New Year's Eve 2010

Once again headed to Riverside park to see "sparkles in the park". Thousands of lights and inflatable statues are set up in dazzling displays of festive cheer. We loved the warm temperature (barely below freezing) and the free rides on the carousel. We didn't stay for the fireworks this year and headed home for a nice early night.

Christmas 2010 in Perth

After a family bout of stomach flu we left a bit late for our Xmas vacation with Nana and Poppa in Perth. Lots of fun on Xmas day with present opening and delicious turkey. Our visitors all came to us - first the Suuronens and then the cousins. Finn loved having kids to play with and Tabs wasn't quite sure what to do (she was still recovering from her illness).

Tabs in her new chair opening presents.

Spiderman investigating his stocking.

The cousins. Yes our baby is never dressed - cuts down on laundry.

A visit to the trails is never complete without playing on the merry-go-round.

Cutting down the christmas tree

Finding the perfect tree on a bitterly cold morning with no snow!

Sawing it down.

We had to carry it all the back to our car - quite a walk.

In our living room - with some decorations. Love Tabs' expression. We originally planned to get a 3-4 ft one but instead arrived home with a nice 9 ft. That's what happens when you cut your own I guess.

15 months old

Words:

Milkies

Appul

Hi

Size:

26.7 pounds

31.5 inches long

Hike at Ignatius

The Ignatius Jesuit retreat North Guelph has many nice trails. The one we tried this Saturday was "the Great Auk". Finn like running ahead to place twig arrows to show us the way.

Around the house

Kleenex box ceramic tile skating.

Giddy up Daddy! ( PS - Andrew's pupils are not really pin pricks - I "fixed" his red eyes.)

Apples!

"Reading"

Halloween 2010 part 2 - trick or treating

Spooky night time shot with candles. Finn's pumpkin is on the left.

Batman, "Spot" and Mummy decorate for trick or treaters.

Pumpkins in the daylight. Middle pumpkin Finn designed at school - love the parasol!

Batman and his pumpkin.

Finn demanded to be Batman in September and convinced Andrew to buy him a Batman pj set. I then had to rush around trying to make and/or buy a Batman mask. But he loved it! And the extra clothes he had to wear for warmth really added to his muscular look!

Halloween 2010 part 1

Scooping out the pumpkin goo. Yummy?

What a gory Daddy.

Getting ready to carve the pumpkins.

At Finn's school's Halloween dance. Finn was rather wound up and "danced" around with his friend Alex the dinosaur.

First family hike

Drawing smiley faces in the gravel. Self portrait?

Birds were too scratchy on his hands - so we put bird seed on his hat.....

In order to increase our family fitness time we decided to initiate a weekly hike with the kids. We started with a trip to Starkey's Hill . The first week we spent most of our time with the chickadees and snacking. The second week we actually finished the whole trail!

Thanksgiving visit with Uncle Tom

Dragonfly park swings.

Accessible swing + super hard pushing from Uncle Tom = awesome fun!

Glacier rocks. On top of "mountain" near dragonfly park.

Watching the Octoberfest parade.

First day on the bus

Figured out hiccup with bus. Rainiest day ever in Guelph. Everyone trekked out to watch Finn's first trip on the school bus. He was such a trooper. No problem!

First Day of School

Ready to go! Up early, fed and dressed. Excited to start school at the french public school l'Odyssee. Going to catch the bus, which unfortunately did not show up (miscommunication between dispatch and bus driver). A few tears when we drove him to school - mainly due to disappointment of not taking the bus. But came home ready to face another day. Hooray! Quite a big leap for Finn - school is all day everyday.

Train

Waiting for the main event on the train bridge.

Here it comes!

After climbing to this train bridge many times and thinking how cool it would be to see a train passing underneath, we finally figured out the train-lines schedule and rushed to get on the bridge on time. We made it with time to spare and even managed a wave from the engineer!

Park

The joy of sliding. Love this smile.

Big brother catches baby sister.

Twosome on the slide.

Finn's final day of freedom before school starts. Enjoyed a beautiful hike to the park with beautiful weather.

Blocks

Uncle Tom sent these giant blocks for Finn and Tabs' birthday (which currently take up like half our living room). Finn was finally able to build this garage while we kept the baby godzilla at bay.

Zoo

Inside a giant turtle shell.

Hot baby in the splash park.

Bunny ears. Crazy boy.

We had free passes to the Zoo (thank you Suuronens) so we braved super hot heat to check out the animals. Finn like the elephants and the polar bears the best. Tabitha liked everything so much she refused to sleep all day. Basically a way too hot day for everyone- animals included.

Pirate head haircut

Finn created this "pirate" chia head while at the cottage with Nana and Poppa. He really enjoys giving it haircuts every other day.

Friends on the river Speed

Boys on the bench

Enjoying a break from canoeing the Speed river.

Our friends the Suuronens braved the 401 to come visit our little town. We canoed, played the parks and generally had an awesome time.

Happy Birthday Tabs!

height: 30.9 inches

weight: 23.2 lbs

head circumference: 18.1 inches

No longer a baby - now a toddler. Tabs's walking has kicked it up a notch - she is of course trying to run and be just like her brother. Such joy in her step. She loves it! She likes to let you know what she's thinking. Dis, Dat, Hat, Cat. Meowwwwww. She is such a smiley baby that people always say she never has a bad day - except when she clings to my legs (both at once - yes it is hard to walk that way). A little shy at times but warms up fast and is off running away. Stop!!! Don't run out into the street crazy girl. Still loves her green food, also loves lemons and limes - huh? Loves to wash her hands - in a rather OCDish way. Want to cheer her up - "let's go wash our hands!". Clearly losing her baby fat - but still some lovely kissable cheeks (one dimple still).

Cottage

Throwing off the shackles of life in the city. The boy enjoys his time away from Mummy and Daddy and Baby. Nana, Poppa and the cousins; plenty of sun and fun; late nights and campfires....Who ever wants to go home?