a week at the cot

Pictures only, for now... we had a great week up at the Crowe!

washers - an activity of choice for all!

more washers: finalists and GOLD MEDALISTS in the inaugural Crowe River Cup - woot!

cottage living includes a wide variety of activities, including lounging, corking, swimming and reading... love it!

 fishing: after a week our kiddo could cast and reel in a lunker, and he could say cast and reel and lunker - !!

eating  eating and more eating - this waffle breakfast is THE BEST! (good night waffle recipe to come yummmm)

happy in the water

and happy with a full cone of moose tracks, YUm!

Hendrik with Rod and Nyla | 35 weeks last Thursday | helping Grandma unload the groceries - "more jobs" was something we were lucky enough to hear from Hendrik on a regular basis; long may that continue!

did I mention the eating? the baked goods list - it was un-real!!!

with a giftie from Grams and Gramps: we adopted it as our washers mascot to the chagrin of most other competitors :)

food! Nyla and I made crowns for everyone instead of place cards... it made us all feel tres regal!

puppet show! Hendrik was enthralled... we're already looking forward to the next performance, scheduled for July 25, 2013

the puppeteers!

with Grandma

More pics + vid to come soon........

art | cottaging

July 12, 2012 | all Hendrik!

How to compose my thoughts here.... hmmm. We've had a week both busy and not - there are muchos photos to show for how we've been spending our time, but we've also felt as though we haven't had a ton to do, and Steve came up with the perfect analogy: it's as though we're in Europe and the season has finished and we're just kind of hanging around waiting to go home. It feels like home in our apartment, but it doesn't always feel like home when we step outside. And that statement right there makes me miss our home in Vela, because it sure did feel like home there. Yadda yadda yadda - home is where the people you want to spend your time with are, and they're (mostly) here, or (sort of) close to here. Hendrik and Steve and I are together - and baby girl! (6 weeks to go!) - and that's what counts. Okay, tangent there, excusez-moi; let's get to what we've been up to. Art! Hendrik is loving colouring and mostly stays to the fresh pay-pah, but has forayed into drawing on the coffee table, ottomans and the cream leather chairs. Steve and I have finally gotten around to starting what we've finished with this project on Young House Love... fingers crossed that it turns out. It will hopefully replace the undersized and ill-framed Ikea print above our bed (before and after pics to come).

our still-in-progress art

where's Hendrik? ohhh just reading in his crib :)

We've been doing a bit of cottage hopping - ooh la la. We drove up to the Reid cottage on Wednesday for the day (thank you Gord and Heidi and Reid-Tukkers for your hospitality) and enjoyed a not-so-scorching day (finally) on and in and about the water, and it was lovely. Well, minus the sting that our brave little boy endured (boo!). He was stung (wasp) on his hand after about 20 minutes of playing happily by himself with buckets and shovels in patches of dirt here and there on the lawn, and was understandably quite unhappy about it. He was brave and didn't cry for too too long, thankfully. He does still talk about the owwie on his hand ("kiss it better"), and will also ask where it happened and then answer his own question with "Reid cottage". We're looking forward to spending next week with Rod and Colleen and Kai and Nyla up at the Crowe. And I have to add that when we told Hendrik on our way home that we'd be seeing everyone up at the Crowe the following week, he immediately belted out the best crow sounds I've ever heard escape a human being at a surprisingly high pitch and volume. It was impressive and funny... I like.

reid-cottaging

lew-cottaging

More cottage hopping took us up to Lewis's rented cot for dinner and a spin on the water - Hendrik enjoyed some pre-meal playtime in the sand, and the big boys enjoyed some post-meal playtime on the water, casting for lunkers. The two pregnant ladies (where's our pic?) enjoyed the food... yum.

tea? at the children's museum

We have spent a bit of time in the city too - at home, at the gym, at the pool and at the Children's Museum, where Duncan and Steve and I acted as a big entourage-escort for Hendrik. Highlights (for Hendrik) were the car (Steve had to fold himself in and out), the kitchen and hmm... the boat? I could have had my camera out every two seconds, but wellll okay, I got distracted by the kitchen too. And all of the fun play stuff.

And my good friend Tracy came down from Montreal for the weekend AND I only have this picture, of Hendrik doing - for the first time - bag cheers:

bag-cheers - first time I've ever done that! 

As we were headed out the door this morning, he asked if he could bring his bag too - the one with the fishies - and at the door, it was bag cheers... how cute is that!? Anyways, it was great to see Tracy and have a morning and afternoon (yesterday) of freedom from parenthood. We did a bit of shopping, some eating, some more eating, some more shopping (watch, sticker book for Hendrik) and lots of talking and catching up, and then came home and collapsed on the couch.

my new watch! YAY!

