Thank you to Pardeep Singh...

This past September, Roger got to second shoot for a pretty great photographer friend of his. His name is Pardeep Singh and his work can be seen here. Pardeep is a wonderful wedding photographer with a great eye and fantastic sense of composition. For obvious reasons he's booked solid year round. It was an honour working with him. Here are a few shots from Zareen and Gurpreet's wedding that Roger managed to capture.

Happy Birthday Malcolm!

Malcolm turned four on November 5th. First he had a party at school with all of his daycare friends and teachers. Roger and Tracey made Happy Face cake pops to mark the occasion. Their cake pop technique is starting to get more streamlined and efficient. This was their third attempt; everyone always seems to enjoy the yummy little cake morsels. After school, Malcolm had a pizza party with the family and some close friends. Meena and Jayden were even in town from Toronto so they stopped by for a visit. Malcolm was spoiled with lots of new toys; everyone was very generous. Some of the new additions to his toy box include a Playdoh Dentist kit, an indoor trampoline, a recycling truck, a firetruck, a Chuggington train track with a loop de loop and a talking Toy Story Woody Figure. Lots of fun!  Malcolm is very lucky to have so many people in his life who care about him.
The rest of the weekend was quiet, but the weather on Sunday was beautiful so the family took a quick drive to Stanley Park for a walk and a visit to the playground.  Next time, they better take me!

In three short weeks, it's Miss Melody's first birthday. Where does the time go?

Happy Halloween Everyone!

The weather was quite tremendous this year, sunny and clear to take in the trick or treat festivities. Like last year we were able to double Halloween with Malcolm's birthday party. It was quite a small affair with only a few of his little friends on the guest list. A good time was had by all, it's definitely fun for everyone to see all the kids dressed up. This year Malcolm dressed up as an astronaut and Melody metamorphosed into a cute little butterfly. Oh, and to follow Bakerella's lead Roger and Tracey managed to make some pretty cool looking Jack-o-lantern cake pops. Malcolm's family birthday party is slated for later this week on his actual birthday. Here are some pictures from the event.

Aloha from the family.

Whoa! A week without the family was sure something. Luckily cousin Carol and Papa took good care of me while they were gone. From the sounds of things, everyone had a great time. The weather was warm and sunny, the kids did great on the flights, the accommodations were fabulous and the beaches were stunning. I even heard Roger and Tracey say that the vacation exceeded their expectations. Melody was a superstar traveler; she loved the beach (she even loved to eat the sand) and after a little warming up she even loved the water. And she ate everything in sight- she even tried to take a bite out of Malcolm a couple of times. Malcolm was a true beach boy- he couldn't get enough of playing in the sand- he spent several hours at the beach everyday and never got tired of it. The family was also lucky enough to be able to spend some time at Aaden's fancy pool and and even witnessed Aaden walking on his own (Yay, Aaden!). The trip also included some yummy meals including a visit to the mouth watering "Cheesecake Factory". Sounds like Tracey will be up for a trip to Washington State to sample some more delicious desserts one of these days. Roger got to eat at "Todai" and it's fair to say that Melody lived up to her reputation of being an eating machine.
All in all, the trip was a huge success and Malcolm is already asking when they can go back. I'm keeping my paws crossed that the next vacation will be a dog inclusive road trip!

Pumpkin Patch 2010

After much debate about the weather, the family headed to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday for their annual romp through the muddy fields in search of the perfect (and for Roger's sake, not too heavy) orange gourd. It was opening day, but the crowds were light as probably the rain and wind warnings kept them away. Malcolm had fun and especially enjoyed the musical entertainment. After three years, Roger and Tracey have the pumpkin patch figured out- rubber boots,spare shoes and plastic bags are a must even if it's not raining. Today we shift gears to Thanksgiving dinner with Uncle Glen and family. It's always a treat when they come to visit. And then it will be time to pack for Hawaii- I hear that trip is less than a week away. I don't get to go, but at least Grandma and Papa take good care of me. I hope Roger will take tons of pictures in Hawaii...lucky ducks!

Autumn has arrived...

The human members of my family had a chance to do an Autumn photo shoot the other day. Melody loved the leaves and tried to snack on a few. There really isn't anything that she won't eat! Here are some photos from the shoot. Malcolm wasn't very interested in having his picture taken, but Roger managed to get a couple of smiles out of him. Melody and Aaden got along very well and played together for a long time. Such a great picture of Chad, Wendy and Aaden. Hopefully, next time the family will do another shoot with me too.

So proud of Malcolm.

Malcolm had his second official visit to the dentist yesterday and he couldn't have been a better patient. He did all that he was asked, did not fuss or cry and was simply amazing. He let the hygienist clean, brush and floss his teeth. We're all so very proud of him. Here's a picture Roger took to document the occasion. He made us all so proud. Maybe a bit counter-productive, but he got to have ice cream after his visit.

Roger takes a picture of Malcolm everyday when he drops him off at daycare. Here's a picture of Malcolm taken the other day next to his favourite teacher, Miss Pam. All the teachers have been so kind. We're all very thankful to all the staff there.

Our little girl turns 10 months old today.

This day marks a milestone in your young little life

We're so glad you haven't given us much cause for such strife

It's hard to imagine you were so little

In fact, you've grown quite big not at all brittle

10 months old, wow it's gone by so fast

You laugh and smile at our whole family cast

We love you dearly, indeed we do

We're so glad you're a part of this family crew

Ups and Downs...

