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!