But wait! That's not all on the freedom front... I got away to enjoy the Van Gogh exhibit at the National Gallery this afternoon with my aunt Zella and cousin Elspeth and it was fah-bu-lous. Seeing as how I don't follow art very closely or ever really go to art galleries, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much, but I did; you can really see the talent in the various styles and subjects of his work. And it was so easy to appreciate - no previous experience needed! I should get myself to art galleries more often... who knows, maybe it will inspire Art Project #3, to be started this summer (?) and completed... ummmm, when? Hmm... we shall see.

Anyways, we're heading up to the cottage tomorrow afternoon after a doctor's appointment, and will likely be enjoying offline-life for a week or so. SO, if you don't hear from me, it's because I'm river-side, enjoying the luxuries of cottage living. Until next time!

beatin' the heat

Feels like 40? Ugh... We are staying in-side. With the AC on. This morning Hendrik and I had grand plans of hitting a playground before running errands, but as soon as we stepped outside phase one of my plan got the axe - too too hot-hot. People are asking me how I'm feeling - as a pregnant woman - with this weather, and honestly it's not so bad BUT .... that's only because I never ever exert myself outside (or inside really, uh-woops) when it's hot and muggy and humid. It's a bit of a shame to be inside, but the alternative is uncomfortable (understatement), so picking and choosing when to pursue outdoor activities is key. On Sunday morning (low 30s) we met friends at the newly completed Brewer Park + Splash pad and it was amazing... amazing! I meant to take pictures, but didn't; there are at least five different play structures/areas, and a multi-tiered, connected-by-ramp (and waterslide) water park complete with in-ground sprinklers and sprayers, dumper bucket things and rotating water sprayers and fountains. It's the thing to do to beat the heat, for kids and parents and pregnant women. I got a full bucket of water dumped all over my back after Steve assured me that I was in the clear to duck under there and scoot after Hendrik ... yeah, talk about gullible. He swears that he couldn't have timed it better if he'd meant to pull the old sneaky sneaky on me and that it was an honest mistake - and I suppose I believe him. Intentional or un-, it was refreshing, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have subjected myself to a full water dumping if I hadn't been tricked into it. Beside, my clothes were practically dry by the time we left 45 minutes later anyways... hot hot hot.

(As an aside, isn't it crazy that a place can be so ridiculously cold in the winter, and so too-hot in the summer? Apparently Ottawa isn't Canada's number one city of weather extremes - Winnipeg is. Hard to believe on a day like today...)

Hendrik's eye appt yesterday went well; we were in for 9:00, and he lasted mmmm about 30 minutes on his very best behaviour with Mallory (the opthalmic assistant), as she did her tests and had him look here and there covering this eye and that. And then... then it was time to leave the room (crying). There's been some improvement in how his vision is synching but he still has a ways to go, so the patching will continue; we'll get another update in six weeks or so at the next appointment. Who knows, we might just be there having a baby! Someone can pop down with him for his appointment. He's on the wait-list for the surgery - so if we go ahead with it (I think we still need to fully wrap our heads around things), he'll be in in the spring when we're back from China. Have I even mentioned that that's a go? It is. Steve and Freddy start October 1st... so we have some time before then to you know, have a baby, get some of our questions (about living in Beijing) answered and more.

One of my favourite things that is one of Hendrik's favourite things at the moment is his enthusiasm for "cheers!" We do cheers at the dinner table - food, forks, drink (it's a pretty effective coercion method: "cheers broccoli? cheers carrots!") - and this afternoon on our way out to the pool he came up with "cheers flip-flops", so after he made it to the bottom of the stairs the three of us tapped our flip-flops together and that was that. So so cute... Thankfully he was less crazy-man at the pool and he wore a life-jacket with zero fuss - which meant less stress for mom and dad, phew. Another favourite thing of mine (of his) is his loon call and his seagull noise - see vid. That's all for now!

home

a year ago today - !

It's great to be home (in Gatineau, that is), but there are things that I'm missing about other places: having friends, being surrounded by a language I understand, family... Hendrik and I went to Lac Leamy this morning while Steve hit the gym, and there were moms and kids and families all over the place, but I can't seem to get a handle on the french - italian is still the default second langauge, and I feel way more comfortable speaking and understanding italiano. (On that note, I miss Italy too. And Antonella and Luciano. And the food and our house and our neighbors.) Sigh... One day we'll live in a language that we feel comfortable in, but when that day comes we'll have given up all of these other fabulous perks that our itinerant life affords: time off, bottomless time together as a family, life and living and adventures abroad and more.

