Anneke Jones

In the fall Grandma Garriock and Grandpa Jim moved from their house into an apartment. So we went to visit them because we hadn’t seen it yet and of course we wanted to visit with them too! As you should for visits with Great Grandparents, I got all spiffed up in my new Christmas dress with my snazzy suede boots and suede coat. Oh ya, look out Tyra! I was having a whale of a time before we even got there because on the drive Granne taught Mommy and I the Suzy Snowflake song which is definitely one of my favs. And then in the parking lot I really got to try out my baby stroller.

I performed Rudolph and Jingle Bells with Granne on the piano and we were a big hit. No stage fright for me at all. The new apartment is cool because it is really high up and there are big big windows. And Grandpa Jim gave me a twoonie!

After lunch and a sketchy nap we headed off to visit one more very special person. Dad’s cousin Sarah was a new mommy! Her baby Gracie was only a few weeks old and we all wanted to meet her very much. Baby Gracie is very cute and she didn’t cry once when we were there. I just wanted to look at her the whole time. Here are some pics of me and Daddy, Baby Gracie and her Auntie Martha.

Believe it or not, the next day I got to see another new baby cousin – this time on the Jones side. Dad’s cousin Julie had a new baby Ella a few months ago. Ella also has a big brother Ian who is a little bit older than me and lots of fun. So, though I was still very very interested in Ella, Ian and I had to get up to some fun and games. We played with his train set and he also taught me how to play hockey! Ian is a big hockey fan and has his own gloves, helmet, stick, jersey and even real skates that he wears in the house with guards on. And of course he has a net and a ball. I got to wear the back-up gloves (duck mittens to be exact) and I had a stick too. So we took turns shooting the pick into the net. What a great game – I even sat inside the net to see what it was like.

Here is a video of us just getting started – the net came out later. Don’t mind the chattering Mommies in the background!

I think I mentioned before that there were a mountain of presents under the tree. And as you can see from the stocking episode, I really do like to savour each one fully before moving on to the next. This, much to the consternation of the adults. So…I really opened my Christmas presents over about 3 days. That was a good pace and let me appreciate each item. The lesson here – according to my parents at least – is to buy fewer presents next time. For me, I don’t mind the marathon.

Anyway, along the way I really learned the theatre of opening presents. You rip a little paper off, peek inside, and gasp and look at your audience. Then you carry on ripping and shout out what you have. That definitely makes for the best effect. Here I am demonstrating it with Daddy.

I was a big help to other people as they opened their presents too. Auntie Amy got a really big present that was very intriguing. I had to try it out too!

Despite their moaning and groaning, Mom and Dad managed to fit most of our stuff into our luggage allowance. I had to leave some things behind though…But when Mom and Dad just flew to Ottawa, Gramma and Grampa packed up some of the left overs. So now it was like Christmas deja vu! I am really enjoying my wooden clock. The numbers are all different shapes that you can take out and put back in and you can move the ‘big hand’ and ‘little hand’ to make the time. So I am always setting the time and telling people it is time to eat or time to go to bed. Tonight I was being a bit of a slow poke with the bedtime routine and Mom was being stern with me. I told her that I had to walk across my Rupert books like a bridge and she put them up out of my reach. Then I told her I had to set the time to bedtime on my clock and she put that out of reach too. I was quite upset. Through my tears I said “But I need to play with my Christmas presents from Santa!” (The beloved clock was actually from Auntie Becky, but Santa was better for the effect). Mom and I bargained that I could set the clock only after I stood still and got my diaper and my jammies on. So that was ok. Although I snuck in tucking my dolly Teresa into bed too.

Anyway, this was all a huge aside to say that one thing has not yet arrived in Halifax – the bowling set! Grampa is bringing it in the van with my big girl bed when he comes to see the new baby. I can’t wait!

Also out of the Christmas timeline…

Yesterday I showed everyone what a big girl I am. Mom and Dad went a little crazy and both flew to Ottawa just for the day because Dad was presenting his his very first documentary to a distinguished audience at the War Museum in Ottawa. So they dropped me off at daycare and then zipped off on the airplane. They didn’t get back until midnight! So I got picked up by my babysitter Sarah – this was a first for anyone other than Mom or Dad to pick me up. Mom and Dad tried to get me all prepped for it beforehand, but there was no need to worry. We got all my gear and walked to the bus and took the bus home no problem. And I went to bed really well too.

Mom and Dad appreciated the small sliver of freedom that they got before the new sibling comes and they are back to square one. Maybe I can look after that new baby all by myself since I am so capable and all.

We popped over to Nana Jones’ before lunch because we wanted to give her some unexpected company on Christmas Day. Nana has a very cool seat on her potty that let me sit very high and it had nice handles to hold on either side. It might have been the highlight of the trip for me – grown-up chit chat is soooo dull. When people are talking around me I often ask “What are you guys talking about?” But more often than not the explanation is just as boring. Anyway, the potty was pretty great, but the hallways of the retirement residence are also perfect for pushing new babies in new strollers, and there was an elevator and I got to push the button myself AND THEN outside there was a blow-up snow globe! Cool.

Granne and I look pretty calm here coming down the stairs, but as you saw from the ‘Cookies are Gone’ video, the rest of the day was pretty much mind blowing. Madness. That’s all I can say. Well, that isn’t quite true. Christmas morning wasn’t too crazy because we saved a lot of the present opening until the evening when all my aunts and uncles came over. Amy, Darryl, Katie, Dave and Becky all came for dinner and that is when the real present extravaganza took place.

