Raise Your Glass

It's not often we get to celebrate two birthdays in one evening, but this past weekend we got the chance to do just that. Of course, Auntie Mer was in town to commemorate her big 3-0 but we also got the chance to toast Uncle Matt, who was coming off a great year that saw him become a Dad to little cutiepie Madoc. So what better way to mark a couple of birthdays than with a little get-together. After spending the day at Le Nordik with her big sister, Mer was more than relaxed and ready for a nice Chinese dinner and the chance to visit with friends and family before she headed home the next day. It has been a whirlwind celebratory month for Auntie Mer, so it was nice to end it off with a quiet night at home after a day of peace at the baths. Little Madoc was a charmer as always, such a good little baby, we're not even sure if he cries because we've never heard him! He is definitely a bundle of joy and it's great to see Rhiannon and Matt being such superstar parents, proud as can be of their little dude, almost as proud as the grandmother! Oliver was lamenting the absence of Elgin but Isabelle, always the gracious host, was thrilled to entertain her guests. The house is small but it is getting used to hosting big parties, with an even bigger one to come next month, Oliver turns 3! We hope you had an awesome weekend, Mer, we miss and love you so much. We can't wait to see you again.

Daddy and his little dude, 3 months old already!

Baby and the birthday girl

Proud Grandma Menna

Mommy and Madoc

Hey, someone who's smaller than me!

Dessert vultures at work

Rock on, birthday boy!

Winding down with Uncle Matt

She's All Ears

At long last, after many months of below average and a litany of regulary-scheduled visits to the audiologist, Isabelle visited CHEO to get tubes in her ears. Mom and Dad were initially stressed about the instructions, which called for no food between midnight and her 2:00 surgery! She was only allowed to have Jell-O or water over this 14-hour stretch but it turns out she doesnt really like Jell-O and drank actually very little. You would think this would result in a fussy kid, but she was just fine, not a complaint at all! In fact, she quite enjoyed hanging out on in the waiting room at CHEO, colouring, playing board games and reading books with her parents. Finally, after a long wait, she got called in to be put to sleep, a harrowing experience (for Mom!) that resulted in Isabelle quickly down for the count. Mom had to leave at that point and only 15 minutes later we met the doctor, who said everything went well and that the very thick fluid was finally gone from her ears. Shortly after out wheeled our little girl, cotton balls in ears and popsicle in hand, a little drowsy but happy nonetheless. A few short tests and it was off to the gift shop where Isabelle picked a leapord stuffie to mark the occasion. She was a real trooper from start to finish and we are proud of how well she has done. We noticed a huge difference immediately as that night's movie night was at a more reasonable volume. We were also thrilled to hear a story from school where Isabelle covered her ears because her music teacher was too loud. Proof positive that her hearing is back where it should be. Way to go, Isabelle, you did awesome!

The recuperating princess

Mascot Mania

On Thursday night, NHL All-Star Erik Karlsson of the hometown Senators, highest scoring defenceman in the NHL, was signing autographs at the NHL Fan Fair. Isabelle and Oliver were not interested. Not when there are mascots everywhere! It was the perfect place to meet as many as they could, and while Oliver preferred to look at them from afar, Isabelle was not shy about running up and hugging each and every one. The best part was no lines to see these guys! 

Carlton the Leafs Bear, Isabelle's favourite!

The Lightning mascot checks out Stamkos' gear

Isabelle shops with Thunderbug

Belle and the Blackhawk

Yay for Winnipeg, back in the NHL!

Isabelle found someone with more energy than her!

A Hurricane meets Isabelle the Tornado

Cutie and the Coyote

Girl's best friend

Priceless pose for the princess

Hey Now, You're an All-Star

This was an awesome weekend to be a hockey fan in Ottawa. The NHL All-Star game was being played right here in the Nation's Capital and we found a few hockey lovers right here in our house that were thrilled to take in some of the festivities. Thursday night we headed down to the new-fangled Ottawa Convention Centre to the NHL Fan Fair, a collection of booths, exhibits, displays and activities that celebrated all things hockey. Plenty of famous people milling about, including media personalities, current and ex-NHL players, team mascots and even Lord Stanley's Cup was in attendance. It was a great place to spend an afternoon, especially for little kids like Oliver and Isabelle, who like to wield their hockey sticks around the house. They got the opportunity to test themselves in the skills section of the event, even had a first attempt at pickup hockey for the both of them, but mostly they just liked to walk around and see what all the fuss was about. The city certainly was full of excitement over the upcoming spectacle, a once in a lifetime opportunity to host the NHL's best. These two kids could have cared less about all that, they just wanted a place to run around and have fun. This certainly fit the bill, even though Oliver called it the "Star Wars thing" instead of the All-Stars! Well done NHL, you have locked up two little fans for the foreseeable future!

