wanted to send out his holiday wishes on the blog, I advised Papa he should listen. So from Gribouille, to the wider cyber world, Merry Christmas. Oh and Gribouille wants people to know that he would like a new scratching post or one of those foam, cloth-covered beds at Wal-mart and he would pooh-pooh the thought of another animal in his home.

What do you mean I have to wait until Christmas?

I'm finally starting to come to grips with the whole Christmas concept, but what I cannot comprehend is why Maman puts this wonderful toy (apparently purchased by Great Grandma and Great Grandad) under the tree and I'm told it must stay there. The horn beeps, the little sea creatures from Finding Nemo make sounds or play music and yet it must stay parked under the Christmas tree. I thought the holiday season was supposed to be marked by giving and not witholding. What happened to worshipping and giving little babies presents, forget the gold, frankincense, and myrrh, I just want the camion interactif. (Oh, about the gold, you can remember that, if you like.)
I'm all about being festive in this holiday season but can someone please keep the rules consistent. Either give me the present or don't. Either let me play with the tree or don't. But really, all these assorted rules and exceptions are starting to hurt my little head. Did you know that it is permissable to unwrap a present but if you chew on the corner that is verboten.

You have got to be kidding me

This is absolutely stunning. You have the audacity to tell me when it is and when it is not bath time. I'll tell you right now that now is not bath time. Why is now not bath time, clearly, it is because bathing before 6 p.m. causes Ebola. Duh. Everybody knows that. Capiche? Hey, Papa, you're fired!©

Chillin' with Grandpapa

Grandpapa and I had some time to chill out together on the weekend. We had lots of fun, but his face is scratchy.

Reaching new heights

The constant evolution of my young life has brought me to another important milestone: Standing. It once seemed daunting to turn over, but I accomplished that. It was a significant feat when I could sit on my own. Ditto for crawling and pushing myself from my back to my butt. Soon after my most recent developmental touchdown, I was sitting in my high chair contemplating what to do next. Standing became the obvious choice, considering achieving world peace seems a bit overwhelming for a baby. Unbeknownst to Papa I had been climbing up on things and standing for the better part of the week during the day. But last night I decided to show off my new-found skills. Needless to say he was quite impressed.

When the toys are bigger than you

Parrain must have thought it would be funny to buy me stuffed animals that are taller than me. I'll have you know, however, that it is possible to put Eeyore's tail in your mouth and drag him around to my different play places.

I'm reading this and you're not

I know this book looks interesting and that is why I'm reading it and you're not.
In the last 10 and a half months I've been able to accumulate quite an impressive baby library. It seems every few weeks a new package comes in the mail and out pops a few more books. Sometimes the books are in French and sometimes they are in English. At this point I could care less as long as I can chew on the corners. The other evening, I was sitting in my play room and I was trying to read my Bébé Caillou book to Belle, but she only wanted to lick the pages. I must say I was rather heartened by her reaction. The next time either Maman or Papa tells me to stop eating a book, I can just point out that the dog does it too. I love having Belle.

Belated blogging

Have no fear faithful readers, I am still chasing the cats, trying to drink out of the dog dish and making funny faces at Maman and Papa. Unfortunately, Papa informs me that this blogging business is going to be a bit more sporadic over the next few weeks because the legislature is starting again. I'm not sure why the return of 55 silly individuals should have any direct impact on my ability to share stories with you but alas, this is the world I'm in.
We had a great visit in Bouctouche last weekend. Grand-maman had a Christmas-tree lighting event on Saturday night. I had no idea I was so popular. All these strange people kept coming up to me, squeezing my cheeks and somehow they all knew my name. It was truly bizarre. And on Sunday, it seemed the entire town of Bouctouche came to visit. Aside from Maman, Papa, Grand-maman, Grand-papa, parrain and Joanne, there was also Rachelle and Andre, Lisa and Charles-Yvon, Conrad, Charline, Serge, Sebastien and Josée. It was standing-room (or crawling room) only and Grand-maman's house.
We have a few pictures from the weekend but Papa hasn't downloaded them yet.