Ahhh, summer and Gemma's at le Shack. The weather's a little so-so with drizzle giving rise to some stir craziness, but hanging out with Gabrielle and Sofia has been fun. A little kayaking here, some group reading there...

Last weekend the cousins all congregated in Montreal for some running around, with each of the boys picking their little British relative up around the waist to stumble around the yard. Gemma liked the family attention, which will hopefully happen more often now that Alison and the family are moving back to Montreal.

Whew - it's been a while. Nana/Ann/Mum arrived just in time for Gemma's big 0-2 birthday celebrations. A dessert-heavy menu was sampled by Bonar, Nicholas, Alexandra, Charlie, Felix, assorted parents and adults. A little running around, some road testing of the terrible two moniker and nice gifts. No loot bags though. Are we the pariahs of children party etiquette? The subject of malicious whispering campaign? The envy of the those who've succumbed to outsourced location/insourced entertainment budgets? Kidding ourselves at the earlyish age?