Charlie's new car seat

We finally got Charlie is new car seat yesterday.  We installed it this afternoon and he took his first ride in it this evening.  He loved it!  He was so excited and so proud to be sitting in a seat like his big brothers.  Here is a picture of him sitting in it...

Visit to the Biodome

This morning we packed the kids up and took them to the Biodome.  For those who don't know, it's kind of like a zoo that recreates various ecosystems.  It houses wildlife and animals from each of those ecosystems.  It is quite the beautiful place and lots of fun for the kids.

Here are a few pictures from our fun morning...

Tropical birds:

The otter:

A beaver:

Charlie in an egg:

Zachary and Nicolas in the same egg!

Nicolas and Zachary checking out the otters:

Charlie was so excited he was squealing while watching the penguins:

Zachary and Nicolas in front of the penguin picture (it was their favorite):

Zachary learns to ride

Tonight Zachary figured out how to ride his bicycle.  He learned how to pedal it all by himself.  Steve managed to get it on video....

Charlie is 1... Happy birthday little man!

I cannot believe that a whole year has gone by since the day he was born.  It seems like yesterday that he entered the world and yet it is hard to remember a time when he was not part of our family.

He is such a wonderful little man!  He is so smart and communicates very effectively.  He makes his needs and wants very much known.  He also wants to be in the middle of everything.  He loves to play with his big brothers and refuses to be left out.  He will claw his way to get in between them.  If one of the other boys takes a toy from him, he will chase after him to get it back.  He will not be bullied.

He is not walking on his own yet but he is so close.  He has figured out how to get around the house by using any available piece of furniture, walls, etc...  He just gets so excited about walking that his feet start to move before he even has them steadied.  He is great at pulling himself up and can even get himself back down to the ground when he wants to crawl.

Here are a few pictures from various birthday celebrations we have had for him...

In case you're wondering it was not a cupcake with a candle but an ice cream cone.  My boys are not huge fans of cake and much preferred an ice cream cone.  So, that's what we did.  Charlie ended up eating 3 of the baby cones!

A long and emotional day...

Today we had to take Zachary into the Children's Hospital for a day surgery.  It was discovered in January (and confirmed in May) that he had what appeared to be a hernia.  The only way to know for sure is exploratory surgery.  Since that needed to be done in order to know exactly what we were dealing with, they would obviously fix whatever the issue was while they were in there.

So, we went in for 9:00 this morning.  The surgery was scheduled for 11:00.  He was taken about 30 minutes late but all went well.  They called as soon as he was starting to wake and I doubt that he even remembered coming to and us now being there.  Zachary was extremely brave.  He was a trooper up until the nurse came and took him to the OR.  At that point he was terrified (even though we had explained as much to him as possible) and would not let go of Steve.  The nurse had to peel him off of him and when he did, he spotted me.  He reached out and cried for me and that's when the nurse whisked him off.  We then turned and started our way to the waiting room.  Obviously this was extremely difficult on me and Steve.  We were crushed but knew he was in amazing hands.

The surgeon (Dr. Shaw) and his team were amazing.  They were so wonderful with Zachary even though he never made eye contact with any of them.  They explained everything to us and did all they could to make us feel comfortable.  I was so impressed with the hospital.  It is very reassuring to know that we have such an amazing facility at our disposal but hope to never have to use it again.  I am also so happy that we have been donating to them for the last few years.  It's money well spent...

He is now happily sleeping in his bed.  He is so brave and recovering very well.  He was wanting to play golf after getting some food in his system.  I think we're going to have a hard time keeping him calm and resting tomorrow.  I guess it's better than the alternative.

Great Papa's 90th birthday party

Today we went and celebrated my grandfather's 90th birthday.  He was so happy to have his entire family there with him.  He got emotional while I was talking to him, saying how he couldn't believe that we were all there.  I told him that if I could be guaranteed to live the quality of life he has had thus far, I would sign right now to live past 90.  He told me that he worked hard all his life and went dancing when he could.  That is why he believes he is still around and full of life!

Here are a few pictures from our special day...

The 4 generations:

The entire Houle family:

 Our branch of the family tree:

Me and my Papa:

 

Great Papa dancing with his girlfriend Sandra: