Beach Babe

Evy and I went up to Great Granny's cottage for the day on Tuesday. We missed her while we were in N.B. and it was great to see her, and to see Unkie David and all the progress he's made on a new deck along the front of the cottage.

It was pretty humid, but kind of overcast too, so we decided not to go for a swim but took Evy down to the beach so that she could splash around. (the walk from the hilltop cottage down to the beach warrants a sherpa, especially for Granny!)

Once we got down there, Evy had a great time eating sand and playing in the water. She even took a few steps over to Great Granny's chair to say 'hi'.

Unfortunately, she "pushed" the chair off balance and both Evy and 91-year-old Barbara dove face-first into the lake. I'm not sure who I was more worried about, but both were fine. Aside from having a lot of sand in various crevices, neither was worse for wear.

Here are a few pics from our watery adventure.

naughty chimp plotting her attempt at 'great granicide'

pretty pleased with herself!

Granny, Slick, Unkie and Evy

Sea (Lake?) Urchin

setting the stage for the watery deed

Bro

Hey, check out my brother-in-law who was on Canada AM this morning:

Go to: www.ctv.ca/canadaam

In the 'CTV News Video Player' box click the 6th story down.

Paramedic featured in Esquire article
An Ottawa paramedic and an Esquire Magazine writer teamed up to bring the reality of saving lives to readers across the U.S.

Good work Chris! TV really brings out the shine in your hillbilly-meets-werewolf beard.

A few more photos

We had such a good time in New Brunswick (is it possible that we were there only 4 days ago? It seems like 4 months - though probably not to Granny and Poppa who are undoubtedly still recovering from hosting us!)

Here are a few more pics of the fun and frolic:

little lemon licker licked a peck of sour lemons

at the Boiler Works restaurant in St John

Mr. Sulu helping poppa to "drive"

Evy and Poppa hangin out at the harbour in St Martins

Granny, Ev and Momma go for a walk

Evy and Dada out for a foggy stroll

Little miss and momma on Brown's Beach

Headin' home

We're getting ready to leave to the airport, on our way back to Ontario (yes, I've edited to correct my mistake. That's what happens when you try to update your blog while your baby is crying and you have to leave for the airport in 20 minutes and still need to brush your teeth and pee!). It's been such a nice visit, and I don't want to go home - mainly because our house has been infested with carpenter ants and Rob had exterminators there this morning. Now, I don't know if any of you have dealt these creepy creatures moving into your house, but suffice it to say that Rob could HEAR them the other night - crunch crunch crunch - and there's a small mountain of sawdust in the basement (underneath where they've been eating through some structural beams - good times!)

So, here are a last few pics from our 2nd New Brunswick adventure. This'll probably be the last time we're here for 2009 (though I said that last time!) and we're looking forward to coming again next year!

lookee what I found in my suitcase

overlooking Brown's Beach

first time eating spaghetti - yum!

checking out the soap-box car races in St Martins

More Fun at Fundy

We are back in New Brunswick (thanks to a great WestJet seat sale) and are having a wonderful time. We arrived on Friday night - Rob went back to Toronto yesterday and Evy and I are staying on for another few days.

The weather has been mixed but yesterday was an utterly gorgeous day. We did up the Fundy Trail, walked on the beach, and had a nice afternoon outside before taking Rob to the airport.

Madam Evy has been having a wonderful time, and is in heaven with so much attention lavished on her. She was showing off after we arrived on Friday night and proceeded to walk across the sun room by herself. She's been walking around a few times since then, but still prefers to crawl.

She's been pure entertainment - she now says, "uh oh" when she drops something on the floor, and makes barking noises when she sees the dogs. She also feeds Oggy and Penny and they circle her highchair like sharks, waiting for a handout. She has been looking all over for 'daddy' today, and is now calling everyone daddy (must be because she's missing Rob!)

It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so we're going to Saint John and will have an 'indoor' day. Thurs is supposed to be nice again, so we'll surely enjoy more of the beautiful scenery around here. In fact, the Bay of Fundy has been nominated to be one of the new 7 wonders of the world. You can read more and vote here.

Here are a few photos of the fun so far:

playing with Penny

Evy makes friends with the wooden carvings at the Saint John museum

Guess who loves ice cream?