Anyways! So this morning, I didn't bring a bucket or sand toys or the camera to the lake (woops) but I did tuck the camera away this afternoon - some pre- and post-pool pics:

sporting mini-Havaianas - straight from Brazil! thank you Arthur, Ana + Rapha :)

33 weeks today!

his first encounter with chocolate pudding - suspicion, the finger taste and then, the following declaration:

 He was like a man possessed at the pool, flipping and flying this way and that and both Steve and I were a bit googly-eyed over his energetic flimsiness... that is, until he slipped and got his very first goose egg. The poor guy wailed and cried as the egg grew (zoooop, right out the back of his head) but it didn't last long - five minutes later he was ready to fly around again and we were ready to get out of there before another such incident occurred. We're thinking that he's gotten used to the soft sandy bottom of the Crowe River; sand is much more forgiving than pool concrete. We drove up to the cot on Monday afternoon, and then jumped ship to make it back for a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon. All is well, and I have no real pregnancy updates... still feeling good etc etc. I'll keep this short because we've finally made a to-do list, and it involves making more lists, so I'd better get down to it. Here are a few Crowe pics, and some vids...

i love him i love him i love him

ready for a morning canoe ride with my two favourite people!

lunker city! steve came back little-kid-happy after hauling a few of these in

ba ba black sheep plus some reading...

list-blog

So, it's about time I wrote something on here, no? Photo updates have been ruling the blog-roost, but with my husband around, warm weather and a pair of babysitters ready and willing... I haven't been online all that much. This long overdue update calls for a list...

1. Anniversary Getaway! Our trip to Toronto was great. Did I mention that we stayed on the Gold Floor of the Fairmont Royal York? I LOVE the gold floor! There's a lounge with complimentary drinks all day plus a full hot continental breakfast buffet (one of my favourite things ever, the breakfast buffet), plus appetizers between 5 and 7 plus desserts at night, all in the comfort of an exclusive, make-you-feel-special lounge. Wait, I should backtrack a bit here - before we made it inside the hotel to check into our gold floor room - we got pulled OVER, by the police. Pulled over right in the valet parking area of the hotel... for real! We'd been driving around for a good 15 minutes, trying to navigate the one-ways plus constructions closures, when a cop started beeping his signal at us and honking and Steve and I were both wondering if we were running a red light (no) or a pedestrian intersection (no) beep beep beep so we turned right and pulled into the hotel and pulled over. Longer story short, we were about to make an illegal right turn (temporarily illegal due to construction) but because we were from out of town and blah blah blah, we were given an $18 ticket instead of a $110 ticket. Why does this really matter? The fruit basket and macaroon platter (accompanied by a hand written note from the parking valet manager) that was delivered to our room an hour or so later would have cost much more than eighteen bucks. I love the Fairmont! And then, there was another platter - chocolate-covered strawberries (plus handwritten note) - when we got back from dinner, wishing us a happy third anniversary. Love it! This is my new favourite way to spend Aeroplan miles, booking Fairmont Gold. Anyways... onwards. Our 24-hour getaway also included dinner with Dan and Milka, a late breakfast, a movie (Jiro Dreams of Sushi), and minimal separation anxiety. It was so so nice to step out of the mom/parenting role for a day, and feel (sort of) free from all baby thoughts and feelings. I say sort of because of the baby bump I'm sporting; she's getting heavy and I'm getting bigger and she's moving around a lot and sleeping isn't as comfy as it once was... and so on. We also did a bit of shopping and walking around in the hot hot heat and hmmm, that's about it! It was great to get home to our little guy, who was, for once, way more into daddy than mommy (he wouldn't give me a hug) and who didn't seem to miss us at all (no mention of either one of us - at all). I hope we can make this an annual occasion - a night or two away, just the two of us.

