O Tannenbaum

Hello all. What is new with the MacPurdy's? You may ask. Well, we journeyed far and wide ... braving the harshest of climates ... through ice, sleet, snow and Montreal traffic even. We explored the vastness of the northern Quebec arctic in search of the perfect Christmas Tree. Only after this epic journey did we realize that the perfect tree was across the street at our local tree lot. I wish we had checked there first. Oh well I'm sure Shamus' toes will recover from the extreme frost bite and I'm confident that I will regain the mobility in my left side (an injury I sustained after falling into a 40 foot ice ravine). Miraculously Stacey and Breagha seem unharmed ... although Breagha does only seem to walk in small circles to the left now. But we got a tree!!!

"Mom, this is a blue pine. It is native to the northern regions of the Canadian shield..."

Because of the extreme cold we endured ... Shamus' face is actually permanently frozen in this position.

Sadly Breagha actually chose to make this face ... It isn't a result of flash freezing.

Dad's tradition of walking the Christmas tree home still happens. I at least bought it dinner and a drink first.

"If you just tilt your head like this... and squint your eyes... you can see where the gaps in the lights are"

Shamus' first time putting ornaments on the tree. He was pretty excited. The tree seemed mildly embarrassed.

I wish Stacey would stop hanging her pantyhose out to dry all over the house.

Shamus trying to put the angel on the tree...Dad trying to put Shamus on the tree...Breagha trying to put Dad on the tree...and the tree was trying to retain a speck of dignity from having that ridiculous outfit of bright lights and shiny ribbon forced upon it. What would his outdoor friends think of him now?

O Tannenbaum

"ok... let's go get another one!"

Just some new pics....

We've been trying to get all our Christmas shopping finished but I still didn't mail my parcels. I hope they arrive on time!! The kids are great. Shamus got to see Santa Claus yesterday and got his picture taken with him. And he told Santa that he would like a dinosaur for Christmas. Now Shamus just needs to make sure that he is a good boy!!

So, we've been totally dumped on with snow the last 4 days!! We can't keep up! Shamus is really enjoying it but I don't think Breagha is too impressed. She's definitely a Montrealer!! We took them sledding to the park by our house and Shamus really enjoyed it but Breagha was a bit put out. She likes the comforts of home I think! And Shamus and Darryl had lots of fun jumping in snowbanks! Even though Darryl isn't too happy about all the shoveling his had to do! Sorry Purdy but you live in Canada!

Here are a couple of pics of Breagha "colouring" while Darryl and Shamus were enjoying the snowfall....

She likes to eat the markers. Not sure they taste that good.

Almost done my beautiful piece of art!

How did I manage that?

Just an idea of how much snow we got.

Poor Darryl digging out the cars! And Shamus just enjoying himself.

Ah, just like drinking water!!!

So, we're just trying to getting ready for the holidays and have some fun in between. Skating tonight!

The New Do

So, we finally got Shamus' hair cut! He wanted to go with Darryl so they got a cut together! And he was very serious. Didn't move the whole time. Just would glance over at Darryl every so often...to make sure he was still there!

The beginning...

Ya still there Dad?

It's getting short! We didn't want it totally buzzed off and I think she did a good job.

13 bucks later...here's the results. He looks older now. And still cute as a button!

And that's the first Haircut!!

Besides the cut, not much new here. We'll be going skating tomorrow night again. Shamus and Matteo love it. We may put Shamus in a skating class but haven't decided yet. I kind of like that we can go to the family skating and the open swim whenever we want. If we can't go/don't feel like going, then we don't. So, we'll see!

And I went on my "All Girls Shopping Trip" last weekend. It was a blast. I went with Duane's wife Cathy and 3 other girls. We had lots of fun. Started shopping at midnight (yeah, started shopping) and finished at 830am. Then we checked into our hotel, slept until 11am, checked out, and shopped until 10pm that night! I was totally tired but it was worth it. We got to a lot of stores that aren't in Canada. TJ Max was my favorite (they have beautiful purses) and I really liked Bath and Body Works. Very nice. So, good times were had but spent too much money! Damn it was fun though!!! Thanks Cathy for inviting us!

Shamus' Skating Debut!!

Sorry we're late with the skating pics but the time really does
fly. I just wanted to show a couple of pictures of Shamus at the rink. He absolutely loved skating and did much better than we thought he would do!! He walked on his own a bit so we were impressed! He loved the rink and won't stop asking when we're going again!

Testing out the ice without the rail to hold onto...I think he was smiling the whole time.

And there's Buddy Matteo. His dad, Joe was on the ice with him. Poor Joe and Darryl had very sore backs by the end of the evening!

Eat your heart out Sidney Crosby!! I'm going to be the next Great One!!

So, Shamus loved the rink. We plan to go again next week.

And he did very well at the dentist last week too. And he finally got a really haircut! So, cute.

We'll have to post those pictures next! But, of course, I'm short on time today! I'm hoping to leave for Syracuse, NY after work today. Our girls shopping trip!! But, we're getting a lot of snow today...can't believe it!!! So, I hope the trip is still on!

The New Camera...

We finally got a new camera. We've been wanting one for a while and last weekend we made the big purchase. I can't figure out how to work it but I'm getting there. Darryl's been taking lots of pictures and practicing different technics. We'll see what happens!

I thought this picture was so funny! Breagha looks like she should be in a classroom! Like the marker stains on her shirt? She doesn't stay clean for long!

Happy Breagha.

Angry Breagha. She's still very obsessed with me but it is improving. She's walking so much now so she's getting independent. Thank God!

And Happy again.

He looks guilty about something! He's a very busy boy! Lots and lots of energy!!

Shamus has his first dentist appointment tomorrow so we'll see if he's smiling then!

Last weekend

And here are a few pics from last weekend....We went out for brunch with Jolyne, Denis, Paul, and Julie. Always nice to see everyone. And then we took the scenic route home. We drove along the Lachine Canal and Lakeshore...very pretty.

Darryl calls this his "Paparazzi Picture"...He's just photo happy with the new camera...lots of pics!

Yeap. We actually got Darryl in a picture. Proof that he was with us!

Shamus on the prowl.

Darryl working his camera magic. See the reflections off the water....new camera touch. I have no idea how he did it. I still can't figure out how to take a regular picture.

And one last camera touch....Darryl figured out how to make the background blury. So, just Breagha is in focus. Pretty cool I think.

And Mr Shamus.

Just a side note - We took Shamus skating last night....more pics to come....and he loved it. He did really well too! We were surprised at how comfortable he seemed. So, of course he didn't want to come off the ice and kept asking today to go skating. We're going to try to take him pretty often but we're doing swimming too so we may have to cut something out. The kiddie schedule is getting busy. Swimming on Monday night and lessons on Saturday morning. Storytime on Friday. And now skating is on Wednesdays. And he's only 2!! Now I know why Duane and Cathy are always so busy!!