Firsts

First hockey game - the Crowchild Classic. Other than a major upchuck all over his Dad, and some tears when the horn sounded to signal a goal, a successful outing. Emmett and Oscar's parents know they are playing with fire exposing their boys to the game of hockey. Emmett's mom lives in constant fear that she will be a hockey mom.







First flight. Other than some sore ears on the descent, it was remarkably uneventful and straightforward. Emmett was plugged into Treehouse, the parents were plugged into the Olympics, and Oscar was plugged into the inflight refreshment service, courtesy of his mom.









First visit with Gramma, full of hugs, giggles, cuddles and kisses.

Where has the time gone?

An active three and a half year old, two working parents, and an evening obsession with their iPhones means the blog has been neglected for the past two months! Below, a random selection of what StranMcCann has been up to since the last post back on March 6th...

 A visit from Gramma and Poppa in early March, complete with a trip to the BIG ROCK just south of the city. (The BIG ROCK travelled down from Jasper on a glacier, and inspired the name for the BIG ROCK Brewery).

 

Time with cousins when Uncle John, Laura and Erin came out during March Break for a ski holiday.

 Easter egg Hunt. Nuff said. We are still eating Jelly Beans...one by one. Fortunately, Emmett has forgotten about them.

And that takes us to the end of March...stay tuned for an April update.

Bull in a china shop

Curious to see what kind of damage he can cause while barricaded in his Gramma's dining room, Emmett's dad watches helplessly as Emmett unexpectedly unleashes toddler fury on his own face.

Interesting footnote: The tune playing on Emmett's grandparents' radio is Help I'm Alive, by Canadian indie band Metric. The fact that Emmett eats it at the very instant they sing, "If I stumble," is purely coincidental. Even Emmett's dad can't edit that well.

Old man sweater

Definition: a cardigan, typically knit from wool or polyester blend, with a full frontal zipper. In some unique cases, the old man sweater may have buttons, but most old men prefer zippers, as they are easier to do up.

In honour of his Grampa and his Great Uncle Sandy, Emmett dons his new 'old man' sweater, as the temperatures dip to -29.

Oops...where did that come from? Wrong image, but now you get the idea. Let's try that again...

(And special thanks to Gramma for knitting Emmett a new 'old man' sweater. Now he is stylin' and profilin', just like his Grampa).

Snapping a cold snap

Apparently, Emmett's town was pretty much the coldest place in North America this morning. Too cold, even, to get a reading on the Emmetthermometer.

Beneath multiple blankets, a snowsuit, and a pair of Arctic-weight wool socks knitted by Gramma, Emmett is snug like bug in rug as he rides his Chariot to daycare.

His equally effective, but somewhat less practical strategy for dealing with the cold involves cramming into his PeaPod with multiple other humans. Here he illustrates this technique with the assistance of cousin Jimmy and Uncle Colin.

Nine months old

Tar blobs as big as pancakes reach Alabama shores. The FIFA world cup gets started in South Africa. Gramma and Poppa arrive for a visit. The Lotto Max jackpot is at $50 million. And Emmett celebrates his nine month birthday. Hard to believe he has now been out in the world longer than in the womb.

He celebrated by going on a hike with his Gramma and his mom in the mountains, followed by drinks in the gold seats at Evelyn's.

Perfect place for people watching, and to recover from the treacherous canyon hugging trails Gramma took him on.

Holiday soundtrack

Emmett celebrated a wintry December day by spending much of yesterday morning providing his own brand of festive music for his parents. Nana and Gramma will comment on how smart their grandson is. Little do they know that Emmett is receiving $4.00 for participating in a Pavlovian conditioning experiment at U of C.

Emmett, Outlaw Biker Dude

With all the hubbub around Halloween, we almost forgot to mention Emmett's first visit to Kane's Harley Diner, his parents' favourite weekend breakfast haunt. Despite continuing to show off for Gramma and Poppa, Emmett was able to muster his best outlaw biker snarl for the camera. The fuzzy bunny suit is an interesting juxtaposition.

Speaking of interesting juxtapositions, Emmett's dad did some research to try to find a good biker name for Emmett. One particular online biker name generator claims that all a baby needs is a good one percenter name, and soon everyone will cringe in terror. Apparently, Emmett will be a hog-riding outlaw who kills his enemies as "Lil' Monkey of the Donkey Punchers Motorcycle Club."

First Halloween

Emmett celebrated his first Halloween but unfortunately displayed an early aversion to spicy food. Let's just say he was underwhelmed by the chili pepper costume his dad picked up a few months ago.

He did, however, ultimately embrace October 31 and all its scariness by laughing in the face of fear at Dr. Cousin Rod's haunted house. Being in Gramma's protective care obviously helps.

Second Round of Reinforcements Arrive

Emmett and his parents headed to the airport late last night to pick up his grandparents, Gramma and Poppa. Emmett was extremely excited to meet his dad's parents, though the late night arrival meant he conked out en route to the airport.
Gramma spent the day with him, and used her grandma magic to put him to sleep. Little does Gramma know, Emmett's parents have hatched a plan to keep her in Alberta, and destroyed her plane ticket home.

In the meantime, Emmett's mom learned a valuable lesson today. When a crying baby is put in a bouncy chair in the bathroom with the hairdryer on, the baby will fall asleep almost instantly...

Emmett's dad is tie-tie

It's the Thursday night of Emmett's dad's first week back in the office. And wow, is he tired. Fortunately, his spirits have been buoyed by the prospect of a shipment of cookies from Paula's Pantry, courtesy of Gramma.

Cookies for Emmett's parents? Cute Emmett pic for Gramma.

Deal.