Nathaniel (and Carter) On Global News

Nathaniel and Carter were glimpsed in a "Vital Signs" installment on Global News tonight, which featured their music group at Surrey Place Centre (and new friend Maggie). If your browser supports it, you can view it here.

The Boys' First Christmas Photo!

Preparing To Meet The Kringles

Apparently, some parents of our generation wrestle with the whole notion of Santa Claus, fearing that the propagation of the Xmas myth is a great lie that will forever traumatize Junior. Well, even if I really believed such nonsense, it'd be just about impossible to keep the boys shielded from it, considering the Christmas decorations get wheeled out seconds after the last bag of Halloween candy flies off the shelves. so why resist the inevitable? We can deal with the fallout later--right now, why not have fun with it?

Turns out this was the perfect weekend to introduce the boys to another all-important Yuletide ritual (having glimpsed the Toronto Santa Claus Parade from a comfortable distance--well, as comfortable as several thousand people crammed onto Dundas Street can get)--albeit one a bit more up-close-and-personal--as Santa and Mrs. Claus kicked the season into gear with an appearance at The Pembroke Mall--on a Sunday, no less!

Of course, the nice thing about small towns is that the lineups aren't nearly as long as they are for just about anything back home (if this were The Eaton Centre, Lidia and I would be taking shifts!). The boys were in great spirits and before long, the moment had arrived...

Boys And Their Toys!

While we packed a few of the boys' favorites toys--namely, the "O" Balls, the electric guitar, the drum kit, Doofy Dog, and Twisty Tiger--a pile of presents awaited the dynamic duo, perhaps intended as a "warm up" to their upcoming first birthday and Xmas!

A basketball net, barnyard buddies, a school bus, a mechanical dog, and a musical-walker-thingie were added to their ever-growing inventory, although the instruction booklets were arguably the bigger hits!

An Adoring Crowd Awaits!

We arrived in Pembroke a little past dinner time--considering the early detour to lunch, constant downpour, and advancing nightfall, this was one of our faster trips home. Carter and Nathaniel were in snooze mode but were pleasantly awakened to find not only Grandma and Grandpa anxiously awaiting, but also Nanny and aunt Wendy, who decided to come up at the last minute! The more the merrier!





The boys warmed up to their spacious vacation home within seconds and were soon showing off their advanced crawling/standing/general mayhem skills to the delight of everyone. Nathaniel esp. surprised everyone with his newfound chattiness.


After dinner, much-needed baths rounded out the compressed evening, ushering in a weekend that would only get more exciting with the boys' introduction to a certain northern denizen...

37/7/41...

After a series of too-busy weekends and with the snowbelt closing in on the city like a tightening fist, now seemed to be the right time for one last escape before the big chill cocoons us for another long winter. So, once again leaving the cats in the capable care of Donald from VIP Housesitters, we embarked on another sojourn to the Ottawa Valley. Leaving on a weekday spared us most of the usual traffic perils, and all-in-all it was a pretty smooth, predictable ride, save for an earlier-than-expected detour to Belleville for lunch instead of our usual halfway hub Tweed.

Carter and Nathaniel had a good time at A&W--dining off the menu, naturally--while mom and dad wolfed down greasy grub and waited for the downpour to stop (it didn't). The chain's new "twin" sirloin burgers looked mighty tempting but would have to wait until we're through those parts again--the boys will be sporting some teeth by then...

The Boys' First Christmas Parade

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Prison Break!

"Turbines To Speed, Atomic Batteries To Power..."