Oh ya, and here are #2s second pictures, taken December 23 (about 5 months along, I think).
Apparently it's growing very well; even dad has been watching/feeling it move around for some time now. We've even got Katherine saying "Hi" and giving a kiss/snuggling baby.
For those of you who have yet to visit Ottawa, or just haven't come to see us yet, I thought I would post a few pics of what it actually looks like...every holiday season they have an open house and we went to check it out again this year, mainly to see the refurbished Library of Parliament. My pics didn't turn out great, so you will have to google that part!
The holiday-lit Centre Block from out front, with the Centennial Flame in the foreground.
The House of Commons (taken from as far in as you can get)
The Senate
With only 24 hours of my holiday vacation left I must acknowledge my gross negligence of this blog over the last two months or so (longer for those who don't know/care about Almost Live).
Along with my profound apologies for preferring my video games recently (NHL '09 hockey in HD is good stuff), here's a brief synopsis of what we (again, mostly Katherine) have been otherwise occupying ourselves with outside of work.
Nana Barb came for a visit back in November...good times were had by all.
We were lucky to come into some tickets for the Senator's game on Dec 6 playing host to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Katherine has been to a few games now and has a pretty good time, even after asking to go before the first intermission! I seem to be neglecting my fatherly duties as Laura has done a much better job explaining things to Katherine, who now knows they're skating and trying to put the puck in the net...
I just like this one.
Uncle Jason and Aunt Pam came out from Vancouver (where I think they actually has worse weather!) for 10 days over Christmas. Again, fun was had by all...
After bringing home a tree almost obscenely large for our room and proceeding to trim over a foot from the top and bottom, we finally got it set up and decorated all pretty-like...
Christmas morning Katherine decided she wanted to dress herself in a nice summer dress...
Her dress didn't last long, but the gift seemed to keep on coming...
Milo was just along for the ride...relaxing in the sunlight on the back of the couch...
Katherine got her own Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner...we find her particularly amusing in this clip because she's not a big fan of our canister vacuum, so you can hear her asking Mommy if she's OK and telling her not to be scared...
Another one I just like...
Laura, Katherine, and Pam making sure the turkey was looking good...
The Christmas spread...
Katherine likes to help in the kitchen, so this gift from Granny (I'm pretty sure) was a big hit.
Another of Katherine's gifts was a set of washable bathtub crayons...one of her earliest works on the tub wall was a portrait of daddy...not sure what to make of the red nose!
Milo has a really rough life.
Katherine also got a digital camera for Christmas...here are a few of the first pics...her hands are a little small to consistently reach the button, but she's gettin' there...
And finally, here's a clip of Katherine and Laura working together on some pastry we had leftover from making turkey pot pies with Christmas dinner leftovers...
I was reminiscing today about Almost Live...anyone with me? Saturday nights right before SNL...classic stuff...
It may be best known for being where Bill Nye the Science Guy got his start, buy here are a few faves of mine from YouTube...
The High-Five'n White Guys...Downtown Adventure
The High-Five'n White Guys...In Canada
The Lame List, or, What's Weak This Week
...and perhaps my favorite, Mind Your Manners, with Billy Quan...
This episode: 8-Ball of Fury
Grandma and Grandpa are in town for a couple of weeks...Katherine has adjusted nicely!
It was soon time to head to the pumpkin patch to make our selections...turns out Katherine needed some help...
We had an early snow storm the other day, enough for Katherine and Grandpa to make a new friend to play with in the back yard.
The results of our pumpkin-carving efforts...
Our little princess...
We weren't sure what Katherine was going to think about trick-or-treating, but it turns out the idea of "dressing up all pretty and canvassing neighbour's houses for candy" is one that 2-year-olds catch on to rather quickly...whoda thunk it?!
The fruits of her hard work...
Needless to say that the next week or two will be one long exercise in self-discipline...both for Katherine and Daddy!
We took a week off over Canadian Thanksgiving to go for a road trip down to the Washington, DC area where these guys live.
We split the drive down into two days, leaving the Friday afternoon of the long weekend to try and beat the border traffic, and stopping in Scranton, Pennsylvania overnight. Katherine likes hotels and having a double bed to herself.
A sample of the fine appointments awaiting us...I must admit the experience was enhanced...
The kids had no trouble catching up, although Katherine needed to adjust slightly to sharing a little more, but it was no biggie...
A shot of the three of us just inside the Baltimore Aquarium.
Luckily this guy (or girl?) was lurking on the other side of the glass...
...and here were are awaiting the dolphin show...
I also discovered, after we had already made our plans to make the trip, that the Canucks were in Washington at the same time we were...fitting occasion for Katherine's first NHL game...
It was also pretty cool to check out Alexander Overchkin et al. and also just to check out a game in a US market. The atmosphere was much more boisterous than many of the Sens games I have been to in recent years, which I think says something....at least about the relatively conservative city of Ottawa.
Anyway, as you will see, the weather was absolutely beautiful the entire time we were there...between 25 and 30 degrees. Katherine enjoyed running around the "mall" area downtown that most of the sights are dotted around.
The Capitol Building was among the more impressive sights...
Stop for lunch to get fed and watered...
The Washington Monument was, in my opinion, not one of the more impressive, but we didn't go up it...
...makes for a few good pictures, though...
The Lincoln Memorial was among the more impressive sights, in my opinion...
...the World War II Memorial was the other...
We had to stop for a treat on the way back to the car...Katherine was a great little traveller...
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