It's snowing....bring out the toboggan!

Finally enough snow fell for Henri to try out his new toboggan with friends. They had to bundle up to keep warm but it was well worth it. Tristan stopped several times on the way to the hill to take pictures of the beautiful winter scene. With them calling for rain tonight it may not last long.

Christmas Day

Henri celebrated Christmas this year with his cousins at Uncle Steve & Aunt Andrea's house. Henri was excited this year waking up at 1 a.m. and then again at 5 a.m. to see what gifts had been left under the trees. He was happy to get his first Rubik's Cube and brought it to the party to see if anyone knew how to solve the puzzle - fortunately Bradley remembered the equation and had it solved within a few minutes. Every year, we do a gift exchange with his cousins which everyone seems to enjoy.

Christmas Traditions

Henri took part in a Guelph Home School Group Field Trip to the Wellington County Museum. They learned about Christmas traditions, played old fashioned games, made gingerbread ornaments and Christmas crackers. It was interesting to learn how they lite the first Christmas trees with small candles and beside the tree they kept a bucket of water in case accidentally the curtains or the womans dress caught on fire.

Piano Lessons

Henri has been taking piano lessons for the past year and half. He has an excellent teacher Linda who teaches him new songs each week along with rhythm, composition, scales, and musical games. Henri practices at home 3-4 times a week without too much encouragement. This week he learned to play O Christmas Tree and Jingle Bells.

Sqaure One Shopping Centre

On Tuesday we decided since already in Mississauga to go to Square One. We barely had time to scratch the surface of this opportunity to immerse Henri in pure consumerism with the few short hours available to visit this shopping mecca. Henri enjoyed going into to PJ's Pet Shop, Apple Store, and having lunch at McDonald's. We mostly just window shopped leaving with only one small Christmas gift.

Hercule's Christmas Party

Every year Henri is invited to attend the Hercule's Christmas Party. His grandfather worked at Hercules and has been taking his children & now his grandchildren to this event for the past 48 years. Henri enjoyed spending time with his cousins and really liked the Halo Wars Lego set that Santa gave him.

Wintersinger's Tree Farm

We finally got time on Friday to go to Wintersinger's to cut down our Christmas tree (Scotch Pine) and bring it home to decorate. Henri was quick to pick the perfect tree and he was able to cut the tree down with only a little help from Tristan.

Lego Mindstorms

Henri borrowed the Lego mindstorms for the month of December through the Guelph Home School Group. You get everything you need to build and program your own intelligent Lego robot to perform many different functions. After a few days, Henri is still very enthusiastic and now wants to have his own for Christmas or his birthday.

GHG Craft Sale

Henri took part in his first Guelph Home School Group Christmas craft sale. After weeks of preparing the crafts, jams and baked goods he had enough items to fill the 6-foot table. Henri was pleased that he made $62 that evening and was able to barter with some of the sellers to pick up a few Christmas decorations. Thank you to Grandpa, Grandma & Aunt Amy for being the number #1 buyers.

First Snowfall

Henri was thrilled to see to the first snowfall on December 1st. He spent most of the morning with Patrick building a snowman. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a few days.

Santa Claus Parade

On Saturday Henri went to the Santa Claus Parade in Erin followed by the tree lighting & visit by Santa in Hillsburgh. Henri enjoyed watching the parade from in front of Peter's house. It was so warm that it felt a bit strange to be celebrating the Christmas season.

Mother Goose Pantomime

On Saturday we attended our first performance at the Century Church Theatre. This year's Christmas production was the Mother Goose Pantomime which involved plenty of audience participation, music and colourful costumes. Henri was not familiar with the story of the goose who laid the golden eggs - he said after the show he learned a valuable lesson about being happy with you have.