Happy Birthday Colton!

This past Saturday was our little man's 2nd birthday. He had a blast, and mommy and daddy still are recovering. Because there are so many pictures, I won't write a ton. I'll just give captions.

He began with opening his presents from mommy and daddy. He got a ton of clothes (which he could care less for) and a bunch of cars from the Cars movie.

Next we took him to the annual Family-A-Fair. There he got to see Barney the purple dinosaur, and get a balloon. After he went to the petting zoo they had there. The goat ended up being his favorite.

Before we left the fair Uncle Al took him to the kids hair cut booth for a little surprise...

Surprise! I think it matches the Cars tattoo on his hand. He thought he was pretty cool after this.

After a long nap. he woke up to find that Great Grandma Carlson, Papa (Grandpa Crane), Gram (Grandma Crane), Uncle Steve, Al, and Auntie Ti-Ti (Christina) were at his house. He had fun entertaining everyone, eating spaghetti dinner, and then opening more presents!

After playing with presents, and harassing the cat with his new dinosaur puppet; it was time for Cake! Mommy made him a really good, custom Dinosaur cake that he went crazy over. He enjoyed blowing out the candles. (We had to light it over about 8 times)

Although his piece of cake was good, Grandma's piece of cake tasted better....

All in all it was a pretty good day. It finished off with Auntie Ti-Ti giving him a bath, and putting him to bed while mommy and daddy had to run off to an open house. He's officially two years old, although it feels like he's been there for a few months now. Happy birthday my boy!

The Auto Adventure

These next few posts are a catch up on the last little while. To start with, we had the annual Calgary International Auto Show come to town. This was the first year in a long time that I was able to attend, due to living out in Toronto. It was also Colton's first opportunity to go. He is car obsessed, which brings a tear to daddy's eyes (that's my boy!).

We went everywhere! He sat in almost every car there. I think his favorite though was the "Sally" cars. (For those who don't know what I'm talking about go watch Disney's "Cars") Daddy's favorite this year was the Audi R8, it gives me goosebumps.

It was funny walking around with my boy, he wanted to sit in every car possible. At times he would be patient and wait for people to get out of the cars before he would get in, but other times he was too impatient. He would walk up to the people, gently put his hand on their leg, and then begin to push, saying "Out, Out". He then would climb in and look at the nearest person and point to the passenger seat and say "Down", meaning sit down. He would proceed to work every dial, flick every switch, check every mirror, and pretend to drive. It was too funny.

The little guy tried to give daddy a heart attack too. Earlier in the night we went over to look at the Ferrari display. They had the area roped off to keep the public away. However this one couple let their kid go into the area, and he was sitting on the front of a 458 Italia. With Mom and dad just sitting there watching him, he began to rub his rear back and forth on the front! The sales guy came running over begging the parents to get their kid. He got pretty heated about it with the parents. Needless to say, it was a major incident. So the point of my story, we went over to the Lamborghini section where it was roped off as well. My brother Allan, Colton, and I sat there drooling. I looked down at Colton, and could see what he was thinking. I told him, don't even think about it. He began to inch bit by bit towards the rope, then he tried to make a break for it. Luckily Al has a good reach and was able to snag him at the last moment, pulling him back. The whole time he was being pulled back he was laughing.

Needless to say it was a good time, and I think, it'll be a tradition for sure.

Flames Are Clawing Back

If fear was a person, it would be Jerome Iginla. I once heard that Jerome Iginla laughed in the face of defeat, right before giving it a fatal slap shot to the head!

If you are wondering the reason for the Iggy love fest, it's because thanks in large part to our fearless captain, my beloved Calgary Flames have been playing some of there best hockey right at crunch time. There are exactly 17 games remaining on our season and the playoff race is tight with Calgary clinging to the last spot in the Western Conference. There are 5 teams below Calgary within 7 points or less, and 5 teams above us with 9 points or less. So it really could go either way. This is the home stretch, where teams find out what they are made of. Don't count Calgary out yet. In 2004 they snuck into the playoffs in the final playoff spot, and ended up 1 goal away from winning the Stanley Cup. That is what makes this part of the season so exciting.

