vancouver and environs: post #2

ferry-boating to vancouver island

Has it really been a week since the last post? Eep - time flies when you're having fun! I haven't been too connected here, since there's much to do and mucho people to see and kids to keep me away from the screen etc. But here's a run-down of the last seven or eight days, off the top of my head:

Alana is walking! I feel horrible (only just a bit) that I don't have any video of this, but she is walking, and doing so more and more consistently. Eek! And she stood up on her own today in the middle of the room. She's also learning and saying more words (book, juice, bread), and is less into eating books and more into reading them. Cute cute cute!

clockwise from top left: suiting up for a walk in the rain, dancing in undies, boogey in undies, painting a birdhouse, fun at the park and meeting the downstairs cat

We went to Comox for almost two full days - over on Saturday morning and back mid-day on Monday, and it was awesome. It was so good to see Sarah, and the place that she's staying is beautiful; there's an apple orchard with deer cruising around, and the beach, a grocery store and an amazing park are all five minutes away tops (walking). The last time we were there I didn't have a convincing feeling that I could ever call the area home, but this time with the weather and the company and the fun that the kids had outside climbing trees and picking apples and blackberries, it all seemed like it could fit. (Could.)

Ooooooh... I went OUT! - out on the town. Last Friday night was Lindsey's stagette (she weds her beau this coming Sunday, eek!) and it was superfun: a bunch of girls, wine, laughs, more wine, and a celebration of Lindsey - it all adds up to SUPERFUN. I drank lots of water and was on my way home just after midnight, and even though the morning came pretty quickly there after five hours of wine-sleep, I didn't feel too too bad. Thanks goodness for late night snacks and that nagging reminder that my kids wouldn't respond to any requests for quiet time or nap time or go-away-for-awhile time the next day. To the happy couple!

i love everything about these pictures: beyond happy to be with dad, two brinkmans, and looking up at the big guy

Hendrik was a supertrooper yesterday: after the Comox-Nanaimo-Horseshoe Bay trek, we spent the afternoon ici chez mes parents, and then got back in the car for a long-ish trip out to Langley and caught game one of the NORCECAs. It was the cutest, seeing him run to Steve when we got there, and to see the two smiles on big and little Brinkman... sigh. And Hendrik loved watching the game and loved loved LOVED running around on the court afterwards, dishing out high-fives to the guys and booming and serving and throwing himself all over the place. He was well behaved all throughout the night, and didn't fall asleep until we started the drive home at 10:00.

at maplewood farm with barb and her girls

We've been to the farm with Jenny and Ellie and Barb and Stella and Chiara, and to a few fah-bu-lous parks around here, and to drop-in gymnastics down at the rec centre (it was awesome!). Add back yard time with Gramma and Gramps, and the visit is looking like one of the best ones yet!

vancouver post #1

We made it! Vancouver has been beautiful, and I wish we had $5 million so we could live in West Vancouver - it is lovely here. I'm tired, and there's not much time here but I'll get to what I want to get to and call it a day.

before we boarded (left), and snoozing on the plane

The flight was smooth sailing; we had a row of three and the kids slept for the 2nd half of the flight after wiggling and squirming like crazy (Alana) and watching four episodes of Franklin (Hendrik). I was wondering how the whole deplaning thing would go, but they were both awake and fairly coherent - Hendrik walked himself off (it was 2:15am eastern time) and was awake until we hit the bottom of the hill around the corner from la casa. We settled down here fairly well on night #1 (I was exhausted), and wake-ups have become progressively later thank goodness. This morning they slept until 7:15... it was blissful.

And since Friday morning we've had a good mix of busy and, well, busy. Hendrik isn't napping anymore, and quiet time isn't something that he's overly enthusiastic about - and I get it. However, after 12 hours of serious energy output, I do not get how he doesn't just crash. I'm beside-myself-tired, and he's still asking for more stories and finding excuses to not fall asleep. I wouldn't mind being tucked in at 8:00 these days, and I'd take a story and a stuffed animal too.

pre-bath teeth brushing... jostling for sink-position

Here are some pics plus captions from the last few days... yay!

at the beach - a beauty of a first day!

library puppet show

Sunday brunch with friends - I LOVE them!

and I love the little ones too.... adorable!

