cake day # 6

seems like the boy has been 6 forever...

 i guess it has been a couple of months since his birthday.

i finally found some shots from the celebration; it is after all, primarily about the cake!

grandma killed with her cake prowess once again,

this time featuring, as requested,  the teenage mutant ninja turtles.

she staged them in a chocolate training facility.

the guests were truly awed.

 and, in true little kid style, odd.
by that, i mean they were so immature!
(there were many toilet humour and barf stories volleyed around the table.)

the girl held court and organized the games that followed.

the cake and games were followed by much goofiness outside,

and as it was still early in the season, no-one was tired of the snow yet.
  frost turned into steam, which was blown off in no time.

happy (belated) birthday, edgar.
you will always be the king of my snow hill.

go fly a kite

 



the wind was windy.

 

 

what can I say?

 

 



sometimes a little thing can seem miraculous.



 





eight ?!?!

Sunnybrook

This is the first thing i noticed when i walked into the waiting room intended for the families of surgical patients.  The tacit message; "Welcome, busy your hands, and quiet your mind."

_

Mum has just entered surgery, and i will certainly have enough time to get started on a nice little woolen toque for her...

more candles, please!

we celebrated my handsome and talented husband's birthday last week quietly,

but with cake!  candles on fire are second in importance only to the birthday cake itself...i figured everyone should have a little bit of both.  the kids decorated the mini cakes with candy and sprinkles,

although it seems david would have also enjoyed that task!

happy birthday, my darling.

little ducks

grandma did it again this year...

3D ducky cake, sent down from the north in a cooler via bus-parcel.

it impressed, and was delicious:

the children all wanted more duck.

post cake, they needed to relax and digest on the hammock with

their gummy skewers.

happy number seven, my girl!

sixandthreequarters

i am ready for birthdays and tooth-losses,

but was entirely unprepared for the

won't-fit-in-the-grocery-cart-seat-anymore milesone...

keep up the great work, my big girl.

savannah haven

 with the luxury of the ship slipping away like a dream in morning,

they doze as contentedly on the pull-out couch

at the georgian travel lodge...

and we make our way back home.

florida without disney?

of course we couldn't miss disney...

(i remember my brother and i going with our grandparents almost 30 years ago.)

we stopped in orlando, where

marg and dennis treated us to the magic kingdom.

 "it's a small world" was our first ride.  it was such a hit, we went through twice!

in fact, at the end of the day, esther maintained that it was her very favourite...

the girl heard someone joke  that "disney jail" was being stuck on that ride for 4 hours;

she was not amused.
 

it truly was adorable.

~

although the haunted house was "too scary",

peter pan's ride was "amazing", and

pirates, jungles, outer space, giftshops, and pooh corner were all well explored.

 those mice really made us feel like part of the family,



and cinderella learned a thing or two from our princess.

everyone was pretty spent by the "country bear jamboree".

 we all rambled back to the van to continue the drive to the port of fort lauderdale...

blackberries

well, i broke down today and purchased a tablet computer "for my husband".  truth is, i knew i would be hooked.  line and sinker, baby.  such a reasonable price, this one; i even voluntarily entered the big box store (we all know the one...) and approached a hunching bunch of post teen associates to enlist service...ugh.  i felt like such a maroon. 

and yet here i am, attempting a post on this new (to me) tech-gadget, and rather enjoying it.
 reel me in. 

an archive of a taste of spring...these pics are from tulip festival, may, 2007.

 a teeny tiny esther.

blooming.

let them eat cake (and cookies, and icing, and...)

edgar's 4th birthday was celebrated with days of sweetness...

on his actual birthday date, cake!

grandma's skills didn't disappoint...the request was for a star-wars-lego cake...

she managed to re-enact the battle on the snow planet,

complete with a stronghold of candy lego blocks that actually interlock!

for his 2nd 4th birthday party, it was ice your own cone-cakes, with lots of sprinkles and a candle!

then for good measure, we built a few gingerbread trees,

and decorated a few ginger-guys.



here is a closer glimpse of  rebel victory;

even though they are out-numbered,

i'm quite sure the "good guys" will win.

~

"use a fork, luke..."

socks first, then shoes.

first week of school, and the girl is adapting to early mornings by using a

tried and true organization method...

check, and....check.

milestones

the rotary club of the town of matheson is celebrating it's 50 anniversary this year.

 david's grandfather, who passed away last august at the age of 93, 

was one of the inaugural members of the matheson chapter.

  his contributions were toasted at a gala held last weekend at the

floyd s. hembruff civic centre in matheson;

"fast floyd" would have loved it.

his extended family were invited guests...

there was a string quartet, a jazz band playing big band standards, dining, 

dancing, glass clinking, speech making, and even a "comedy act"...

and not just a little magic.

lion taming

there had been nothing but a 1/2 cm trim since he was born.

  it was decided that he finally needed a haircut.

but how to have it cut?  

i certainly couldn't do it;

the simple act of washing and combing elicit fierce complaint...

and then,

will it have to be short?  

will the curls disappear?  will i cry?

he is so wiggly...

regardless, for this event to occur peacefully, 

 the more experience

the hairstylist had with kiddies, the better.

 the appointment, therefore, was made at a children's only salon.

edgar clambered into the 'car', did up his seatbelt, 

and was as quiet as a lamb the entire time.

he may look concerned, but is, in fact, glued to a massive t.v. screen of cartoons.

so, no dramatic outcome after all...

he still sports his mane, it is just a little 'zazzed up'.

(according to esther.)

whew.

introducing....

phones were ringing early in the morning of december the 1st, 2007...no answer at the studio in montreal, no answer at angela desveaux' cell number, and no answer at david's cell phone, either. it was 2:45 in the morning after all. who would even be calling?

me! labouring with the delivery of child number 2. david in montreal, in the midst of producing an album, me at our home in ottawa. at least the midwife answered her pager...

david had gotten "a feeling" to look at the phone at around 3:30 a.m., and then phones started ringing here in ottawa! he departed as soon as he could, and i really did try to wait...but our little boy was born at 6:15 a.m., with daddy still 1/2 hour away by car...i was so glad he arrived in one piece...it must have been a brutal trip, as they had wrapped up that days' studio session at 2:00 in the morning.

our lovely friend sarah slaughter had volunteered to pitch in if i needed some help, so she had been summoned from slumber around 4:00 in the morning, and was an amazing caregiver. she made the house seem cosy and welcoming, serving up tea to the midwives, answering the phonecalls from david, keeping an eye on me, and in the end, cutting the cord...

so, a 7lb, 14oz, wee boy that we have named edgar howard swain draves.

esther woke around 8:00 to find her new brother all cosy and ready for hugs and kisses.