Christmas!

We had a wonderful but very busy Christmas this year. We started by travelling up to the Okanagan to have an early Christmas there from December 20-24. We were planning on leaving on the 19th but got held up a bit. We got a phone call from our doctor, asking how Sarah was doing with her spitting up. We told her that it hadn't improved at all on the new formula she was drinking, so our doctor sent us to Children's Hospital to get an ultrasound done on her stomach. So James and I dropped the boys off with Gramma and Grampa and headed over to the hospital with Sarah. Four hours later, we headed home. They did not want to do the stomach ultrasound because she was not projectile vomitting. She spits up a lot and is uncomfortable but they decided that must be due to reflux. Reflux happens when the valve at the top of your stomach isn't strong enough to keep your food in your stomach. So Sarah is now taking a medication called Ranitidine (a form of Zantac) and it is definitely helping. Her spitting up has all but stopped. Instead of spitting up 3-4 times each feeding, it's once every couple of feedings. And she seems much less upset about gas.

So, we drove up to the Okanagan on the 20th and had a wonderful visit with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Lauren. We visited with all the great-grandparents, went to the annual carolling party, went ice skating, and celebrated an early Christmas. We were able to see Uncle Duncan and Auntie Lindsay quickly before heading home on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day was spent with Gramma, Grampa, Aunty Laura, Uncle Jason, Uncle Neil and Aunty Gloria. The kids were spoiled with lots of presents and had a wonderful day.

Boxing Day was spent at home. My friend Lesley was visiting from Boston with her husband, Rob, and daughter, Mary. They came over, as well as my friends Elaine, Joanne and Joanne's husband Clive.

We had another Christmas gathering with friends on the 27th - my friends Aster, Daisy, Lesley, Joanne along with their husbands. Plus, we had 8 kids 4 and under between us all! We were prepared for chaos but it was actually a relatively calm visit!

Grandma and Grandpa surprised us with a visit on the 30th. They came to town to buy a new car and offered to stay at our house for New Year's so James and I could go out. But, first, another doctor's appointment for Sarah and another trip to Children's for more tests. This time, Sarah and I went alone and were only there for 2.5 hours. They didn't feel they could run those tests and said that we really should be going to a pediatrician. I'm sure they were thinking our doctor is nuts for sending her for all these tests! But we made it home in time for James and I to head over to the casino down the street to gamble a bit and ring in 2010!

What a crazy couple of weeks it was! But it was so fun seeing the excitement in the eyes of the boys. They loved Christmas this year. They loved Santa, the decorations, the celebrations. Every Adam looked, he exclaimed, "Lights! Santa lights!" Daniel learned the words to "Jingle Bells" and most of the words to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman."

We have many, many pictures - too many to post on the blog. I'm going to find a way to share them with you all and will post a link as soon as I can.

Happy New Year! All the best in 2010!