We have a great sleeper...seriously!

One out of three is not bad. We have one of the best sleepers on this side of the street! Miss Eliza Lou has mastered the art of sleeping at a young age so much so that Steve and I have signed up for lessons from the great one. Naps still happen, but not in the way you would imagine; often enough in the afternoons Eliza grabs her blanket, finds the ratty old 'star' that is sewed onto one of the corners, sticks her thumb in her mouth and lies on the floor, curls up in a chair, or finds some other cozy spot. If we go about our business of general eb and flow we often check in on her within 5 -10 minutes to find her asleep. Here are some pics we just had to take while she was in silent slumber.


Eliza asleep in Molly's bouncy chair.


.....in the office chair (neck gets stiff just looking at her).....



......with Uncle Pat at Christmas; notice Chloe is pretending to sleep and Pat seems to share the same gene as Eliza!

They've changed since the last entry...especially Molly!!!

Oh how I wish that I could maintain this blog better than this!! It has been so long that I even forgot what 'blog' website I was registered with. As the old saying goes...better late than never!

Our girls have changed, grown up a bit. Some wiser (Chloe), some sillier (Eliza), and some managed to grow a lot-o hair (Molly). Here are the three stouges hamming it up for the camera!

Chris M., this one's for you.....

So we were home this summer and our good friend Chris MacDonald hinted to us that we need to update the blog! It seems to be one of those websites he checks out on a regualr basis. Sadly he is often disappointed with its upkeep or should I say lack of upkeep. So Chris, this one's for you!!!

We welcome the newest addition (well not so knew) to our family.....Molly Evangeline MacDonald. She was bron June 3rd, 2oo7 weighing in at 7 lbs 9 oz. She's a supper star and I think we'll keep her!

Here are a few photos of the first few months of her life.

And finally, our family of five....

What is it with umbrellas?

I don't know about other children but our two girls love umbrellas. They love to carry them closed, carry them open, and swing them around. We actually try to hide the umbrellas because they cause so much upset when spotted in the back of the closet. If we do bring them out inevitably they get bent, pulled, and twisted in ways that they shouldn't be! When a day finally came to use them we quickly got Chloe and Eliza outside so they could have room to explore. The lighting was great and Steve took some great pics. Here are a few to share.

2 weeks away and the boy will play

In February I took the girls to Nova Scotia for two weeks while Steve had the house to himself. He managed to treat himself to a trip to Amsterdam (somewhat work related) for a few days. He enjoyed his time there and visited with Graham Eisenhauer, a mutual friend from Lunenburg, who is working in Holland for the next year. While there Steve took in the sites and marvelled at the little things that make life different from what we know it to be. As you probably already know the Dutch are big fans of cycling as an everyday mode of transportation. Steve passed by this contraption that looked as if it accommodated an adult and three kids (seat on the handle bars, seat on the back wheel, and a separate bike for the oldest child).

Must consider this as an option when baby number three is old enough to wear a helmet! Oh yeah, Steve also mentioned that bike helmets are nowhere to be found in Amsterdam!

Luckily Steve was thinking of his girls while away and brought back each a pair of clogs to add to their dress-up box. It took them the better part of a morning to master walking in them as they were a bit slippery on the hardwood floor. They've been a hit ever since.

Finally, to cap off Steve's bachelor vacation he moved his motorbike into the living room for the (early) spring tune-up and hosted a boys night which consisted of beer, BBQ'ed ribs, and gaming. By all reports everyone had a great time.

Are some of us just innately tidy?

This seems like a very odd picture to post, but it needs to be documented. One day while cleaning up after supper Eliza decided to explore the plastic bag/wrap drawer. She emptied most of its contents on the floor and explored the 'ins and outs' of these somewhat disposable carriers. Steve and I were busy cleaning the dishes and each of us was prepared to guide Eliza through the steps of putting the bags away after she was done playing.

We should have know better. Ever since we can remember Eliza has always keep her things tidy. Books gets put away, doors closed, toys returned to the toy box, etc. Before we had realized it Eliza had returned all the plastic bags to the drawer and closed it shut without us having to mention a thing. Chloe on the other hand....we'll she's very different from her sister!

That which we call a box, by any other name, would still be as fun.....

Our neighbors down the road were the gleeful recipients of a new washer and dryer this winter. Luckily we were the equally gleeful recipients of the boxes that those appliances came in. For most of the winter our living room was occupied by a large 'playhouse'. The interior was designed by Chloe and Eliza, while the outside was constructed/altered by our in-house architect, Steve!

