Lunch as a Verb

Veronica came in to town to visit for a couple of days. When I picked her up from the ferry we decided to stop in Sidney to eat and give Ethan a break from being in the car. I've been trying to have him practice wearing shoes because he will be walking soon. He decided they work better as appetizers.

The next day we decided that it was a good idea to meet up with some friends for lunch. Out for lunch. Again. Life is hard! Ethan with Veronica, Annie and Jenn. So, Ethan was privy to the gossip and hen-clucking that goes on when ladies lunch - especially when the ladies haven't seen each other for a while.
It is always great to see "old friends". It is always great to lunch too.

Saturday Fun!

It was a nice sunny Saturday - but a little windy - and we have been to the beach a little too much lately... so we took a trip down to Fisherman's Wharf for the afternoon to wander.

Something weird must be going on because all of the boat houses on the dock were for sale. Most of them were really nice...though it might be a little tricky living on a dock with a toddler... I really enjoyed the little gardens that most of the houses had on their little patios and entrances. Troy and Ethan enjoyed the walk and were annoyed that I needed to take so many pictures of the pretty boat houses.

We wandered around the docks and played on the grass, and than went to the Moka House at Shoal Point for a little treat.

What is there not to love about sunny Saturday afternoons? Mmmmmm!

Week 41 - Week 42

Muckin' around in the living room at 41 weeks old. Finally, some teeth in a picture! Chillin' out with my friend Aidan at the ball park. Watchin' our dads play the last ball game of the season.
Gettin' good at climbing - "catch me if you can"!
Hangin' at the waterpark - one of many days in this hot, hot week.
Showin' off - "I make this look easy"! Week 42 - Ridin' around on my trike from Grammie and Grampie - "I can push it by myself and everything"! What a big boy you are!

Sweatty's Lagoon

Saturday, July 22/2006

10:30: Hey let's go to the beach when Ethan wakes up.
Sure, how about Witty's Lagoon?
Perfect!

11:45: Hot walk down long, dusty path (which we haven't been down in a while and MAY have had a small detour).


12:00: There's a good spot to sit over there...
(Tide is waaaaayyyy out so it takes some time to cross the beach as you can see from the picture below).

12:05: Yay, we're here (removes flip flops) OUCH!!!! Hot. Hot. HOT!!!!

12:06: Move to cooler damper sand to sit on below the high tide line.

12:10: This is exactly what I had in mind. (Peaceful sigh). What a beautiful day.

12:15: Wow, it is HOT! (Sweating profusely). Lets take Ethan down to the water.

12:20: Arrive at water. It is warm. Walk deeper - ahhh better. Wade around and play in the water for a bit, watch Cooper chase fish. Lose track of time...
What time is it? What do you mean 1:30! We just got here! Thank God for sunscreen.

1:35: Go back to hot, sandy seating area to feed Ethan lunch. Marvel at the time warp we were just in...

1:45: Experiment with a regional delicacy .... eh, gritty...

2:05: Decide that it is time to make our way back to the car as naptime will soon be upon us and we don't want any cranky baby associations with the beach...and did I mention it was HOT?

2:15: Get to the sweltering black car that has been sitting in the HOT sun (because now we know the way on the trail again)...did I mention it was HOT?

2:16: Enjoy the blast of the air conditioner and the scenery of the winding road on the way home.

All in all a good day.

Standing!

Yesterday, we were hanging around in the back yard with some friends. Ethan was crawling around chasing the soccer ball and volley ball in circles as he sometimes does. Suddenly I turned around and he was standing in the middle of the yard - with nothing that could have helped him up close by! So he has officially stood from a seated position all on his own. He just stood there for a while and looked around before casually dropping to his hands and knees and crawling towards the dogs. Like he's been doing this for years...

Liv and Otto

At the beginning of July my Aunt and Uncle, Liv and Otto, came form Norway to visit for a couple of weeks. They had really great weather (which they were happy about) and also went on the Hornby camping trip (which they were also happy about).

I had some more great pictures of all of us but they were lost along with Fred Penner and week 39 and that whole (full) memory card (116 pictures!) transfer issue. As you can see I am a little bitter about that still...

We had them over for dinner a couple of nights before they had to go home. It was a beautiful night and I am not sure how the lighting changed so much between the patio pictures... but I digress and that is not important. What is important is that we had a great time that night and throughout the two weeks that they visited. It was so great to see them that we are considering taking Ethan on a 9 1/2 hour plane ride next spring to go and visit the "Motherland". Crazy is all I have to say about that.

Honoured guests (in not as great lighting).

And the farewell photo...

We will miss the "oopsie boopsies".

Hornby Island - 2006

I haven't updated in a while as we took our annual trip to Hornby Island. We were not sure if we were willing to go camping this year - being that Ethan is at a tricky stage (won't sit still but can't walk yet). We tried to get a cabin, but they book so fast. So on Thursday we rented a trailer because the weather looked good and we left Friday without too much thought or planning hoping for the best. Here is Ethan on his first ferry ride!

