the baptism

boxing day at eaton

was kind of fun

guess who´s here... sylvia

the godmother is here...

xmass eve ´03

downtown toronto

lakeshore

guess who is here... kaare bork

kaare (pronounced as "core") flew from denmark to canada because of one important reason, he wanted to know gina, celebrate xmass with us and participate as gina´s godfather.

love you kare, and thanx for comming and being such a good friend and family.

gina is 8 months now...

snowing outside but cozy at home

olentzero

In the forest, there are many different kinds of creatures that people can’t see.. They are all part of nature, and people have written many stories and fables about them. When we go out in the mountains and the valleys, from a wonderful corner of the imagination they keep us company and take care of us.

Here is the story of one of those beings, the story of Olentzero, a humble man who with his love comes into the heart of all creatures, real and imaginary.

Once upon a time, many many years ago, in the deep forests of the Basque Country, there lived a very beautiful fairy. Her hair was yellow like the sun and her eyes were very bright. Like all fairies, she looked after the people and she was always accompanied by some little and funny creatures, like goblins, called Prakagorri, or "red-pants," who helped her with her work.

One day, when she was traveling through the mountains, she stopped to brush her hair next to a fountain. Suddenly, the Prakagorris noticed that something was moving among some ferns.

The fairy kept brushing and brushing her curly hair and didn’t notice anything until Prakagorris’ shouts caught her attention.

"It's a human baby" said the oldest of the goblins.

"Why did they leave it here?" said all the Prakagorris at once.

"I don’t know" said the fairy, "it is hard to understand how humans can be so heartless sometimes."

"From now on" said the fairy to the baby, "your name will be Olentzero, for it is wonderful thing to have found you. And I hereby give you the gifts of Strength, Courage and Love, for as long as you live."

Then the fairy picked up the baby and took him to an old house at the edge of the forest where there lived a man and a woman who had no children.

"They will be very, very happy to receive this child and they will take good care of it, I know" said the fairy, and she left the boy there in front of the door for them.

Very early in the morning, when the sun was just starting to come out, the man came out of the house to go milk the cows. He was very surprised to see the baby, and he called to his wife: "Love, come quickly! Come and see what I’ve found!"

Just as the fairy had predicted, the man and the woman were very, very happy to find this child. "How could we be so lucky!", said the woman. And immediately they covered the boy with a warm blanket and gave him some food, and they took him as their son.

And that is how Olentzero came to grow up in those wonderful mountains, until he became a strong, healthy and lovable man. His parents were very happy and Olentzero was not at all worried about the strange way in which his parents had come to find him.

Olentzero worked every day from morning till night, making coal and helping his aging father.

After many years the old couple who had been Olentzero’s loving parents finally died and Olentzero was left all alone in the house in the forest.

The years came and went and his face began to wrinkle and his hair began to turn white.

Living alone made him sad and he realized that what he needed to do was to help other people who needed his help.

He remembered that in the town there was a house where there lived some children who had no parents. They lived on whatever the people in the town gave them, and he realized that these children were very lonely, just like him, and that he could do things for them to make them happy.

Olentzero was very clever and very good at making things with his hands, so he made some toys out of wood for those children: little toys and dolls, which he would take to the children when he went to town to sell his coal.

When he finished the dolls and other toys, he put them in a big bag, put the bag on his donkey, and left for the town. He felt very happy inside that day, and his eyes were shining very brightly.

It took him a whole morning of walking through the mountains to get to the town, but he was very happy. He smiled as if in a dream, for he was going to give to the children the toys that he had made.

The little children in the village were very happy when they got their presents, and Olentzero spent the whole afternoon playing with them and telling them stories that he had learned from his father when he was little. The boys and girls loved Olentzero very much and after that day they didn’t feel as lonely as before. Olentzero became very well known in that town. Whenever he approached, he would quickly be surrounded by children.

This went on for many beautiful and happy years, but one day there was a terrible storm in the town and the mountains around it which destroyed many things.

The cold, strong winds and the sound of thunder left the people very scared and upset, especially the children.

One day, when Olentzero was coming to town, he saw some lightning hitting a house.

He quickly ran to the house and he saw some children at one of the windows, very scared, screaming and calling for help.

Without hesitating he went into the house, which was in flames, covered the children with a blanket to protect them from the fire, and carried them out of the house through a window in the first floor.

But while he was trying to get out himself, a big old wooden beam from the ceiling fell on top of him. Olentzero fell down in great pain, and his strong and beautiful heart stopped.