Last week was pretty tough, the mayor of Tantrum town was visiting last week and didn't leave until late Friday night. Thankfully he managed to turn things around and we had a pretty good weekend. Malcolm has shown us that he certainly can be better about his behaviour when he wants to. As for Thursday and Friday, we'd like to soon forget. That's the thing, anything can set him off... it can be something as routine and banal as asking him to brush his teeth or asking him to put away his toys, at least that's what happened last week. Tracey and Roger have also realized that his bad behaviour peaks when he has to do #2.
Melody is still suffering from the sniffles, but has been a trooper. Even with a runny nose and some congestion, she's able to persevere. Her forward crawling has developed further, she's able to propel herself quite a ways now. She's still better at rolling, but the forward momentum is improving. Her eating habits have been great, there's simply nothing she doesn't like. She certainly likes all fruit, but lately has been enjoying proteins such as, red meat, chicken and pork.

Happy 5th Anniversary to Roger and Tracey.

Roger and Tracey managed to get out without the kids. Thanks to Grandma and Papa for watching Malcolm and Melody. R & T celebrated by having a nice dinner at the Heron Restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel in Downtown Vancouver. The rain just held off for them to enjoy a stroll around Canada Place.

With summer winding down...

This cute little butterfly flew into our living room this evening. Isn't the costume great? Tracey managed to find a great one for Melody at Old Navy, 30% off to boot. We also got a new one for Malcolm, but it's up in the air as to whether he'll wear it. Malcolm is still touch and go some days with regard to his behaviour. Luckily, he's a good boy most of the time, but I swear the kid can be super sensitive and uber moody.

As you can see Melody's teeth are still coming in. With all four teeth coming in at the same time. They are still bothering her a bit, but still she's been such a trooper through it all. Thankfully, she's still sleeping through the night.

Roger and Tracey just told me that they'll be going to Hawaii in October, hence the look on my face. They'll be taking the whole family to Honolulu basking in the hot sun. I'm sad to see them go, but I want to wish them luck taking the whole family on vacation.

Oh, special shout out to Roger's friend Barry who lent him his new Nikon D700 for the weekend. What a nice camera. I know what Roger has his sights on now (insert Tracey eye roll here).

Labour Day weekend, so long.

The last long weekend of the summer, we bid it farewell along with the good weather by the looks of things. It was quite busy overall, Roger even got to 2nd shoot for a large Indian wedding on Saturday. The rest of the weekend gave the family a chance to relax and gear up for the week ahead. Every one is doing fine, Malcolm is attending "school" (daycare) everyday now and Tracey and Roger are trying to get him to stay the full day. It's been a gradual process for sure, but Malcolm's made so much progress. He hardly cries when he's dropped off and he's even admitted that he has fun there. Here are some pictures from the weekend gone by.

Here are some pictures from Deep Cove.


Honey's delicious doughnuts, greasy but so yummy.

Here's Malcolm showing his sister some brotherly love. Don't know if you can quite see it, but Melody's already sprouted more teeth. All four top teeth have broken through now.

What a wonderful weekend.

Malcolm had a great time at the PNE this year, certainly more eventful than years past. Not only did he get to ride on all his favorite rides including the giant slide, this year he was tall enough and brave enough to ride the Kettle Creek Roller Coaster. From the expression on his face you can see that he thoroughly enjoyed himself. He's certainly growing up. Maybe in a few years the family will be able to travel to Disneyland.

I'm also happy to report that we enjoyed three full days of exemplary behaviour. The only blip was last night when Roger went out for BNO and had to come home early due to Malcolm's late night wakings. For some reason Malcolm hasn't been sleeping all that soundly. Many nights out of the week he gets up for some reason or another. Roger and Tracey thought it was mainly due to daycare anxiety, but the wakings during the weekends are somewhat of a mystery. Here are some pictures from the PNE.

9 months in comparison...

I think Malcolm was a little further ahead in terms of moving around, but Melody has sure dwarfed him with regards to weight. It's fun to watch both kids grow. For the most part they've been pretty similar with one clear exception: eating. Melody is eating regular food; implementing the Baby-Led Weaning approach has allowed her to eat everything. So far there's nothing she won't eat. Yesterday, Roger gave her fish, asparagus, pears, and watermelon for dinner. She gobbled it all up. Happy 9 Months Miss Melody.

Setup shot:


9 Month Comparison:


Malcolm @ 9 Months:
Weight: 8900g = 19.6lbs
Length: 71cm = 27.9"
Head: 45cm = 18.1"

Melody @ 9 Months:
Weight: 9661g = 21.6
Length: 28.5"
Head:18.5"

PNE, happy 100th!

On Friday the family made their way down to English Bay to watch the PNE parade. It had been 15 years since the last one. Beach Avenue was lined with people to take in the special event. There were floats, performers, and even tethered balloons. Finally, to kick off the celebration the Beach Boys and Bryan Adams performed at Empire Stadium. Tracey got to fulfil a teenage dream to watch Bryan perform live. He played all his hits including "Summer of '69". Suffice to say, he rocked the home town crowd. Here are some pictures from the parade and one from the concert. Roger and Tracey were up close, stage right.