Last night Calgary got their 3rd win in a row against the Detroit Redwings, who are typically known as a Juggernaut, and perennial playoff contenders. By the third period Calgary was down 2-1, when Captain Jerome took over. He ended up scoring they tying goal, and assisting on the game winner (He banked it off his own player). His leadership and drive on the ice was unmistakable, and he literally willed the Flames back into the game and on to Victory. This goes along with the hat trick he scored two nights previous. Since his incredible set up of the Gold Medal clinching goal to Sidney Crosby, Iginla seems to be playing with a ton of fire. Amazing how winning does that to an athlete, right?

Well it's too early to break out the championship hats and parade route still, but if the Flames keep playing like this, it's going to make for an exciting playoff run in my opinion. Let's hope they keep up their winning ways. Go Flames Go!

Meet the Newest Little Crane

Hello to all my readers. Today is a special day for you all as you get to meet the newest addition to our family for the first time. Yesterday we had our first ultrasound (dating), where we got to see our baby for the first time. The heartbeat was excellent at a healthy 168 bpm. The little legs and arms are forming, and you can't see it in this picture, but the little heart was pounding away. Both mom and baby are good and healthy!

It was also Colton's first experience in the ultrasound room since we took his picture before he was born. He thought it was pretty neat, although he was a little concerned at first when they made mommy lie down on the bed, and put gel on her tummy. After that though he watched intently as the tech did her work, and occasionally thought it was funny to poke mommy's belly button. he's going to be a really good big brother I think.

The excitement continues to build as wee await the arrival of our new bundle of joy. We also can't wait to find out if we will be having a boy or girl. That ultrasound is still a couple months away. Rest assured I'll be posting those as well.

As a side note folks, as many of you know Jody is a photographer. She has created a separate blog showcasing her products and design skills. I encourage all of you to go and check it out over the next while. She not only can take fantastic pictures, but she can create albums, cards, invitations, to highlight any occasion. If any of you saw our Christmas card this year, that is a sample of the work she can do. So Go Check It Out!

3/4/2010 @ 10:15 am- Sorry folks, I made a huge mistake and neglected to include the link to Jody's new blog http://www.faerielovelydesigns.blogspot.com/

Go Check It Out!

Reminder to the World: It's OUR Game!

That's right folks. Once again Canada asserts its absolute dominance over a sport that is truly our national treasure. Unless you lived under a rock, you have to have heard by now about Canada's incredible Gold Medal win in men's hockey to close out the 2010 Winter Olympics. Hollywood could not have written a better script for the way this played out. This game will be joining the 1972 Summit Series as a moment that defined a nation. Canada, had all the pressure in the world on their shoulders. They had assembled one of the greatest hockey teams of all-time, at least on paper. They were competing on home soil in a game that we call our own. They were fighting for pride, trying to avenge their embarrassing exit in the 2006 games in Turin in the quarter finals. And they were playing a fast American team that had yet to trail in any of their games, let alone lose.
The eyes of an entire nation watched, locked in as our team came out on to the ice. An entire nation went into hysterics as Johnathan Toews, and Cory Perry scored the first two goals. An entire nation also held it's collective breath as the Americans rallied to tie up the game with 24 seconds left in the 3rd period to force overtime. But like I said, this is OUR game, and our boys, made sure it stayed that way. 7:40 into over time Sidney "Sid the Kid" Crosby took a brilliant pass from Jerome "Captain Canada" Iginla, and made no mistake putting it through the legs of US goalie Ryan Miller. The arena, and literally the entire nation erupted into pure euphoria! Any major street in any major city was closed down, full of revellers, dressed head to toe in Canadian colours, waving Canadian flags. Calgary's Red Mile, Yonge Street in Toronto, Robson Street in Vancouver, St. Cathrine's in Montreal, all of them jammed shoulder to shoulder with partiers. You couldn't find a single Canadian bar, pub, or restaurant that wasn't full of wild, elated fans. There were people crying, cheering, hugging, chanting, coming together in the strongest showing of patriotism this country has ever had. It has been labeled a day where you'll remember where you were, and what you were doing when Sidney Crosby scored his golden goal.
I have a few things I want to mention. First off, the men's hockey gold broke the record for the most gold medals won by a single nation in any winter Olympics; 14. In 6 months Sidney Crosby has one the Stanley Cup, and the Olympic Gold. This is the second time in three Olympic games that the Canadian men's and women's hockey teams have both one gold in the same tournament. Canada now is tied with Russia for the most men's hockey gold medals with 8. The US has a way to go, with 2. Is there anyone who doubts the ability of Sidney Crosby as the greatest active NHL player? He's won the world junior championship, the Art Ross Trophy (NHL Leading Scorer), the Hart Trophy (NHL MVP), Lester B. Pearson Trophy (MVP Selected by NHLPA), he's been selected to every All Star game since his rookie year, has been made captain of his team, won a Stanley Cup, and now Olympic gold. Is there anything this kid can't do? He scored the shootout clincher against the Swiss, and the Golden goal. He's accomplished more in 4 short years than most other players do in an entire career!
I have to say folks, today I've never been more proud to be a Canadian. That was a story that I'll be able to tell my children and Grandchildren "I saw Sidney Crosby's golden goal in 2010". And to top it all off, my favorite player Jerome Iginla had a great tournament, he led the team in goals, and assisted on the biggest goal of them all. I'm still a buzz over the victory, and today you can feel the electricity in the air over the greatest victory in Canadian history!
So tell me, where were you when Sidney Crosby scored the "Golden Goal"? What were you doing? Did you celebrate?