But in the morning I got to see what was in my stocking. At first I slowly took out each item one at a time and played with it, or put it on, or took it out of the package…I got slippers, a friend of Thomas the Tank engine named Rosie…

And then one of the items was a zippered bag so I had to put each new item (and the old) in the bag one by one. I mean that I unzipped the bag and put in an item. Then I zipped the bag back up. Then I reached way down in the stocking and took out another item. So I unzipped the bag and put that one in. Then I zipped the bag back up. You can see where this is going. The adults in the room thought that we might be opening the stocking all day long. But then even I got impatient – I dumped it. You can hear the relief in the spectator’s voices.

After the stocking we went in and looked under the tree. Santa had left presents everywhere! But the biggest one was for me and Granne brought it over to me first.

What fun, it was a whole baby playset complete with baby! There is a highchair – that also converts to a rocking chair, a bowl, a spoon, and a bottle and bib. There is a cradle and there is a stroller that is just my size. Of course all of these things were disassembled in the box. This is the real memory of Christmas morning for most parents, I guess – grown men staring at a pile of plastic pieces with an anxious child tugging on their leg.

But Grampa Mike and Daddy are pretty handy…I guess they didn’t need those washers after all…and before long I was taking care of my baby.

This present kept me going all day.

This is out of the Christmas vacation timeline, but I just had to share with you how excited I am about a new baby coming to my house. My Mom has a new baby in her tummy and I am becoming more interested in it each day. Just last weekend an older girl from up the street was babysitting me and as soon as she arrived I said, “Did you know there is going to be a new baby in my house?”
And tonight when Mom and I were in the kitchen I asked her how that new baby was doing. Mom said the baby was doing great. p.s. the new baby is a girl. Yep, I definitely think I am having a little sister. Although Mom and Dad try to tell me that it could be a boy. Each time I say, no it is a little sister.

So tonight when I was sitting on Mom’s lap in the rocking chair reading stories I started to push gently on her tummy and told her that I was “just seeing how the new baby was doing.” Mom pulled up her shirt so I could see her tummy better. I leaned right down and shouted into Mommy’s tummy, “Hello in there! It’s your big sister calling you!” And then I gave that new baby a big kiss.

Mom told me that the new baby can probably hear me and that it likes it when I talk to it. I am going to sing songs to the new baby and help Mom rock it. In the car on the way home from daycare last week I said that I would carry the new baby in a sling and that “she would like that.”

So, come on little sister (or brother, I guess….) I am ready for you!

So last year I was pretty oblivious to the whole Christmas thing. Sure, I ripped open some presents and was intrigued by the hubbub, but I really didn’t make any connections. Not so this year. I have been singing Christmas carols for a month; I have been observing the placement of Christmas lights and decorations around my neighbourhood; and I know that the cold weather and snow heralds something portentous. Santa is a clearly defined entity. I know that Santa comes in the dark when the kids are asleep, slides down the chimney and leaves presents. I don’t know why he does this – does anyone? But I know that he does and this is all that matters.

As an aside I also know that Rudolph is clearly the most famous of all reindeer – I mean, it says so right in the song if you start with the “all the other reindeer” part and list off the others’ names. What I don’t get is, if Rudolph is so integral, why do absolutely NONE of the illustrations of Santa and his sleigh EVER have Rudolph? It is very confusing for young children. And anyway, it is always foggy in Halifax so I don’t see why Santa would ever want to leave Rudolph at home. Hrumph.

But back to the main storyline…the long and the short of it is that when we got back to Granne and Grampa Mike’s house after the Abel Christmas, we had some very important rituals to perform.

First, I had to hang my stocking. I didn’t even know I had a stocking so this was pretty cool. The video is a bit dark – sorry – but you can see that I am so excited that I resort immediately to hopping and even wipe out in my haste to get to the chimney.

Second, and as a special surprise, I got to open one present early. This one was not from Santa, obviously, but from Granne and Grampa. It was a lovely fluffy set of pjs that have Frosty the Snowman all over them. AND the best part is that they are two piece jammies so I can easily reach my belly button for rubbing as I fall asleep. When I am wearing one piece pjs Mom and Dad always find me in the morning with the zipper undone to my navel. So these are great.

Once bundled in my jammies we had to put out Santa’s snack. I told him that afternoon that I would so it was important not to forget. We left a few cookies for Santa and a big fat carrot for Rudolph. That’s right – for Rudolph, forget those other reindeer, they don’t rate.
We wrote a note that says:

“Dear Santa,
We hope you like these cookies. The carrot is for Rudolph. Have a safe trip! We love you!
Anneke and Family”

And last there was just enough time to read some stories with Grampa Mike before bed – although it looks like I am fading fast. Visions of sugar plums here I come!

Here are some pics from my visit with Andre and Keya and their parents.

In the afternoon on Christmas Eve we went over to Great Grandma Dorles’ house for the Abel Family Christmas. All of Grampa Mike’s family was there. It was a packed house! We did a funny secret Santa present opening and had some yummy food – I had a cupcake to start. There were 6 boys there to play with and that was pretty high energy. For a while we did laps around the house being reindeer. I was the littlest, but I think I held my own ok.

The best part by far, though was when Santa actually came to the house! He said that he couldn’t stay long because he had to get back to his sleigh to deliver the toys to all the boys and girls around the world. But he had time to come in and give us all candy canes – my first one ever – and sing Jingle Bells. I think Santa is great – he is a very good singer. Auntie Katie thought Santa was pretty cool too. I even got to sit on Santa’s lap. It was very special. He asked me what I wanted for Christmas, but I wasn’t really sure. But he did tell me to leave some treats out for him and for the reindeer because he gets awfully hungry when he is delivering toys.

And, for the record…candy canes are delicious, but very sticky.