When we arrived at the camp site, Ethan was on the verge of slumber in his car seat. He had traveled beautifully. Unfortunately, with all of the commotion of checking in and parking and setting up the trailer he ended up being wide awake - he didn't want to miss a thing. So...almost two hours after his normal bedtime, Ethan settles down in his crib and falls asleep...I had a bad feeling...

At 1:00am I woke up to wailing. A little pat on the back and some soft whispers and he was back to sleep in a couple of minutes. Whew! BUT - at 3:30am Ethan woke up and moaned, groaned and squawked for 45 minutes! Poor neighbors...finally he went back to sleep - what a relief! Look at Ethan-in-the-Box below in his soft baby prison (no bars to clang his mug on).

Up we get the next morning - and have a bottle in bed (mine was red wine). The whole time I am thinking to myself "what were we thinking?"...

...until we got to the beach later that morning. Ethan loved the beach! He was so excited to be let free and crawl around in the sand and explore. Watching him pick up shells, or laugh at the dogs, or do his crazy crabwalk was SO worth the disruption from the night before. Here is where the trail breaks open on to beautiful Tribune Bay:

Things just got easier from here. Ethan slept like a log after that first night getting used to his new quarters. We just kept to his usual routine and it was smooth sailing. A trip I thought may be a little challenging - HEM! - turned out to be the best and most relaxing camping trip I have had in a long time. Can't wait for next year!More photos and commentary for your enjoyment....

His first trip into the water...here's Ethan doing his crabwalk and playing with sand toys in the bay while the tide is out.

Charging towards the water...he had no fear...and loved every minute of it!

Splashing with dad. Cooper was always close keeping an eye on us and waiting for someone to throw a stick.

Ethan spotted my brother skim boarding one day and couldn't take his eyes off him.

So Uncle Grant gave him a little ride.

One of our perfect days... Everything is so blue, and you can walk for miles because the bay is so shallow and gently sloped and sandy!

Fun in the sun. The grin says it all.

Time to go back to camp. And there is always time for a little peek-a-boo.

Ethan's expression is almost exactly like Annie's...but this end had the better photo op. Peek-a-bum!

"Check me out!" Can you say baby Bono?

After a long hard day at the beach, it is great to come back to the trailer and have a bath in the midget sized tub. It was perfect for Ethan...

After we cleaned up, it was time for dinner and sitting around the campfire.

Nice work, Dad!

Here we are on the last day of the trip - heading down to the beach for one last hour because it is sooooo nice there.

The End!

Fred Penner!

Ethan and I went to Folkfest with some friends yesterday. We saw Fred Penner live! I had awesome pictures but when I went to transfer them from the camera to the computer, it said the transfer was complete really quickly, TOO QUICKLY - and it always automatically deletes the images from the camera when it finishes. Presto, whamo...a weeks worth of pictures lost in cyber-land. I spent about 2 hours trying to retrieve them with no success. Very irritating!

Anyways, there are no pictures but we had a great time. Ethan "sang" along to the music. He makes a very serious face and a soft but deep "huhhhhhhhh" noise when he is enjoying music or singing and he wants in on the action. It was very hot, so I didn't leave him in the stroller for too long. Instead we swayed back and forth to the music together - and whenever I stopped, he would start swinging his limbs to get me going again. I'll have to remind him later in life that he will be very popular with the ladies if he still likes to dance this much when he is older.

Nine Months Old

...and suddenly you have been in the outside world as long as you were inside me. The changes since last month have been subtle...you have not reached any obvious new major milestones, just gotten a little more confident with your movement and the articulation of your emotions.

When we have been away from each other and you see me - you dive towards me and clasp on to my neck now. It is the greatest feeling in the world. When your daddy comes home from work, you race-crawl over to him and flash a big grin holding your hands up or tugging on his pant leg until he lifts you up for a bear hug. Every time you do this it melts his heart.

When you wake up from sleep you are usually a little giddy and very affectionate. You pet our faces and say "uhhh-ahhh" gently or stroke our hair and than rub your eyes and bury your face in a neck or chest. It is always a race to get to your crib first when we are both home and you wake.
There is some scowly in you to accompany all of that sweetness... Like when you scream as if I am torturing you when I wash your hands and face after you eat. Or sometimes you get pissed off when getting changed and we have a wrestling match with your shirt. I guess this is the progression of your independence. Most of the time we find you amusing - but it is amazing how inherent the ability to annoy your family is...how do you know where these buttons are already?

You love the park and stare at all the running kids with wonder, admiration and longing. Many parents we meet at the park watch you do your crab walk or balance holding on to something and affirm that you will be walking in no time. I have no idea what my heart will do when this happens.

I love you!

Mama

Happy Canada Day

We went to the Gorge Canada Day Picnic for July 1st. It was hot! As in sweating hot...Cooper was so pooped by the time we stopped by my Mom's annual Canada Day party (she lives on Gorge Rd. and it closes so it is really cool) he lied down and we had to bring the water bowl to him...and he didn't even stand up to drink! Ethan with Mikayla and Jordan...he loves the little people!

Very patriotic!

Fun, fun, and more fun!

My first fruit-sicle!