Lately

We totally love our new baby! Thanks for the sentiment from cousins Cait and Shannon.

Siobhan unpacks hand-me-downs from Cait and Shannon. Thanks for all the girly-girl stuff. We'll have to find lots of parties to wear the dresses to:)

Last weekend in Mont Tremblay.

Papa takes a snoozer with Siob.

Rocket guards the nap room. Noone messes around with Rock on guard.

Thank you for all your help Grandma She!

Upon hearing that Cara may be labouring, Grandma She boarded the next available flight --with yarn colours appropriate for either boy or girl.

Here Siobhan models her largest of the many fashions that Grandma created during her (working) holiday in Gatineau. Siob intends to grow into the pink and blue in a matter of days. Grandma cleaned up the deck...

Celebrated a birthday...

Took Siob to her first museum visit...

and countless other acts of love. Thanks for taking care of us Grandma. Without you, we would have been sunk.

Siobhan Updated Photos

More to come...just time for two photos now. :)

More on the Name

Siobhan:

Prounounced - Shaw-Von

Origin - Gaelic

Meaning - (see below) and God is Gracious

Siobhan Maire Berenice Patterson

Well, it was a long road, but we did come up with a name for our little girl.

Siobhan Maire Berenice Patterson

The name is pretty, but it also means a lot:

Siobhan is the female/Gaelic form of John. John is Siobhan's maternal grandfather's name. John passed away in December and we speak of him dearly and often. A day with John was a better day for everyone. He was a teacher on many fronts, generous, a good story teller and an avid golfer. John was quick with a smile and even quicker with a kind word and while Siobhan just barely missed meeting John in person, we will translate life experiences to her so she can invetibly enrich the world with the kindness and goodness that Grandpa John has.

Maire is the Gaelic version of Mary. It is a nice sounding name, is more Gaelic and it is a middle name Siobhan will share with her Momma, Aunty Peg and cousin Kiernan.

Berenice is the name of Siobhan's great-grandmother Berenice Patterson. Berenice left us far too early, but in her time she lived through the depression, raised a family with a husband in the merchant marine and also dealt with a younger, more rebellious version of Siobhan's grandpa Pat! In addition, Berenice had a dry sense of humour, and a warm, generous heart. All were welcome at her house, in her heart and in her mind. If Linus and Siobhan can adopt her generosity we will be very proud.

Yea Trivia

March 16th will forever be a huge day in our house. For the rest of the world, it is already famous for:

- In 1995 the forward looking state of Mississippi ratified the 13th amendment. Only 130 years late!
- In 1952, 73 inches of rain fell on Reunion - at least you don't have to shovel it.
- In 1815, Prince Willem takes the throne of Holland, leading to almost two hundred years of bright orange soccer jerseys.
- In 1621, Samoset visited the pilgrims at Plymouth Colony. He said "Welcome Englishmen, my name is Samoset". He maybe should have gone with "Get out of here" but that is another post for another day.
- In 597BC the Babylonians captured Jerusalem, thus settling the question of who owns Jerusalem for all time.

Finally....Pictures

It took two days, but finally there are pictures available (not stuck on the camera at the hospital) and are posted.
Unlike pictures, a name has not arrived yet. If you remember last time, we are actually a little ahead of schedule on the naming project as of right now!
Here are the pics:

Welcome Aboard

Linus has himself a baby sister! She was born today at 5:36pm, 7 pounds 6 ounces. We don't yet have names and any pictures are on the camera that is still at the hospital.

Linus and dad have come home to let Rocket out and to meet up with Grandma Sheila who will be joining us tonight.

It was a long, but incredible day. Thanks to all for your good wishes and good thoughts over the pregnancy.

A big thank you to Shannon who baby sat on short notice for us. You are great!

Update

Linus takes the back path to play. Rocket has created a nice trailway through the yard for us...
Not that we use the paths. Linus tends to turn around before too long in search for a warm play space.

Linus shows off the prints on his hands. Each print symbolizes a successful trip to the potty. What makes today extra special?

It was accident-free!

To celebrate-Linus got to pick dinner, which is Life cereal and a cup of milk:) Cheers.

