Picture by Leino Ole (Esto-Image) December 2009
There is snow on the ground. Our Christmas shopping is done. We spent some time with Leino last week having our annual family picture taken (love it – don’t you?). Andrea hosted her first cookie swap this past Sunday so our freezer is stocked with holiday treats. There are Christmas parties coming up and
This will actually be the 11th Christmas that we share as a couple, our third as “parents” and the first one we share with Meaghan (well... officially she was around last year... kicking her mom from time to time). Just shy of 8 months old (and now crawling everywhere and climbing on everything) – little Meaghie loves the Christmas tree. At 2 ½ years – Layla is really “getting it” this year and sharing in her excitement is making it all new and even more fun for us adults!
2009 was a great year (much like 2008, 2007, 2006... the list goes on). We feel so blessed to be where we are in our lives, enjoying our girls, our home, our activities and projects – not to mention the people that we share our lives with (we love you guys!). Although we were still in intense “renovation mode” and Andrea was at the tail end of a rough pregnancy at the beginning of the year – all that seems very far away now. Three out of four floors (we live in a split level – not a mansion) are now “done” and our sweet little Meaghie was definitely worth any pain and discomfort experienced during the pregnancy (& drug-free labour – yow!).
With a house to take care of and a second baby, things are certainly busier than they once were. We wonder sometimes what we did with our time when it was just the two of us... These days – between Brandon’s schedule with work, school (he’s working towards a masters in education), coaching basketball, playing basketball, breeding snakes (yes... you read that right), and keeping fit – and Andrea’s schedule which might be free of regular work for the time being but is still full with new projects like her blog A.O.K (www.okwithandrea.blogspot.com), becoming an Usborne books consultant, taking care of the girls and trying to efficiently manage things around the house(... trying!)... we feel busier than ever! Oddly enough, we still kind of feel like we’re “playing house” most of the time!
Our first baby – Layla – is growing into a real little girl. It’s really amazing to watch her grow and transform... developing with each passing week. The things that she says or does take our breath away (literally at times) and make us laugh. She’s very verbal, chatting away in both English and French. She’s a beauty and loves to be told how pretty she looks when she’s all dressed up. She likes baking with either mom or dad, playing with polly pockets or her dad’s old “doctor kit” (from when he was a kid), and doing “bricolages” – beware of leaving her alone with glue or markers though – she’s just not ready for that kind of responsibility yet!
Our little one – Meaghan – isn’t much of a newborn anymore! She’ll be 8 months old on Christmas day, is now crawling all over the place and getting into things. She has been a doll of a baby and being the second, we knew how fast it would go and have really made sure to appreciate the good and the bad. She wasn’t too bad to us even at the beginning so it wasn’t that hard to do. People think she’s adorable (we agree) and serious (but you should see her with her mom, dad and sister... not serious at all – what a goof!). She’s great. Can’t wait to see what she’s like in a year from now (but no – we will not wish the time away!)
So... that’s the 2009 Rodgers-Matte family update. Brandon and his girls are all doing very well.
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas, a happy holiday season (with time for fun and time for rest) and God’s blessings in the New Year.
Brandon, Andrea, Layla & Meaghan
xxxx
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