Last Party of the Year!

Counting down to Christmas, and one of our last non-family parties of the year (see pics from this same event but last year here)! As expected, Max didn't do too well with the presence of Santa- and THAT'S OK. What toddler actually feels completely comfortable sitting on a hairy stranger's lap sans the trusting protective embrace of parents anyways? i'd be worried if he wasn't afraid.

Nice and simple party, pics below!

^^ smile for the camera!! ^^

^^ is it me or does he just look so grown up in this pic?? as a side note, this is one of the few pictures of Max where he actually look like my husband! ^^

^^ Michael Jackson foot move lol ^^

^^ of course he wanted a monster truck on his face ^^

^^ the talented face painter took all of 20 seconds to create this little masterpiece. As a non drawer, I'm sure it would've take me much much longer. we were all so impressed ^^

^^ Before picture, lining up for Santa ^^

^^ after, even if a foot away awww ^^

Merry Christmas partying! 

Gingerbread House

Max's first Christmas gingerbread house! Funny how the picture on the box looks nothing like what really is produced ;op However, I do love that there is a prebuilt option because one really needs to save all the icing for licking afterwards the snow effect.

^^ just realized his shirt was on backwards all day after the fact ^^

^^ someone's been munching on a few candies while decorating ^^

^^ finished project ^^

Pretty fun for Max and the cleanup was easy! Im surprised the majority of the candies weren't eaten during and even now I haven't seen him pick at the tempting ones. Perhaps a new annual tradition for this east van baby? Happy holidays all! 

Splatter Party at 4Cats Dunbar!

^^ 4Cats Dunbar is moving to 3354 Dunbar street in January 2015 ^^

As part of my 2013 mom blogger prize, 4 CATS DUNBAR offered Max and I a party at their 4293 Dunbar St. studio. I was able to choose from the many types of parties available from their website, and almost 2 years later (i know! thanks Scott!!), I redeemed a Jackson Pollock inspired Paint Splatter Party  and invited 4 of Max's friends (and their parents) to join us in this extremely messy, but super fun activity! The entire party planning process was so easy, everything was done online from choosing the date, the time, and even the colour themes (if you so wish to want one). Once the pieces dry, everyone will be taking home their own varnished 11" x 16" individually done canvas, and Max will also be taking home half of the big canvas that everyone worked on to commemorate this day to put up in his room. (if you're wondering what happened to the other half, we paid the studio to stretch and split it into 2 artworks for one other mom to take home). We had an awesome day! Thank you so much teacher Mel, Scott, and 4 Cats Dunbar for accommodating us- whoever said winter parties weren't as fun as summer parties? Not us!

^^ artist focus classes are available for preschoolers, children, teens, and adults ^^

^^ the kids got painting smocks to protect their clothes, and paper and pastels 

to kill some time as we waited for other mom's and babes to arrive ^^ 

^^ teacher Mel said these cloths were 'hats,' I think Max took it literally lol ^^

^^ the only 'rules' were to not touch the canvas. you basically were throwing the gobs of paint on the wall/floor/canvas. I think everyone, including parents got dinged by flying paint! ^^

^^ aside from their tray of 4 colours and 2 paint brushes each, we squirted these 

array of colours with syringes (i had to let out a bit of a chuckle when teacher Mel gave us a definition of syringes as she was talking to a group of nurses hehe). 

Not shown are balloons filled with paint (!!) that the kids popped all over the canvas! ^^

^^ I throw paint mama? that's ok? ^^

^^ no rules for the big canvas! ^^

^^ like a typical toddler, Max was easily distracted by paint on his "Michael Jackson" shoes and had to take many moments to clean paint off of them lol ^^

^^ Jackson Pollock or Maxwell piece? ^^

^^ the extra large piece done by a bunch of 2 year olds and their parents!! Wow!! ^^

We loved every minute of these few hours, thank you thank you teacher Mel, Scott and 4Cats Dunbar! 

My Favorite Christmas Song's 2014

Big thanks to our local radio station 103.5 qm/fm for playing 24 hours 7 days a week Christmas music! (!!) 
perpetual joy from Nov 24-Dec 25! If anyone finds the work radio tuned to this station, I.WAS.THERE :op

this was my list in 2012, and in 2013. My Top 3 favourite songs this year that boosts me into another level of Christmas cheer whether a hint of a tear or complete holistic glee:

Whitney Houston- Do You Hear What I Hear?

because she is THE voice

Bon Jovi - I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas

because

Bryan Adams- Merry Christmas

did you know he was a North Van boy?

How are your holidays coming along? 

Want, Wear, Need, Read Gift Guide

Do you have a gift philosophy?

Back when it was Max's first Christmas, and had no idea what to give him (because really, can you top the gift of LIFE?! lol), my baby group gave me the idea of the "want, wear, need, and read" concept of gift giving. I love that it keeps gifting balanced! If your personal budget can't get all four gifts, then how about letting other's cover an aspect of the philosophy? Someone knows someone who always asks, "what should I get a _____ year old?"

If you need some gift ideas, here's our very own gift reveal (i'm glad Max isn't allowed to surf the net just yet!). Happy shopping!!

want:

Because Max is IN LOVE with monster trucks, Monster Jam, and random Monster truck channels on youtube. we got him a mini remote control monster truck, named "MAX-D" (really pronounced like maxed but i love that it is also his name!). I highly recommend getting a remote control car without a fishline antenna for kids this age. If your kid is anything like Max, they will be pulling and wrecking the antenna which would deem the toy relatively useless after it's damaged.

wear: 

Bloch

i'm still on the thrifting hunt for these gems, but TAP Dance classes are going to happen in January 2015! His first dance recital? Be still my heart!

need:
Nothing. However, we will be donating some new toys to children and purging some of his under played toys as well. We're giving back with Max this year for as he puts it, "the kids are sad because they don't have any toys to play with." Altruism starts at home.

read:

amazon

we love Oliver Jeffers! Max's favourite book is THIS, we seriously read it every.single.night and he even pretends to bite the book too (lol). This year I got him, Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffer's best seller- The Day the Crayon's Quit. So charming and inspiring when the moral of the story finally hits you.

and as an added bonus...

how cute and nostalgic is this Charlie Brown MUSICAL tree? You can get your own at Home Depot!!

ELVIS Lives!

If you've been following me over the years, you know how much I LOVE the
Elvis Christmas Duets album.

The next best thing to live Elvis is this CANADIAN (!!) 16 year old named David Thibault. I get chills just watching this TEENAGER (!!); wowsers what an incredible talent. I'm surprised I haven't heard more about this guy this year. I am so in line with Ellen's moves too lol