Let's close out 2012 before the end of 2013!

 

Naughty Mommy, just had just one entry left for 2012 and left it...and left it...and now 2014 is just around the corner!  Oopsies!

Well, let's at least close out 2012 and see if there is any more blogging left in this mom for 2014.

A couple of our traditional Santa visits are at the Aquarium and at Daddy's office.  Both events are very nice and the kids have a lot of fun...except when it comes to sitting on Santa's lap and voicing Christmas wishes.  Sam actually was a lot better this year but Jasp was not having any of it and insisted that "Sammy go, Sammy go".

 

 Sammy's request to Santa was the Ninjago Lego Samurai set.  He received a Ninjago helicopter at Daddy's office but spied that another boy received the Samurai set and brought me over to show that that was what he had asked Santa for.  It is tough to explain which Santas are real and not real to the kiddies sometimes, especially when Jasp received the Santa present he wanted, the Ninjago Jay Jet, it makes things pretty confusing!  We somehow assured Sam that Santa will bring the Samurai to our house on Christmas morning.

 

 

 In between all our Christmas activities, we celebrated Mommy's birthday (she was spoiled with a very nice purse from her boys) and Jasper turned 2 1/2!  Jasper had his 2 year assessment by the Bermuda government and passed with flying colors (though Mommy may have asked for a couple of disciplining tips).  It was really adorable to see Jasper answering all the questions and getting "tested" on all his skills. 

 

Jasp marked his 2 1/2 year birthday by moving out of his crib (which was long overdue) and getting potty trained!!  He loves his new "bunk bed" (we just took off the top bunk of Sam's bed to use as his bed) but naps were still a bit of a struggle so sometimes he would just end up falling asleep beside the bed on the floor.  The potty training was relatively easy.  He understood the concept since he already did his poops on the toilet but it was just a matter of reading his signs (doing the pee pee dance) and getting him to the toilet in time.  I would ask, "Jasper, did you pee in your pants?"  And he would reply, "Just a little bit."  I would also sometimes say that he must have a lot of pee because of all the water he drank so he would tell me sometimes that he has a lot of pee because he ate a lot of "mum mum" (translation: rice)

 

 

 

Sam and Mommy went to the annual Christmas Pantomime held at City Hall with our friends, the McAlpines, the Coozes and the Cundliffes.  This year's show was based on the Aladdin story.  The shows have received great reviews in the past but we felt this one did not live up to its reputation.  I think the kids loved the lighted fans we bought them the most out of the whole afternoon.

 

 

June-yee and her friend Jackie came for a visit to help celebrate the season!  It was non-stop activities with these two Aunties around.  We managed to do a little shopping, have a girls night out (to show Aunt Jackie that there is more to Bermuda than our home and our kids!), bake and decorate out traditional batch of sugar cookies and enjoy a yummy Mexican dinner (also quickly becoming a tradition) at Auntie Tina and Uncle Esan's, which was followed by a delicious brunch at Uncle Evan and Auntie Amy's.  No one could complain about an empty stomach!

 

 

 

 

Mommy took the boys out on Christmas Eve Day so that Daddy, June-yee and Auntie Jackie could get cooking on our turkey dinner before our friends arrived.  We love having all our friends over and I may be biased, but I think Daddy cooks the best homemade turkey dinner.

 

 

Normally, Christmas day at the McCallum household is dedicated to present opening, staying in our pjs all day and eating leftovers but this year Mommy took June-yee and Auntie Jackie to Elbow Beach.  It is a big thing here for ex-pats to wear Santa hats and enjoy a bottle of champagne (or two!) at the beach on Christmas day and this year was a beautiful day to uphold island traditions.  The boys stayed home and played Lego which they were of course more than happy to do.

 

 

 

 

 

Whew!  What a lovely but busy season.  Wonder if June-yee and Auntie Jackie needed a vacation after their Bermuda Christmas vacation?