Happy 14th Birthday, Nathalieland!

I now have 14 years of pictures and stories recorded on this blog. My kids can't even imagine a life without Welcome to Nathalieland with its monthly Picture Per Hour posts, comparisons, interviews, and detailed records of all major holidays, trips, birthdays, and adventures. It's all they've ever known! That's 1,737 posts to date, all easily searchable through the Blog Archive and Labels on the right, and keyword search bar on the top left. 

It should come as no surprise that the top labels are Emily (895 posts), Jessica (769 posts), Family (329), and Family Activities (261). These are the highlights of our lives! 

Normally I'd change my blog's background to celebrate its birthday, but I can't seem to find free backgrounds anymore. All the websites I used no longer have this feature. I'll keep investigating though to see if I can find something (a permanent one, maybe?), since the one I currently have is not my favourite.

2010 - 2024 Backgrounds

How many more years of blogging do I have left in me? That's been the question for a while now. My kids are growing up, with Jessi just four months away from being an official teen, and Emily just four short years from becoming an adult! But as long as they still approve, I may as well keep up with our family scrapbook.

Happy 14th Birthday, Nathalieland!

Nathalieland Update - Coffeehouse/Hair/Exams/Shorts

Calvin Park Coffeehouse. Jessi recently participated in her school's Coffeehouse -- an event held to showcase students' talents through acting, singing, dancing, and music. Jessi auditioned back in the Fall and got a solo singing part! We practiced together for weeks leading up to the event -- singing in the car on the way to school and watching YouTube videos with singing tips -- and she performed beautifully at the three performances last week, singing Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from Phantom of the Opera.

Resident Hairdresser. If anyone needs a haircut in this house, they don't need to go very far. I've been happily cutting Steve's hair since COVID. The girls and I love our hairdresser, Sarah, but she went on maternity leave last year and then shortly after she came back, she had a house fire! So her home salon is out of commission and I've picked up the task. They're nothing special, but Nathalie's home haircuts can tidy up those ends. I even tried cutting my own hair this week (after watching a few YouTube tutorials), and the result wasn't too bad... But please come back, Sarah!!

First Exams. Emily's first high school semester is nearing its end, with exams starting at the end of this week. She's been busy preparing study notes and flashcards for her three subjects: science, geography, and French. Her fourth class is gym, which she is so excited about being done forever!! No more mandatory gym classes for this girl.

Online Shorts Pattern. With all the sports and workouts Steve and I are into lately, I've been in need of new shorts. The stores never seem to have what I want, so as usual I turned to sewing my own. This time I bought a pattern off the internet which was neat! I printed it at home on 30 pages of paper then taped the pages together to get all the pattern pieces. My first test run went well -- with a couple of adjustments made to the pattern -- so I went to Fabricland today to grab a few options. Looking forward to my custom shorts!

Emily Gets Braces:: Step 9: Retainer Tightening

Emily's had her retainer for about four months now. In that time, she's had two tightening appointments. These are very quick and easy appointments: the orthodontist inspects the progress of her bite (fantastic!) and then adjusts the wires of her appliance to move/tighten the retainer.

Emily's teeth feel a bit sore for a couple of days after the appointment, but not quite as sore as when she had her braces tightened.

At her most recent appointment, the orthodontist said the progress was so good that she now only has three months left of wearing the retainer (for a total of 7 months instead of the original 9). So at her next appointment in April, she'll be starting the final phase: full braces. How exciting!

Jan 15, 2024 (with retainer)

Jan 15, 2024 (without retainer)

Now it's time for some comparison photos of the halfway mark:

Feb 2023 vs. Jan 2024

Feb 2023 vs. Jan 2024

N: Looking good, Emily! How does it feel to be half done?

E: It feels great! I'm really excited for the process to be over, and to have perfect teeth. I have mixed feelings about the braces; I'm happy that I'll look normal again when I smile/talk, but not looking forward to eating/tightening. It'll all be worth it when it's done though!

Christmas Break Schedule

Just like two years ago, we thought it'd be fun to create a schedule of family activities for every day of the winter break. We managed to do it all, with a few swaps and edits along the way. Here's a snapshot from each day.

Day 1:

Gym with cousins

Day 2:

Christmas with Thibs and Pasch.

Day 3:

Christmas with Pauls

Day 4:

Hike with Grammy and John

Day 5:

Watch Moana

Day 6:

Allen Zoom Call

Day 7:

Gym with cousins

Day 8:

Dinner at Nanny & Papa's

Day 9:

Bake gingerbread cookies

Day 10:

New Year's Day dinner at our house

Day 11:

Skating

Day 12:

Dinner at Papa David's

Day 13:

Take down Christmas decorations

Day 14:

Family games

Day 15:

Gym with cousins

Day 16:

Sledding

The girls went back to school yesterday after that nice, long break... but now they're home again due to a Snow Day! We'll take all the family time we can get.

Picture Per Hour - January

January 1, 2024

Happy New Year!

6:00am:

Just arrived in the gym for my run

7:00am:

Looking at pictures from our trip to the Cayman Islands

8:00am:

In their rooms getting ready for the day

9:00am:

Watching the season finale of Survivor 45

10:00am:

Reading & Writing

11:00am:

Playing our new favourite card game: Play Nine

12:00pm:

Doing post-lunch dishes

1:00pm:

Crocheting her blanket

2:00pm:

Playing Overcooked on the Switch

3:00pm:

Folding and putting away laundry

4:00pm:

Teaching G-M & G-P how to Play Nine

5:00pm:

Cousins hanging out in the basement

6:00pm:

Fondue dinner

7:00pm:

Post-dinner kids' show

8:00pm:

Writing new messages on the window

9:00pm:

Getting singing tips from Ramsey Voice Studio

10:00pm:

In bed

What a great start to 2024! Rather than our traditional restaurant outing, we opted for a home-cooked fondue dinner, including a chocolate fondue dessert. Enjoyed by all!