The people in the town cried when they saw the house in flames, and what had happened, and realized that there was nothing they could do.

But right then they were all surprised by a bright light shining from inside the burning house. Nobody could see what was happening inside.

But inside the house, the fairy who had found Olentzero in the mountains, when he was a baby so many years ago, appeared next to Olentzero and began calling his name in her sweet voice: "Olentzero! Olentzero!"

She said: "Olentzero, you have been a good man, faithful and kind hearted. You have spent your life doing things for others, and you have even given your own life to save others. So I do not want you to die. I want you to live forever. From now on you will make toys and other presents for children who do not have parents in this town and everywhere in the Basque Country."

"And we will help you!" called out all the Prakagorri, flying around Olentzero.

And that is how it came to pass that, that in the middle of every winter, at the end of every year, Olentzero goes to all the towns of Basque Country delivering toys and presents to children who don’t have parents and grandparents to give them presents. The children in all the towns celebrate the coming of the Olentzero by singing songs and spreading his message of love, strength and courage.

Some people don’t believe that Olentzero really exists. But in Basque there is an old saying:

"all the things that have a name exist, if we believe that they exist".

http://www.olentzero.info/

santa´s parade

santa´s parade was today, we just arrived on time to say hi to santa... gina turned 8 mo. so i think she really enjoyed, weather was ok, after the parade we had a really nice chicken time, we went to "the peel pub" and had a couple of beers there. kind of nice...

gina is 7 months now

satuday afternoon at lakeshore

niagara falls

she can sit now... yay

daddy's b-day

guess who came visit... keke

lullabies

talking about lullabies, there are lots and lots of helpful resourses, so, i just wanna share my top two favorites... and i will write also down some fascinating websites

http://www.englishplaynow.com/node/14
http://webhome.idirect.com/~srcpc/songs/083.htm


she didn't dance

she didn't dance, dance, dance
she didn't dance at all today
she didn't dance, dance, dance, no nor yesterday
so dance her up and up and up and up
dance her up to the sky
dance her up and up and up and up, and she'll be down by and by
she is like a lady, she is like a queen, she is like a lady off to the fair at Lynn
so dance her up and up and up and up, dance her up to the sky
dance her up and up and up and up, and she'll be down by and by
he didn't dance, dance, dance
he didn't dance at all today, dance, no nor yesterday
so dance him up and up and up and up
dance him up to the sky
he is like a gentleman, he is like a king, he is like a gentleman off to the fair at Lynn
so dance him up and up and up and up, dance him up to the sky
dance him up and up and up and up, and he'll be down by and by.


pretty painted butterfly

pretty painted butterfly, what will you do all day?
i'll roam about the sunny skies with nothing to do but play
nothing to do but play, all the livelong day
so fly, butterfly, so fly, butterfly
don't waste your time away
so fly, butterfly, so fly, butterfly
don't waste your time away

going to the beach

first daddy´s day

walking around the neighborhood

going with doctor chisamore

so we moved back to toronto...

taking a stroll

p. vineland station at st. catharines ontario

oh.. dad!!!

pic speaks by itself....

niagara falls

so today i had my first trip, i went to niagara falls, weather was ok, sun was shining and i was a really good girl, after niagara, we head back to st. catharienes and we went shopping to the penn centre.

ginas prints

wow...

and her name is gina...

she was born on april the 4rth during a snow storm at niagara health centre, she was 6 lb and 43 centimeters, she´s going to be called georgina

is kind of wierd becasue i cant belive how much love i can feel for her.

about parenting for me...

Actually, parenting is to raise a child and also educate him or her in the best possible manner. The aim of parenting is thus to create socially responsible, productive individuals who make not only his or her parents proud but also the society proud as well with his/her endeavors. Through parenting a child receives education, which is totally different from the education that a child receives at school. A parent tries to develop various social qualities in the child whereas a school educates the child scientifically and in a routine manner focusing generally on his or her intellectual development. Through parenting, a person also fulfills his or her parental duties. The basic parental duty that a person has to fulfill is to provide the child or children with social development and security. It is the duty of the parents to see that their child or children are emotionally, intellectually and physically secure in the society. At the same time it is the duty of the parents to make n individual fit to face the world when left on his own. It is the child’s mother or sometimes father who undertakes the work of parenting. In some cases, this care is also provided by some relatives.

