Boxing Day

Eli and Micah take a turn answering a kid question from Aunt Janna's Perry quiz.

Erin just loved every minute with Seth.

Micah and Seth with their Dureno cousins. Can't wait to see their other cousins!

What a neat ball game for Micah. It folds up and is very light.

Seth got a really cute, musical elephant.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning '08 at Grammy and Grampa's. They always have such a beautiful tree.

Micah and Seth in their Christmas pj's.

Seth opens his first stocking - soothers, a toothbrush, and a Dr. Suess book.

Micah poses with his new goalie equipment.

Cuddling with Uncle Andrew.

Laughing, Clapping and Chatting Away

Krista takes the boys out for some fun in the snow. Surprise, we built a fort!

Seth sure loves to laugh...

and clap. He will also give kisses, wave "bye-bye" and do the sign for "more".

Video of Seth laughing.

Video of Micah explaining the coffee/water table.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

From our home to your's. We wish you a very Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our saviour.

Seth's first Christmas.

Fast asleep.
Buddies.

Lehrbass Christmas 2008

What a great day to celebrate Christmas together! The food, gift-opening, family time, outdoor play, and visiting was perfect. Thanks for hosting, Cylka family. Here, the kids take a moment to watch a Christmas movie together. L to R: Mary, Aidan, Blake, Evan, Kyle, Ben, Eli, Micah and Seth. Mary, we hope you will have a girl cousin some day! Ben, where is your other sock?



The 2008 babies: Kyle, Seth, and Aidan.

Thanks for snuggling Seth, Auntie Janna!

This Christmas has been very meaningful to me. I think I've thought of my parents more this year than any other year. Maybe it is because it is the first year my first child will understand Christmas. Or, perhaps it's the little memories. This year, Micah purchased indoor hockey pucks with Grandpa Don's Canadian Tire money. We've done a lot of baking, something I learned from Grandma Erma. And, at the Christmas parade, we saw trombone players in the marching band, just like Grandpa Don. I look forward to more memories and thoughts this season. Today was particularly special when Franz gave me a family music cd from Christmas in 1984. Wow, to hear my sister and I sing and play piano, my youngest brother count to 40 in french, my eldest brother play trumpet...and to hear my mom's voice. Thank you, Franz.
See http://www.scylka.blogspot.com/ for the gifts Janna made.
Very special.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Last night I went to my friend Sara's for an amazing cookie exchange. Sara did it all: the walkway lined with tealights, a crackling fire, a delicious spread of food (including her SUPER salad rolls), and great company (to only name a few of the great things of the night). Thanks again, Sara. You have such a gift. And thanks, Jonathan for helping me w/ the gingersnaps.
Although Christmas is about the joyous birth of Jesus, we did the "Santa" thing at the mall tonight. Micah wasn't that interested but a Smartie got him onto Santa's lap. Seth enjoyed tugging on Santa's beard.

While Jonathan took the boys for some shopping, I got my hair cut. We'll see how the bangs work out?!

What A Dad Can Do

There are so many things daddy does, daddy's way, that is so special to our boys.

Like bundling them up for a wintery walk ......or for a trip to get Christmas lights.







Some of the best things are making forts, wrestling, and playing on the floor. These just aren't activities a mommy does as well.

Micah pointed out that this was a picture of a father and son...

...and big brother and little brother.

Thank you, God for the men in our lives: Jonathan, Micah, Seth, Grampa, Uncle Glen, and many uncles, cousins, and friends.

Reading and Fathers

Books are so important in a child's life.
Almost a year later and we are still reading sooo many books to Micah, and now Seth (well, I guess he heard this story but couldn't see the pictures). Unlike Jonathan, I was not a big reader as a kid; this is something I wanted to be different for my own kids. Having the t.v. downstairs and a shelf full of books (thanks, Jim and Sondra) really helps. If supper is cooking, we are waiting for Jonathan's return from work, or anytime we have a moment, we go to the living room and pull out a book.

