here (gatineau) and there (thetis)

three going on four

I can not believe how lucky we were to get an extra seat in our row of three on yesterday's oversold full full flight - ! After that trip I'd say that it's entirely worth it to pay for the extra seat, for peace of mind and peace of body; our boy is getting big and is not so into sitting in one place (someone's lap) for 4+ hours, especially if it's mom's lap (tres cramped with expanding belly). I've never seen him get himself together so quickly as when the flight attendant offered him ice cream - leftovers from business class; he followed orders like she was a drill sergeant - sit down? yes ma'am. seatbelt on? on the double. please and thank you? done and done. As with most goodies that he likes (cake, cookies, ice cream, yam fries), he asked for more as soon as the last bit was gonzo; I'm sure he would have licked the paper cup clean if we'd let him. The other four hours and twelve minutes of the 4:15 flight were spent watching the froggy on tv ("froggy 'gain" he'd say - I think it was actually Dorothy the Dinosaur we were watching), reading, eating, squirming, kicking, walking around and looking out the window. Thanks to Steve's new Gold or Elite or whoknowswhat status, our bags were some of the first to hit the belt after touchdown, so we were curbside with Dan with bags in the car fast fast fast. As soon as Hendrik saw him he put his hands out in question and said, "Freddie go?" - where's Freddie? - and Duff has come up in conversation since too, so it's not like he's going to forget these guys any time soon. We've been knocking things off our to-do list all day (in-cuh-luding a doc appt - I had to wait ONE hour before seeing the nurse for less than five minutes - that was my appt), and hope to have things wrapped up, put together and packed for a tomorrow afternoon nap-time-departure for the Crowe's Nest. From one cottage to another we go.... ain't life rough? Some pics from the rest of our time out west:

the boys!

putting on his rain boots over his shoes... not so successful

sliding in an oh-so-picturesque place WITH the ferry in the background

seaside, with so much to do

a trip down memory lane, 3 years later! an afternoon at Overbury brought back sooo many amazing memories - the best weekend EVER!! (and on the R, approaching 31 weeks!)

hendrik and maggie

not a bad spot for a private pool :)

two cooks in the kitchen

doing some serious work and having some serrrrious fun, grampa and hendrik both!

practicing his j-stroke

modeling some pass-ons: a wool two-piece (for what weather?), overalls, and some cruise wear - so so cute!

Our plans for the month are a bit hazy, but what we do know is that we'll be spending some time here in Ottawa/Gatineau, some time at the cottage and some time in Bowmanville/Toronto. After the upcoming Canada Day weekend, we'll head back to the Brinkman's where, on Wednesday, we will abandon our darling boy for a one-night anniversary getaway! eeeeek I'm so pumped! Steve wheeled us a deal at the Fairmont Royal York ON the Gold Floor and I. am. excited. It will be my first night away from my babe, so I'm hoping that neither of us experience too much withdrawal... we shall see. Okay, the to-do list is calling... see you in July!

a serious pic-medley

The sun has finally come out! And the fire that Steve lit this morning over here on Thetis died out just in time. This - the sun out + rising temps - will keep me at this computer just long enough to upload photos and insert a few quick captions... and then I'm on my way out!

reading about marine mammals

ambleside on monday, with cousins lars, hannah and pippa and girlfriend to be ellie; lars and hendrik, despite being more or less the same age, were still more interested in sand and sticks than each other's company :)

in mid-shop-strut - see video below... love it!

Steve flew in on Tuesday night, after being away for 3+ weeks... Hendrik and I are so so happy to have him back!

zoning in on the raspberry bush... mmmmmmm

i looooove these guys!

 dear hendrik love maggie :) a wooden truck set!

a first corn-on-the-cob experience

We went to the aquarium on Thursday and had an awesome time. While we waited for the gates to open, Steve and Hendrik knocked on the tree to see if Mr. Owl was home, and it's since become an activity of sorts, looking for Mr. Owl. As an aside, he has been SOOOO so so good with his eye sticker - we'll see what the Doc has to say at his next visit in mid-July.

Funniest part of the day? in the kiddie play area, when Hendrik finally got control of the wheel, a dolphin walked swam up beside the boat (see girl in dolphin suit) and, after Steve and brought it to Hendrik's attention ("Hendrik, look! There's a dolphin swimming beside the boat!"), the girl started flapping her fins and then got down on the floor and flopped around dolphin-style for at least one minute. It was hi-larious.