There are many styles of parenting but it is nonetheless tough to say which is the best style. What makes a style stand apart is how the parent uses it and hence it is a must that the parent makes effective use of the parenting style. In out life course while parenting a child it is a must that we explore the various kinds of style and hence it is a must to have confidence on your self; though all of us agree to the fact that when you bring a newborn home for the first time, it can be pretty scary and all of us feel that now that we are parents we should be know all that know answers to all questions but in reality it is not so. In most cases we learn how to be a parent from our parents and hence it is a must that we stop and question ourselves at times on if we are following the right style of parenting in raising the kids.

There has been much research in the area of parenting styles by the child psychologists and it has been discovered that the styles can be broken down into three main categories, which are authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative (this style basically is also known as balanced or democratic). It can be said that there is no correct style but the parents can experiment with various styles to see what style suit them the most.

A common style used by the parents is the authoritarian style and this is essentially for parents who believe in structure. Often these parents are not abusive as the mistaken belief is; on the contrary however they manage to set very high standards of behavior for their children and require obedience. They take all decision on behalf of their children and at the same time these are the parents who dominate over the major part of their children’s life. At a few instances this style of parenting can be good and it is especially so for children with behavioral or conduct disorders because they need structure and authority. Often however the effects are negative and the child of authoritarian parents has low self-esteem and relies more often on the voice of authority besides being incapable of taking any major decision themselves.

The other side of the coin is permissive parents or parents who are too lenient and who while not being neglectful or careless yet are the kind of parents who let their children make many decisions. In the West this is an accepting parenting style and it is believed to enhance creativity and spontaneity in their children. What makes this kind of parenting style effective is that these parents use reasoning rather than authority when setting limits and thus this is a great parenting style for withdrawn children. At the same time this is not suitable for rebellious or aggressive children as at times this might result in immature behavior and an inability to control impulses. The best style is often known as the authoritative style of parenting and in this style we see parents are not particularly firm or permissive but at the same time are individuals who set high standards for their children. Nonetheless to an extent they are permissive and despite being strict they leave some of the decision-making up to each child. What is a great aspect of this style of parenting is that it is a style in which parents can reason with and listen to their children. At the same time these parents are strict and if required don't hesitate to insist on certain behaviors and limits. This style definitely is effective and is greatly beneficial when used with middle-of-the-road children who are neither shy nor aggressive as it helps them develop a sense of independence and self-sufficiency.

What is a significant point to note is that in most cases the parents don't often use one parenting style exclusively but use a mixture of style though at times they do tend to lean toward one philosophy more. However there is one point that the parents must keep in mind and that is the fact that whatever style of parenting is used to bring up a child must take the child's personality into account. What may work for one child might not be successful for another child with a different personality and this is a fact that has not only been told by experienced parents but also by the child psychologists.

gina

this is me!!!

hello!!! this is me, and im about to be a mommy, so im really really excited about it and i want to have a place to share with family and friends how things flow

sign language (scanned pix)

im so excited about parenting stuff that when i heard about sign language for kids i was like "no way... this is amazing and yet umbelivable... wow!!!" it totally fits with all the early stimulation im looking to achieve with my baby, and it is a beautiful way to understand a kid even when she is a baby... so i did a research, went to the library and looked up for all the material trying to learn all about signing, i just found a book that i scanned, and i just putted up all those pictures in this post, if you wanna see a larger size picture, just select the image you are interested in and click over it, i know is gonna repalce the window you are peeking and it´s kind of annoyin, but... i´ll work it out in a future to have it different, so meanwhile, enjoy!!

there are several books and websites that you can find interesting, im listing some of them and i hope thats helpful.

http://www.signingtime.com/
http://www.babysigningtime.com/

Baby Sing and Sign r: Communicate Early with Your Baby: Learning Signs the Fun Way Through Music and Play by Ph.D. Anne Meeker-Miller Ph.D.

The ABCs of Parenting Pre-schoolers (Paperback) by Carol Katrana

Toddler Sing and Sign: Improve Your Child's Vocabulary and Verbal Skills the Fun Way - Through Music and Play by Anne Meeker Miller Ph.D. Ph.D.

Baby Sing and Sign r: Communicate Early with Your Baby: Learning Signs the Fun Way Through Music and Play - by Ph.D. Anne Meeker-Miller Ph.D.

The Toddlers Busy Book: 365 Creative Games and Activities to Keep Your 1 1/2- to 3-Year-Old Busy - by Trish Kuffner