Endless Love

February 14th is a very special day to all of us, a day for the family to recognize each other and everyone else we love. Isabelle was so thrilled that she bounced out of bed, got dressed in her famous Kaya Eve dress and headed off to school to distribute her little tokens of love to her valentines. Oliver was also excited, partially to pass out valentines, but also because he knows the next event will be his birthday. We loaded the car with the many valentines and dropped off the happy kids at daycare and school, anxious to hear how well their day went. Hours later at pickup they were filled with stories and eager to share their bags of valentines. Oliver made his Mom a beautiful heart-shaped soap, immediately urging her to use it in the bath tonight. Isabelle raked in many valentines, painstakingly going through them and changing her mind on her favourite over and over again. From there we went for a nice dinner at the Marchelino and headed home for more gifts!

Valentine's?! It seems more like Christmas! Isabelle has a new Florida outfit and Oliver a new LIghtning McQueen to replace the one that he misplaced. They also received many gifts and valentines from thoughtful friends and family. Thank you all so much for thinking of them and making their February 14th special.

Bring on New Smyrna Beach!

Only the master shoppers in this family could find Lightning McQueen Valentine's pyjamas

Isabelle curls up with her new kittykat, all the way from Edmonton and Auntie Lena and Uncle Andrew. She already named him Sparkle.  She hasn't let it out of her sight since.

After bed it was time for Mommy and Daddy's valentine gifts. Dad has a wicked new photo print of one of his favourite Ottawa spots, the Bank Street bridge, while Mom is set up for one of Ottawa's biggest nights in 2012, joining Aunties Shelley and Renee at the Madonna concert this Fall! Needless to say, four happy valentines went to bed with smiles on their faces, not just with great gifts but also knowing that the love in this house is not in short supply.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

The Warbling Webslinger

Oliver has discovered Spider-Man at school, or at least his theme song. The whole way home from school he was singing all about Spider-Man, so clearly one of his classmates (likely culprits: Jack or Michael) must have taught him the words to the iconic tune. Not that he has ever seen the show or read the comic books, but for now he simply knows what Spidey looks like and he knows his song. It is the cutest thing ever to see him sing it, see for yourself:



In case you need an interpreter for the lyrics, here is the original:

Prepped and Ready

Things have been very busy around here as we are all working hard to be ready for a busy week of Valentine's Day and Oliver's big day. First up is the annual festival of love, which has involved tremendous preparation as both daycare and school are now in the mix. Isabelle has 33 classmates/daycare friends plus 6 teachers to bestow with valentine's this year. Poor girl was getting writer's cramp from slaving way at the kitchen table inscribing them all. She was very good about it, we think especially because she knew her work would be returned in kind on the 14th, with many valentines coming back to her. She was also chosen to bring the sharing snack to school on Valentine's Day (also the 100th day of school celebration), so she chose to bring mini cupcakes, and we don't expect to see any of those come back as leftovers!

Isabelle, hard at work!

Oliver's job was a bit easier than his sister this year, the last year he can get away without having to sign his name or some reasonable facsimile. All he had to do was choose which kid got which type of valentines, and there were a lot to choose from! Toy Story, Cars, Star Wars, Princesses and tattoos made it tough to decide who would get what. Oliver chose wisely and then went on his merry way to play with his cars while Isabelle kept working away. 

Oliver's class is done, complete with Cars juice boxes!

Each kid received a juice box in a bag with some Hershey's kisses and their valentine card. The tags read "A Squeeze and a Kiss from Isabelle & Oliver". It was nice to put these together for the kids and we know the only person who worked harder than Isabelle to make it happen was her Mom, who also created some unique pencil-themed valentines for the teachers that said "You're Write for Me!". All in all, a lot of work but hopefully big smiles to come across many faces that will make it all worth it. No time to rest, though, Oliver's big weekend awaits!

The fruits of many hours of labour

The Enchanted Ball

In what has become a long-awaited annual event, our local community centre held their Enchanted Ball this past Sunday, a spirited even that never fails to disappoint. Packed wall-to-wall with girls in princess dresses, plus a few boys (including Oliver, who will likely enjoy this type of ratio many years down the road), the big room was transformed into a ballroom fit for royalty. Games, treats, craft stations and more were on hand to make for a fun afternoon for everyone. Isabelle and Oliver loved moving from game to game to collect stickers and cash them in for a prize at the end of the party. The event included a not-so-impromptu fashion show, a group game that allowed for Isabelle to dance to her heart's content while Oliver just zoomed everywhere, and then a final Rapunzel dance number that excited Isabelle and confused Oliver. The stage was clearly the desired place for all attendees, so it was fitting that the party ended with Kailena and her teachers on the floor while the guests of honour packed their way onto the stage for the final dance. Despite being a bit under the weather, Isabelle had a blast and Oliver, unwilling to shed his new Buzz toque and mitts, also enjoyed himself immensely. Without question, we will be back again next year. Fun times for all!

Princess Belle knocks 'em down

Helping Rapunzel escape her tower

Waiting for the fashion show..."One of these things is not like the others..."

To the runway, boys and girls!

The MC had many adoring fans

Even little dudes want to be stars!

Buzz, lost in all the princesses....

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

One year ago we were thrilled to report the arrival of Carys and Peter's little brother. We have been lucky enough to see him several times over the past year and we can't believe how much he has grown between each visit. Even from his christening until 6 weeks later at Xmas we noticed a huge difference. He is a truly happy little guy, content to follow in the footsteps of his older siblings and always with a smile on his face. He is lucky to be in such a warm and loving family with great parents in Jessica and Chris. We wish you all the best on your big day, little guy, and we can't wait to see you again. Year One was a great one and Year Two will be even better! Happy Birthday!

Super Sunday

One of Daddy's favourite days of the year has come and gone. Super Bowl Sunday lived up to all expectations in a great game at a fun party organized at Uncle Phil's house. The only unfortunate occurrence was that little Isabelle, who so enjoys parties and being the centre of attention, had to bow out of attneding due to her ear infection and associated illness. She was forced to decide which of the Sunday activities she wanted to partake in and, like most little girls her age, she opted for the Enchanted Ball at the communcity centre. Nonetheless, she was there in spirit and, to the delight of all party attendees, Mommy whipped up her 3rd annual version of the perfect Super Bowl treat, chocolate strawberry footballs! Dad may have collected the kudos at the party but he gave all the credit to the master chocolatier at home enjoying Madonna at halftime with two snoozing kids. Only 8 more months until football season again!

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!