Welcome, Winnipeggers!

On the eve of one of the biggest days of the year in Ottawa, we welcomed Grandmaman and Grandpapa to town, right in the middle of their cross-Canada, six-grandchild odyssey. This trip already took them to Mississauga for Dillon's graduation and to see Jordan back in town after year one at Queen's, soon it will take them out east to PEI for a week on the ocean with the usually land-locked Texans Michael and Matthew. We were happy to have them join us for several days and to experience not only the pandemonium of Ottawa on Canada Day, but the similar whirlwind of activity that comes with two kids under the age of 6. A real change of pace from the grown-up grandkids in Toronto! It promises to be a fun week of activity, especially since within the first hour Oliver had Grandmaman assisting him with a floor puzzle, while Isabelle had Grandpapa helping Rapunzel keep her hair tangle-free. We have hot weather and busy times ahead, hope you are ready to expend lots of energy!

Help me, Grandmaman!

Caught in the act (of being a dedicated grandfather!)

One Year of Elliot!

Our friends Sean and Allison from Toronto are celebrating their little guy's first birthday today! Congratulations to Elliot on a fabulous first year, we can't wait to see you this summer. We hope you had an inaugural birthday that lived up to expectations. Your Mom and Dad have done a fabulous job, first renovating their house into a beautiful home for you to grow up, then in raising your future partner in crime Kobe, and then in welcoming you into the world. We love you and we look forward to many years of visiting as we all travel back and forth on the 401 to see each other. Year two promises to be just as much fun as the first! Happy Birthday, Elliot!

Jack and Oliver: A Command Performance

By popular demand, Jack and Oliver were back again with Miss Joanne's "Barefoot Choir". They belted out some great tunes, but saved the best for last, as Jack took centre stage to lead the Spider-Man song, with accompaniment by our favourite backup singer ever, Oliver! This is truly priceless.



The nose knows

Always joined at the hip

Digging deep to hit the big notes!

Sing It, Sister!

Not to be outdone or outperformed by her understudy brother, Isabelle also took to the stage in her own year-end concert with her classmates, guided by Miss Shannon. Once again, the group tacked some Beatles classic tunes, to the delight of everyone in the audience, as we actually knew the words! It was nice to see everyone singing their hearts after months of hard work with their dedicated music teacher. Now that many of these kids (including Isabelle and Oliver) are taking piano lessons at the daycare as well, they are able to see how music gets created and turned into a song, it's not as easy as it looks! Now that the summer has arrived, the camps will begin and the kids will have to take a break from Miss Shannon, Miss Corianne and Miss Lisa until the fall, but they will get a chance to learn many new things, including a drama camp where Isabelle and her friends will create and perform their own play! Isabelle is also very excited about her dance camp with Kailena and everyone is excited about other big summer activities, like the family picnic and the cottage in Halifax. The heat has been on here lately, in fact sweltering, but we much prefer it to being bundled up! Bring on summer!

With her beloved friend Mimi

Singing sweetheart

Hello Hello!

Oliver the Entertainer?

In January, Oliver had his first concert at Acorn. By all accounts, it was not a scintillating performance. He clung to Miss Jen for most of it, then ran to his Mom and Dad in the audience, unwilling to even attempt singing the songs he had learned and practiced every week for the past several months.

This week we settled into our seats for his summer concert with Miss Shannon expecting him to come in, see us and bolt straight into his Mommy's arms. Surprisingly, he waved hi and just settled into his spot between best buds Jack and Michael to wait for the music to start. That wasn't the last of the surprises.

When the songs started, our little Oliver was a dynamo, full of passion and belting out each songs with tremendous gusto. Mommy and Daddy were just floored not only by his enthusiasm, but that it was so unexpected! Not just us but all the parents were in stitches at him and Jack singing at the top of ttheir lungs. It was a priceless moment, one we will never forget. It's impossible to describe the joy you feel watching your little one do something like this, it warms your heart like nothing else and makes you feel so lucky just to be a parent and share in their accomplishments. Amazing.

See for yourself with The Cat Came Back. Don't hold back, buddy!



And he gets even more into "I Need a Home for my Dinosaur". Hilarious!



Check out these clowns singing their hearts out. We could not stop laughing and smiling the entire performance, it was unbelievable. Way to go, Oliver, no one who watches this would call you a shy guy anymore!

Graduation Day!

