Merry Christmas!

Juniper gives a seminar on chopstick use

Twas the night before Christmas... and truly, the house is very quiet and tranquil. We are currently at my parent's house - they are at a party, neither of my sisters could make it home this year, Clark is reading a book, and Juniper is fast asleep. I thought this would be the perfect time to put together a little Christmas treat... that is, some pictures and video montages from the past month. A little December smorgasbord, if you will.

1. Swimming adventures
Earlier this month, my friend Ashley (and her son Caleb) invited me and Juniper to go swimming at the Spryfield community pool. Believe it or not, this was the very first time I had ever taken Juniper to an indoor pool. She had a ball. Unfortunately, of course, I have no pictures or videos from the actual swim, but here is a before and after:

2. Christmas parties!

There are always lots of parties on the go in December, and this year was no exception (especially since Clark's department always has two!). Here are a few shots:

a. From a lovely brunch at our place. Check out these old-timers compared to this amazing shot from last March. March photo

Baby party!

b. Departmental party #1. Juniper took a real fancy to the Christmas braids.

c. Departmental party #2: Juniper stands trepidatiously on the outskirts of the eager Santa-worshipers. Clark's department does this thing where you wrap a present for your kid and then Santa brings them all in his bag and hands them out. When Juniper's turn came, and I tried to put her on Santa's lap, she dug her nails into my arm with a death grip and didn't let go. Can't say I blame her! She did, however, know exactly what to do with the present when she was safely away from the scary old man.

3. Snow! Yes, we actually got a bit of snow in Halifax, and it even stuck around for a few days. It was all pretty new to Juniper, but she soon discovered some of the joys that snow can bring. Here is a little montage of her first adventure:

And then later that day, Clark and Juniper built her very first snowman in the backyard!

And finally, a few videos to keep you amused. The first is one I call "bossing Bob". Not many people get away with bossing my dad around, but Juniper somehow manages. Mostly, she likes to make sure he is participating in everything that is going on. For instance, when we were driving around Corsica, Juniper would always demand we sing to her, and if my dad wasn't singing or at least clapping, she'd tell him to get his act together. How would she do that, you ask? Well, my parents decided that Juniper will call them Mary and Bob, and of Juniper's limited vocabulary, Bob is one of her favourite words. "Ba!", shell yell. "BA!" I never did catch her in the car, but here she is, during a dance party while we're skyping with my parents. If she notices that dad isn't clapping along and participating, he gets strongly admonished until he does:

The second video is one I call "reading". Juniper LOVES to read. She knows the sign for book, and will perform it repeatedly until you stop what you're doing and read to her. Sometimes, however, she'll settle for reading to herself, which is perhaps one of the cutest things you'll ever see. What is particularly interesting, however, is that we noticed that there is a very marked difference between the way she reads her normal English books, and the one French book that my mom bought her while we were in Corsica. Check it out:

And finally, here is a montage of a whole bunch of cute things I've been meaning to post. And with that, I will bid everyone a very very merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a great New Year!