And baby makes three. I mean five.

Yes I know, I know - we still haven't posted about Max's awesome 4th birthday party. We're in the middle of upgrading the computer and transferring cameras so things are in limbo a bit. Anyway, the very least we could do is write a post to let all our readers know that...


We have a new baby!!!


On Monday, September 26th, Holly gave birth to another bouncing baby boy. Henry Eli Stardom was delivered at home at 12:25 p.m. to much fanfare and high-fiving between his parents. He weighed 8 lbs., 14 oz. and measured 20.5 inches in length. Holly will be posting a little something recapping the birth story shortly, but we did want to get some pictures out there and figured this would be the best way.

Everyone is doing really well four days in. It's crazy to be reminded of how quickly things change in the first few days. Already, the meconium is gone, Henry's belly button stump is about to fall off, and he's starting to clumsily use his arms/hands to guide my fingers into his mouth. Henry's already been out for a ride in the van, gone shopping and picked his brothers up at daycare. Soon, he will be riding in helicopters over Ottawa, right? Oh yeah, we haven't blogged about that yet either :(

Welcome to the family, Henry. We have lots of love to give you and will try our darnedest to shield you physically from your crazy brothers. Now get some sleep :)

Fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads

My birthday this year was relatively low-key as we were expecting Henry to arrive at any moment. But I was treated to a lovely birthday lunch at the Pelican Fishery and Grill with Laramie, John and our dear friend Jenn Backler from Toronto, as well as an at-home pizza dinner in the evening.

Lunch was delicious and the company was divine but the highlight was definitely this birthday surprise that arrived at the table accompanied by our senior citizen server singing "Happy Birthday" with his server colleague accompanying him on a guitar that he took down from the wall:


Yes, this is an actual fish head. The restaurant is attached to a fish market so our server went next door and put this gem together. Apparently, this is a daytime treat because the evening staff doesn't share this sense of humour. For the record, we all loved it. They said we could take it home and I briefly debated it to show Max but I just couldn't fathom what this would have looked like after a week in our green bin.

Random July tidbits

A few more July photos to share.

The boys with a Mountie at the Museum of Civilization. The Mounties were there on a public outreach visit and the boys were thrilled:


We enjoyed a lovely evening out at our friend Mel's wedding in July. Amazing food, great friends, and even some dancing. Thanks to Nana for babysitting!


Max attended his first concert at Bluesfest this year. Bluesfest in Ottawa is definitely an event and we thought it would be cool to take Max down for a few hours during the day to see the spectacle. Auntie Laramie and Uncle James met us down there. It was stinking hot with no shade so the two pregnant ladies and the preschooler didn't last too long in the blazing sun but it was still a great introduction for Max to the festival. We can definitely envision taking the boys down there in future years.

Winnipeg - Summer 2011 Extravaganza

At the end of July, we travelled as a family for an extended visit to Winnipeg. With two rarin'-to-go boys and lots of good weather, we attacked the city and came away with a lot of great adventures. Many thanks to Grandma for putting us up and sharing in the fun, to Murray, Kathy and baby Hannah for the hospitality, and to Grandpa for trekking all the way from B.C. to the prairies to join us for part of the visit! Check it out:

The Zoo
The first week in Winnipeg was a hot one. It was hot all over Canada, I think, but 38 and humid is pretty rough for Winnipeggers. The kids were total troopers and were up for outdoor activities despite the heat. Our first adventure was out to the Assiniboine Park Zoo, where the following six pictures were taken. The train is a coal-fire steam train that runs through Assiniboine Park, where the zoo is located.








The Pool
We discovered an awesome splash pad/swimming pool combo in Kildonan Park, on the north end of town. It was the perfect thing to do on a hot day. The splash pad was probably the nicest we've ever seen and the massive outdoor pool was full of families. A great setting for a dip.




The Museum
On our last visit, we discovered that the Manitoba Museum was a big hit with the kids, so we had to go back this time. Plus, we got to have an awesome outing with the boys' new cousin Hannah and their visiting Grandpa! We followed up our Museum visit with a lunch excursion to the Forks.






Family pics
It was great to have so many opportunities to hang out with Grandpa and Hannah! The boys couldn't keep their hands (or cheeks, or lips) off of their new baby cousin. Definitely a good development! The big family shot below, taken after a dinner out, was awesome to try to wrangle together.







