Twas the week before Christmas......

And the children were full of excitement and bouncing off the walls. ;)

First big news : Merry Christmas to us.. And a big congratulations to Steph. His promotion board was on Tuesday Dec 11th.. and although the interview didn't go perfectly, the write ups that his previous boss, and a previous coworker gave him was enough to sway the panel. So as of the date of the interview, Steph got a nice $7000 raise!!! Although it is still conditional, the paper work still needs to go through and everything needs to get finalized, but it will come soon enough.
Both of his trips in December went well.. The first was long and hetic. But the second, although it started on a stressful note (the promotion), was a nice trip for him. He met up with a couple of friends in Ottawa, and got to actually relax a little in the hotel.

On Sunday (16th), we headed to the Tax Centre for a small Christmas party for the federal employees - but it was just for the kids. ;) Food, crafts, big bounce house, and of course the jolly guy himself - riding in his red pick up truck. 2 of the 3 girls liked Santa, but the 3rd - obviously Dani - sat on him, but didn't enjoy it at all!! But they each enjoyed the present that "Santa" brought for them. Kat received a barbie doll with 2 sets of clothes, Ellie a travel Aquadoodle, and Dani got a look and find Backyardigans book. So they were quite happy.

Kat had her first field trip this week with her kindergarten class. They went to Studio 12 (the big movie theatre) and saw "Happy Feet" (in French). She had a blast of course. Though a little bit of worry on Mommy's end when she didn't arrive home on the noon bus, but found out they had missed that bus, and after all the kids were picked up (Kat is the only French Kindergartener to take the bus home), her teacher drove her home (after finding a car he could borrow that had a carseat LOL).

Today, was another big first for Kat. Today was her Christmas concert! All the little kindergarteners were up on the stage and sang i think 6 songs in total - some in english, some in french, and some mixed. She was cute and did a great job. And afterwards, her and a little boy got to present the teachers aid a little present to thank her for all the help in their classes (she was there from September, and today was her last day). Kat adored her, so it's nice that she got to be a presenter.

Friday is the last day of school for Kat until Jan 7th. And it begins the Christmas holiday for us (well almost... Steph is planning on going into work for a half day or so on Monday).

Another big thing has happened around here. Since this week is just full of firsts for Kat's, is it any surprise that she has yet another first.. Tuesday mid morning she came to me and said that her bottom front tooth hurt but it only hurt when she moved it. Yup.. one look and there was no doubt - she has her first loose tooth. :) Boy, when i told her that it was loose, she was bouncing off the walls excited. Asking to eat apples and pears - because you loose your teeth is hard fruits - and looking at the calendar trying to figure out which day she would loose it. As of bedtime tonight (Thursday), she has not lost it, but it's definitely on the way. Part of me really hopes she hangs on to it until Xmas day, because ***shhhhhhh*** she has a tooth fairy pillow in the stocking from my parents (thanks mama and papa!! Perfect Timing!!). So now the question that we are asking ourselves - what is the going rate of the tooth fairy these days? LOL According to Kat it's "5 coins and a present". Where she got that total is beyond me!! LOL

I can't even begin to describe the excitement around here. It's electric! :) The countdown is well on it's way, and we look at the calendar many times each day to see how many days until Christmas.

And yes yes.. I know.. Pictures need to be posted. I am planning on getting a few up tomorrow, but right now, a bunch of presents and a few rolls of wrapping paper is calling my name. (since i can say the children are nestled and snug in their beds). And pictures i can upload at any time, but i can't wrap at any time. ;)