Ta Ta Tupper Tots

Eighteen months ago, our little Isabelle trucked off to daycare for the very first time, herself blissfully unaware but her parents sufficiently anxious about what would transpire after 2 years at home with first Mom and then the nanny. Would she nap? Would she eat? Would she make friends? Would she clutch onto our leg as we left the junior room every morning? Luckily, we were also cautiously optimistic because her best pal Logan was also making the transition, so we knew she had a buddy by her side to ride out the inevitably rocky start. Safe to say that all that worrying was for nothing, she was in more than capable hands and the teachers and staff made our girl feel right at home from the get go, and she has done nothing but develop into a big girl ever since. Tupper Tots has helped her in so many ways, interacting with others, making new friends, sharing toys, telling stories during circle time, trying all kinds of foods, and above all else, just being a happy kid.

Today as we picked her up from her final day, she distributed flowers to all the teachers that have given so much of themselves to her. They were sad to her go and once she realizes she no longer is going there, she will be too! Dad will miss his morning bus rides with the little princess, as well many of her busmates that have admired her comments and her clothing since she started.


As we left, it was also a time to receive Isabelle's semi-annual evaluation, which included the following gems in the comments section:

"Isabelle is a very sociable person."

"Although Isabelle is willing to step back and let other friends "run" the group, Isabelle is at her best when she is in charge."

"If given unrestricted time, Isabelle can talk about almost anything and is very happy to do so. Sometimes we have to limit the length of time for our speakers during circle."


So alas, Isabelle bids farewell to Tupper Tots to spend some time down south and then join her little brother at home with Nanny Caitlin for the summer. The staff have already told us it's not a goodbye but a see-ya-soon because they would be ecstatic to have Isabelle come back in September and be a senior, provided she bring Oliver along for the toddler room as well. Given our past experience with how they helped shape Isabelle into who she is today, we would be just as happy. We will all miss you guys so much and promise to come and visit!

Happy Birthday, Gran!

Wishing you all the best on your birthday, Gran! No one deserves a special day as much as you do. We adore you hope you had a super party Sunday night. We were so thrilled to get to see you open your wicked gift! We wish we could have been there to celebrate with you but it will have to wait until we get to Florida to ring in your new year in style. Isabelle and Oliver look forward to singing Happy Birthday to you in person. Safe travels down south and soak up some sun before the rugrats arrive!!!

Egg-cellent Weekend!

A wicked fun weekend here in Capital CIty as we get ready for the big Easter festivities coming up in just a few days. Easter decor is all over the house but we needed a few more choice items to complete the look so we recruited a trio of willing egg decorators: Isabelle, Logan and Brooklyn! Not only did they work on some eggs to beautify their respective homes but they also enjoyed the added bonus of Rice Krispie treat eggs that they could dip in chocolate and sprinkles, yummy! Suffice to say that not all of these eggs escaped the table uneaten, nor did the leftover sprinkles! The three of them were the perfect playdate pals, happy to dress up together, as well as share, snack and just have fun the whole time. It was a hectic couple of hours, and although it reminded all the parents why they don't run their own daycare, it was super fun to get these three amigos together and watch them have a blast. Too bad Easter only comes once a year, but these kids definitely don't need a special occasion to have a good time!

Prepped and ready


Decorating dream team


Focused on the task at hand


We don't have to save these for later, do we?


No, sis, we certainly don't!


Sprinkle clean up team


Happy Easter week, everyone!

The Park in March?

The warm weather continues in Ottawa, with not a flake of snow in sight all across the city. Double-digit positive temperatures are not making us yearn for Florida like last year, when we got dumped with snow two days before flying south to escape Mother Nature's wrath. It is so nice that Oliver and Isabelle got to make their first trip to the park. For Isabelle, it was a chance to rule the play structure like she never has before, since she is almost a half year older than she was for her last visit and everything just seems so much easier to do!? Oliver, on the other hand, must have felt like he had entered a brand new world, what is this place? Musical keys, slides, sand, I'm not used to this! He loved watching his big sister rip it up but also had his own fun, discovering a stray fire truck and messing about in the sand. He loves to watch the cars drive by and the park gave him the perfect vantage point. He had a blast and surely this will be his domain for many summers to come, just maybe not starting in March every year!

Even Beethoven had to start somewhere


Rapunzel climbs the tower


Sandbox siblings


I'm coming after you, truck!


Captured my prize but prefer watching the cars!

Happy Birthday, Isaac!

Birthday wishes are being sent to the West Coast where little Isaac is celebrating the completion of year #1! Hope you had a great time on your special day, little dude, and we look forward to seeing you again. Wow, you've only been around one year and your hometown has already hosted an Olympics? Tall order on delivering an encore to something like that, but we know you are up for the task. All the best to you, revel in the attention, enjoy your presents, dig in to your cake and remember to share some with big sister!

Memories of summer vacation and my birth year buddy!

All I Want for Easter is...

...my two front teeth! Well, Oliver, no need to wait until Easter because they finally arrived over the weekend! His first two teeth seemed like they came months ago, and the poor little guy was stuck with just the two choppers for the longest time. You try eating with two teeth for several weeks and see how well you do. The good news is that the wait is over and Oliver now has four teeth to call his own. The only price he (and all of us) had to pay was a few restless nights. Now that those have passed, he is back to his happy self!

Irish Eyes are Smiling!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! We hope you, like Isabelle and Oliver, sported your green today in honour of the big celebration. Special St. Patty's wishes to Isabelle's favourite Irishman, Olan! We wish we could have shared a glass of green milk with you, buddy! Since Isabelle and Oliver are both several years away from celebrating in the traditional way Irish (and non-Irish) revelers do on the the 17th, they both donned green and headed off for the next best thing, green ice cream! Isabelle happily downed an entire small Mint Oreo Blizzard (leaving none for Mom!), while Oliver and Daddy worked on a cone of their own. Tomorrow, back to the same old thing, with normal coloured clothes, normal coloured food and regular treats. Why so long between St. Patty's Days? Couldn't they do these at least twice a year? Funny, but these very same questions are also being asked by adults in bars all over the city tonight!!! Hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day!!!

