Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at Karen and Bob's.

Merry Christmas

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

Last Minute Gift Wrapping

Vincent helps mom with the last minute gift wrapping.

Vincent Meets Santa Claus

Vincent met Santa Claus for the first time this year. He was a little shy at first but gradually got used to the old saint. We took him to the cheap Santa at the mall but everything worked out fine as Santa had lots of time for Vincent.

The Beach with Ice and Snow

Vincent found the beach covered with ice and snow when he went for his hike with Uncle Marc.

On the Beach with Uncle Marc

It was a cold day at the beach in December when Uncle Marc came for a pre-Christmas drink, dinner, and hike to the lake. It was not too cold to prevent Vincent from collecting rocks with Uncle Marc to throw into the lake. Looks like the two of them can handle the winter.

Autumn Sunset on the Beach

Now that the days are shorter the sun is setting across the lake.

Vincent's Favorite Slippers

Vincent put on his favorite slippers to watch the big hockey game on Saturday night. Vincent wanted to say a special hello to Aunt Donna, Uncle John, Cousin Martin in Kingston, to Uncle Mike in Montreal and Uncle John across the pond. By the way the Leafs won 3-1 over the Montreal Canadiens.

Digging In

Vincent digs into somebody's birthday cake.

Waiting for the Cake

Vincent patiently waits to dig into the birthday cake or is it the wine he is waiting for.

Somebody's Birthday

Somebody got a little bit older this week. Vincent sure enjoyed the birthday cake and the candles.

Sandra's New Job

Elections cause all sorts of job switching. Lucky for Sandra she has a few contacts. We hope she keeps the ice cream machine clean.

Helping with the Dishes

Vincent's latest trick is to pull a chair from the dinnng room so he can reach the sink and help with the dishes. Luisa needs to teach him how to scrub harder and keep the water from getting on the floor. So far no broken plates but we do have to keep him from helping sometimes. He does get a little annoyed when we take the chair away from him.

Picoides pubescens

This downy woodpecker visits the back yard from time to time throughout the year. Here he visits the backyard tree after the leaves have fallen looking for any remaining insects. The downy is a little smaller than the hairy woodpecker but otherwise they look very similar. This was the first time I saw the eyelid protection against flying wood caused by the impact of his beak on the branches.