Merry Christmas!

It has been a busy Christmas week around here!  Uncle Greg and Auntie Kate came from Vancouver to spend Christmas with us...and we had lots of fun!!  We started our week off with an early Christmas dinner on Saturday at Brian and Tiffany's...which of course came complete with Christmas crackers and the requisite crowns...and Owen's second annual Christmas ear infection (hence the paci in the photo - which he is not usually allowed except when asleep...or whiny-ly sick)

playing with his new Christmas cracker car with Uncle Greg...in crowns.

bedtime stories with Auntie Kate - crowns optional

Some playtime around the house and trips to the Mall of America and the MIA completed our days leading up to Christmas.  Yup, we went to the MOA 2 days before Christmas...we are crazy!  To be fair, we mostly visited the aquarium there.

Learning his provinces

fitting in the final piece!

garden eels!

post aquarium photo opp in the maw of the beast!

mmm...burritos!

sharing his morning sippy with Edgrrr the Tiger...whom he cannot go anywhere without these days!

 Christmas eve we had friends over for some appetizers and back bacon - which for you 'mericans out there is REAL Canadian Bacon...not to be confused with the weird impostor they put on Hawaiian pizza.  In Canada, you can buy it, in the US you can import it for a hefty fee...or you can do like I did and make your own!  Which involves several days of brining a pork loin...and it was well worth it!  It was delicious!!

This is the only picture I managed to get from Xmas eve...I think mostly because Owen was not in his finest form - note the stickers on his shirt, those are courtesy of the Target walk in clinic earlier in the day - turns out Xmas eve was the height of his ear infection (just like last year!) and doctor's aren't really open on Xmas eve, so walk in clinic it was at 2 in the afternoon.  I gotta say, I'm not holding out any hope for an ear infection free Xmas next year...

this was early in the evening when he was still happy to be sharing his little chairs with Greta

Christmas morning we got up and opened the cavalcade of gifts...99% of which were for Owen.  His Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles certainly spoil him!  And he loved all of it!!

What are you so entranced by, Owen?

ah, yule log!!  I totally understand...

sitting in his new booster seat with his new panda before the full onslaught of gift opening.

John Deere tool belt with hat and saxophone...very "country meets city chic"

colouring...with is hat

riding the tractor with Edgrr...in his hat.  The hat has not left his head except to go outside or to sleep since he got it!

An Owen favourite, as always, were the books he got!  

Despite the ear infection (which he has now recovered from), it was a great Christmas and we had a wonderful visit with Greg and Kate.  We hope everyone had a great Christmas as well, and a happy new year!