Christmas Day is a day most of us look forward to. This year however, I think most of us in the Connell household would just rather hope that next years is better and forget what’s already been. You see, Oliver was sick, then Dana slowly came down with the flu as well, culminating with all three of us getting it and effectively ruining our Christmas/New Year’s plans and holidays this year. We didn’t…
This year we celebrated Christmas with the Ruprechts a couple of days earlier. We had a great time opening gifts, exchanging compliments and stories, and having a great dinner. Unfortunately, this was ultimately the start of what would become a month long sickness at our house which eventually crippled our Christmas break/New Year’s plans completely…
Every year we’ve taken Oliver to visit Santa at the Bramalea City Centre. When Santa comes there, he is always in a good mood and Oliver really enjoys seeing him. It’s also really fun to have a “family photo” taken with Santa each year. You can see how much we’ve changed over the past four years just by comparing the photos…
We had a little party for Oliver’s 4th birthday. Nothing huge, just a couple friends, some games, treats, and presents. It was a cowboy-themed event, and the kids seemed to really enjoy the activities Dana planned out for them. Definitely a highlight for me was making s’mores in our fireplace…
Hallowe’en is always fun around our house. Dana really decorates the place up right. Oliver loves to get dressed up as seen in our previous posts (Oliver’s first Hallowe’en, Oliver’s second Hallowe’en, & Oliver’s third Hallowe’en) and this year was no exception. Oliver originally wanted…
Downey’s Farm, it’s a great place for kids and adults alike. We tend to go once a year, when the pumpkins are all out because they really do it up for the kids. It’s great to go back to the same location…
Spending time with our friends is something we love to do but most certainly don’t have as much time to do as we would like. So, when we get a chance to spend a Saturday afternoon with our friends, we jump at the opportunity. On this lovely day, we spent the afternoon and evening with…
Today was the day every parent wishes for, hopes for, and dreads a little bit. Today, was my baby’s first day of school. It’s strange to think that Oliver is already in school even though he has been mentally ready for it for quite some time. And none of that prepares you for the myriad of emotions this day is as a parent. And believe me…

Dana has a great recipe for making homemade breadsticks. Both Oliver and I enjoy eating these breadsticks! Yum! I’m hungry just thinking about them…

Oliver loves his Chuggington Trains and he loves to build train tracks. Here’s a quick video of Oliver describing what he built.
We took a little visit to Toronto Centre Island over the long weekend in September with good friends Emily, Mike and their kids Bea and Gabe. We spent the afternoon enjoying some lunch, the beach, a few games and…
Oliver absolutely loves animals so it was only fitting that we took him to The African Lion Safari. It had been years since either Dana or I had been there and we weren’t prepared for the awesomeness that we experienced. From the elephant baths to the live shows…
Back in August, I was fortunate enough to shoot a family friend’s son’s Baptism and because they are family friends, they were nice enough to extend and invitation to Dana and Oliver to come over and spend the afternoon with the rest of the group. I mean, they had great food, lots of drinks, and a bouncy castle. How could they refuse? The photographs below…
Just another couple of shots of Oliver from around the house. He certainly loves his scooter! He also enjoys doing something silly for the Flip Camera and then watching it playback on the screen. The photos below are from an earlier…
On or around Father’s Day every year, we head on up to Oliver’s Nana and Grand Dad’s place for a nice afternoon and a great dinner. They also have a pontoon boat which is always fun to go out on but this year – it was raining so we decided to stick around the cottage instead of tempting the open waters. In the photos below, you’ll see that Oliver had some fun…
More bumming around the house. More Oliver eating and getting it all over himself. Trying some new angles and some new processing techniques. Some I’m liking, others won’t see the light of day! LOL! The moral of this story: Any way you look at it – I’m posting more fun pictures…
We don’t eat out on our back deck nearly as much as we should. It’s a beautiful spot, and the weather has been so picture-perfect this summer that it’s a shame we haven’t spent more time out there. We hope to remedy that in the coming years.
But for now, on this long weekend in May…
Back in May (I know, I know – I’m trying to catch up on my processing I promise!) I had an engagement shoot with the lovely Denise and Ron at Webster’s Falls in Dundas Ontario. Oliver and Dana decided to come along and after my shoot, we explored the area.
If I remember correctly, this was our Mother’s Day celebration. Oh and boy did we have fun! The day started with some fun playtime in the living room. We then got ready and went to the Sunset Grill for some brunch. It is our very favourite place to have brunch and the staff all know and love Oliver. He is such a charmer, that’s for sure…
More goofing around at home, over a great pancake breakfast (as most typical Sundays begin in our household).
It seems that every time Oliver and I are goofing around the house – the camera comes out. I guess that’s the life of a photographer and a photographer’s son. On this particular day, Oliver played with the iPad, ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and we made popcorn and watched a movie. Sounds like…
I had been growing my hair for quite a while. I thought that I wanted it longer as I was tired of the buzzed head that I had been sporting for the last few years. But there comes a point, the “in-between” point where you just can’t live with it any longer. If you can push through that point, you can get the hair growth…
Another year and another Easter was upon us. This year, the Easter weekend fell on the same weekend as Oliver’s Papa’s birthday so we had two things to celebrate. So, we headed up to Victoria Harbour for another memorable visit full of good eats, presents and good company. It was such a beautiful day, we spent a good chunk….
It’s no secret that Oliver loves chocolate. I have no idea where he gets it from (Dana) but I would aptly call this post of images: “The Many (chocolate) Faces of Oliver.” I think you’ll especially enjoy his “growling” face…