Look what we found under the tree. Lexy had her Santa suit on for Christmas morning and was without a doubt the prettiest present under the tree this year. Christmas was celebrated at Tracy's again this year and the kids were very happy for the bounty that they received. The highlight was when Tracy found her engagement ring at the bottom of her stocking. If you click on the coloured words that follow you will see some more images of Christmas along with a view of Tracy getting her ring and Frank's new bookkeeper with her new laptop. http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5150247489595491186

Dinner at Cupelli's

For the last few years we have been fortunate to be invited to spend Christmas Eve dinner with Frank's parents Luigi and Carmella. It is a rare treat to experience a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner with pasta and salt cod, lobster, stew, and desserts galore. After the dinner, the kids get to open presents from the Cupellis. You can see more of these pictures at the following link http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5147744056237867730

The Christmas Concert

Each year Aiden's school puts on a Christmas Concert. Aiden's group with their angelic voices went first. Their teacher Mr. Linderman is pretty good on the guitar and music is a big part of this school's curriculum. To see more of the concert, just click on this coloured link http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5144059240585871906

Who is Minding Who?

Lexy was being minded by Frank ... no wait a minute, Frank is sleeping so I guess Lexy is minding Frank while the rest of the family was decorating the Christmas tree.

The Charmer

Lexy giggles and laughes and makes the whole world laugh with her.

Quinten in the Playroom

Quinten plays constantly with the Thomas the Train sets. Even when he is playing with other toys, there is usually at least one of the Thomas the Trains in his hands.

Breakfast with Santa

Each year the kids come to the Community Hall in Newcastle to have breakfast with Santa. It started with us taking Amber, and now it continues with Aiden, Quinten and Lexy. The kids really enjoyed the event because they had a kids singer of kids songs there to entertain them as well. After all, Christmas is all about fun with the kids. To see more of the Breakfast with Santa pictures click on the coloured link that follows http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5136530689197786498

Head Up !

Hello world ! Lexy was proped up on her pillow watching Quinten play with his Thomas the Train set. She would watch intently as he assembled his train and brought it up slowly to her. I have 11 more pictures that I added to the album and you can see them by clicking on the coloured words -> http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5134376651429692530

Jumping Into the Leaves

Aiden wanted to help me rake the leaves on the front lawn. Help did I say? Lets say that he was soon raking them into a pile that he could jump into.

Brothers in Arms

The boys are quite anxious to hold Lexy. Theya re quite gentle. Aiden has even carried Lexy across the room for his mom (with a lot of adult supervision). He likes being the big brother helping out. Quinten, well he just likes to be the happy guy - always laughing.

Lexy With Terry

Terry was in town today picking up his pickup truck. While waiting, he did some preliminary yoga exercises with Lexy who seemed to be quite interested in the fine art - but for now she is still working on the basics like working her smile muscles.

A Handsome Couple

Wenda and Allan attended a wedding on the 27th. We were all dooded up for the occasion so it was a good excuse to take our pictures together. This weekend we went for a drive to Port Perry, a hertiage town that has interesting shops and a vibrant street scene. Normally it is quite cold this time of year but this year, the mild weather is holding on a bit longer so it is great to get out and about.

Electric Eyeballs in Hand

Quinten and Aiden prepare to leave for their Halloween prowl of the neighbourhood. They both had electric eyeball flashlights and reflective loot bags. Of course mom and dad took them around in the two seater wagon for an hour and a half. They each came back with a bag and a half of treats. Needless to say that most of those will be put away for later in the year. Kids had a great time for sure.

I'm Not Happy !

Lexy it seems is happiest in her mother's arms and not even Nana can calm the storm sometimes. Lexy came over for a short visit and Aiden stayed today for the afternoon to work around the yard with Nana and Papa. We got a fair bit done outside. The weather is cool one day and mild the next. It just seems like we go quickly from summer to winter here. To see the happier face of Lexy click on this coloured text link http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5126544127505949138

A Night Out

It was a rare evening out this Saturday night as we attended a wedding. We had a lovely dinner and a great evening of enjoyment. A good enough reason to get all dressed up and party.

Wenda's Pics

Wenda is the photographer now while Allan is away teaching. Lexy is of course a very willing subject. She is changing so much day by day that we need lots of photos to record the changes. Aiden is playing lots of soccer on Saturday mornings now. He is in with kids his age and older - kids that played in leagues all summer so the level of play is a bit more challenging. Quinten is picking up new words each day. Click on this coloured text link to see more pics of the kids http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5125849893287190066

Lexy in Syracuse New York

Lexy woke up refreshed in our room in Syracuse New York. With the Canadian dollar now worth more than the US dollar, we could not resist a shopping trip to the USA. We wanted to avoid the mass crowd of Toronto and its region heading to the Niagara USA border so we went around the Eastern end of Lake Ontario - a four hour drive. We found far less traffic, and beautiful scenery along the drive though it was a bit farther. The deals were fantastic with most stores having sales of 50% off. I do not have much in the way of pictures because I was driving pretty much most of the daylight hours.

Going To The Fair

Aiden and Quinten were all keen on going to the kiddy rides that were set up for the Fall Fair tomorrow. They had a great time on the trucks, fire engines, pirate castle and water squirting game. Quinten loved the live band singing Croche and Buffet songs. Before it was over the boys had stuffed animal prizes, beads and a great time dancing with the band. To see more pictures of the boys at the Fall Fair, click on this link http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5117999816853173458

Little Miss Muffet

Lexy was so cute we just had to grab one of those pics that parents like to show off to boyfriends 16 years later. Wenda put a coat on backwards and we adjusted the colour to BW. Today, the midway rides have set up behind our house so we are taking the kids out on the kiddy rides. Tomorrow is the big Fall Fest in town.

Bike Rider

We brought Aiden's bike to our place so we can store it indoors for him for the winter. With the weather so nice, he has been anxious to ride it on our paved driveway. He's wearing the shirt that he made to welcome his new sister home "I'm the biggest brother".

Current View of Lexy

This picture was taken just today. Lexy's changing so much in the last month. Her mom, and the grandmoms are flittering all about her fixin up the girly girl bedroom like she was a princess. She now has a hand stencilled grape vine about her room, and little fairy appliques all over the walls. She has her second set of curtains up already .... she's a princess for sure. You can see more pics of the kids by clicking on this blue link http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5115806931105887106

THREE AMIGOS

Each of the children is changing day by day. We have noticed a growth spirt in Aiden as his pants are shrinking and he is hungry a lot. Quinten continues to work on his communication skills as he picks up more sign language, and Lexy, well her face is changing day by day and she is about to outgrow her first sleepers. For a slideshow of more recent family pics, click on the blue link http://picasaweb.google.com/allan.kirby/2007Pics/photo#s5110844073347337330

AIN'T SHE CUTE ! ! !

Lexy was eyes open today and fully cooperating for her first photo shoot. Even though she could not strut the runway she was all smiles for us.

TRUCK DRIVERS

We took the boys to the Orono Fair on Friday. Allan had organized the school parade, and Wenda was one of the judges in the Talent Contest. Afterward, we met up with Tracy and took the boys to the fair for a few hours. Aiden did not like the animals in the petting zoo, but we could not get Quinten out of the animal cage. He just loves animals and was the last kid in the the animal pen. They liked the slow kiddie rides and cotton candy.

Mother and Daughter

Tracy was a little slow on her feet today and spent lots of time resting with her daughter in the baby's room today. It was a busy house today as one more moved into the house and especially the hearts of this home.