It's Christmas All Over

Well it was Christmas all over, and now it is all over! With 5 different celebrations and gatherings under our belt, it felt like Christmas all over, however it was probably the most relaxing holiday yet! This was mostly due to my reluctance to travel too far due to me being great with child. A special thanks to my parents who bravely fought the 400 traffic to come to Barrie (so I didn't have to). Here are a few snapshots from various celebrations.

Gazendam Family Christmas

Christmas Eve with just our family of three. Opening presents and dining on Chinese food, maybe some traditions in the making?

Christmas Day - headed over to Kurt's parents for dinner and a sjoelbok tournament. Jude was eager to learn the game. This is probably because he wants to follow in his fathers footsteps. Kurt has won two tournaments in his youth (and he would like the world to know he had the high score of the day).

Strikwerda Christmas on Boxing Day

Jude liked his presents so much he even hugged the clothes he got. Here he is using his new socks as a phone.

Jude the Dude's First Birthday

It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since Jude was born! Thursday and Friday we had a visit from my Dad and sister Naomi who just happened to have a tournament in Orillia - and managed to squeeze in some time for a birthday party for her one and only best nephew - Jude! Other guests of the day included Jude's Pops and Bepps, Uncle Rob and Aunt Ashley, and cousin Garret with his parents Trish and Terry.


Garret had to show Jude how the whole birthday thing is done, he is an expert since he had just celebrate his a few weeks earlier. They made a great team - Jude loved playing with the new toys and Garret was gaga for the packaging.

While lasagna dinner was a big hit (Jude's favourite meal), he really wasn't into dessert too much. But, we brought out the cake the next day and it was a hit! Saturday was his actual birthday and we headed to Grafton for the Strikwerda Christmas extravaganza.

Jude was spoiled by the greats - great aunts, uncles, and grandparents. He loved all the attention, new toys, attention, another birthday cake, attention, well you get the idea! Unfortunately he had to go to bed before we got around to the most rousing rendition of "Hey Jude" I've ever heard (complete with piano, guitar, and lots of voices). Amazingly he slept though his birthday song and all the Christmas carols and general revelry that followed soon after! All in all, a great birthday weekend.

Jude and Pops

Howdy y'all. kurt here with my first ever blog posting. lucky you. Jude is such a cool little dude. He often gets lost in a new game or toy and it is hilarious to watch him snap back to reality.

A very cool part of being a new dad is watching my parents with Jude. Jude and his Pops when put together = guaranteed laughs.

Enjoy the video.

Resisting the Season

So...I am having an incredibly difficult time not festooning my home with Christmas decorations. Every year I eagerly wait until the calender flips to December so I can bust out the stockings, nativity sets, and other twinkly decor. But this year I have a little one who happened to be born close to Christmas, and I'm trying to wait until after his birthday to bring on the Christmas cheer. Today though, Jude and I were out for a walk and the most delicate snowflakes were falling making it even more difficult to wait than it already has been! 9 more days ...at least I am slightly distracted from the fact that my baby is turning 1!