The Fringe Festival
Well, I don't have any pictures of a play at the festival because I didn't take any in. Max went with Mom and Grandma to see a puppet show by some guy from South Africa who allegedly managed to engage Max a couple of times (Holly adds: It was actually incredible. Max was yelling out answers and totally engaged in the show. I was gobsmacked). In the meantime, Leo and I wandered around, listening to music and checking out the merch. In the second and third pictures below, Holly and the boys come into contact with Parka, the new mascot for Parks Canada's 100th birthday this year. Parka, and more specifically awkward pictures of politicians with Parka, are quite legendary around her office. In the last picture in this set, Max and Leo try their hand at devil sticks with a local juggler.





The Cottage
My awesome cousins Les and Leah just happened to be back in town over the summer, taking a break from all that teaching in Kuwait. So of course, we were going to stop at nothing to make sure we met up with them. They were spending most of their time out at their cottage north of Lac du Bonnet, MB, so we did the 75 minute drive to go visit. We were treated to wonderful meals, quality conversation, amazing travel stories, a boat trip down the river, and lots of outdoor play for the boys. They had just put this hot tub/gazebo thing up and were trying to mount a TV in order to watch some tube from the tub. Everything worked and Max was rewarded with his first ever bikini competition (seriously, it just happened to be on). A great visit. Even with my wasp sting.





My Birthday
Yep, the old man turned 35 in the Peg. We spent the morning at the amazing Saturday farmer's market in St. Norbert sampling summer's bounty and many, many treats (Filipino spring rolls, fresh kettle corn, raspberry lemonade, snap peas, etc.). Uncle Murray and Auntie Kathy hosted the evening festivities at their place and Grandma treated us all to a schnitzel feast from Gasthaus Gutenberger. There was mucho crazy hat wearing (man, did my hair look that ridiculous? Thank goodness that experiment is over) and party favour blowing. A great time was had by all.





Lower Fort Garry
North of Winnipeg, there is an old mid-1800s settlement that has been converted into a National Historic site. People dress in period clothing and pretend to not know about things like flash photography, iPods and the like. Everyone but Mom (who was already on her way back to Ottawa at this point) hopped in the car to pay The Olde Forte a visite. Here are photos of Leo and Grandma, some square dancers also visiting the fort and Max churning cream into butter. We eventually ate the butter, once it was spread on some bannock, and Max and Leo both learned how to do a military marching drill (they still sometimes break out into spontaneous marching). We had a great day in wonderful weather.





Tinkertown
On the outskirts of town stands a fifty-year-old theme park geared toward entertaining kids. I think that the sweet spot is for kids aged 3-7 so Max was almost delirious with excitement when we went. Leo also had a really good time, although he probably did better when Max accompanied him on rides. The most stunning moment of all for me was when the kids were with me on the Ferris wheel. That was a huge wheel (see picture 4 below) and they were completely unfazed. Unbelievable. The kids went all-out, running from ride to ride for 3 straight hours. Awesome.








Fort Whyte Nature Centre
This is a go-to place now for the kids. For some reason, Max loves the sod hut that they have there. I love the naps that the kids have after a stretch of running around outside :) In the summer, it seems that the Centre staff set out nets and margarine containers for kids to go dipnetting in their swamps. The swamps are crisscrossed by boardwalks, so the whole experience was pretty fun for the kids. Here are a couple of shots of the kids trolling for critters (Max actually found a snail that crawled on him for a bit before we threw it back in) and an attempt to get the kids to sit still for a family shot. Oh, Leo...




Pioneer Days in Steinbach
Steinbach is a dry, primarily German/Mennonite town maybe a half hour east of Winnipeg. Every summer, they throw a festival in their Mennonite Heritage Village to raise a glass (of water) to the old days and the old ways. This is something I used to do with my family back when I was a kid so this took me way back (25-30 years?). The food was great, the windmill impressed and the kids loved the barrel and horse rides. Another stellar day. Just a note - pic #5 is me taking a shot of some of the heritage buildings just as Leo hit the deck - look closely - and the last one is evidence that even Mennonite Heritage Villages need bouncy castles.







Closure @ Assiniboine Park
On our last full day in town, we joined all of the Winnipeg Stardoms on a trip out to the Park to see the new kids play area that just opened in May. The play area was massive and the design allowed it to fit right in to the surrounding area without being too garish (see video). The kids enjoyed their last bit of Baby Hannah time and even got to take one last run at the steam train in the park.





So I'm going to wrap with a selection of videos from Winnipeg. I hope you enjoy.