Scottish Kids??

Here are the kids deck out in their Scottish attire. They were dressed up for a Xmas party that we attended on Saturday night.
Isla looked very cute in her tartan dress, and Keir looked very grown up in his Scottish Rugby jersey.

Ewan

Happy Birthday Jenny

It was Jenny's birthday on the 11th and above is the cake we made for her. Yes those are finger marks on the right hand side of it, Isla thought the icing was pretty tasty!

Xmas tree done

As promised here is the some pics of the final product (at least getting there...)
Keir and Isla putting the ornaments:



Keir really enjoyed decorating this year and seems to be really grasping Xmas spirit. Today we were shoveling the driveway and he said "Dad, I love you and Merry Xmas."
Here is Keir decorating well into the night...


And here is the final product:


One other picture is our Gingerbread house, decorated by Keir and I!!!

Hardie Family Xmas Tree 2008

This Sunday we went out to a tree farm to get our Xmas tree. We were a bit worried about the weather and Isla, but everything turned out OK. Just as we were leaving the wind started to pick up so I guess we timed it very well.
Here are the pics from the family outing.

We started off with a tractor ride out to the field. Then it was time to find the "Hardie Family Xmas Tree". Here is Keir with his two choices (the ones that just happened to be the closest!)


Isla was bundled up and on my back, she is peering over making sure we choose the best tree.


Here is Jenny narrowing down our choices....



Jenny has found it, it is the one over Jen's right shoulder:


Once the tree is found the cutting commences:


"Helpful Keir":


Isla smiling in the backpack:


The final few saw strokes:




We will post some pics of the final product once it is up.

That is all for now

Take care

Ewan

5 Years Old!!!!!

Happy Birthday to Keir.
Keir turned 5 years old this past sunday (16th).
We tired to keep things simple and small (with moderate success). The party started with his cousins coming over early so that Jen and I could take Keir's cousin and Keir(of course) to a movie before the party started. We went and saw Madagascar 2 (which was pretty funny... not as good as the first but funny none the less)
After that it was back to our house where guests were waiting for the Birthday boy. Pizza and cake and presents and then it was time to go home.
Here are some pics from the day.


The R2-D2 birthday cake!














Blowing out the candles











His favourite present A super deluxe lightsaber









A picture taken by the birthday boy himself











I still can't believe that Keir is 5 years old, but then again it does feel like I have known him forever :-)
That is all for now

Take care
Ewan

A new look

I should have called this post Apartment5b v1.2.1.1.3 :-) Ok so that is a bit of a geeky joke about software version but it made me laugh! You might notice a new look to the site. The picture in the header ...that is the top of the web page mum ;-)... is curtosey of our family's newest photographer...Keir. And just in case you think he is a photographer extraordinaire I have included a typical photo below...

Halloween

Ok so I am back, I "misplaced" the camera-computer download wire for our Camera. So the pictures were stuck on the camera for a while.
Here are some pictures from Halloween.... we had a visit from our Friendly Neighbourhood Spiderman...








There was also a dragon sighting in on our street that night....




Here are some more picture from Halloween...

Quarantined!!!!

Like the title says, we have been Quarantined for the last week or so. It two fridays ago when we noticed something on Keir's forehead. I jokingly said to Jen "haha that looks like chickenpoxs!" It turns out my joke was the correct diagnosis. and by then end of the weekend Keir was covered head to toe in "Chicken pops"(as Keir called them). Keir missed a whole week of school being quarantined.
It is kinda tricky to get an almost 5yr old to stop itching but it is even harder to get a 1yr old to stop itching.... that is right Isla burst out in chicken "pops" a couple of days after Keir did. Isla didn't seem to get the coverage on her body like Keir did, how ever she did manage to get a chickenpox on the inside of her eye lid. This made a whole bunch of swelling and puss!! That required at trip to a walk-in clinic for a prescription of eye drops. The eye drops have helped tremendously and the swelling has started to go down.
The quarantine is officially over and Keir should be back at school this week.
Oh yeah, guess what Keir has on tuesday? That is right School Pictures, perfect for someone who is just getting over "chicken pops" ;-)

Take care

Ewan

Messy Isla

I can't post something about Keir without talking about Isla.
This is a picture of the results of Isla "feeding" herself yohgurt.
Isla is really growing up, her hair is getting longer, she is getting more and more teeth, she is walking (fast) everywhere now and is very vocal. She seems to be really trying to talk to you when she says something.
Her favorite "word" is Itty, which she says when she is pointing at our cat Cosmo.

