Happy Birthday, Little Monkey Sabrina!

The birthday Girl!

Mommy's little monkey!

A little too much partying...

Pippette and Steve's little monkey Sabrina is now 1 year old. We all gathered at 5 to have some Monkey cake first then to Mandarin for a special 1st birthday dinner. Even though she actually didn't eat, she entertained us all. Happy Birthday Sabrina! Lots of hugs and kisses, Aunt Carol

Boxing Day and Marley's 100th day!

How did we all fit in here?

Even the island didn't have enough space.

Marley, now 102 days old, and her "lola" Claire

After food, we all baked out in front of Gerwyn's HUGE tv to watch Salt.

Elijah having a laugh with Uncle Mark.

Two cutie pies in their Christmas black tie finery. Elijah's outfit is actually a onesie.

Poor Samara wasn't feeling very well. But she looked adorable in her red dress.

Gerwyn, the final proud owner of this lovely Snuggie in the Lee annual Steal/Regift game.

Poor Phil and David...to have this cuddly warmth just stolen out from under them. (Right off their bodies!)

Hanna is so pleased with her gift. A package of shaving razor blades in with some Quality Street Candy and Rice for filler. What more could a girl ask for...Dinner, Dessert and smooth legs!

Diana and Gerwyn's place was absolutely packed to the rafters. Even my brother, known as Pokaroo, made an appearance. There was a ton of food! (I had advised Diana to make a smaller turkey this year since her brother's Thanksgiving extravaganza and the 25 pound bird had a lot of leftover turkey. ) I suggested maybe around 15-17 pounds since there would also be a lot of other things. Diana then proceeded to go out and buy a 13kg turkey. She had mistaken the 13kg for 13pounds. Gerwyn while carrying the bird said it was definitely a lot heavier than Marley. That's 28 pounds for you Americans (Cat). The turkey and stuffing plus a whole baked ham, plus grilled marinated short ribs (kalbi) Ginger soy Chicken wings (a family classic), 4 different types of sashimi, Claire's famous spring rolls, Glass noodles, vegetables, greens, 12 different desserts...Even after everyone ate, there was still enough food for another get together . Diana had previously declared it a BYOT (Bring Your Own Tupperware).

Unfortunately I had to leave early (I was working at 6am the next morning) so we rushed through the gift exchange and steal gift festivities. But, it was still so nice to spend the evening with my crazy, fun, big family.

Christmas Day at the Lee house

We have never had a special Christmas dinner just the 4 of us. We are always over at extended family celebrations or out with friends. This year, since Diana was hosting Christmas and Marley's 100th day at their place on Boxing day, we had the whole of Christmas day just to relax.

After sleeping in, I woke up to start making my desserts for Diana's shindig, Maple Bread pudding and Pecan Pie. (I had already made a Pecan pie the day before for our Christmas dinner.) John (my brother) had requested Prime Rib. I've never made it before. I've never even tasted it before. It turned out fantastic! John said the flavour was like the Keg. I'll take that!

So after Prime Rib with Horseradish Sauce and Shallot pepper jus, Garlic mashed potatoes, Roasted Carrots and Carmelized Shallots and Green beans, and Pecan pie for dessert...We rested like beach whales.

Christmas Eve 2010

A couple of weeks ago, Diana invited me over to her mom's place for Christmas Eve. A night of joyous celebration and a killer Super Scrabble. Charlotte and Elijah were too adorable. Gerwyn...ever the competitor, had his sights on me. I had told Diana that I thought he was delusional if he thought he could beat me...Diana ended up taking the title but I came in a close second. We had to stop the game midway since baby Marley was having trouble sleeping and their mom wanted to kick us out so she could go to sleep in peace.:) Can't wait for the inevitable rematch.

One of a Kind show and Babies!

Introducing... Little Bean Kim

Sleeping on Daddy's shoulder.

Fight the power! Just like Samara!

Cutie Pie Marley

Even cranky, she looks so cute. I think this was Diana's favourite photo.

Friday I met up with Jenny and Aunt Sandy to go to the One of a Kind Show. We decided to meet up at Diana's to leave a car and car pool down. They were running late so I had a chance to play with Marley for an hour. (You don't have to ask me twice!) She was so cute and smiley. She's starting to look a little more like Diana as she grows.

After dinner with the girls, I stopped by Mark and Meredith's to meet their new addition...name to be determined later. Little Bean for now. She looks just like Samara did when she was a baby. Too adorable. Plus, since she was a big baby (8pounds 10ounces) she looks more plump and less scrawny. Too beautiful. A day well spent.