Other cute tidbits? Linus grabbed the W and the M magnets off the fridge...making them both W's and cheering for Bucky.

The Record Breaker of 2008?

Davie keeps a smile as he keeps the coast clear for a possible quick getaway to l'hopital. Not that you can tell here...but he is midway through the driveway.

Winterlude '08

A glimpse of Bal de Neige... Linus' favorite ice sculpture was (hands down) the polar bear: "Le Os"

Mama had to take the year off ice slides but Papa was more than happy to take his turn.

So was Linus..."Encore Weeeeeeeee."

Grandpa

Grandpa John is in our hearts every day, adding light to our dark days, adding inpiration to our long days and adding humour to our intense days. We miss his presence yet share our memories through pictures and stories...for which Linus and Bebe Dos will see and hear plenty.

Mid-December Trip

A nap was justified after the long flight home.

'Mon camion' was quickly found at YOW.

Never a dull moment on the tarmac.

Linus plays with his birthday plane.

One photo shoot before the candles are blown out. Happy 2 little bear.

Linus is in good company for his birthday, sharing it with: Ian, Kiernan, Nathan, Shea, Brendan, Caitlyn and Shannon.

Better late than never

It has been a while, but here are some pictures from our trip to Madison in September. More to come....

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Linus wanted to wish Grandpa a happy birthday, and one great way to do this, was to wear a brandmark that Grandpa thinks very highly of!

Happy Birthday Grandpa - can't wait to see you again.

Gross Negligence

Mom and Dad have been grossly negligent lately and they are starting to hear about it (rightly) from the grandparents. So, in order to try and fix this oversight, we are posting once more. Likely, the grandparents were not complaining about the lack of pithy comments, but more the lack of pictures. Therefore, here they are:



A Return trip to Parc Omega:

Linus models a shirt, straight from Kabul (courtesy Aunt Bev):

More pics are coming......

Mon Frere, Ma Soeur

Linus is excited. One, that he has a baby brother or sister on the way, coming in March (hopefully in time to celebrate Hanami) and two, that his parents have started to communicate in medium of "cake". Both of these developments make us all very happy!

Of note, Rocket is acting funny again (in a good, protective and concerned way). Just like last time. He is a good dog.

Bonjour Québec

This past weekend, we made our first family trip to visit Quebec City. The city is the oldest in North America and next year will celebrate its 400th anniversary. Apart from the history, there were also hotel beds and really fun rides at the amusement park. Let's hit the pictures for more:

Our accommodations were great, and as usual, Linus posed to present a picture of the bed, graced with his presence.

Linus was looking at a statue of Franklin Roosevelt here. About 5 feet is another bust, this of Winston Churchill. The two statues commerate the Quebec Confernece, or QUANDRANT as it was called at the time. In the kind of strange nationalism you might find in Quebec, the third attendee at the conference, Canada's Mackenzie King, is not in the statue at all. (Even weirder, about a block from there is a status of Ghandi - great guy, not really a big influencer on Quebec though).

While history is cool and all, amusement parks are cooler. Linus visited Les Galeries de la Capitale (or Capital Mall) where they had a pretty cool amusement park inside. Linus' obsession with ballons paid off with a trip on a ride that is comprised entirely of ballons. Yeah.

Linus and Momma went on the carousel ride, with horses and fancy benches to sit on.

Linus hit a huge milestone with his first solo amusement park ride. He was tall enough for the turtle ride with about a 1/2 inch to spare and thus got to hop on. His serious looking demeanor left some doubt if was enjoying himself. The tears when we took him off the turtle clear that doubt up right away, so it was back on for another go-round!

Here, Linus and Dad show off the great view at the top of the Québec Citadel. Mostly for Dad, it is a chance to take a break after climbing the big hill. Had Dad been a British soldier, the history of Canada might have been very different.

Dad and Linus relax at the top of yet another hill. This one at the fountain in front of the Quebec National Assembly.

This is one of the narrow, old streets in the old city of Quebec. It was very pretty and picturesque. Linus enjoyed the hustle and bustle as well as the smells from all the street cafés along the way.