iphone photos, old and new

almost 7 months

So the push for a visa this morning was a bust, and Steve has to go back tomorrow - fingers crossed that it can happen then, really, truly, actually. We're tentatively booked on a flight that departs tomorrow night around 10:00, so if we're lucky, the little one will sleep for most of the ride. We're loving spending some extra time in Canada, but we're both ready to get there, so hmmm, yup fingers crossed. As I was browsing through Steve's phone last night I realized that I haven't posted any pics from his mobile library (or whatever) for quite a while, and there are some real gems - he's changed soooo much from the first of these photos to the last, and ooooh is he as cute as ever. So, with lots to do around here, the pics...

I love lamp! or, er, Hendrik love leaves... 7 months (above and below)

still in the tiger onesie! awww... almost 8 months

at the Chelsea market, sporting some fiiiiine duds at 8 months old

9 months old

I definitely lost more than a few hairs - rrrrrrip pull grab - on this tunnel adventure

all clean - 9 months

my Dutchies! At the Children's Museum, 9 months

9 months + 10 days - he still loves the swings!

cutest ever! at the cot this past weekend, going on 9 1/2 months - !!!

moving -

empty!

this guy will look a lot different when we're back ... yikes!

And so, after spending an entire year plus four months in one place, we're ready to move again. Well, almost. We've cleaned up and cleared out of our apt in Gatineau, and, after a brief but perfect overnight stay at the Crowe cottage, we're in Bowmanville waiting, waiting, waiting. Steve has an appointment at the Italian embassy on Wednesday morning, and the team is hopeful that we'll fly Wednesday night... ouf. Steve and I are ready to get there, ready to go - but who knows how long the processing process is (the visa), and whether or not they can rush order things to get us on a plane asap. Fingers are still crossed, and I guess we'll know more by hmm, noon-ish on Wednesday.

The weather was nice enough for outdoor bath + bubbles - he loved it!

Fall on its way in, slowly :)

He figured out how to stack the rings back onto his toy - love it!

Hendrik has been a'changing, and I can't believe that he's sort of going on one year old - ridiculous! He's started smiling different smiles - cheeky, flirty, scrunchy nose - and of course, all of them are ad-orable. He's been way more vocal too, and is starting to label things (like banana - "nana" - soooo so cute); just today we were all convinced that he was saying clock, though he still has some work to do on all sounds involved. One thing I do know is that I need to have both the camera and the Flip close at hand at all times to catch the babbling and flirting and cheekiness flying up up around. Time is flying by, and I've got to try to catch more of it on film.

bath time in B-ville

I'm sure I had more to blog about - something to say about ? awww man, I forget. The bags? Packing? I think it might have had something to do with one of those things but really, we packed all of our stuff away into apartment nooks and crannies, and our bags are probably overweight with clothes and books and toys, and hmmm, yup, that's about it. We'll have to do the weight test and sort and shuffle our stuff around - tomorrow, I guess it'll have to be. And since Hendrik was up in the night and then awake early bird early this morning, it's bed for me. :)

BEST

PICTURES

EVER!
we were kiiiiilling ourselves laughing - so so so so funny!

this, that, bed time

If I were to do a full blog-browse of food-related posts, I am sure that pizza would be the most oft-blogged, drool worthy dish (though desserts as a category might take the first-place cake), and - put another pie on the barby! - here comes another write-up. We had Dan and Jess and Freddie and Shanti over the other night for a full on smorgasbord of pizza, and there was no shortage of toppings for our on-the-grill pizzas. The dessert that followed wasn't so bad either - I made sticky date pudding with hot caramel sauce and it was yum-yum-yum. We've had this cake in B-ville, but with dates in the cupboard ready to jump into pudding (it really is more of a cake), I just had to give it a try myself. And on that note, can anyone tell me what the deal is with measuring butter in sticks? Am I the only one that has to look at a Butter Measurement Translation Chart to Defeat Nefarious Recipe Writers* ? For real, that's what the chart was called (see here). Anyways, with a dinner/dessert menu of pizza and pudding, and an upcoming extended eating free for all in Italy, I'd better plan on breastfeeding until next April if I'm going to want to fit into my clothes. Or I guess I could find a babysitter and work out every day.... hm, could both happen? Doubt it.


So! I finally googled Trento and it looks Ah-MAZING!! Last night I spent oooh oh about 20 minutes googling and reading about the place (not nearly enough time) and I can't wait to get there. It's nestled in the mountains, looks beautiful, is close to all sorts of fabulous places and it has a Christmas market! And winter weather. And oh, if only the whole visa situation were sorted then we might well be on our way there right now. Steve's been given the regular old European run-around (which we'd kind of forgotten about) and we've wistfully thought back to the superb (organized, polite) organizational skills of Japanese institutions when put on hold, hung up on and/or been completely ignored when speaking with (or not speaking with) people in the Italian consular offices. Anyways, blah blah blah - it looks like we won't be leaving until the middle of next week, but our fingers are crossed that Steve can get in (in Toronto) to get visa stuff taken care of asap.