My Family Finally comes HOME!

For those of you who may not know, two weekends ago our family took a trip out east to Ontario to visit friends and family. Unfortunately I was only able to stay for the weekend due to work constraints, however Jody and Colton stayed. I'll admit, when I first got home from the trip, I thought "Wohoo, place all to myself! Time to live it up. However, that was not the case. Having a family changes you I found out. I was bored out of my mind, with only the cat to keep me company. The house was eerily quiet without the sounds of a little toddler running around. Going to bed at night was pretty lonely too. I did have two school exams to study for and take, so that kept me a little busy, but once those were complete, life was fairly uneventful. I actually ended up staying late at work quite a few nights, just to occupy myself. Yes, yes, it's a sad state of affairs for sure.
However, the boredom is over! Tonight my family finally returns home, and life can get back to normal. I'm one excited man, as I've missed my family deeply.
So with that out of the way, I can give you some of the highlights from our trip out there. First off, we got to see Jody's brother Stephen, who has recently returned home from successful missionary service in California. That was pretty exciting, especially for Colton, who has never met his uncle. Stephen is still Stephen, but a much more mature and refined man, which happens to most guys who serve missions. It's definitely changed him for the better (not that he was bad before), and it was a real joy to be around him again.
We also got to see her sister Bekky who recently returned from an extensive youth exchange program called Katimavik. It took her through 3 different provinces in the east, where she worked in different programs. It sounded like quite a fun experience, and she had lots of great pictures.
Other highlights included the traditional dim-sum meal with her brother Matthew in Toronto's Chinatown (mmmmm bbq pork sticky buns), a family picture (which I'll post when Jody gets home), and Man-Night with all the in law men. It was great to see her family and spend some quality time with everyone. Big thanks to Graeme and Jenny for coming down all the way from Barrie, to hang with us.
We also got to see some of our friends from our time out in Guelph. Our neighbors, nick and Janet, Tom and Andrea Palmer, Amber and Gracie (Colton's little girlfriend), and many more. It was great to catch up and see how everyone is doing. We do miss them all.
Lastly, I'll leave off with one of Colton's big events. Because we won't be out there for his birthday in 26 days, his Aunt Jenn organized a small celebration for he and his Uncle Matthew, whose birthday had just passed. The apex of the celebration came when it was time to sing happy birthday. Aunt Jenn and Aunt Jenny, created these very cool Cookie Monster Cupcakes! Could there be anything better for a little boy? At first, he wasn't sure what to do with it. He poked it, and observed it, and spun it around...........


Then daddy came over with a cupcake and showed Colton what to do with it. Once he saw me tear in to mine, he didn't waste any time. First to go was the chocolate chip cookie, then the white chocolate/chocolate chip eyeballs. Once those were out of the way, he methodically devoured the rest.......

I'd say that was a good trip, wouldn't you?