The weekend before Christmas we took a quick trip over to Victoria to visit my brother and his family. While we had only planned an overnight trip, the snow had other ideas. In the end we stayed two nights and enjoyed the snow rather than rush home and travel in a blizzard. In all we must have received well over a foot of snow during our visit, and we took advantage of it to go tobogganing and walking in the snow. It was also a good excuse to sit inside and eat good food and chat while the kids played. It was great to see all of them and the cousins had a fun time together.

My parents braved the snowy conditions and spent Christmas with both my family and my brothers, making the trip from Vancouver to Victoria on Christmas day. They came to stay with us a few days before Christmas. Although the snow kept us mostly homebound, we did venture out on the 23rd to the VanDusen Botanical Gardens for the Festival of Lights. It was a beautiful display, and we also enjoyed the Svend and Jens the Scandinavian Christmas Elves, and Santa. Natalie was very excited to see Santa. When he asked her what she would like for Christmas, she confidently said, “Chocolate!”

We spent a wonderful Christmas at home this year with my parents and Christina’s sister Amy. We don’t get many white Christmases out here on the coast, so it was particularly special despite the travel headaches it caused. Natalie really enjoys playing with all her new toys and dressing up in her new princess dress-up clothes and having tea parties. Christina got a Nintendo DS and Brain Age. It’s lots of fun and is bringing out a bit of our competitive sides — “I just got a new record!” Our house is still a bit of mess with Christmas stuff everywhere, but we’re slowly bringing it back to normal. I went back to work today, so the holidays are officially over. :(

A quick update on the kids:

Probably the biggest update about Natalie is that she has been potty trained now for several months. She still wears a diaper to bed, but goes without the rest of day — including naps! We’re very proud of her. Natalie’s grasp of language is growing exponentially. She never stops talking and we have great conversations with her.

Jasmine had a doctor’s appointment today, and we finally got to weigh and measure her again. She is 7.080 kg (15 lbs 10 oz) and 68 cm (27 inches) tall. This puts her around 60th percentile for weight, and around the 95th percentile for height. We’ve definitely noticed that she’s a lot taller than Natalie was at her age, but didn’t realize she was taller than most girls for her age. Jasmine continues to be a wonderful little girl and has plenty of smiles for everyone.