Outside the hockey stadium in Yaroslavl, March 2008

And that reminds me - the last time we had visa business to take care of in Toronto was in 2008 when we were headed for Yaroslavl, Russia; the plane crash of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the hockey team that trained and played just down the street from where we lived has been on my mind mucho. I went for an amazing (and slow) run jog yesterday in late afternoon fall-is-coming sunshine, and it was all I could think about.

So, yeah, packing. We're slowly but surely getting the apartment and all of our stuff packed up ready to go, or packed up ready to stay. We're renting our place out to two Team Canada full-timers, and are glad to have people in here. That being said, we're really hoping that they take care of our home and all of its contents.



I don't have toooo many Hendrik updates, but he is babbling more and more, and is understanding more language too. At almost 9 1/2 months (!!!), his favourite foods are cantaloupe and blueberries, and Cheerios are a good go-to mess-free snack, and hmm... he likes beef and meat combo dinners (I'm trying to empty the freezer of baby mush) and milk is still tops. He is on the move on the move, and sleeping well - 10 hours last night and almost 12 on Tuesday night. If we could figure out how to encourage that kind of shut eye we'd be all over it... it was amazing for all three of us. Anyways, speaking of that I should get some myself, I'm tired!

an amazing west coast trip!

the beautiful west coast

I have to say that our visit west was one of the best … ever. My time in Vancouver always seems much too short, and of course this trip could have been longer (couldn't they all?), but because we did so much and saw so many people and too, spent so much time at home with my mom and dad and sister, it felt like a longer visit than it was. Maybe it’s because the days started earlier – those extra hours in the morning added up I suppose. And we even went to Seattle! Eek, that almost feels like a separate, different trip. Anyways, there’s been something wrong with the wireless signal on my computer chez mes parents, so I haven’t blogged since I don’t even know when – excuses excuses. And now that I’m on the plane sitting next to my sprawled out sleeping babe, I thought I’d try to get a blog down.

grandma reading Hendrik his bedtime story - and one neglected dog!

grandpa and hendrik...

... and the neglected dog - poor woofer!

So yes, the visit was amazing. We hung out with my mom and dad a ton, and with Sarah too, and the two of us even got an amazing trail run in up along the Capilano River. I think the two runs plus one elevation packed hike we (Dad, Bill, Joe, Lisa, me and a pack of dogs on Sunday morning) did this morning is the most exercise I’ve had in who knows how long – a looong long time; and, I’m happy to say that my knees felt fine – yay! My mom and dad had some solid Hendrik time, in the mornings before my dad left for work, and in the afternoons and evenings too. I saw friends, and Hendrik saw some of his friends, and it all just felt so balanced – my time wasn’t overcrowded with visits. Sure I could have seen more people and others more often, but I’m so happy that I saw Jayme and Lindsay and Lindsay and Hanno and Tally, and Lisa and Barb and Kelly and Jenny and I suppose I could go on and on and oh I could go on about the people I didn’t see too, but I guess that would just, well, go on a bit too much so I’ll stop. To conclude: 10 days – while a very healthy chunk of visiting time – is not long enough to see everyone as much as I’d like too, but hey, I’m more than happy with the time I had out in the beautiful city of Vancouver.

Dad, Joe, Hendrik and Bill

the big tree! plus me, lisa and the doggies

And now – this is news! – we’re heading home to Gatineau for a few short days because, it looks like we’re heading to Italy later this week for the volleyball season - !! Last week (or the week before? – yeah, the week before) Steve signed a contract with Trentino Volley, a famous club located in Northern Italy’s town of Trento. So, tack another adventure on to our list: we’re headed overseas with a baby, and soon. We haven’t told a ton of people (nor have we broken the news on Facebook – facebook schmacebook as Steve says) and I definitely haven’t had the time to learn much about where we’re going – but this week I will , in between packing and planning and listing and running errands. So yeah! That’s the big news. Otherwise hm, we will be (/were, by the time this is posted) reunited with Steve tonight - yay yay yay. Their team flew into Ottawa this afternoon from Puerto Rico, where they placed third in the Norceca World Cup qualifying tournament – one spot out of the running for a ticket to the event in Japan in November (said with sad face). I’m not sure what else to say about the past week except that I need to attend to Hendrik, who is waking...

Barb and Kelly practicing their future mothering skills with Hendrik - so excited for my friends to have babies!

Me, Jenny, Ellie, Hendrik, Kelly and Barb

pizzzzza!

pulling books off the shelf was one of Hendrik's very favourite activities... it was too cute!

Sarah and Jeff left for school in Scotland on Friday morning - this is the boys corner of the dinner table at their last supper on Thursday night :)

Mommy time in the park with my cousin Mandy and Jenny and the babes

Hendrik ate no less than four Arrowroot cookies (thanks Jenny!), and in quick succession too; AND Ellie and Hendrik fed each other cookie bits - it was adorable!

at the fire hall visiting Jenny :)

boy ball dog