the nanningas

July's minibreak was a trip to Harrison Hot Springs to meet up with Kent and Leanne Nanninga.  They were visiting Kent's parents, and it was a delightful opportunity to catch up with the whole Nanninga family.  And best of all to meet Sequoia, Neika and Ashton.  Ashton is one month older than Jake, and he was born on Christmas day.

Kent and Neil were kayak guides together in earlier days.  It was great to hear old stories and catch up on each others' lives.  And how life is different.  Now both dads!  Maybe there are two future kayak guides in the making?  We enjoyed some fabulous dinners, some beach time, a picnic, and a lovely walk at a nearby conservation area.

Kent and Leanne are both doing well in New Zealand and its sounds like they are enjoying their life at Blue Mountain.  At sometime in the future, moving back to Canada might be in their plans.  Let's hope so because they are a wonderful family and it would nice to have our friends closer.

happy birthday aunt vanessa

Vanessa's birthday today!  Its always fun to enjoy the back to back birthdays.  Today's celebration including all sorts of delicious sushi and some very agreeable Prosecco.  Today's cake was the joint creation of Uncle Rob and Mom; chocolate cake with chocolate caramel candies baked inside, homemade caramel sauce filling.....and best of all a caramel sauce pond.  Complete with heron, dragonfly, frog and bull rushes.  Happy Birthday Vinny!

hey i'm six months old

Another big event for today: Jake is six months old.  This turning point in year one means that he is a big baby now.  He weighs 17 lbs 11 oz. and is 27 and half inches long.  He is wearing clothes for 9 month old babies (sometimes even ones labelled 12 months).  

There is so much that he can do now, but here are a couple of huge milestones:

• eating solid foods; all sorts, three times a day
  
• makes tuneful talking noises
  
• laughs, chuckles, squeals and screams
  
• moves head and eyes eagerly
  

Next up will likely be the sitting by himself, since he can almost do it.  But don't be too quick to grow up Little Dude, time is going by so quickly as it is.

happy birthday dad

Dad turned 41 today!  We headed to the Granary for a big breakfast, and worked off the bacon with an hour walk around Westwood Lake.  Jake enjoyed his first 'hike' in the backpack and enjoyed it so much that he slept for most of it.  For dinner we made fresh pasta and pesto.  We shared dinner and the evening with Rob, Vanessa and Zoe.  By shared I mean made them help us to make the food that they were going to eat.  Even Zoe helped out in her own way.  

And there were special happy birthday Mexican chocolate cupcakes, including a small one for Zoe.  

We love you Neil and here's to the fantastic year ahead.

no photo required

Um, I would just like to go on record that it is astonishing how much poo a little baby can make in one go.  Now that Jake is eating solid food, the production down below has exploded.  And when I say exploded I mean increased beyond my wildest imagination.  I would say that based on volume, there is no way that Jake is eating that much food.  I'm just saying its a lot.  A lot.  And you're welcome, no photo posted.

from down under

Thank you Caroline for the fantastic presents from Australia. Does everyone remember that the band AC DC is from down under? Well they are. And of course the best boots available, Blundstones, are an Aussie staple. Poppa, Momma and Baby Blunnies.

you're my cat

Everyday is something new to discover. Like for instance, how soft is Lucy? Pretty soft.

And Lucy T. Knitted Cat has become one of Jake's favorite toys. Its squishable and fuzzy.  He giggles when it tickles his face and he likes to suck on its' ears.  He couldn't get away with that with the real Lucy.

what happens in storytime stays in storytime

Words to live by.  What with the crying, the pooing, the raspberries, the shrieky laughter, the wet diapers, the farts and all.  And that's just the parents.  Lessons at this stage will come in handy for later in life.  Trust me Little Dude, what happens on the mountain, stays on the mountain.

big boy eats cereal

Big news in the world of Jake:  he ate his first solid food last night for dinner.  And by 'solid' I mean mushy.  And by 'food' I mean rice cereal which in the realm of foods is low on the ladder. And by 'dinner' I mean two teaspoons full just before we had our delicious spaghetti and sauce (cooked with some red wine added....see what I mean about rice cereal).

Jake loved it!!  He has for months been keenly watching us eat and drink; and for a couple of weeks he has been grabbing for glasses and cutlery.  He was so ready to eat, so even though it is a couple of weeks away from his six month mark we gave it a go.   When offered the cereal on a spoon at his lips, Jake grabbed the spoon, jammed it in his mouth and ate the cereal. 

 

He would have gladly eaten more than a couple of teaspoons, but we have to start slowly so that he doesn't get bunged up and work up towards about a 1/4 cup.  In a couple of weeks we'll introduce some fruit.  In fact, last summer I made apple and pear sauces from our own fruit from the backyard and jarred them up for Jake to eat this summer I can hardly wait.

Welcome to the world of food Jake.  I'm sure that as a teenager, when you are eating the whole contents of the fridge in one go, I will look back to this start and know where the appetite all began.

it finally happened

I have always marvelled at how many older couples seem to resemble each other. Especially those with the matching leisure suits. Its as if spending all of that time together converges your sense of style. I have always thought that it would not happen to Neil and I since we are so different in our appearances. You know, I had always kind of hoped that if it happened that we started to look more alike that maybe Neil would have leaned towards my sense of style rather than me leaning towards his sense of 'style'. How would it be possible for me to resemble the six foot four inch, red headed Viking? Well it happened. I was headed out to pick strawberries when I realized that I was wearing a Neil outfit, complete with socks paired with vibrant coloured wiffle clogs. And I can't complain, it must be some sense of style since I love the guy who pulls it off.

happy birthday sable

Sable turned four years old ! We helped her celebrate with a trip to the pool and later that day at her family birthday dinner. Yummy west coast salmon for a west coast birthday. Sable decorated her own birthday cake and shared it with us. Thanks Sable, and happy birthday.

i am canadian

Jake celebrated his first Canada Day with a trip to the lakeside beach. We met up with Zoe and friends and enjoyed some outdoor swimming. Jake enjoyed some sun protection.

When Jake gets older some Canadian things that I hope he enjoys include:

• hockey, either playing it or watching it
• Tim Horton's (aka Timmy's or T Ho's), Tim Bits will be a real treat
• toques, toques, toques (likely knitted by mom but maybe he'll knit his own someday)
• tortierre, mom and dad can teach him how to make this family tradition at Christmas
• maple syrup
• the great outdoors !!!!

Happy Canada Day, eh?