Yummmmmm!


This is awesome!


Poster child for DQ


Did you say we're not coming back tomorrow?!

Princesses Night Out!

The big day had finally arrived. Isabelle's Valentine's Day gift was two tickets to Disney on Ice, and the extra bonus was that this year's show was called Princess Classics, tailor-made for budding royalty like our daughter! Also, the tickets were for an evening show, so she and Mom were going on a Girls Night Out while Daddy and Oliver held down the fort at home. Turns out a 7:00 show was a long wait for an excited little girl, but luckily she decided to succumb to a nap around 5:00 so no worries about her being too tired. On arrival, Isabelle picked up a felt princess sign and a much-beloved t-shirt, then sat on the edge of her seat munching her Princess Jasmine popcorn until the big announcement that the show was about to start. That was the last time she touched the popcorn. She was so enthralled with the many princess stories that she couldn't think about anything else. She got to see all her favourites on the ice: Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, all of whom were awoken by their princes to end the first half of the show. Intermission time, but where was Cinderella? Isabelle and Mommy were wondering what was going on. After the break, they actually told the entire Cinderella story from start to finish, complete with the Fairy Godmother coming down from the ceiling! Isabelle was mesmerized already, but wait for the piece de resistance: all the princesses came out with their wedding dresses on! Talk about a junior princess' dream come true. She had a fabulous time and has already made plans to revisit her new best friends in Florida in a few weeks! Best Valentine's Gift Ever!

Dreaming of Disney

Ice Cream Sunday

Unseasonably warm temperatures and a March that has seen almost all of our snow disappear already has our minds on spring and summer a little bit ahead of schedule. It doesn't take much to get Isabelle in the mood for Dairy Queen so she did not put up a fight when we suggested a stop at Dairy Queen after soccer class. She was thrilled to jump a season ahead and devoured her special treat. Oliver, meanwhile, was fast asleep in the car so we took a cone out for his after-dinner treat later on. To no one's surprise, he loved it! Aside from dropping it several times along the way (good thing it was mostly frozen!), he dug in proudly and even took a few bites of the cone portion for good measure. Lucky for him, Oliver was able to stash some away for a future dessert unlike his sister, whose entire cone is safely resting in her tummy!

Alternative Rock Star

Sporting her hot pink guitar, Isabelle channels her inner Courtney Love in what would a perfect album cover for Hole's next record...she even has the melancholy look down pat!

Ski School

Isabelle headed back up to Edelweiss for her second ski lesson this past weekend, this time with her brother close behind. Last time, Oliver fell asleep on the way and missed most of what was going on at the mountain. This time he decided to join the crowd and was loving both the mild temperatures and making his away across the snowscape. Isabelle not only enjoyed skiing with no mitts and no hat, she also had a great instructor that had her slowly sliding down the hill with no support whatsoever! Next thing we know, she'll be ready for the chairlift! Plus, any instructor that has butterfly stickers and candies to encourage her students is a superstar by Isabelle's standards. Oliver, meanwhile, loved crawling around on the snow, checking out the giant Dora picture, and practicing walking with Mommy. Afterwards, Isabelle requested her favourite post-ski snack, french fries (big surprise) and we hung out watching skiers and snowboarders zip down the slopes. With the unseasonably super-warm temperatures, who knows how many more chances we will have to go this year?

Enjoying some Ariel en route


Look Mom, no help needed!


Mom's hands are full anyway


Perfect form, Isabelle!


Smilin' in the snow

Walk This Way

Look out, everyone, Oliver is really on the move now. He is surprising us each and every day. We'll all be hanging out and he'll just make his way from one place to another! He's all casual about it like he's been doing this for months, but he also knows that he is suitably impressing us, because he often stops to clap when he is finished making his move. He walks with such a big smile on his face, so proud of joining the rest of the family as an upright and mobile human being. Watch out Isabelle, he's gaining on you!!!

Oscar Night

Once Isabelle heard that this thing called the Oscars involved fancy dresses and lots of jewelry, she was convinced it was something she needed to see. To prep for the event, she and Oliver got dressed up for their own version of the red carpet right in our living room. To no one's surprise, they each had something to wear for the big event!

Here they look like two nominees full of nerves and excitement as their names are being read:


Guess who won, guess who lost...

Yo Gabba Gabba Rocks!

We received an unusually long box in the mail. Our friends Shawn and Lindie were kind enough to think of Oliver's first birthday and sent him a super-awesome present, Dancing Brobee, one of the stars of the kid's show Yo Gabba Gabba! Their 10-month old son Easton is a big fan. Dancing Brobee plays a hip hop beat, waves his arms, shuffles his feet and invites everyone to dance with him. He's a riot. As parents of a three and a one year old, one would think we would know this show, which apparently has been really popular for a couple of years. Maybe Isabelle needs to branch out from Kids CBC once in a while! The show is actually pretty cool, with a group of colourful characters that love dancing and music. It also has some superstar guests from the music and entertainment world, for example next week features Sarah Silverman, Weezer, and Mos Def. Wicked! Isabelle and Oliver checked it out and really enjoyed it.


Isabelle loves Brobee too and may need one of her own. She already asked Oliver to borrow it to bring to school, and tonight asked him if she could sleep with Brobee. Next time he grabs one of her princesses, we will surely remind her about Oliver sharing Brobee! Thanks, Shawn and Lindie, they love it!