Falalalalalalalalala

Hello everybody and Merry Christmas. It's been a while since our last post and we wanted to sneak one in before the New Year got underway. This past week, we were all away in Winnipeg for a holiday visit with family. I don't want to go on for pages and pages, but I'll still try to give you a good overview of the trip, organized by theme.

Travel days: This trip marked the 23rd, 24th and 25th flight segments for Max. If we had bought these tickets instead of mostly travelling on points, I wonder if he could have earned Air Canada Elite status… The flight to Winnipeg was interesting - plusses: it was a direct flight and we were in the front row so Max had a little more room to play; minuses: we were essentially flying in a cigar tube (as Holly likes to put it) so there were no TVs to help with distracting Max, and the attendant only came around once for drinks. However, Max went bananas with his pile of cups and ice cubes for longer than expected and eventually cashed out for the flight's final 30 minutes.

On the way back, we had to get up before 5 to catch our flight. Plusses: we got to ride to the airport in a limo (thanks Max's grandma!) with Max's aunt and uncle; the early wake-up and extended stay at Pearson knocked Max out for both flights; we were in business class for the Wpg-Tor leg; the ridiculous tail winds in Ontario made the flights shorter. Minuses: we were on the tarmac in Winnipeg for 30 minutes waiting for the ground crew to figure out how to shut the door on the plane (ice was jamming it up); our Tor-Ott flight was delayed by 70 minutes; there was no ground crew for the final flight so we sat freezing (in the front row again) waiting 30 minutes for one to arrive so that we could leave (why seat everybody with no ground crew? Why keep the *(#?% door open the whole time?). In any event, Max spent his time wisely at Pearson, walking at least a half-kilometre on a variety of movators:)

Family visits: Most of our time was spent with Max's grandma, aunt and uncle (the Winnipeg versions :):) and we had a good time. Max was spoiled with attention, babysat in order to let Holly and I out for a little shoppy shop, fed with more meat than ever before, and led around grandma's house on ultra shy cat hunts. Max also got to visit with his grandma's cousin and step-aunt in Winnipeg, and took another drive out to Whitemouth to visit with his great grandma.

As per the Winnipeg tradition, we spent Christmas Eve and Boxing Day with Max's Ukrainian side of the family. On the 24th, Max ploughed through all courses of a massive feast (kutya {puffed wheat, honey and poppy seed concoction}, borsch {beet soup}, fish, pyrohys {perogies, with full fat sour cream no less}, beans {Uncle Murray's special recipe}, holobtsi {cabbage rolls} and pidpenky {mushroom gravy}). For the first time, it was decided that there would be no follow-up turkey feast at midnight and everybody's waistlines were grateful. On the 26th, Max went on his first Teulon sleigh ride and befriended his second cousin's two dogs (impressive as they were both larger and more manic than Max).

Christmas Day: Max got spoiled in the third of what should be (in the end) five Christmases. While he got the hang of ripping things open and, at one point, started trying to open gifts that weren't his, he wasn't always into it and was easily distracted by toys and (duh) food. I figured this wouldn't be the first "OMG CHRISTMAS!!!" for him, but was impressed with his ripping skills and interest in his new loot. His new toys and clothes should keep him happily entertained and dressed for a while. Thank you so much to everybody who gave or will give Max treats for Christmas!! He will be churning out thank you letters as soon as he can write, but for now this will have to do:)

Bodybuilding: Max honed his core strength and climbing skills by pulling himself up on grandma's couches and low coffee-tables. Originally, we though that the primary danger involved in this activity was that he might plummet 1 foot to the ground and bump his head. As it turns out, we were wrong. Instead, the primary danger was that the first time we got home and put Max in his crib, he might use his newfound skills and lift himself over his crib railing and plummet 4 feet to the ground and bump his head. Which he did last night. I never though I'd be thankful for that disgusting carpet in his room, but I suppose I am. Max seems to be OK - 10 minutes of tears and an 11-hour sleep seem to have worked wonders. I'm a little frightened that the crib might soon be obsolete, but I'm also holding out hope that the pain involved with getting out once will prevent him from doing it twice. Max seems to have learned a lot from previous ouchies so I'm hoping the trend continues.

Karaoke: OK, this has nothing to do with Max, but his mom and dad got up to some serious Karaoke and Rock Band in Winnipeg - about 4 nights' worth, all told. Highlight performances include:

1) Both Sides Now [Joni Mitchell]
2) I Want You [Savage Garden]
3) Born to Run [Bruce Springsteen]
4) I Wanna Dance With Somebody [Whitney Houston]
5) Sabotage [Beastie Boys - not one of Max's faves]
6) Rush Rush [Paula Abdul]
7) Here I Go Again [Whitesnake]
8) She's Like the Wind [Patrick Swayze]
9) This Ain't a Scene, it's an Arms Race [Fall Out Boy]
10) Puff the Magic Dragon [Peter, Paul and Mary]

So look out if you go out for karaoke with us soon and these songs are on the playlist!

First blog contest alert: s/he who can most correctly guess who performed which song wins a virtual blog hug from both of us. Note: we each performed 5 of the above 10 songs. I look forward to your guesses (if you know us, you should do well)!!

As you can probably see, we had a great time in the 'Peg and thank everybody for the hospitality and good times. This is the first time since around Max's birth that I haven't had any upcoming trips planned, so I'm not sure when or where flight 26 will happen. Methinks we'll have to get a car and start tabulating road trips at some point...