Tonight was one of those nights that makes a mommy proud....
Every night, we look at Matthew's picture books. He doesn't seem to want to sit still for a story yet, so instead, we look at books and point out all of the pictures. He is great at pointing to things like "Matthew, where's the car?".. but he never wanted to say any words.. until tonight!
Although you had to probably be his Mommy to understand him, he made a great attempt today at "saying" all of the things I pointed to! He can get "cat" and "car" down pat, but some of the hard ones like "apple" and "tree" don't sound much like those words at all.. but none the less we cheered and clapped at every word he said!
And just to make sure I was actually hearing him say words, I pointed to the trusty picture of a banana and what did I hear? "nana"!! music to my ears ;o)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
I'm Back.....
wow,
it's been a while since I've blogged. I do apologize. The last few weeks have been, well, let's say busy to say the least.
Before I went back to work, I remember saying to myself.. "now as long as you keep on top of things, it won't be that bad..."... well, I was right. These last few weeks I have been putting in what little free time I have to finishing the wedding pictures that Darren and I did for our friends Shannon and Jerome. That meant that a lot of other things had to slip on nights when I needed the time to work on the photos.
And you know how it goes.. what doesn't get done what night just means double the next night and so on....
So, to make a long story short, I had a terrific 3-day weekend where I was able to get a lot of catching up done! We did a thorough fall cleaning of 3 rooms upstairs (which is only a start, but it feels good to see some results of a spic and span house!)... We cleaned up a good portion of the garden outside and I even managed to do a 10 or more feet of brick edging. I cooked several meals worth of beef stew in the slowcooker and made a batch of cooked ground beef to freeze for quick additions to spaghetti sauce, etc. We got some shopping in, a walk and lots of time to play with Matthew.
ahhh.... may seem like a lot, but it left me feeling like I got a lot accomplished, and I spent a lot of quality time with my boys. That's the holy grail and for once I feel like I accomplished it. Now, I enter the week feeling like I'm back in the driver's seat!
So, how is my little man by the way? Well, we measured him today... he's just shy of 33 inches tall. Boy, does he sure understand everything these days! It's so fun to ask him questions and have him respond! At first I wasn't sure if he was really answering you, but a few tries at asking him if he wants something... him saying no and then trying to give it to him, proved to me that he does know what you're saying!
It's fun to ask him what he wants to eat... if he wants it.. he says a long drawn out "yaaaaaaa"... and if he doesn't it's a firm no and a shake of the head!
These days, his favourites are cheerios and milk, grapes, yogurt, fruit bars (the sunrype ones) and frozen yogurt tubes! He's still good with eating peas, carrots and broccoli and most nights will eat whatever meat is put in front of him. The trick has been trying to get supper cooked fast enough when we get home so that he doesn't try eat everything else out of the pantry before I get it made. (hence the frozen meals.. a lifesaver indeed :O)
He is good at giving everybody hugs, including his two kitties. For a while last week, he even started giving kisses until Mommy asked for a kiss too many times and now he flat our refuses!
He loves playing with Lego blocks now and we build towers until he can barely reach the last block and then knock them all over! He has taken a great liking to his glow-baby again, sometimes even more than blankie. And the most fun is getting Mommy or Daddy to push him around the house on his 3 wheel trike!
So here are a few of my favourite pictures of our friends' Shannon and Jerome's wedding. They make a beautiful couple!
it's been a while since I've blogged. I do apologize. The last few weeks have been, well, let's say busy to say the least.
Before I went back to work, I remember saying to myself.. "now as long as you keep on top of things, it won't be that bad..."... well, I was right. These last few weeks I have been putting in what little free time I have to finishing the wedding pictures that Darren and I did for our friends Shannon and Jerome. That meant that a lot of other things had to slip on nights when I needed the time to work on the photos.
And you know how it goes.. what doesn't get done what night just means double the next night and so on....
So, to make a long story short, I had a terrific 3-day weekend where I was able to get a lot of catching up done! We did a thorough fall cleaning of 3 rooms upstairs (which is only a start, but it feels good to see some results of a spic and span house!)... We cleaned up a good portion of the garden outside and I even managed to do a 10 or more feet of brick edging. I cooked several meals worth of beef stew in the slowcooker and made a batch of cooked ground beef to freeze for quick additions to spaghetti sauce, etc. We got some shopping in, a walk and lots of time to play with Matthew.
ahhh.... may seem like a lot, but it left me feeling like I got a lot accomplished, and I spent a lot of quality time with my boys. That's the holy grail and for once I feel like I accomplished it. Now, I enter the week feeling like I'm back in the driver's seat!