How much prouder can we be than to celebrate little Isabelle's graduation from Senior Kindergarten! She has progressed so well over the past year, it is truly amazing. From knowing very few French words or phrases to being able to carry on a conversation with her teacher, it is a treat to see her development. Her report card was exemplary, we are so proud of her achievements. It seems like just yesterday she was headed over on her first walkover from daycare with many of her friends, not knowing what to expect when she got to her destination. Now, after over 200 of those walkovers (and a few direct dropoffs on those hard-to-get-going morning), she is an old pro and sad to say goodbye to some of her friends for the summer. We were lucky in that she had an amazing teacher in Madame Logan, a Haligonian who has the perfect mix of patience, enthusiasm and control to deal with such a crazy bunch. Isabelle adored her and performed admirably under her watch. It was unreal to watch her get her diploma, thinking in our head that this isn't Isabelle, this is just our little girl, she isn't old enought to be graduating SK, is she? How do we slow her down from growing up? In just two months, she will turn another page and venture into full day Grade 1, no longer the youngest in school. Will she take on the challenge like a champ? We have no doubt she will. For now, congratulations on a great first year!

Patiently awaiting her turn to be called

Backstage having her sharing snack with Mommy

Bravo, Isabelle! You are such a great little girl!

Park Playdate!

Oliver and Isabelle's soccer seasons are winding down with one just one more week left. This week we able to coordinate not only soccer but also a final playdate with Logan and Kayla before they ship out the East coast for a bit of a summer vacation. They met us at Oliver's soccer park, a great place with play structures and a splash pad that do everything then can to entice 3-year olds away from actually playing soccer! It was great tio see them and to see the 4 kids having a great time together, an occurence that will only repeat itself again and again as Kayla fully enters the fray. For now, she is happy to watch the big kids zoom around, but she is on the move herself as of late, so look out! Isabelle and Oliver also had some friends from daycare there so there was no shortage of fun to be had. We wished our friends all the best on their big trip out East, it will be so weird not to have them here for Canada Day. We'll just have to pick the tradition up where we left off next year on July 1! For now, we continue to just enjoy the hot summer weather, with no end in sight!

See Grandpa, I totally rock the monkeybars now!



Goofballs R Us!

This morning we woke up to a cabaret show right in our family room, starring Isabelle and her understudy, little Oliver. We have no idea how to even describe what they were up to. Apparently, Isabelle dug deep into her dress-up box and concocted quite the little costume for her Broadway debut. The good news is that she made no attempt to leave our home wearing this outfit, which if she ever tried to do in her teen years would result in an extended grounding period! She could see that we were getting a good laugh at her antics, so she poured on the theatrics and was having a blast dancing and singing her little heart out. Oliver the Frog was doing his best to keep up but it's hard to get a share of the spotlight with Isabelle on stage. They ended up both sharing the limelight and we all shared a big laugh, until we got up to Isabelle's room to see what a disaster she left in her costume-designing wake. It was a great way to start a busy weekend, some time to chill out and laugh together as a family. These kids are truly fun each and every day, to watch their imaginations run wild is such a treat. Keep dreaming, little ones, maybe next time with different (and more!) clothes on!

Yeah, Oliver, we wonder what's wrong with her too.

It's not easy being green

She's a card, this one!

Froggie fly-by

Dance of the Seven Veils, Isabelle-style!

Fun Fair Follies

As the school year winds down, the final weeks are full of festivities, with the most anticipated being the school-wide celebration known as the Fun Fair. From SK to Grade 6, there are activities for all ages. The younger girls are all over the spa table, where they can get their faces painted, their nails done and streaks put in their hair. The older boys are zipping around the playground with water pistols and sending each other splashing into the dunk tank. Everyone else is happy to play the carnival and sports games, enjoy a yummy BBQ meal and gear up for some cotton candy dessert. Oliver needed very little convincing to tag along with his big sister for this event, especially once it was explained that mini golf and hockey were two of the stations. It has been a great year at school for Isabelle. She loves her teacher Madame Logan and she has made many friends both in class and on the walkover from daycare. Although she is excited for summer camps, she is a little bit sad to be saying goodbye to her daily routine. Needless to say, she was quite the social butterfly at the Fun Fair, with friends there from her class, her daycare, her soccer, her dance class. We can't go anywhere in this neighbourhood without her running into someone she knows! It will only get busier in her social calendar in future years, of that we can be certain. We are already looking forward to next year's Fun Fair, no better way to cap off a year of hard work!

Breaking for dinner. Need napkins, anyone?

Oliver tees off!

Isabelle and her pal Brynn having a blast!

They Did it For Dad!

