Sadhbh's first Christmas!!

Christmas 2011 was Sadhbh's first Christmas. Tadhg knows what Christmas is all about now and was humming with excitement when he left the oats and carrots out on Christmas Eve for Santa's reindeer and the milk and cookies for Santa himself. Sadhbh picked up on some of the excitement. Tadhg was the first to wake up on Christmas morning and initially forgot what day it was. After dad reminded him of the special day, Tadhg ran downstairs to see if Santa had arrived. Santa had arrived and the tree was surrounded with presents! Tadhg was dying to open his presents so dad let him pick one to open before mom and Sadhbh came down. It was the T-rex dino rider that Tadhg had asked for.

Tadhg managed to get some breakfast into him before mom and Sadhbh came down to see what all the commotion was about. Tadhg then took out all the presents and opened them including Sadhbh's, mom's and dad's as well as his own. Sadhbh was a bit overwhelmed by everything but seemed to enjoy her gifts from Santa. Tadhg had bought and wrapped special presents for mom, dad and himself all on his own so mom and dad didn't know what they were. Mom opened her present to find a beautiful glass heart container while dad opened his to discover a wooden crucifix. Mom and dad will always treasure these presents.

After getting through all of the presents and eating some breakfast, dad brought Tadhg to the local church for  Christmas mass. Afterwards, everyone got dressed up in their Christmas best for the trip to Auntie Kay's for Christmas dinner. Tadhg and Sadhbh enjoyed spending the day with their Canadian family and opening more presents. After a busy and exciting day for everyone and a special first Christmas for Sadhbh, everyone was happy to get home to bed and rest.

Tadhg and Sadhbh meet Santa!

The Welland Croatian National Home kids Christmas party was on Sunday afternoon. Tadhg and Sadhbh arrived early so mom could help out with the bake sale which was on in the moring. The bake sale was a big success and the cookies went early with queues out the door! 

After lunch the kids Christmas party started with a show by the Smudge Fundaes which got all the kids dancing and singing around the hall. At the end of the concert the tinkling of sleigh bells heralded the arrival of Santa Claus. All the kids were excited to see him and Tadhg sat open-mouthed in awe of the jolly old elf.

Tadhg hopped up to meet Santa when his name was called and was thrilled to sit on his knee and get a present and a Santa candy cane. Sadhbh was happy to sit on Santa's knee as well and was enthralled by his suit and hat! It was a great start to the festive season and nice for Tadhg and Sadhbh to finally meet Santa!

Tadhg and the leaves

Tadhg and dad had a boys day together on Sunday. Tadhg helped dad clean up the autumnal leaves in the garden. Once they had collected a decent pile Tadhg took a big run and jump. Yay!!!

Sadhbh's winter suit

The Canadian winter has started to set in and the temperatures have dropped over the last few days. Mom pulled out Sadhbh's winter suit to make sure she is nice and snug for outings. Sadhbh though it was all very funny and was very cute in her pink suit.

Tadhg and Sadhbh celebrate mom's birthday!

Tuesday was mom's birthday so everyone went to Tadhg's favourite restaurant, Montana's, for a birthday dinner. Baba and papa came along too for the birthday celebration. Tuesday is Tadhg's favourite day at the restaurant as Annie the clown is there making balloon hats for all the kids.

Sadhbh enjoyed spending time with her baba and papa and was fascinating with the crazy balloon hat shapes.

Mom got to wear the Montana's birthday hat and all the staff came over to sing their Happy Birthday song. Tadhg loved seeing his mom wear the hat and enjoy her birthday meal.

Tadhg and Sadhbh's trip to Washington

On Wednesday night Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad packed their bags and hopped on an overnight bus to Washington for a Croatian music festival. The bus left at midnight so Tadhg and Sadhbh were carried on mid-sleep in the hope that they would sleep for most of the journey (which they did!). Mom and dad didn't get much sleep and so were pretty tired on arrival. The first day in Washington was a relaxed day as everyone got used to the beautiful hotel they were staying in. Tadhg loved the fountain which put on a music, lights and dance show in the evening.

On Thursday, everyone went for a tour around Washington. Sadhbh snuggled up to her Auntie Kay on the bus and quickly fell asleep.

 First stop was the Capitol building.

 Tadhg gave his usual pose for the camera.

Mom and dad enjoyed seeing the view from the Capitol building all the way to the Washington monument.

Tadhg enjoyed stomping around the echo chamber outside the Canadian embassy listening to his loud footsteps reverberate around him.

Saturday was the day of the Veseli Hrvati's performance so mom got dressed up in her costume for the big show. It was mom's first performance with the band after many years so it was nice to see mom, Uncle Nick and Auntie Kay together in the band again. 

After the show (which went great!), Tadhg tried out mom's prima. Maybe he will continue the family musical tradition.

