And the Oscar Goes To...

Tonight is Hollywood's biggest night but it's a big deal around these parts as well, as Oliver and Isabelle were dressed to impress for the Oscars. Of course, neither of them has much of an idea of what an Academy Award is or what it takes to get one, but that didn't stop them from getting excited for different reasons. Isabelle never needs an excuse to get dressed and seemed quite enamored with the concept of the red carpet and the many fancy dresses and jewelry. Oliver was more focused on the car commercials and the plate of treats, including popcorn, that was presented to him after he had already eaten dinner. "I don't what this Oscar thing is, but can we do this every night?" They had a grand time checking out the stars and putting on their own show for all of us before the official ceremony began and they headed upstairs for bath and bedtime. Isabelle was excited to find out that Toy Story 3 won something (I think she saw more winning movies than her parents did last year!). As it turned out, it was a great night for Colin Firth and Natalie Portman but way on the other side of the continent, at least a couple of young, aspiring actors had a fun night too!

What do you think? Should I go with the red shoes...

...or the yellow ones?

Striking a pose

OK, paparazzi, enough photos! Give her some privacy!

Fred Astaire in training

Snack time!

 This Oscar Party rocks!

What's Oscar night without a nice cold beverage?

Celebrating Oliver

Even though the official day occurred last Sunday, we finally got to formally recognize Oliver's big day with a party full of food, family, friends and fun. The little guy had an absolute blast running around with the bigger kids, opening up some fabulous presents and of course partaking in a healthy helping of cake and ice cream. It was so great to get everyone together and enjoy each other's company, as well as see how Oliver has progressed in recent months. A few months ago, if you had him at a big event with a lot of people in a small space, he would have clung to his Mom or Dad most, if not all, of the time. But now the boy is 2 and is growing up so fast! He was more than happy to tool around, back and forth, chase the big kids up and down the stairs, check out his trains, read some books, you name it. All these people are here? No big deal, this is my house anyway! He was thrilled to open his many gifts from such generous friends and family, the unwrapping skill has been quickly mastered by the little dude. From Thomas to Elmo to Bert, with many wicked clothes and books in between, Oliver loved his presents and enjoyed being the centre of attention. Isabelle took an unusual back seat but didn't mind because she spent most of the night either goofing around with her new best pal Uncle Matt or zipping around with Sarah and Logan. Oliver sends special thanks to everyone that thought of him with phone calls, cards and gifts, we have such a wonderful group of friends and family that are beyond compare. Thank you so much!

Godfather Trystan chills with his Godson's sister

Yummy dinner for the guest of honour

Oliver's sporty new stool

Can this dapper dude get any cuter?

Fire engine friends

Matt hams it up for Isabelle

Come play with me, Menna!

"Happy Birthday to Oliver!"

This cake is so good!

The traditional birthday cake face

Matt and Isabelle: BFFs

My Gran is Here! My Gran is Here!

Isabelle was singing this refrain this morning as she woke up early (although not quite as early as Gran) to head to the airport and pick up her Gran. She has been pining for this all week long as has even gotten upset with her parents when they've had to tell her today was not yet the day that Gran arrived. Well finally that day has come and Isabelle is ecstatic. She and Gran had a great day hanging out and trading stories, followed by a night of fun with cousins Liam and Sarah and Auntie Leslie. Isabelle has been going a mile a minute all day long, so no surprise tonight as she was out as soon as her head hit the pillow. Oliver enjoyed the company as well, keenly interested in Liam's video games and happy to follow the big kids around no matter what they were doing. He's starting to enjoy entertaining almost as much as his sister does!

Oliver was channelling Bo and Luke Duke tonight. He can climb up on the car, but he can also get into the car, climb over the windshield onto the hood and slide down to the floor. As always, he is cautious and methodical enough to avoid injury. Sneaky little dude.

Isabelle and Sarah play so well together for their difference in age. They had a blast tonight playing dressup, reading books and pretending to be taking their car to Florida. They've always been great friends and Isabelle just adores her older cousin.

Oliver serves as the hood ornament for the girls' road trip. Shortly after this, Isabelle stood up and proclaimed, "I'm 16 and I'm going to Florida!"

Tired from a long day full of excitement. Just enough time for a few stories about trucks (thanks, Olan!) before we turn in for the night.

Cheerful Checkup!

Another sign of our little girl growing up as today Isabelle took her first trip to see the dentist! As expected, she was a model patient, obeying all the instructions and generally just happy to be the centre of attention. Clearly no one has told her that many people don't really enjoy a trip to the dentist. She had her teeth counted and polished by the hygienist, who did a great job of explaining to her all the instruments and apparatus she would be using. Then she had a strawberry-flavoured fluoride treatment before visiting with the dentist. She was praised for being a good brusher and was happily sent on her merry way with a sticker and a new toothbrush. She has been sharing her experience with her friends and anyone else who will listen, in fact she is already asking to go back again. She says "it's just like the doctor, but they have special stuff." Great job, little girl, let's hope all your trips to the dentist go just like this one!