Stylish shooter

Room for improvement in the Hardest Shot competition!

Stickhandling sweeties

Habs draft pick 2027

Little boy, big dreams

CBC's PJ Stock having some fun

Pickup hockey, right before Oliver tossed his stick down and stormed off. Apparently the other kids weren't giving him the puck!

Refueling break

Commissioner Bettman and local hero Alfredsson chat it up

The Roadrunner himself, Habs legend Yvan Cournoyer

Um, do you have this in a smaller size?

Put me in, Coach!

Ready to take the ice

Future hosts of NHL on TSN, Isabelle the serious anchor and Oliver the colourful sidekick!

Happy 30th Birthday, Auntie Mer!

We are thrilled to wish our beloved Auntie Mer a super happy birthday today. It's a big milestone and we are so excited to get to wish it to her in person in Ottawa this weekend. She is in town to celebrate with old friends and to visit the four of us, all of whom are very much looking forward to her company. We all love and adore her and we know her next 30 years will be every bit as exciting as the first 30 have been. All the best of your big day, Auntie Mer, we will do our best to make your first weekend as a 30-year old an awesome one. We love you!

Enter the Dragon

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! It is the Year of the Dragon and Isabelle has been learning all about it at daycare over the past few weeks. They have made dragon masks and even wrote a play to entertain themselves. Today they had a huge treat as some Chinese dancers came to the daycare to perform for the kids, even keeping Isabelle away from school for an extra hour so she could enjoy the spectacle (she loved the treat of being allowed to be late for school!). After the dancers were done, they let the kids try out their lion costumes and Isabelle was thrilled to be the head of the lion! What an awesome way to kick off the week for her and Oliver, it will be hard to top tomorrow!

May the Force Be With You

Star Wars has invaded our neighbourhood. The Glebe Community Centre was the site of a party for all wanna-be Jedis as it hosted a fundraiser that featured Star Wars characters and a screening of the first movie. We have attended many other parties here and they were all huge hits, so we though this would be a perfect way for Isabelle, Oliver and Logan to spend a Saturday night. We were all thrilled to see so many characters in attendance but unfortunately, other than the photo opportunities the party had little else to offer these three in terms of entertainment. We knew the screening would last way too long for any of their tired bones so we toured the room, took some pictures and headed home for the night. It was cool to see some of these costumes up close, and Isabelle of course dressed the part, as always! She will be any kind of princess you ask her to be! Not to worry on the party disappointment, there is another one coming that we know will be amazing, the Enchanted Ball is coming in 2 weeks! Try to keep Isabelle away from that one!

Darth and his minions pose away

Isabelle meets the imperial guard

So fellow nerds, what are you doing after this?

A pair of princesses

Great Skate!

You could not wipe the smile off Oliver's face. Both he and his big sister asked Santa for skates and skating lessons and the time had finally come for their first time out on the ice. Getting suited up in the dressing room Oliver had his skates laced up, his Habs jersey on and his helmet and cage on his head. He was grinning from ear to ear, saying "I'm a hockey player!" over and over again. Not so fast, little one, and he would soon find out that you don't go from mini-sticks in the basement to the NHL All-Star Game overnight. He and his Mom shuffled around the ice as Oliver discovered that skating was not such a simple task, but even still he was as happy as can be. Isabelle, who hasn't been on skates in almost a year, didn't have the benefit of a parental aide and fell numerous times. She was a real trooper though, determined to get up over and over again and by the end of the class, although surely sore from all the falling, she had made tremendous progress. Both of them retired to the dressing room with rosy cheeks and big smiles. They were so proud to have laced them up and hit the ice, and equally thrilled to have had Gran and Grandpa there to see their debut. We expect rapid improvement in the coming weeks, hopefully enough that when the canal eventually opens, they will be ready to test out their newfound skills. So far, Santa, your gift is a huge hit!

Isabelle, who at first could barely stand, raised her hand when the teacher asked who knew how to stop?!

Balancing Belle

Helping hand from Mommy

Pay attention, Isabelle, you're doing great!

Getting the hang of it

Oh what a happy boy!