On Saturday evening, everyone wandered around the town. Tadhg loved the giant buried in the sand around the harbour.

And the cow seat outside the local Ben & Jerry's. 


Sunday was travelling home day. After lunch everyone packed onto the bus again for the long trip home. Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad finally made it home to their house at 2:30am on Monday morning. Everyone was tired on Monday morning after such a long trip but Tadhg got up in time to go to school. It was a great trip but mom and dad are not keen to go on another long bus journey again soon.

Tadhg's present hunts

Tadhg got so many birthday presents that mom and dad hid them away and pulled 1 or 2 out at a time for a present hunt. Tadhg loves solving the clues and hunting around the house for his present. He was delighted to get a Marvel Superhero Squad blow-up chair on one of his present hunts. Dad had to immediately blow it up so Tadhg could have the best seat for watching his Superhero TV shows.

Sadhbh graduates to a high chair

Sadhbh has been eating solid food for a few weeks now and is doing great. She has been eating from her baby bjorn chair which is good but is not at the family table level. On Sunday, mom and dad put together Sadhbh's very own high chair. Sadhbh seemed happy to be up so high and to have a tray table which she can bang things on.

Tadhg and Sadhbh bid farewell to Uncle Ger

Tuesday marked the end of Uncle Ger's whirlwind trip to Canada. In a 4-day trip he managed to squeeze in a Halloween Party, Sadhbh's baptism, Niagara Falls, Trick or Treating and a trip to Toronto! Uncle Ger had a farewell lunch in the Kilt and Clover in Port Dalhousie before his long trip home. Sadhbh tried out a high chair for the first time and she enjoyed being able to grab things off the table!

Uncle Ger held his new god-daughter while she had her lunch. It was great to have Uncle Ger visit and mom and dad were so happy he is Sadhbh's godfather.

Tadhg and Sadhbh's Halloween

The fun packed weekend continued on Halloween Monday. Dad and Uncle Ger spent the day being tourists in Niagara Falls while Tadhg, Sadhbh and mom spent the day trick or treating at Baba and Papa's house. Tadhg dressed up as Batman and Sadhbh was a little Halloween pumpkin. Mom enjoyed taking her kids around the neighbourhood where she used to trick or treat when she was a girl.

Auntie Kay dropped by dressed as a witch and joined in the trick or treating fun with Tadhg and Sadhbh. 

In the evening Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad trick or treated around Port Dalhousie while Uncle Ger stayed home to hand out treats. Tadhg had a great time running from house to house and came home with a bag full or treats. Mom and dad will be able to ration them out for the rest of the year!

Sadhbh's Christening

Sunday was a big day for Sadhbh as she prepared for her baptism. Tadhg and Sadhbh spent the previous night in baba's house whilst mom and dad went to the annual Halloween fancy dress party at the Croatian hall.Uncle Ger had flown in for a few days to step into his role as godfather and everyone was delighted to have him over.

Sadhbh wore the same Christening outfit that mom had worn for her baptism and was draped in a shawl her grandmother had sent over from Ireland. Mom and dad marvelled at their beautiful little princess. Tadhg also got dressed up in a fancy shirt and pants. The ceremony was in the same church and was performed by the same priest as Tadhg's baptism over 3 years ago. Sadhbh was a little superstar through the whole ceremony, laughing and smiling her way through it without a tear in sight.

Afterwards everyone retired to the Croatian hall for a post ceremony celebration. Family and friends joined the celebration to make it a special event for everyone. Sadhbh was the star of the show and spent time with everyone at the party. After a while she grew tired and needed a power nap to recoup her energy.


Mom and dad were delighted to be able to share this milestone in Sadhbh's life with so many family and friends and were thrilled to have Uncle Ger and Auntie Kay as godparents.

Tadhg and Sadhbh's jack-o-lantern

Tadhg was still feeling poorly on Monday so stayed home from school so he could visit the doctor. The doctor diagnosed stomach flu and prescribed lots of liquids and rest. Dad worked from home for the day so he could bring Tadhg to the doctor. In the afternoon, Tadhg picked out a bat design for his jack-o-lantern so dad practiced his carving skills to carve it out. Tadhg and Sadhbh were excited with the final result.

Tadhg selects his Halloween pumpkins

Tadhg had been feeling poorly on Saturday but by Sunday afternoon he was well enough to go pumpkin hunting at the local pumpkin farm. Tadhg was excited to see the number, size and variety of pumpkins for sale and raced around with mom and dad looking for the perfect one.

Mom picked out a long pumpkin which was just perfect for carving her scary jack-o-lantern face. Dad picked out a nice round one for carving.

Tadhg dipped in to the large container of smaller pumpkins and picked out 5 mini-pumpkins to enhance the Halloween decorations. Sadhbh slept through the visit but everyone got into the spirit of Halloween and were looking forward to carving scary jack-o-lantern faces and getting dressed up for the big day.