2. Hendrik update-snapshot:

19 months

Favourite foods: He consistently likes raspberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, "daddy" yogurt (yogurt with maple syrup) and anything sweet (strawberry shortcake, cookies, cake, cupcakes). He also likes salmon, peas, beans and grilled cheese.
Favourite books: Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site is hands down his number one favourite.  Tiddler and Baby Sister are also regular picks, while The Tiger Who Came to Tea is off the shelf (so to speak - he won't let us read it to him anymore).
Favourite things to say: Before bed, he has a few regular phrases: "Mommy go bed too" and then, once in bed, he'll say, "Mommy put blanky on" and then after I've done so, he'll stand up and repeat, and we'll do the dance until I'm ready to just leave the room. He likes "What Hek (Hendrik) doing?" and "Where Gramma go?" "Where daddy go?" when Gramma or daddy leave the room. It's cuh-ute!
Favourite things to do: He loves swimming and being in the water, and knocking things down may follow as favourite activity #2. He loves helping out around the house - swiffering, laundry ("folding", putting things in the dryer), setting the table, wiping his tray after dinner, and wiping his face. He's also become quite the copy-cat, in speech and in action; grandpa blows his nose and puts it in the garbage? So does Hendrik. Mommy feeds herself mashed potato? Hendrik feeds mommy mashed potato. Reading is still one of his favourite things to do and apparently, just now, when Steve was reading him his bedtime stories, he decided he'd read Polar Bear Polar Bear What do You Hear by himself, and did. I have got to get that on film.


3. Preggers Update:
I am feeling more and more pregnant - which makes sense... I am more and more pregnant. We're into single-digit weeks remaining (8), and we are definitely not prepared. I mean, we are and we aren't; we have most of the stuff we need (bassinet, clothes, bathtub, rocker) but some of it is chez nous, and some of it is chez someone else. We need diapers and we need to look at one of those what-do-you-need lists, because we kind of forget. Is there more? I'm not sleeping as well and my belly is starting to feel a bit cumbersome but! we're getting more and more excited to meet our girl. Our girl!

Olympians!

4. We went into Toronto this afternoon to catch the Olympic Beach Trials and it was hot. And exciting. We watched Annie Martin and Marie-Andre Lessard win a ticket to the Olympics and then on the men's side, witnessed Binstock and Reader do the same thing. It's exciting that there will be a few Canadian teams chasing their Olympic dreams... if only it were Steve and Gavin and Duff and Freddy and the rest of them. Oh well! Anyways, after a few hours in the sun, I was ready to head home but first, we took advantage of our babysitters and had dinner in B-ville (Mexican) before Steve took me on a trip down memory lane. And then I made him stop at Loblaw's where I purchased Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream (President's Choice - so good!) and popsicle molds and then we came home.

That is all for now!

back, and with pho-tos aplenty!

Before we left for cottage country, we found Hendrik reading books quietly, nicely - while we were running around packing and organizing... what a gem!

We're back! Our weekend away was fabuloso and full of requisite cottage-life things: swimming, eating, snacking, swimming, playing, reading, fishing, boating, swimming, more eating.... does that about cover it? I'm overdoing it here on the pics again, but you can see for yourself that with warm summer sun and a cot full of family, we had a great time....

clockwise from top L: with dad on day one; putting up decorations for Jimmy's first birthday celebration; colouring on Canada Day (note patriotic garb + decorations - love!); and playing with toys old and new - some of these, including the fisher price "pocket" camera and the fisher price jet plane - are originals from when Steve and Erin were kids. Why don't they make toys like these anymore!?

with Grandma and Grandpa B

Hendrik enjoying his first on-the-water canoe ride with Dad on Canada Day

coming up on 32 weeks!

first fish-o-the year I do believe

Steph and Jimmy and Paul - Happy First Birthday Jims!

Steve went out for soothers the day before we left and came home with a tunnel tent and bag of balls - the kidlets loved it!

how many people can you fit in a kiddie-pool? two, three, four (five?)!

more fun in the sun - I love these pics! Hendrik soaking it up, a first motor boat ride (Hendrik slept), getting tossed around (how fun would that be?) and sand castles with Dad and Bups

an early birthday present from Pam, Bob and me and Steve to Bob - a shadow box... very nicely put together by Pam!

LUNCH! peanut butter toast, beans and carrots...  long may the healthy eating last :)

playing with Jimmy; lounging with a book; and playing washers with Buppa

And now? Now - well, since it's our ANNIVERSARY today (!! - 3 years), I won't be long here, even though I feel like I have enough material to write a solid bullet-list-blog. I do have to say that I am so so so proud of Hendrik for how well he's doing with his eye sticker... he doesn't put up a fuss and wears it without complaint. I also have to say that I've been almost completely consumed by the Josephine B trilogy - I ripped through the first book over the weekend and am on to the second one. The heavy tome (close to 1200 pages) has been sitting on a shelf in Gatineau waiting, waiting, waiting - for a few years at least? Colleen passed it along and now, finally, it's being tackled and I'm loving it. Okay, and lastly... we head to T-O this afternoon for our getaway - eek! I am going to miss Hendrik (cutest little muffin ever) but he is so in love with his Grandma that he might not even notice we're gone. More to come soon......