Salmon River family portrait

Sunset walk to the cliffs in front of Granny & Poppa's house

backpack baby

At a lookout on the Fundy Trail Parkway

Some very serious flower contemplation

please please please sign this petition

Two of my very good friends were devastated yesterday to hear that the adoption agency they've been working with has been shut down. This could mean that they multi-year journey to adopt a baby from Ethiopia has ended. They'll be out thousands of dollars, and more importantly, a beautiful little orphaned baby will not get the chance to meet his or her Canadian parents (who are truly amazing, loving and wonderful people who will be great parents). If you're a parent or if you or someone you know has been through adoption, you might understand how much this means to them.

If you could take 30 seconds to sign this petition, I'd be really grateful:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SaveOurDreamofAdoptingInternatio/

(Please note that the website hosting the petition asks for donations afterwards - you do NOT need to make a donation - your name will still show up on the petition).

If you would like to forward this on to anyone who you think might be able to sign it, that would be great. They're trying to get the government to commit to helping them complete the adoption process -the more signatures, the better their chances.

Thank you... this means a lot!

(You can read more about it in this Globe & Mail article)

Garden Gnome

Here is the little beauty "helping" me in the garden on Sunday. Isn't she adorable?? She only ate about a peck of dirt, and uprooted a few flowers, and played with some earwigs, but otherwise all was well.







It's been a busy week here! Madam has been for a few tests. Her doctor wants to make sure there's nothing amiss about the wee miss weighing only 15lb 4oz. That's pretty darn tiny (there are month-old babies who weigh more than that!). He's positive all is well with her, but just wants to be sure. So, after almost fainting at her blood test and then carting her around the hospital yesterday, I'm hoping she doesn't need any more tests any time soon!

In other news, it looks like I'll be a working woman again soon (well, working outside the home, because I'm pretty sure I've been working my ass off for the past 12 months, but just for a tiny tyrant boss and poor wages!). It's 2.5 days a week and should offer a perfect transition for Evy and me. We're pretty attached to each other, so I'm a bit worried - I'm not sure which of us will cry harder! It doesn't start until early August, so, I have a bit of time to get her off the bosom and get her used to the idea of daycare.

AND, we booked another trip to New Brunsick! Evy and I had so much fun there last month, combined with missing granny and poppa and a WestJet seat sale and voila! Rob, Evy and I fly out next Friday (17th). Rob's staying for the weekend and will fly back to Toronto on Monday and Evy and I are staying on for another few days. Yay! Hopefully this time I'll see a moose!

So, that's your update from our whirlwind world for this week (so far!). Off to Granny's cottage for the day tomorrow, which should be very nice! Hope everyone is having a good July!

Cottage and the big birthday bash!

Phew! It's been a busy few weeks. Evy's birthday was great fun. We survived quite a bit of rain on our way to the cottage to celebrate, but we all dried out eventually. The guest list included the big 1-year old girl, Rob & I, Jim & Helen, Great Granny Barbara, G'pa and G'ma Al and Molly, Unkie Dennis, and our friends from Millbrook, Joe & Trina and their daughter Maeve.

The weather cooperated enough for us to have lunch outside, which was nice, but it rained on and off all day, so that was too bad. But, we made the most of it and little madam was spoiled with lots and lots of presents and cards (including lots of presents from the UK friends - thanks to everyone for helping to make her birthday so special! She opened (and chewed on) the cards and presents- it was very cute!

We also had a great time at the cottage. Jim & Helen were very mellow and relaxed houseguests, and we ate well, slept well (ok, except for Evy a few nights) and enjoyed ourselves. Here are a few pics from the past 2 weeks:

little nudesie goes for a splash

I can tell you, it's very hard to tread water with a baby

Having a post-swim snuggle

Little smiley reading her birthday book made with love by Aunt Diane

The 'very hungry caterpillar' cake

playing with Maeve after the birthday bash

little miss sunshine eating her shreddies

who is this baby?

ole' silly, with a shreddie stuck to her arm

(Must be one of those pesky diamond shreddies!)

enjoying a lovely dinner out in Bobcaygeon on
Jim & Helen's last night