Sooky's Housewarming

Welcome to Sooky's new abode.

All the cool kids were there.
Elijah is 8 months old. Marley is 2 months old. I just can't over the size difference.

The mom's gathered to discuss world events...and Sooky's sense of colour and design...

Diana and Marley just hanging out.

Cutie pie Charlotte singing for her supper.

She performed Christmas carols and kid's songs on request.

It was like being at a concert.

Elijah crawling, more like slithering... instead of being scary, I just feel the intense urge to kiss and nibble those cheeks!!! Num, num...

Elijah is fascinated with Uncle/Grandpa John's face.

What was supposed to be a leisurely weekend, turned into a crazed cooking and family gathering at Sooky's new house.

Eunho, Sooky's bro, had not yet seen her new place, so she invited him and his family over for brunch. Diana, Sooky's sis was supposed to be busy with some in laws for American Thanksgiving, but they cancelled at the last minute. Then, since her siblings were coming, she invited her mom. I was off so I got added on. We delivered some bar chairs to Mark and Meredith...since they were just waiting for Little Bean (their new baby to arrive, now a week overdue) they had nothing to do. Uncle John/Aunt Sandy, Jenny and Justin, Mark's mom and Dad, Phil and Phil's mom, my parents... One by one, the guest list grew to the point that it just made sense to ask everyone. As my dad pointed out, "it's too cold to golf, so I'm not busy" :-)

So, after having lunch at Il Fornello, we went shopping at Loblaws to buy everything we needed. We spent all afternoon/evening cooking.

Everyone turned up by 1pm with their traditional laundry detergent. Everything turned out okay...some compromising and some forgetting of things along the way, but people had enough to eat. We sat around like beached whales for most of the afternoon....until Uncle John suggested we all go out to dinner to eat something good before we went home. Sushi on Bloor was pretty good. I can't believe how much we all ate...

So much for a relaxing, movie weekend before the craziness of the Christmas retail season.

I guess I can sleep and relax when it's over.

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

The first wild animal spotted...

The babies of the petting zoo.


Sabrina was a little apprehensive at first seeing all the animals...

But after a few minutes she couldn't get enough.

Semex is a company that exports/mails bull semen. I don't know why they were only displaying cows...

As a person suffering from Lactose Intolerance, the sight of a whole cabinet of award winning cheeses should strike fear in my very soul...yet all I can think of is yummy deliciousness.

"Harvest Theives" The award winning sculpture...made completely of butter.

"Eat Local" 2nd place

Hank Daddy's BBQ. Home of the Pulled Pork Parfait.

Yummy!...

After a couple of years of not going, Pip, Steve, Sabrina, Ron, Gar, Viv and myself went back to the Royal Winter Fair at the CNE. The Fair has exploded since the last time I had been. So many animals, so much food, so much cool stuff to see. I even got to indulge in a Pulled Pork Parfait. Layers of pulled pork, mashed potatoes and topped with baked beans. A little sweet instead of tangy but still yummy.

Hosie and Gracie and Cat

A great quiet moment between Hosie and Cat

Cutie pies.

Gracie hamming it up for the camera.

Hosie working on his comic.

Gracie and I baking.

A nice sibling moment.

It was so great visiting them. The trip was too short, too busy, not a moment break. I had taped Season 3 True Blood for us to watch at night...but even with 4 evenings, we only finished the first 6 episodes. (That's including 3 the last night.) I did catch some good shots of some special moments and fun shots of the kids. Miss them already.

Halloween...Star Wars Style!

Before leaving the house, everyone posed in character. Awesome.

Hosie on the candy trail.

Obi Wan and Yoda enjoying a warm cider with rum supplied by one of the parents on the street.

Cat and her friend Yan.

Yan, Christopher and Yan's daughter Christine joined the clan for some trick or treating.

This sailor approached Cat's mom exclaiming "I've been waiting all night to meet up with Yoda!"

Despite his costume, he is, according to his wife, a huge Star Wars fan.

He begged to have a picture taken with her. Picture, video, he wanted it all.

Cat's mom was surprised but gracious.

That exchange was probably the funniest thing I had seen in months.

Cat and the kids had been lagging behind at the last house. By the time they had caught up, Yan pointed out that the whole family was Star Wars characters. He seemed genuinely overwhelmed. When he saw Cat's Dad, he just uttered a respectful "Obi Wan"...Hysterical.

He begged the whole family to take a picture with him.

I'm pretty sure they made his whole month.