That is all for now

Ewan

Keir's FIrst Day of School

Well it finally happened, Keir had his first day of school. On Wednesday the 8th of September Keir started Senior Kindergarten at Manotick Public School. He only goes to school half the day, from 12:15 to 3, but he does go 5 days a week.
The first week was a staggered entrance, meaning he only went wednesday and friday but he is now going 5 days a week.
Keir is in French Immersion, it shouldn't be a nig problem for him because his old day care was all in french and he managed fine there.
He seems to really be enjoying school, they get to paint, read, and play... what is not to like ;-)
He has met some new friends so that is good. The funny thing is the boy he talks the most about is named Ewen! It is rare to find another Ewen (even if it is spelled wrong :-)

That is all for now

Ewan

Look who is walking!!!

Isla is walking and here is the video proof.
She can walk about 5-7 feet and then she needs a break.

Happy Birthaday Isla!!

Friday was Isla's 1st Birthday. After work we had a quick supper and went to the Movies on the Beach (see post). We had a Birthday party (with just family) for Isla on sunday (I haven't downloaded the pictures yet)
This was Isla's cake on Friday night:
Yummy Jam/Lemon cupcakes

Some Pics

Friday night we went to "Movies on the Beach" a promotion put on by a local radio station. They inflate a giant screen and show a movie at a local beach, and best of all it is FREE!!!
Here is the giant screen before the movie started

It was very popular, there was at least 500 people there

Keir had a blast playing in the sand and rolling down the hill, here he is caught in the act

Keir waiting for the movie

We brought some popcorn for Keir

Even Isla enjoyed the showed

Sunset and flying Isla

Eventually Isla fell asleep, I had to take her for a little walk to get away from the noise of the movie, but once she was asleep we just put her in the chariot(baby carrier)

At the Cottage

Swimming

Enjoying Smores

More Smores

Isla Practicing her Head-Stands

Messy Isla

Movie Night

Keir and I went to see the new Star Wars Movie last night!!! The Movie is called The Clone Wars and it takes place between Episode II and III. Yes I am an admitted “Star Wars Geek” and proud off it :-)
The Movie is a spin off of the Cartoon Series of the same name. It was created by the Cartoon Network, originally they had a bunch of short chapters that aired on TV and are now available as DVD.
If you are a “Star Wars Geek” you will like this movie but I suspect there will be some people that don’t like it (a couple of the characters are “interesting choices”)
Enough of the review, Keir really enjoyed himself and he didn’t even leave the theatre to go to the bathroom for the duration of the movie. Those of you with small children will know that this is no feat!

Here is another video of Isla

This is just a test of the video system.
Watch Isla dance :-)

Ewan

Paging the Hardies.... are you there Mr Hardie?

Ok, I keep saying I will post more... but this time I mean it ;-)
Things have been really busy for us with the move, summer, and two kids.
I feel like we are finally settling into the new home. we really like the neighbourhood and the yard is amazing, the house needs a little work to bring it around to our tastes but that is what the weekend and Home Depot are for! We have already done some mini projects (ripped up the old flooring in Keir's room) changed some light fixtures, so things are a changing at the house.
We haven't had much of a chance to get to the cottage this summer, but we did manage to get up there last weekend. Here are a couple of pics from the week we spent up there.

NewHouse_Backyard

NewHouse_Backyard
Originally uploaded by apartment5b

This is a picture of our new home's backyard. It is one of the main reasons we bought the house. The kids have really enjoyed playing outside and seem to be doing a lot more of that than at the old house.

Mirror_Isla

Mirror_Isla
Originally uploaded by apartment5b

"Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, who is the cutest baby of them all?"

Yelling_Isla

Yelling_Isla
Originally uploaded by apartment5b

Funny pic of Isla mid screech!

Isla_Soccer

Isla_Soccer
Originally uploaded by apartment5b

Here is what Isla does at Keir's soccer practice, she is multi tasking: playing with a cone and trying to rip her hat off.

Keir_Soccer

Keir_Soccer
Originally uploaded by apartment5b

Here is Keir "practicing" his soccer skills. I say practicing because at 4.5 yrs old they really just chase the ball (and little critters) around.