In a tradition started last year, the family once again woke up early on Father's Day to venture across the canal and compete in the annual Do It for Dad 2k running race, an event that helps support prostate cancer research efforts but also provides a venue for these kids and their parents to have some fun and exercise too! All decked in their gear and fancy running shoes (Isabelle snagged a new pair the day before!), Oliver and Isabelle took off like a shot and were having an awesome run before they actually realized how far 2k was! A few short breaks here and there and calls for water were required, but they both stuck with it, especially Isabelle, who ran way ahead with her Mom and zoomed her way across the finish. Oliver, who is much more proficient at sprinting than endurance, finished his race by alternating blazing bursts of speed with the occasional walk break. Both of them received many cheers as crowds love to see little ones giving their best efforts and having fun. It was a great start to a beautiful Sunday and an awesome Father's Day that included Dad's favourite dinner and some wonderful gifts that will help him with his own running efforts and also some clothes to keep him sharp-looking at work! Happy Father's Day not only to our amazing Dads but to all the Dads out there. Parenting for both Moms and Dads is both a demanding and rewarding job, but the rewards dwarf the demands by a huge margin. Now go hug your kids!

Early morning walk to the start line

Mommy and Oliver take to the streets

Oliver in full flight

Race to the Finish Line!

Proud Papa of two sweeties (and speedsters)

Saturday Morning Sleep-In

The best part of the weekend is having nowhere to go or nothing to do first thing in the morning. These two people definitely agree!

Celebrating Menna

We were so proud to be invited to celebrate the presentation of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee award to our family friend, the fabulous Menna. She works tirelessly year-round to help with all manner of charitable endeavours, it was fabulous to see her  recognized for her efforts. She attended a very posh ceremony in the afternoon at Rideau Hall, the home of the Governor-General, then we all congregated at Rhiannon and Matt's house to raise our glasses in her honour. As expected, Menna was very modest about her grand achievement but we were thrilled to hear about all the excitement she went through at the ceremony, apparently thanks to the alphabetization process, she got to go first! We are proud to be such great friends with her and her family, they have always been there for us and treat Oliver and Isabelle royally. Congratulations, Menna, it's a tremendous accomplishment and it couldn't be bestowed on a better person. Hooray, Menna!

Snacking sweetie

Of course she is! She picked Menna for her award!

Proud daughter of the award recipient

Bejeweled cupcakes for the occasion

Never met one he didn't like

Speech! Speech!

What a tremendous honour! Bravo Menna!

Dinner Outdoors? Finally!

Deck construction is finally underway. After years of suffering with a basically useless backyward, it was finally time to look at how to make it both fun and functional. Thanks to some design tips from Grandpa, we got started and it is developing rapidly, with some positive preliminary results. The upper level is pretty much complete, or at least enough so that we could both barbeque and eat outside tonight. It seems like it's been years since we've had the chance to do that! It was somewhat makeshift with no patio furniture yet to be extracted from the garage, but it was awesome nonetheless. We are super excited for the rest of it to get completed so we can really celebrate summertime in style. Hopefully this will be the place to be for years to come, so stay tuned to see the finished products in just a few short. For now, these goofballs are just happy to breathe some fresh air during dinner!

Neighbour Nora!

We got to meet the last of many babies that have arrived over the past couple of weeks as our neighbours emerged from the craziness of post-birth life to enjoy some time on their deck. We were introduced to little Nora, in fact Isabelle was lucky enough to hold the tiny little one in her arms. Such precious cargo and Isabelle was thrilled to see her up close, as she has been asking for the past week! Such a crazy street with so many kids, we hope our neighbours across the street are ready for a busy and (noisy) decade ahead!

What Rain? Party On!

The daycare excitement continued into the weekend as the annual Park Party was staged, right in Oliver's beloved soccer park. Last year we were invited guests to this event, as we were just about to start there, but this year we got to go as card-carrying actual daycare attendees! The idea was to get all the families together to have a blast and take advantage of the play structures and the splash pad. Mother Nature had other plans. It rained all morning but it didn't deter the spirits of these partygoers, especially Miss Joanne and her staff and their tireless devotion to putting on a grand event. They are all such wonderful people.

Although the attendance was somewhat less than originally expected, all activities went as planned, including face painting, which Isabelle and Oliver enjoyed immensely. Oliver the Lion was holding court all over this park, even getting Miss Joey to chase him back and forth across the park. The rain eventually slowed enough that we could enjoy a conversation with other parents and have some of the delicious BBQ lunch. All the proceeds from the food sales and the raffle contest when to charity, just one more reason why we love this place. Isabelle capped off the event by winning a beautiful black forest cake, she was so proud to tell her friends of her big prize! That's 2 years straight now that this event has been plagued by rain, let's hope next year we are all rewarded with some sunny skies so we can really rip it up!

Oliver patiently waits for his visage

Rain rain, go away!

Jack and Oliver, what a duo

Practicing their mean faces

Checking out Isabelle's grand prize!