Steve cut two head sized 'port-holes' in the ceiling to give Chloe and Eliza a skylight, but luckily they also served as air vents for we have come to learn that a family of four inside a box for 45 minutes generates enough heat to help alleviate global warming.

I love this one of Chloe inside the box. She looks like Gandolf in Frodo's cottage " The ring...where's the ring!!!" For those who may be interested in the particulars of this lovely 3 bedroom 'box' house it comes complete with a fireplace that you can sit IN, a pet mouse that eats crumbs, a peak-a-boo window on the east wall, separate staircases leading up to each bedroom, and a replication of Michelangelo's famous work 'The iconic image of the Hand of God giving life to Adam' on the ceiling. House hunters...don't pass this gem up!

Even Uncle Evan dropped by for a spot of tea....obviously seen here taking full advantage of the porthole/air vent.

And of course Eliza got as much enjoyment out of this box as anyone!

Jellicle Cats

We all know kids go through certain phases. Most often these phases come and go and aren't always worth mentioning because, no doubt when you do,the phase will have ended and you're child will be onto something new. Well, for about 3 months now Chloe has been uber interested in Cats. Notice I did not write cats, but CATS. Cats, the musical has been playing at our house non stop. Steve and I are in a bit of a tight spot, although we are very glad her infatuation isn't with 'Barney the Singing Dinosaur' we are a bit tired of hearing "Jellicle cats" played over and over again on our music system.

And don't think this infatuation stops with the music alone. Chloe has persuaded me to paint her face on a number of occasions like the cats in the musical. Which cat she would like to be depends on what part she would like to play in her on-going dance reproduction. Below I've posted some of my handy work. Notice the first two pics were early in my face painting career. I was unaware of the proper shading techniques required to replicate the face of a feline. The last pic is some of my better work, however one must always remember when viewing these pieces that the model rarely remains still during a sitting which would throw any serious painter off balance.

Christmas 2006

We were lucky enough to have the company of Evan and Cathy this year for Christmas. It was great to see them although I'm not sure the sentiment is returned seeing that we sent them on their way with a few cold viruses. The girls enjoyed the excitement of knowing that there was a cat in the house (Cathy and Evan's 'Stu') even though he hid in the basement for most of their waking hours!!

On Christmas Eve we went to Aunt Barb and Uncle Al's house for a MacDonald family gathering. Prior to doing so we meet up with Laura, Steve's cousin, and her family at Barb and Al's church for a twist on Christmas Eve mass. All the children attending were ushered into a room where they could choose to be a character in the Nativity Scene. Chloe chose to be an angel. All in there were about 20 angels, 15 wise men, 4 Mary's, 5 Joseph's, 10 cows, 6 donkeys, 10 sheep, 7 stars, and 8 gifts. Chloe enjoyed it and Eliza busied herself with the hymn books in front of our seats!

Christmas morning was full of excitement, the best part being when Chloe noticed the empty plate and glass she left for Santa! Once Eliza found the yogurt covered raisins at the top of her stocking little mattered.


Breakfast was SWEEEET with cinnamon buns and fresh fruit....just preparing our palates for the chocolate that was too come when we cracked open the stocking loot (Quality Street, Whoppers, Tobelerone...you know what I'm talking about).

The rare and endangered butt naked ladybug....

While doing some field work for my latest research proposal I came across one of the northern hemispheres most rare and endangered insects, the Butt Naked Ladybug. Luckily this amazing creature gave me a small glimpse into its daily activities. I quickly noted that this specimen revelled in its nakedness as if flaunting it in front of the other insects, it was not shy to say the least. I did however notice the large girth around the mid section causing me to speculate that this particular Butt Naked Ladybug might be entering the late stages of pregnancy. There must be a least 20 million Butt Naked Ladybug fetuses in there if not more! I guess that other possibility is this poor insect suffers from the late stages of alcoholism. I will continue to monitor the situation and let you know as interesting events unfold.

Professor Kelly

The Red Dress

Many of you have found out that my Mom has kept much memorabilia from my childhood.....first pair of shoes, brownie uniform, swiming towel with badges, dolls, etc...etc...etc... She also kept many clothes that were either made by a relative or considered to be well made. One outfit in particular has stood the test of time and we have managed to squeeze both Eliza and Chloe into its seams....the red dress. I only wish I had a digital copy of a picture of myself in this dress and the blog entry would be complete!!!