Tadhg's haircut

 Tadhg's hair had grown long and curly as mom and dad decided to let it grow long first for his trip to Ireland, then for his birthday and then for his school photo. Finally it was time to trim those locks. Tadhg posed for a before photo....

....before mom took him to his favourite hairdressers where he could sit in a pink Cadillac watching a video while getting his haircut.

Tadhg takes the school bus home

Tadhg really enjoys his new school and has been great going in and coming home. This week Tadhg switched to taking the school bus home rather than getting picked up by mom and Sadhbh. Tadhg was really excited about taking the bus and was so happy when it dropped him home.

Tadhg's toga

Tadhg has to get dried off quickly after bath time so he can make it downstairs for his night-time videos. To accelerate the process Tadhg has devised a towel toga so he can get dry and make it down for his videos at the same time!

Tadhg and Sadhbh celebrate Papa's 75th birthday (and Thanksgiving)

Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving and so as is usual everyone went to Auntie Kay's house to celebrate (and give thanks). It was also an occasion to celebrate Papa's birthday. Tadhg was very keen to help Papa open his presents and was so excited he told Papa what his present was before he opened it!

Tadhg has learned how to say grace in school and so he said grace at dinner for the first time. "Thank you God for the world so sweet, thank you God for the food we eat. Thank you God for the birds that sing, thank you God for everything!"

Tadhg and Sadhbh visit the carousel

Saturday was the last day of the summer season for the Port Dalhousie carousel.Tadhg, Sadhbh and mom had spent many fun days here during the summer and were sad to see it close. Tadhg and dad love the rubbish bin heads around the carousel and ran around to photograph them one last time.

Sadhbh ventured on a swing for one of the first times. She will be ready for getting into the swings next summer. 

Tadhg had his last few goes on to Carousel for 2011. He tried out the giraffe, lion and of course all of the horses. Mom and dad really appreciate having such a great facility so close to them and wonder what will happen in 2012 when the Port Dalhousie tower is being built.

Tadhg and Sadhbh and dad

Dad worked from home on Wednesday and so was able to spend lots of time with his two angels. It was so nice for dad to be able to spend the 2 hours he normally spends on the road together with family instead.

Tadhg's 4th birthday celebration - part 3

Tadhg's mega 4th birthday celebration was planned for Sunday. Mom and dad had booked a local hall and setup a Superhero bouncy castle as well as some Superhero games and activities to keep the kids occupied. All the kids dressed up as their favourite superheroes in line with the superhero theme. There were lots of Supermen and Supergirls, Spidermen, Batmen and Batgirls! Tadhg chose his Spiderman suit for the big day. 

The kids loved the bouncy castle and it quickly filled up as the kids arrived. Mom and dad were kept busy monitoring the kids in the castle as well as keeping an eye on the other activities. Thanks to Uncle Nick, Auntie Barb, Mikaela, Ehrin, Nicholas and Luka who came along to enjoy the party and help with entertaining the kids.

Tadhg blew out the candles on yet another birthday cake (a Spiderman one this time) end enjoyed sharing it with his friends. All the kids left with blue mouths from the icing!


After another exciting party, mom and dad cleaned up the hall and packed up all the presents in the car. There were so many presents that mom and dad decided to space them out over the next few weeks so Tadhg wouldn't get too overwhelmed! It was great to be able to share Tadhg's birthday with his friends and have yet another party, but after a busy party season (including dad's 40th and Tadhg's many celebrations) mom and dad are happy to take a break from parties for a while!

Tadhg's 4th birthday celebration - part 2

On Friday, Tadhg's 4th birthday celebrations continued as his Canadian family came over to his house to celebrate. Tadhg's birthday theme was superheroes so he had a big, blue, batman birthday cake with candles to blow out.

Tadhg loved his cake, especially the batman and batbike that came with it! 

After cake and food it was time for more present opening. Tadhg's cousins helped him open all of his presents before everyone got dressed up as superheroes and raced around the basement. It was another happy to bed night for Tadhg.

Tadhg's 4th birthday celebration - part 1

Thursday was Tadhg's 4th birthday. He had a special birthday day at school where the kids sang Happy Birthday to him and he got to wear the birthday hat.When he came home from school, mom and dad surprised him by decorating the house for his birthday with balloons and streamers. There were also lots of presents waiting for him. Tadhg was very excited and didn't know which present to open first!

After some cake and presents, Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad went to Tadhg's favourite restaurant, Montana's, for dinner. Tadhg got to wear the special Montana's birthday antler hat while all the staff sang Happy Birthday to him. It was a special day and Tadhg went to bed happy. Mom and dad are amazed there little man is four already!