Big changes!

Well... you can see by the (in)frequency of the posts that I went back to work at the end of August! I had 3 months off to spend with this precious family full-time this summer, and it was 3 of the best months of my life. Not only did I get to focus all my attention and energy at home, but I had time to keep up this blog too!
The good news is... we've decided another 3 months is in order! Starting December 4, I'm going to take the last 12 weeks of parental leave allowed by our government. This will give us time for Shirley to make a real effort at getting a new business off the ground (details on that to come!) -- and give us time to get the house ready for sale (we've decided to move to a house with a bigger yard for the kiddies to play.) It should hopefully allow a bit more time to keep up the blog, and do some Christmas shopping too!
Avy is now over 5 months old, and very active! She rolls and scootches her way all over the living room now, and sticks anything she can find in her drooly mouth (leading us to figure the first tooth can't be far behind!)
Kai has been taking swimming lessons every Tuesday and is finally starting to come out of his shell... singing along and doing the movements with the games, very bravely jumping off the little wall and doing some great "starfish" floats and "crocodile" walks.
Here's some of the latest pics of the kids. Avy in her Halloween costume (thanks Auntie Tan!), Kai scooping out a pumpkin, Kai and Avy having a snuggle on the couch, and Avy finding one of her favorite teethers - her toes!