Each week, we join cousins at the library for a reading program. This is often the time we replace returned books. I now order books on-line and pick them up at the library closest to us. This is great, because it saves time and travel, avoids not-so-great books, and allows us to get favourites or those in a series.

Fathers are so important in a boy's life.
Jonathan's dad reads "Muck's Muddy Day" (A favourite Bob the Builder book) to Micah.
Proverbs 23:24 The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.

Seth is often reaching for the pages while we read. Micah often reminds him that he can't harm the books, especially the library ones.

Here are our children's bibles. We read them during our daily 1 pm "quiet time" and after dinner.
Deut 17:19
It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees

Blogging

Here are a few blogs I thought you might enjoy.
Our pastor's new one, "Spiritual Experiment": spiritualexperiment.blogspot.com
My sister's, started years ago. One of my favourites posts is about our (late) mom and dad:
scylka.blogspot.com/2008/10/dad-and-mom.html
And thirdly, my sister's friend's (with music): thewalcotts.blogspot.com
Check them out!

So, here is a picture of our family after church (www.brantcommunitychurch.ca/) last week. We came home to a safe and warm house and a fridge with food.

1 Timothy 6:6-8
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Back to Bentpath

Micah, Seth and I enjoyed another trip to Bentpath.

On Monday, while Seth stayed with Aunt Joyce and Anita,

Micah and I enjoyed another trip to the Annett Farm.
On Tuesday, we went to the Zion ladies' quilting day (they make many beautiful quilts and donate them for great causes). You can see Seth's quilt in this picture, made by Aunt Joyce. He is starting to enjoy peeking at the animals. Jeannie was so great with the boys!

I enjoyed a run (yes, in the snow storm!) in the afternoon while Micah slept in the running stroller and Seth slept in the nursery.

Later that evening, while Aunt Joyce was teaching piano, Micah went for his own run with Uncle Glen.

And on Wednesday, we enjoyed a skate in Dresden. Thanks again, Uncle Glen, Aunt Joyce, and Anita.

A Typical Day - part 1/2

I thought it would be neat to give folks a little snapshot of a day in the life of 2 boys and a stay-at-home mom (well, I work a bit outside of the home but just a few hours/week).

5:00 a.m. Seth awakes. I feed him and we snuggle-snooze on the couch together. This time together is very precious.
6:00 a.m. Big brother Micah awakes.
7:00 a.m. Pancakes with peanut butter (have you tried it? thanks to Jim, this is a fave!), syrup, fruit, and milk for breakfast. Jonathan and I make and freeze a quadruple batch each week. They are scrumptious!

9:30 a.m. After cleaning up, saying bye to daddy, getting dressed, Seth's nap, and a few other household chores, we get into the van to head out to the: Early Years Centre, Wayne Gretzky Centre (mommy swims while the boys are cared for by 2 lovely ladies), Library, Best Start Program, Grocery Store, or to play with cousins or friends.

12:00 p.m. Lunch!

1:00 p.m. Nap. Usually this goes well. However, this was clearly a day that Micah was NOT tired!

3:00 p.m. Reading, crafts, colouring, playing, listening to music, and starting supper.

A Typical Day - part 2/2

5:00 p.m. When Jonathan gets home from work, I often take one of the boys with me on a run. The other boy usually spends time with daddy outside in the yard.

6:30 p.m. Although a bit late for some, we eat our supper at this time. Micah is a great help in the kitchen. Here he is with the pizza he and daddy made.
7:00 p.m. Each night after dinner we read bible stories and other books with the boys.

8:00 p.m. Tub time.

8:30 p.m. zzzzzzzzz

Another "Gretzky" Day

What made the day?

Getting a puck from Walter Gretzky while skating.

Showing the puck to his brother.

Playing with toes.

Getting paid.

Thanks, Janna for your post about the responsibility chart (http://scylka.blogspot.com/2008/11/special-day-calendar.html). We've done 2 weeks of our version. So far, Micah's big purchases have been an orange gatorade and 2 orange indoor hockey pucks (can you guess his favourite colour?!). Seeing Micah load the dishwasher, clear the table, and feed the dog, amongst other jobs, has really been something.