Drinking on St. Patty's Day

Here's a video of Jacob doing shots to wash down his St Patrick's Day breakfast. A true chip off the old block.

- Molly showing a toothy grin

- Rosy-cheeked boy with a ball

- The twins with their new farm

Thinking Inside The Box

The kids seem to be back to full strength (except for some phlegminess in Molly's chest) and they've slept pretty well the past two nights, meaning that I'm getting back to full strength too. Unfortunately, their grandmother seems to have picked up the cold, so she's gone home with an unintended souvenir.

The grandparents looked after the kids for a few hours on Wednesday while I worked out on the newly rebuilt gym, went for a run on the treadmill, and did some errands around town. Upon my return, I was informed that the kids could now: stand up, kick a ball, clap their hands, and possibly juggle and run a 4 minute mile. None of these things were repeated in my view, but people don't ever lie or exaggerate about their grandchildren's exploits, do they?

I was also asked, "the kids have never been in a box?", with some incredulity. So, now they've been in a box. And their chances at a healthy, normal life have risen in accordance with this experience.

Cold and Colds

As we wait out the last throes of Old Man Winter (please, let them be the last throes), our two little ones have come down with nasty coughs and congestion. As a result there is not much sleeping going on at night, so Kate and I are kind of limping along (she was on call all weekend too). Kate's parents are here which offers some much needed respite.

Courtesy of Lisa, here's a picture of Molly warding off the advances of young Myles.

Intrepid Explorers

Here we are heading out into the snow yesterday to go visit little Nicholas and the new parents.

Not much sleep last night and now we think we know why - Molly popped a top tooth. So she now has three to Jacob's none.

Snowed In Again

Couldn't make it out for my morning coffee walk this morning as the streets and sidewalks are knee-deep. And it's March! Kate's parents were supposed to arrive today but flight was canceled so they'll come a few days later instead.

Here's a great photo of Kate and Molly, taken in the hospital while we were visiting Julia and Scott, prior to little Nicholas's arrival.


We've started watching the BBC Planet Earth series. Fantastic.
We also saw the first episode of Season Five of The Wire, and I'm a little concerned that it may be losing a little lustre. But, we'll see.

The Brother-In-Law Competition

One of the good things about my three brothers-in-law (Dan, Ben and Don) is that my weaknesses tend to be their strengths. In other words they're good at things that are practical, useful, technical and common sense. While I'm good at things that are, well, perhaps my strengths are harder to pin down.

Anyway, Ben laid claim to the title of best brother-in-law this weekend. He built and installed our new Home Entertainment PC. So now all our music, tv shows and movies are stored on a PC in our living room and can be played on the tv, which also has new, improved speakers. He also quietened our main PC, making it much more enjoyable to work on. And then he rebuilt our home gym (which I've been procrastinating about since we moved here ten months ago). Not bad for a weekend's work.

But don't worry, Don and Dan, I'm sure there's plenty of other things to do around this old house if you want a shot at getting the title back.

- Here's a shot of Ben and Jacob

- And a bonus shot of the kids enjoying each other

Another Baby Arrival

Julia and Scott had their baby boy, Nicholas, on the weekend. Kate assisted in the C-Section, just as Julia did for hers eight months ago. Everyone's healthy and Nick has more hair than our guys will at age four.

Here are some more photos from a few weekends ago at Parry Sound.

- Julia in the last throes of pregnancy - all appear enthralled with the plot twists in the classic Doggies book.

- Jacob's big smile

- Jacob and Kate enjoying a story

- Me feeding Molly

- Jacob loving his cup