walking and a very belated post

Avery started walking on May 30th!

  

Everything just clicked and off she went.  New walkers are the cutest things; the wobbly wide stance, outstretched arms and that look of triumph.  

   

Now she's doing her best to keep up with Jake.  And succeeding for the most part (although he's not always thrilled about this).  She's such a big girl now, I can hardly believe it!

lately

Right now I have two kids fast asleep (what!?), so it seems like the perfect time to sort through some pictures and catch-up.  

We've had visitors, been visitors, chased down the ice cream truck, made a sandcastle, hiked, played in the park, gardened, picked strawberries and herbs, had a little birthday celebration and read a lot.   

And of course there were a lot of things not captured in pictures, like the morning Billy, Jacob and my dad fished from the shore of Vaseux Lake.  They caught a fish but that wasn't the highlight; Jake spotted a big turtle and my dad caught it for him to examine.  Fun. 

Made this One Pot Pasta and was impressed with how quick and easy it was. (I added sun-dried tomatoes and some spinach too).

Well done Holland! and very cool.  Brings back a lot of great memories and I would love to go back.  

And books, books galore!  Officer Buckle and Gloria was excellent and so clever; A Visitor for Bear had Jake laughing out loud, is so charming and beautifully illustrated; Strega Nona a classic; All the Awake Animals are Almost Asleep a study in alliteration; and two wordless picture books - Where's Walrus and Flora and the Flamingo were pretty cute too (Although not nearly as coveted as the first two books listed!).

cake time

What's the very best thing about a first birthday (or any birthday, for that matter)?!  Cake of course.  That first bite of sweets.  Jake wasn't too impressed but it's exciting to see that first reaction - wonder, delight, scepticism... regardless.

Avery was a lot like Jacob, tentative and a little hesitant.  I would have loved to see handfuls of cake; cake in the hair; cake gone wild.  But all in all, Avery stayed relatively clean.  

This was my favourite moment!  Why not dive in face-first?!       

And that was that.  She hardly put a dent into her mini little cake, so we sliced it up and helped her out a little :)

And of course there were presents.  More than any child could possibly need.  Jacob was a huge help in the present-opening-department.  In fact, he had just as much fun as he did at his own party.  

Thanks everyone!
Your thoughtfulness was appreciated (by both Aves and Jake)!  

one year old

Happy birthday sweet, sweet Avery! 

An entire year old.  I saw it coming, but can barely believe it.
You are such a smiley, busy, kissable little thing; such a blessing.  This last year has been filled with such great joy (and some sleeplessness too) and we love you.

Watching your baby grow into a toddler is so heartbreaking and exhilarating.  A truly wonderful thing to behold.

"Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born"   

-  Nancy Tillman 

the haircut that took all day

A slight exaggeration.  But only slight.  

It all started with a morning hair appointment that didn't happen.  We left the salon close to tears and without any hair cut.  I couldn't even get Jake into the chair.  An enormous fail.     

We tried again at home but he told me he just wanted to cry in his room instead.  Oh boy.  This went on for a while so we took a lunch break.  At this point serious negotiations began - go to the park, golfing, going out for banana bread... - and it was settled that I could cut his hair while he watched the ipad and after we would make cookies together 

(clearly, he's good at this negotiating thing). 

Well, we got a little over half-way through the cut and near the ears we just had to stop.  He tried his best and we all needed a break (Avery too, because at this point she's moral support; sitting in her bumbo on the bathroom floor watching patiently).  We bake cookies and it's incredibly fun and messy!  The perfect light-hearted activity.  

Finally, it is evening and dinner dishes have all been cleared.  Bill has been recruited and helps distract Jacob so I can hastily finish the back.  It's not precise or even, but it's done.  Phew!  He looks all ready for summer and instantly older.  Even so, I'm seriously contemplating never ever cutting his hair again ;)     

   
After a traumatic day of hair cutting, it's nice to see a big smile on this handsome little guy.  

catch-up

Here is a peek at our last three weeks...

A calm, warm morning at Bertram Creek Park.  We had the entire park all to ourselves.  We walked the trails, played in the sand, dipped our toes in the cool lake, filled-up buckets of sand, threw rocks in the water and shared some chocolate cookies with an overly-friendly squirrel.  And then made it back home in time for Avery's morning nap.

Oh, how we love the weekend.    

The boys go camping and fishing at Red Lake!  

This adventure included; tents, cool nights, one night terror, head-lamp flashlights, camp fires, s'mores, fly fishing, digging-up worms, allergies, a little rain and throwing rocks into the water, of course.  All-in-all, a pretty good trip.  Especially for a first-timer like Jake.    

Jake had an unexpected allergy attack and was pretty frightened by the unsteady, rocking feeling in the boat (as shown in picture number two); but otherwise had a fun time.  He ran around with the big kids and enjoyed all the snack food in camp.  He even landed a few fish - Eastern Brook Trout - and was a proud little guy.  I overheard him telling my friend "it was a fighter!".

Meanwhile, Avery and I stayed home for a girls weekend.  I couldn't believe how quiet the house was and how much I could get done with only one child in tow.  Ha! 

And Jake joined soccer.

He wasn't too sure about it once we arrived at the first class but luckily we joined with a friend and that helped a lot.  The coaches are focusing on kicking with the inside of the foot, stopping the ball and dribbling but ALL Jacob is interested in is scoring goals.  He's not the most focused pupil out there but he's starting to participate more and more.

summer list

Well, I plum forgot to make a spring list but we jumped in plenty of puddles and planted tomato plants.  That will have to do.  As for summer, here are some things I hope we accomplish...

ONE | swim in the lake

TWO | go to the farmers market

THREE | picnics!

FOUR | go cherry picking

FIVE | fly a kite

SIX | waterpark

SEVEN | gelato at carmelis goat farm

EIGHT | raspberry lemonade smoothie or 

watermelon strawberry lemonade  

NINE | nature walk in rotary park marsh

TEN | birdwatching in maude roxby wetlands

ELEVEN | rent paddle boards 

TWELVE |  blizzards on the city park board-walk

Anything missing on here?