Brianna's First Skate

This last weekend Brianna was invited to a skating party and she was determined to be able to skate as quickly as possible. We had a pair of double bladed strap on skates in the basement and the weather presented us with the perfect 8ft by 3ft strip of ice in the backyard garden. Ever since this miniature ice rink was created, Brianna dreamed of skating on it and with a skating party on the horizon, she wanted to get on the ice with her skates.

The event started with her running onto the ice once her skates were on, and before long – well approximately 15minutes later, she was skating on her own. Below you can see a video of her first time on the ice. (bonus points if you can name the song!)

It didn’t stop there, she was so excited about skating in the backyard on the double blades that she wanted to try skating on single blades, so Dad and Brianna headed down to the local Boomtown Emporium (used sporting goods store) and scored a pair of CCM skates (thanks Aunty Kathy!).

Then came the big skate party on Sunday, Brianna was so excited, I believe she forgot that she didn’t know how to skate on single blades, this did not stop her. In true adventurist fashion she took to the ice like a duck takes to water, we started to skate at 3:30 and she didn’t get off the ice until the Zamboni shooed us away at 5pm.

At one point while she was using the “helper bar” a friend came skating by (she was very good) and encouraged her to join her. Well, Brianna pushed the “helper bar” away and took off (very slowly) with her friend.

Brianna now loves skating and has been invited to another skating party on Saturday.

Sadly Dad has mediocre skills and the Gretzky gene doesn’t exist on his side of the family, Mom however is an avid skater and was also a part of a women’s hockey team. So, I guess, she gets her sense of No Fear from her Dad and the ability to actually skate well from her Mom. Either way she enjoys being on the ice and getting the exercise that a little girl needs to grow and her Mom and Dad are very proud of her.

Brianna January to December 2009

A wise friend told me during Serene’s pregnancy to pay attention to each day as they go by faster than you could ever imagine. Well the philosophy applies to everyday of our lives, but if you are fortunate enough to have children, then you will notice that every second of every day holds a wonder of growth and discovery. This year we decided to create a slide show movie of Brianna from January to December 2009, one year in her life…and an endless amount of adventures.

Welcome 2010 we wish everyone the best for the New Year and look forward to sharing many exciting adventures!

Christmas Day is here!

Christmas day arrived and was greeted with the grandest enthusiasm from Brianna. She awoke to ask if Santa had arrived…and yes he had…with the Biggest Pegasus Stuffy you could imagine! She danced the morning away with her new friend “Daisy”. Later she opened and enjoyed the rest of the presents. After all of the fanfare finally faded, we set up the new Carousal under the tree and made a tunnel of presents as per Brianna’s Christmas wish.

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts, gifts and love this Christmas Season. We wish you all the best for the New Year.