two brothers

(one with exceptionally muddy pants)

why joe had fun

There was one (1) puddle in all of Bronte Creek Park. And Joe found it. While taking a picture of Henry I heard Joe yell from behind me, "mud puddle!!" And that was the end of that.

henry's birthday

1. He genuinely appreciated the cards.

2. And presents.

3. And loved the birthday calls.

4. Henry, Joe, and I had a fun play at Bronte Creek Park. Joe especially. (I'll show you why later...)

5. And then there were naps (not pictured).

6. Then we picked up Daddy from work and went to a restaurant. Henry ate like a champ.

7. And back home for cake. Henry wasn't so into that.

8. Family parties to come... we're not done celebrating our one and only Henry (or "Gary" as Joseph has started to call him).

time flies

And now Mr. Henry is one.

Happy Birthday, dear boy. We love you so much and are so blessed to see your smiley, happy face everyday, to comfort those tears when they come, to watch you explore and learn and grow, and to laugh, laugh, laugh with you. How did we get to be so lucky? Hmm... couldn't say. But we are. Thank God for that.

on birthday eve

He's on the move. And very loud.

happy birthday charlotte!

Sorry about all that spit on your cake.

while we're listing Henry's accomplishments...

(ie. walking), let's also take a look at his teeth. Our boys are slow in popping up teeth so there aren't many to look at. Two bottom ones - very obvious. But look up to the top. There's one, peeking out. Is it one of his two front teeth? No - it's the one next to that... his lateral incisor. So he's getting his teeth in a goofy way. He has goofy teeth.

And when I say "goofy" I actually mean Goofy.

Meanwhile, Joe is getting his first two-year molar. And he's almost three. So we're behind. Hopefully this is not a reflection of life in general.

butterflying

Today was the Bronte Fall Fair so we went down to play in the bouncy castles and pet goats. What we didn't expect (and, I'm sure, the organizers didn't plan for) was that today the monarchs were migrating through Oakville. Wowza. Beautiful.

Yes, butterflies are beautiful. But so are my people. Joe is very happy to slide and - did I mention - Henry is very happy to walk. Yes, that's right. Walk. Now that he's almost ONE, he wants to walk. And point at goats.

bedtime at our house

Looks like this. I love feetie jammies.

jonah is two

So we went to his party, ate very red cupcakes, wore hats, and stayed too long playing with his Thomas megablocks (and somebody threw a fit when we had to leave... David).

and now that the shower is over...

... I can show you what I made for Lisel.

Ta da! It's a quilt. And I sewed it. And I'm uber happy with it. Mom helped me with the binding (and by "helped" I mean, "did most of it") but the rest was made by my sewing machine and me. Thanks, Rita*.

* sewing machine.

celebrating Lisel

Hurray for Lisel!

(or as the rest of the world knows her, Lise)

who is my dear friend but, more importantly, is having a baby. We feted her (she's French... I like to throw in a word here and there that she'll understand) on Saturday with a shower for her and her little girl. We can't wait to meet Lisel and Phil's babe but, in the meantime, we occupied ourselves by throwing a party.

Now come on, Baby. Be safe. Be healthy. But come here soon.

boys in their rooms

Hello. It's been a while. We're busy setting up shop and, I realized yesterday, I need to start cleaning this house. I've been so preoccupied with unpacking boxes and putting things away that I forgot about maintenance. So that's what we're doing.

Here's a peek at the boys' rooms. Joe's is pretty much identical to our old house, but stretched out. And Henry is enjoying a world of blue.

things that go

more pictures of hannah and james

so Ali can know what we we're up to...

We took Hannah and James out to Niagara Wine Country for a bike tour... we didn't know Hannah hadn't ridden a bike since she was 12. But - what do you know - riding a bike is just like riding a bike. You don't forget. It was a great day - rainy but great. (The picture with James and his screwed-up face... he's thinking about Klaus. Ahhh... inside jokes. We love that we can have inside jokes.)

And then the next day we went hiking. James discovered new land (thumbs up) and Joe tried to do everything that Hannah and James did (he is missing them A LOT).

And then we said good-bye (rather, had "farewell procedures").

Scheduling our next visit for 2014? Every three years? Can't wait.

wilderness day

Today Hannah and James are off exploring the sights of TO, but yesterday they enjoyed the Canadian wilderness. See?

We are having the most wonderful time with them and are so happy to have them in our new home. This is really a good time to have guests... David and I have been so busy with moving and unpacking and trying to make a home out of this house that we hadn't given ourselves a chance to just enjoy this space. But with Hannah and James here, we have sat and talked and ate and laughed and just lived. And it is awesome. We really like it here. And, more importantly, we really like them. Thanks, Van Schies, for including us in your travels and in your lives.

p.s. dear Ali and Lasky - what time do you arrive?

fun with moving boxes

(pardon my out-of-tuneness)

out with the old, in with the new

So it's been a week... last Wednesday, we packed up all this stuff...

(and there was so much more - inside the house, so very much more)

and moved it to our new house. We're still setting up - did I mention we had a lot of boxes? - and, once we do, I'll post a tour. In the meantime, here's a room the boys are loving.

we' moved!

We're here! At our new house! And I'll have pictures to post and stories to tell once our computer is set up. And once our New Zealand friends have come and gone (picking them up at the airport tomorrow... hurrah hurrah!)!

But, for now, just a note to say we're here and playing frisbee in the backyard and loving it.