hello hailey

We are not the only ones settling in here, Hailey is too.  The adjustment may have been even harder on her than on us.  She no longer has the constant attention of my parents, treats before bed (sorry Mom, we keep forgetting), and a big black lab to boss around.  Here, we take shorter and slower walks and she now has a new boss: Jake.  He announces "chase Hailey" whenever he pleases and does exactly that, sends her to her mat (a work in progress) and always seems to pet her when she is trying to relax in the sun.

         

But despite all that, she is doing really well.  

She somehow manages to be calm and caution around Jacob and her crazy, hyperactive self the rest of the time.  She has a knack for driving us crazy but we're happy to have her home. 

linds almost eats richmond

Vote for Lindsay Anderson!

Over 1500 people applied for the 365 Days of Dining job and Lindsay Anderson is now one of their top 12 finalist!  A big Congratulations!

Check out her time-lapse film about why she is perfect for the job.  (And see my sweet sister at the 55 second mark).

 

Good luck Linds!

peachland

We've been busy enjoying our time with Billy's parents and decided to take a quick little drive to Peachland this morning.  We stopped for coffee and snacks at Bliss Bakery, threw rocks into the lake and took a quick hike up to Hardy Falls.  It was such a nice morning 

to be outdoors.

A big boy haircut and cookie covered face

Pecan sticky buns and a salted chocolate toffee cookie

Morning at the lake and some rock-throwing

Wipe-out.  Jake face planted in the lake but there were no tears so more rock throwing ensued.     

 Walking to Hardy Falls over one of the eight bridges on the pathway

lately

We've been enjoying quiet evening walks around our neighborhood; and they couldn't be more different from our walks in Amiens.  The sidewalks are humongous, there is green grass everywhere, we are surrounded by views of the lake and hills, many days we don't even encounter a single car and there is no hum of a passing train or church bells in the distance (two sounds I miss immensely).  

These walks have been awfully short and slow.  Neither Jake or I are moving along too quickly, but we are enjoying the 

fresh air nevertheless.

suprise blooms

These bright blooms were a happy surprise to us.

You see, we've had this orchid plant for years now.  Four years to be exact.  It was an beautiful Easter gift from Billy's Mom while we were living in Victoria.  It's lemon-lime and fuchsia blooms brightened our little beach house there and my sweet parents have been caring for it while we have been away.  Year after year it remained bloom-less.  So when we returned to four blossoms we were over-the-moon.

This is what it looked like back in 2008

home

Happily, the transition home has been a really smooth one.  A few sleepless nights was the worst of it.  Jake handled the adjustment  - new routines, layout of our home, an energetic dog, a new room, new crib... - without missing a beat.  He is happily settled and 

busy exploring. 

cheers

Our kitchen is currently looking a little like a bottle depot.  Twelve-dozen bottles to be exact.  Today's beer-bottling-day has been highly anticipated and everything has been meticulously prepped and is ready to go.  Billy looks forward to making beer at his favourite shop here every year when we arrive home.  They have hundreds of varieties to chose from, can customize almost any beer and are preservative free.  His first batch of the season is an Indian Maple Ale. 

I expect he will arrive home with his one-hundred-and-forty-four 

beers in good spirits.

so lucky

We have been reading The New Baby by Mercer Mayer over and over and over...  Jake cannot get enough of it.  

I found it in a huge box of books my Mom passed along from her old teaching bins and forgot how endearing Little Critter is.  He's trying to figure out just what exactly can you do with a new baby and is disappointed she is not interested in his favourite toys, games and books.  In the end he finds some perfect baby friendly activities (which Jake has been practicing as we read)  

and shows his new sister to all of his friends

"so lucky" is the line of the book that Jake likes to "read" himself and then I catch him throughout the day saying "so lucky" "so lucky"...  It couldn't be any cuter.  We can only hope that he feels so lucky once the real baby arrives!    

Easter

Being home with family for Easter is such a treat.
Although the weather is still pretty cool, daffodils, roses and orchids are blooming away in our home.
   

Last year we a did big brunch but this year was quiet and simple with Baked Raspberry and Cream Cheese French toast and way too many chocolates.

Jake scoured the house for hidden eggs and had an Easter basket full of art supplies.  He was delighted with the play doh. 

This Easter basket was mine as a child, made by my Aunty Nora.  It couldn't be any sweeter and I am so happy to pass it down to Jacob.  

Tonight we are headed to my Aunty Brenda's for turkey dinner - always so delicious - and we made Tres Leches Cake with White Chocolate and Mango for dessert.

more more airplane

We are home!  

We are almost settled

and almost sleeping through the night.

Hooray.

Our trip home was extremely long but thankfully pretty uneventful.  Although Jacob didn't sleep much, he was a trooper and so well behaved.  Our first flight was nice because Jake had a seat all to himself.  The second flight was the hardest on all of us.  Billy had Jake on his lap and we all felt like it was nighttime but couldn't
get comfortable.

Settling in to cross the Atlantic    

In the Toronto airport watching all the planes

After each flight Jake would say "more more airplane"

Surprisingly 23 hours without sleep really didn't help too much with the jet lag.  This nine hour time change is a rough one.  We've had a lot of four am mornings since arriving home and are just now finally starting to sleep through the night.

At thirty weeks pregnant it was a completely draining trip
but it feels so nice to be back home.