A Few More Halloween Shots

A very sticky face.

Enjoying the bounty.

Paul on a sugar-high.

The velcro jet pack is the cutest part of this costume.

Another look at Buzz.

Pumpkin Season (Part 2)

Cinderella, Buzz Lightyear and the Queen

Let's Go Get some Candy!

Just a little bit excited!

Finn is consistent in her preference for Cinderella.

Thanks to Holly and Danny for the cute Buzz costume.


Hallowe'en 2009 was a huge success. Finn took the position months ago that she wanted to be Cinderella and didn't change her mind. Paul had a cute Buzz Lightyear costume that Holly and Danny lent us. Alex was official photographer and manned the candy fort at home.

Paul learned to walk a couple of weeks ago. He quickly figured out that Halloween was about candy. He would walk right into any home, walk to the candy bowl and grab whatever looked good to him.

I taught Finn to say "Trick or Treat, smell my feet, all the way to Findlay Creek". However, when anyone answered the door we'd be lucky to hear a tiny "Trick or Treat". This year Finn was able to wait politely for the candy and even whispered Thank-you.

We trick or treated with Georgia (Princess) Cameron (Knight) and Abby (Unicorn). After Georgia faded we joined up with some bigger kids Andrew (Dinosaur), Emma (scary witch) and some of the other kids from the old neighbourhood. Finn and Paul were tireless. Paul spent the entire night eating candy non-stop in the stroller. If I didn't open the packages... he'd just eat the paper along with the candy. I didn't get any photos out trick or treating because I was busy trying to keep track of the kids. I was the only pregnant pink princess out trick or treating this year.

Pumpkin Season Pics (Part 1)

Here is a selection of photos from over the past month or so. I'll get some Halloween pics up over the weekend. Enjoy!

Catch Up Post - Camping and Paul's Birthday

A rare photo of Finn and Paul - this one is in Cinderella's pumpkin.

Finn and Lauren B.

Riding the Merry-Go-Round

Paul David channelling David Earl Smith.

Campground bathtub.

Paul and Sarah getting dirty.

Posing in the nude out front of Clearwater.

Splits in the doorway at Clearwater

Birthday Loot for Paul

A Very Happy Birthday Boy!

OK... it's been three months. I guess when the weather got nice, the blogging went by the wayside. Here are some assorted pics from Paul's 1st Birthday and our recent trip to Old Forge.

Tulip Festival

Dr. Jekyll

Miss Hyde!!!

Georgia and Finn

Georgia, Cameron, Paul and Finn (It's hard to get a group shot when Finn won't sit still!)

Best Buddies

Finn didn't let go of the rope for the whole ride! They wouldn't share a fire engine, they both wanted to drive!

On the Merry-Go-Round

First Ferris Wheel ride!!!

Lights out!

It's been a month since my last post. I've been really busy planning an event called the Pram Push for IVF Funding. The Pram Push went ahead on Mother's Day and was a huge success. I'll make my next post about that. For now, I'll just post some photos of the kids at Major's Hill Park. Yesterday was a beautiful warm and sunny day. The kids all had a blast riding the merry go round and the ferris wheel. The highlight was probably the gigantic blue popsicle. I didn't get a photo of the mess that made.

Assorted Photos and Four Generations

Paulie rocking the swing.

Too cool for school.

Paul looking pretty in Finn's old sleeper... do some laundry ma!!!

Paul and his great-grandmother. (But looking like his grandfather - Dave)

Four generations of the Knight/Stanford family.

Bye-Bye Soo Soo, Hello Blue

> The soo-soos that Finn sent to Steve.

A Letter from Steve

A Special Blue surprise

Some clues in the hallway

A Clue on the Door

Finn with Blue - Happy and soo-soo free at last!

Here is the story: She was a confirmed addict. The minute I picked her up from the babysitter she was begging for her fix. She'd scour the house to find her drug of choice and she'd rejoice when she found her hit. I'm not talking about heroin or meth... but I may as well be. I'm talking about her soo-soo.

The only things that she craves nearly as much as soo-soo are the TV Shows Toopy and Binou and Blue's Clues. I had recently purchased a gently used Blue doll... so I decided to enlist Steve from Blue's Clues to help us out.

Alex and I told Finn that she could write a letter to Steve and send him all her soo-soos. He would give them to children who didn't have any... and he would send her a Blue doll as a present. She decided on her own that this was something she was ready to do. She cried a little bit as she put them in the envelope, sealed it up and took it out to the mailbox. A few minutes later we checked again. The mailman had already come by and taken the envelope!!!

Everything was OK until bedtime. When it came time to turn out the lights... she cried. She also bargained and begged. Finally, sleep came. When she woke up in the morning... there was a paw print outside her door. She was so excited!!!! I suggested that she follow the trail of paw prints. She practically hopped from one to the next. When she opened the front door she found a box with a letter from Steve. The letter said: Thank-you for sending me your soo-soos. I have given them to some babies who didn't have any. In return I've sent you a "Blue" doll. I hope you like it. Love, Steve and Blue". She liked the doll... but was definitely more excited by the paw prints. She spent the next hour finding "clues" and writing them in her "notebook".

I'm sure tonight she'll cry for her soo. But at least we can say... I'm sorry but you sent them to Steve and he gave them to the babies. She seems to understand that. I hope it is easier for her because it was her own decision.

Sugar Shack

Jill, Georgia and Finn on the Hayride

Kim and Pauly Walnuts on the hayride.

Sunbathers -Paul and Cameron

Two very muddy girls. Georgia and Finleigh

Finn's boot in the driveway when we returned home.

Kerri and Finn on top... Jill and Georgia climbing up.

Kerri and Finn in the maze.

It started out so promising. It was a sunny but chilly morning. The kids were co-operating and we were all ready to pile into the car at 9 for our planned outing to Proulx Sugarbush. We had a short detour to pick up our friend Kim who was coming along to help with the kids and to enjoy some maple treats. We arrived at our destination and I unloaded the strollers and started to get the kids into their winter clothes. That is when we realized we were missing a boot. Finn always kicks off her boots in the car. But when I tried to find them under her seat to put them back on... one was missing. I searched high and low... no boot. She'd obviously kicked it off before we'd got in the car. Oh crap!

There was no way to continue on our outing without a boot. The farm was as muddy as a farm could be. I checked with Jill, who had just arrived at the farm with Georgia and Cameron. No spare footwear.

So I handed Paul and the stroller off to Kim and Jill. Finn and I had to head back to Orleans to find some boots to purchase. Of course, kids rubber boots can be found anywhere... unless you are desparate to find a pair. After 3 other stops... I found some at Loblaws. Of course, they didn't have Finn's size... so I bought socks and some slightly too big boots. Naturally, I was rather frustrated. Our onboard GPS was chirping at me to turn around... "you are going the wrong way!". I made a small comment to Finn about wanted to throttle her. She wasn't sure what I meant by that. She managed to cheer me up during this whole ordeal by being so chatty and cute. She kept asking me... "we are going back to buy me some boots?" and "I lost my boot... eh?"

Finally, back that farm with new boots... we managed to salvage a great time. There were slides, a petting zoo, maple taffy, and sugar shack and lots and lots of mud. I've posted a few pics from our day. We didn't get home until 3. We were all muddy, tired and sunburned. The girls had a blast and the boys got some fresh air. I wasn't too surprised to find Finn's boot sitting upright, in the middle of our driveway, like a beacon welcoming us home.

As for memories of my Dad. He was a huge fan of maple products. I mostly recall maple walnut ice cream and fudge. I'm sure he'd have loved to have watched Finn running and jumping in the mud puddles... generally enjoying the outdoors.