Stella Bellini and Alana

Hendrik and Ellie - they're already in love :)

quickly! + gangnam style dance par-tay

Last night, the little people sort of got along... though Hendrik's activity of choice when Alana is around is definitely bulldozing and steamrolling his bebe sister:

This morning, I'm packing and suddenly I realize that it's way too quiet and I think to myself: Alana probably has her arms in the toilet... and Hendrik? It was this, thank goodness!

We're almost all packed up and ready to go - our flight leaves at 9pm tonight, so I'm hoping the kiddies sleep (and that I'm not too beat when we arrive). Next post coming from the west coast!

sunday eve

construction site consultation | birthday gifts | mamma maamma maamma!

We are more or less back in the swing of things here - meals, errands, lists, getting the kids out of the house - but not for long; we leave for Vancouver on Thursday night, eeeee! We (mom and chicks) fly at 8pm, so I'm hoping that the kids are well behaved and that they sleep. Too much to ask? Maybe. I'm thinking the sleep thing is fairly highly likely, though there will probably be an initial excitement plane-high something-or-other followed by what I hope will be a slumber-filled two to three hours.

My list of things to blog about:

1. Alana took her first steps! On the fifth - so a few days ago? She did three or four and then three or four again and since hasn't been so into it. She's walking around - holding (preferably two) hands with us, and is still, of course, tres wobbly. I have no pics and no video but will be sure to get some when she decides to try out her new tricks again...

2. A few days ago Steve took Hendrik to Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park... and they both loved it. I would love it. Alana would maybe even love it - but there is no baby zone, just toddler time a few mornings per week... sign me up! Maybe we'll all make it out there before Thursday; if not, when we return.

3. Laundry Detergent. (Yes, this is actually on my list.) I am admitting to an absurdly gross (quantity) purchase: I ordered 16.5kg of laundry detergent (really) from  Costco - it was a serious deal and I never need to buy laundry detergent ever, ever again.

4. Hendrik has a new hard hat and he loooooves it.

5. This:



I finally started working on my Trento/Vela photo book - purchased on Groupon and due to expire mid-January, which should be here any second now with how time is flying these days. This was my motivation; I mean, it's already almost mid-September! Uggggggghhh. It's fall, and the weather has turned and I'm wearing pants and need to put away my flip-flops (sad face).... time sure marches on.

photobook in progress

And on that note, time has marched on in the breastfeeding front and I am no longer nostalgic about it. I mean, if I thought about I might be a teeny tiny bit sentimental about things, but the glass of wine with dinner was lovely and I no longer have a 7:30 nursing-curfew. Unfortunately, my body hasn't fully computed the stop signs, so I'm getting a bit desperate for that process to begin and end.

We're Vancouver bound in four sleeps!

cottage cottage cottage!

the boys: peeing on a rock, boating, wiener roast and fishing

girls: reading + standing, golf + 'dozer, lunch!

 It seems that now, every time we come back home after time away with family, our place seems less and less inviting. The feeling rubs off after a day or two, but I suppose it's telling me something; a move to a more permanent place (avec yard!) will be welcome - when the time is right. The cottage and all its outdoor activities and possibilities - swimming, boating, frog-hunting, sand-stuff, golf, fishing, running, ripping and throwing and kicking leaves, soccer, baseball, frisbee (and the list goes on) - is the best. I also don't mind that there isn't laundry or a list of errands to tackle, and the company is good and bed times are early. 

Our girl is one! We had an amazing birthday-day and Alana was showered with gifts. She liked her cake and Hendrik liked her presents just as much as she did (no surprise there). I'll just cut to the chase here and get pictures up; after a week away, there are more than a few things I need to get to. (Oh, and the countdown to our Vancouver trip is on: we fly in one week! AND my best friend is getting married in 24 days - eeeee!). A big thank you to everyone who made Alana's first birthday so lovely!

opening presents

cake!!

digging for dinos