A New Addition

We apologize for the belated introduction, but we are thrilled to finally present the newest member of our extended family. We send the best of wishes to Auntie Jessica and Uncle Chris as they welcome their newborn son into the world. Matthew arrived two weeks ago on February 8th, healthy and happy and the perfect little brother to Carys and Peter. Everyone is ecstatic to have him home and we are truly amazed that Jessica is easily handling a trio of kids day in and day out. Many nights we think two is a challenge, try adding a third that requires constant attention. Jessica must have a superhero cape in that diaper bag of hers. He is such a cute little guy and he joins an awesome family. Carys and Peter are loving their new roles as older siblings and are more than willing to help their Mom and Dad, if only they could provide some of that help in the middle of the night sometimes! We can't wait to meet the little prince in person soon. So many little cousins around now, the family picnic is going to be such fun in the years to come! Congratulations again to Jessica and Chris, surely some busy times ahead, but lots of love and happiness to come as well!

Big Truck

Oliver loves trucks. He must say the words "big truck" a dozen times a day or more. He likes to talk about yellow trucks, red trucks, green trucks or white trucks to anyone who will listen. Every morning our neighbour across the street gets into his noisy blue truck and leaves for work. Oliver loves to run to the window and watch him drive off. So you can imagine his excitement when a package arrived from Toronto for Valentine's Day with a gift for Oliver: a book about Tractors & Trucks! Uncle Andrew and Auntie Lena hit the nail right on the head with this one; the boy just loves it. He has been reading it every night since its arrival and even brought it with him to read on the way to school today. Thanks, Andrew and Lena, you are always so kind and thoughtful with these kids and helped to make their Valentine's Day special. However, if we're still reading this book every night 2 months from now, we may have to withdraw those thanks...

Oliver a Deux Ans!

Today officially marks the day that our little tyke moved from being a little baby boy to becoming a big toddler dude! Seems like only yesterday we were heading into a hospital to bring him into the world, and now there's no more reporting his age in months, he's the ripe old age of two! With his big party on tap for next weekend with Gran and Auntie Leslie set to attend, we decided to take the little guy to Montreal to experience the amazing Biodome. We figured Oliver would be thrilled to see some of his favourite animals in person instead of in a book, and we were right on target. The boy could not have loved it more. He started out by checking out the monkeys and the birds and warming up to the environment. Isabelle was a big help as the veteran tour guide and once she showed him the crocodiles, he was totally in his element. The little trumpeter bird that walks through all the visitors on the path? Oliver walked up and patted him on the back, then touched him on the beak! So much for him being a shy little guy after all. He got to see snakes, bats, frogs, turtles, lynx and much more. He was amazed by the huge fish in the aquarium room, adored the many ramps that gave him room to roam to his heart's content, and loved watching a crab make his way along the side of a tank. But the best part was saved for last, the penguins. Oliver was beside himself watching the little dudes waddle around and swim through the water right in front of his face. He was literally shrieking with delight as they swam past. It's so amazing to watch him experience this for the first time, to see it through his eyes. He is such a super little guy with a big heart, a loving temperament, a warm smile and an infectious laugh. We can't believe how lucky we have been to have two amazing, well-adjusted, fun-loving kids. They can be exhausting and challenging at times, like any kids, but they are so full of life and love for us and for each other, our hearts fill with pride and love every time we look at them. Godspeed, little dude, year #3 will be the best yet!

Two minutes in the rainforest and check out the hair! Trio of blondes!

Beautiful birds of blue

How did that porcupine get up there, Mom?

Jump into the water, dudes!

Did you see that, Mom and Dad?

I want to stay here for the rest of the day, OK?

Up close and personal

He swam right past me!

For me? Oh, you shouldn't have!

Digging in

Turning 2 totally rocks!

Hair-Raising Experience

Crazy Hair Day arrived in the Senior room at daycare yesterday, and Isabelle was more than well-prepared to strut her stuff with her best pals. Never a family to do things on the downlow, Mom went the extra mile to make Isabelle feel extra special and the star of the day at school. Isabelle adored being in the  limelight, with all the teachers at school congratulating her on her avant-garde look and asking her the secret behind her gravity-defying hair. Most of them compared her to either Cindy Lou Who or the true inspiration, Pippi Longstocking. In any case, she had a blast and even had an unplanned trip to the Rideau Centre after work, where she garnered even more attention. As you can imagine, it was difficult for passersby to see this little girl walk by without commenting on her horizontal locks. Luckily, Crazy Hair Day isn't every day, and we can sleep in a bit longer on Monday. In addition, we can take the picture hanging wire and put it back on the picture we took it from late Thursday night!

Why can't school be this fun every day?

This pizza is SOOOO good!

Keep your mouth closed when you chew!

Focused on her dinner

Loving his dinner!

Crashed out in the car from all the excitement

In Sickness and in Health

Things have taken a turn for the better around here, after a week that saw illness cut a swath through all 4 members of the family. It went from Oliver to Dad to Isabelle to Mom, affecting us all to various degrees. Rough days, rough nights, all manner of medicines ingested by each of us, and finally everyone could attend work and school the past couple of days. The timing was perfect as today we saw unseasonably high (even double-digit!) temperatures combined with sunshine. Not good news for the final weekend of Winterlude and the Rideau Canal, but a welcome sight in a month that usually provides little respite from a typical Canadian winter. Not Florida weather of course, but we'll take it! The kids are back to their goofy selves, tearing up and down the upstairs hallway, laughing their little hearts out. Looking forward to a fun weekend that will see our little guy finish off his second year. No one here can believe he will already be 2!?  Amazing. He and Isabelle have become such great friends and look for each other every chance they get. They even shared a bed for a couple of nights as Mommy recovered. Slept like angels. They are super kids, and we are thrilled they are healthy once again. Bring on the weekend!

Horsing around specialist at work

Cutest recovered patient ever

Hey dude, leave me some room!