Hendrik like the dolphins, the belugas, the sea otter and hmmm... being outside. He was not into the underwater viewing areas, and we had to chase him on his way outside. We lasted close to two hours before heading out to a patch of grass for a picnic. Then it was home for a serious nap-for-all...

Friday morning, on the ferry boat. Hendrik, who has been gabbing away like crazy, calls it a fire-boat, and loved exploring and cruising around. I'm showing off my 30-week belly... time is flying!

the boys playing with trains

the rain let up long enough for a short beach-explore... he loved it!

 

beach buckets boots boy

loving grampa's tractor!

some long overdue father and son time - like like like

more vancouver

My mom and Hendrik and I met Jenny and Ellie at Maplewood Farm on Friday morning, and we had an awesome time. There were donkeys and horses, cows and pigs, goats and sheep, bunnies and chickens and peacocks, and lots of free-roaming ducks and roosters; the hands-on schtuff was tops - we spent most of our time with the bunnies and goats, where the kidlets (the humans) were intent on getting the animals to chomp down carrots and foliage. Ellie and Hendrik (she's 13 days his senior) are very comparable in size and stature, so it's super cute to see them interact with each other... it's too bad the two of them (wait, four of us) can't hook up all the time, every week.

loving the tractor

Before my parents returned home last week I taught Hendrik to say, "Buppa, please show me canoes" after a basement tour revealed extreme interest in the hanging boats. So my dad brought one down the other day and Hendrik loves it. And to top it off, Bups whittled off a mini canoe paddle - and we now have a new activity of choice. See above and below below...

he let me know that he was headed for the office. and then that he was back. adorable!

paddling around - solo, and then with dad!

vanilla gelato... yummmmm

a sign of a tried (and tried and tried) and true recipe; the Joy of Cooking's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies

getting together with friends - so fun! and a tuckered out babe on the way home

I LOVE this pic!

The guys beat Finland this morning (pics here) to secure the third place spot in their pool which means that they're safe from World League relegation and - most most likely - have the rest of the summer off. YES! And only two more sleeps (and many, many hours of flying) until Steve is here... can't wait!!!

wednesday night news

colouring, biggest-best cardboard box fort ever, offering maggie some milk and a cantaloupe snack

I said that writing would come later, and I'm going to say it again - writing will come later. My sister Claire and her boyfriend Justin arrived this morning from Denver, and I'm way way way too full of sushi to think straight (a good thing, I think - we ate feasted here and it was ah-mazing!). We've had a great visit so far, with lots going on - we've been to the pool, the playground, the library, I've met up with friends and their new-ish babes, done some serious colouring and mucho more. I also finished the Limpopo book and it was one of the best Ladies' Detective books I've read, I think (sushi brain). If you haven't read any Alexander McCall Smith - Mma Ramotse or otherwise - they are highly recommended; after finishing this one I was left with a desire to visit Botswana and drop in on Speedy Motors and the house on Zebra drive for some red bush tea and Mma Ramotswe life musings. Oh, right. It's all just a story. Hmmm... Anyways! I had an awesome chat this afternoon with Steve - they made it to Tampere, Finland, where the sun rests for just four or five short hours in the light-ish night. They trained today, and do so again tomorrow before taking on the same three teams this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Best of luck to them - they need a win!

Dad with Bill and Joe and Hendrik, now (L) and then (R, last September)

watering plants this afternoon.. such a helper!

And this is hilarious - this afternoon when Maggie (the dog) had her squeaky toy out, Hendrik wanted one too. I found him his monkey toy, and he proceeded to mouth it just as Mags was slobbering all over her triangle squeaker... it was quite the show. All I could capture was this, before Hendrik - of course, because the camera was out - lost interest. We were all killing ourselves laughing...



Hendrik had his first sushi dinner tonight and he loved it; he tried gomae, tofu, tuna (cooked) and calamari (loved it all), and ate a ton of teriyaki salmon and rice... yum! I tried not to get stabbed in the eyeballs with the chopsticks.

And on a final note, tomorrow marks week 29 of pregnancy, and I am really starting to feel pregnant (bump pic to come); I have to do a little mini-rollover thing to get up and/or off my back, and carrying Hendrik around is getting a little more challenging (he got on the scale today and is just over 30 pounds - !). Last night I looked into what we might need in terms of a double stroller (need or not need? tandem or side-by-side? umbrella?) and the options are mind-boggling; google double stroller - and be prepared for some serious overload. I couldn't handle it. Okay, that's it - besides this sweet post-nap video-note for dad...