The Van Ruleduinen Pumpkin Family 2007

Here's the whole durned bunch of pumpkins. Four with art by Rachel, and one that daddy had WAY too much fun carving. Can you spot the difference?

Before and After

Here is the face that Rachel drew on the big pumpkin, and the face that was eventually cut out based on that. Finally, a picture of Rachel coming face to face with her creation.

Pumpkin carving

Here are Rachel and Dennis carving out pumpkins for this year. Rachel helped by cleaning out all the yucky stuff and drawing faces on four of the pumpkins. While Rachel and Dennis may have had their creative differences, they were willing to put them aside for a Happy Halloween.

Food Face

We hadn't done any of these for a while. I figured...it was time. 'Nuff said.

Dinosaurs, Tiggers and Sorcieres, oh my!

Here we are getting ready for the Champlain Park Halloween Party. We had a lot of fun - we saw and magician turn a balloon into a rabbit and ate lots of treats. We also met lots of people and kids from our neighbourhood. It gave Rachel a good opportunity to practice her dinosaur roaring and stomping.

Halloween Decorations

We made some pumpkins, bats, cats and ghosts to hang in the window. Good job Rachel!

Bath time!

We recently started bathing the kids together. As you can imagine, much splashing ensues, and about as much water winds up out of the tub as in the tub. They LOVE it.

Pumpkin picking

We recently went shopping for pumpkins at the Parkdale Market - in the rain. We picked out a few small ones, but Rachel had her eye on the prize!

Godzilla Baby!

Tokyo has nothing on Champlain Park! Look out, it's Godzilla Baby! Able to climb upstairs in a nanosecond after you thought you had locked the gate! Able to empty a bathtub and/or toilet with a mighty splash! Able to tear up a magazine when you aren't looking! Able to eat pieces of toys made in, well, China (they don't seem to make them anywhere else)! Mighty puller of hair of his arch nemesis Big Screamer Sister! Their legendary battles are already causing neighbours to wonder, what goes on in that house anyway? Stomp, stomp, yes, it's Godzilla Baby!

Future Olympic Gymnastic Ball and Hoop Team

Thankgiving Feast

Dennis and Rachel made this year's Thanksgiving feast - for which Jeanette and Elliot were thankful! For the occasion, Dennis invented a new sweet potato mashing technique. At least, that is what he told us!

Thanksgiving Hike

Thanksgiving weekend we went for a hike around Camp Fortune in the Gatineaus. The fall colours were fabulous.

Elliot in a box

Apparently Elliot managed to get into the box by himself. He is also tall enough, and mobile enough, that we also have to make sure he does not take a header into the bathtub. Or splash in the toilet for that matter (a recent favourite activity).

Sarah and Duong's wedding

Here are some pictures from Jeanette's cousin Sarah's wedding. Sarah and Duong were married on August 18 in Ottawa. On the Friday, there was a traditional Vietnamese Tea Ceremony and dinner. On the Saturday there was a traditional "Scottish" wedding. Jeanette was a bridesmaid, and her neice Sorcha was a flowergirl. Here are some pictures from the two ceremonies, with all of us dolled up in our wedding finery. A fantastic time was had by all. Thanks Sarah and Duong for letting us be a part of your special day!

Elliot at 10 months

It is hard to believe that my year with Elliot and Rachel is almost over. Now that Rachel is in pre-school, I have a few precious weeks just with Elliot before he starts daycare as well.

The lovely fall weather has allowed us to get outside and play in the leaves (and with sticks, and to pull up the grass and to eat dirt etc.)

Elliot is now a whopping (to us) 22 pounds. He has two teeth below, three above (and is working on a fourth). He is cruising around the furniture with a bit more confidence. He can make the sign for more - although we are not sure if he knows what it means. He can wave and point. He eats everything put in front of him with gusto. He drops his sippy on the floor with great delight. He laughs when he pulls his sister's hair (he may have a little monkey in him). And as you can see, quite a Muppet, like his sister. All in all, he is well on his way to becoming an interesting little person. Mom will certainly miss him when she goes back to work.

The Fall Blues

Earlier this week, I accidentally dressed both kids in head to toe powder blue (note that even Rachel's hair bands and Elliot's shoes are powder blue). I did not notice until I put them both in the Chariot to take Rachel to pre-school. It was so cute, I had to take a picture.

Elliot is now too big for the baby sling in the Chariot, so the two of them are sitting side by side. It has led to a lot of eye poking and hair pulling - usually by the time I have hit the park or pre-school there is a cloud of blonde hair in the stroller. Giving them toys or leaves helps a bit - for a while. I'm hoping that they learn to live in harmony soon, otherwise they are both going to be bald!

Experimental Farm

We now have a membership at the Experimental Farm (one of the best deal's in Ottawa folks!). So we went to look at the experimental animals last week. Elliot is completely gaga over animals - especially dogs, but cows and horses will do. Rachel loves the play structure (*sigh*). The extremely loud mooing of the cows freaks her out a bit - but we figure a little bit of country is good for her. Here is a picture of Rachel stopping to smell the experimental flowers (which are fabulous in the fall), and of Elliot in the backpack.

The lady or the tiger?

It is hard to believe, but Rachel has already started Pre-school! We had a bit of a bumpy start (no Mummy, don't leave me!) but she settled in pretty quickly. She is making friends (mostly boys so far...hmmm), learning a bit of French and generally having a good time. Last week, one of the ladies at Pre-school made up the kids faces and Rachel came home as a tiger. She has been perfecting her roar!