So, how is my little man by the way? Well, we measured him today... he's just shy of 33 inches tall. Boy, does he sure understand everything these days! It's so fun to ask him questions and have him respond! At first I wasn't sure if he was really answering you, but a few tries at asking him if he wants something... him saying no and then trying to give it to him, proved to me that he does know what you're saying!
It's fun to ask him what he wants to eat... if he wants it.. he says a long drawn out "yaaaaaaa"... and if he doesn't it's a firm no and a shake of the head!
These days, his favourites are cheerios and milk, grapes, yogurt, fruit bars (the sunrype ones) and frozen yogurt tubes! He's still good with eating peas, carrots and broccoli and most nights will eat whatever meat is put in front of him. The trick has been trying to get supper cooked fast enough when we get home so that he doesn't try eat everything else out of the pantry before I get it made. (hence the frozen meals.. a lifesaver indeed :O)
He is good at giving everybody hugs, including his two kitties. For a while last week, he even started giving kisses until Mommy asked for a kiss too many times and now he flat our refuses!
He loves playing with Lego blocks now and we build towers until he can barely reach the last block and then knock them all over! He has taken a great liking to his glow-baby again, sometimes even more than blankie. And the most fun is getting Mommy or Daddy to push him around the house on his 3 wheel trike!
So here are a few of my favourite pictures of our friends' Shannon and Jerome's wedding. They make a beautiful couple!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Adventure #7 - Sleepless in Seattle
Wednesday morning saw us up veeerrry early and on our way to Seattle for the day! We had an appointment somewhere close to Seattle (I can't remember the city) to take our SUV in for a checkup. Since it's an American vehicle, Darren figured it'd be better having someone look at it down there while we were there.. So we got a brand new one as a loaner! Sweet! Wow, the service down there compared to what we get here was night and day, with here being the night. I couldn't believe how accommodating they were... we said we didn't plan to come back until late and not in the next day, so wondered if we could pick it up on Friday and they said.. "oh sure! Just treat it like your own, take it whereever you want!" Here, we get "do you want a shuttle ride home?"
Anyhow... here's Matthew enjoying a complimentary apple juice while Daddy gets things in order at the dealership.
So, on our trip, we quickly learned that we had to incorporate things that were fun for Matthew in our day as well as the things we wanted to do... and what does Matthew want to do, you ask? Play in a playground of course. So, we set off into Seattle to see if we could find a neighbourhood with a playground, using the greenspaces on our GPS as a guide. Think we could find one? Nope, but we did find a really cool highschool football field and track.
So.... we made Matthew run a few laps...
...then guard the soccer goal for a while....
This made us all quite hungry, so we enjoyed a nice lunch at Pike Place Market, overlooking the water... er.. well, I had a nice lunch for about 5 minutes, until Matthew decided we needed to walk around.. I believe Daddy finished my lunch for me saying "well, I didn't think you were coming back!"
The afternoon was completed with a nap in the stroller for Matthew and then a pilgramage to Daddy's favourite store on earth....
After which, we all settled in for the 1.5 hour ride home and a nice quite evening on the beach :O)
Anyhow... here's Matthew enjoying a complimentary apple juice while Daddy gets things in order at the dealership.
So, on our trip, we quickly learned that we had to incorporate things that were fun for Matthew in our day as well as the things we wanted to do... and what does Matthew want to do, you ask? Play in a playground of course. So, we set off into Seattle to see if we could find a neighbourhood with a playground, using the greenspaces on our GPS as a guide. Think we could find one? Nope, but we did find a really cool highschool football field and track.
So.... we made Matthew run a few laps...
...then guard the soccer goal for a while....
This made us all quite hungry, so we enjoyed a nice lunch at Pike Place Market, overlooking the water... er.. well, I had a nice lunch for about 5 minutes, until Matthew decided we needed to walk around.. I believe Daddy finished my lunch for me saying "well, I didn't think you were coming back!"
The afternoon was completed with a nap in the stroller for Matthew and then a pilgramage to Daddy's favourite store on earth....
After which, we all settled in for the 1.5 hour ride home and a nice quite evening on the beach :O)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Adventure #6 ~ Eating in the Car.....
Tuesday morning was a pretty lazy morning for us. We (er, I mean, Darren) slept in while Matthew and I played in the morning. We made a huge breakfast of eggs and bacon and fruit and toast and hung out in our room.
Matthew went down for his first real nap in the playpen in a few days and we just relaxed while he slept.
I packed a lunch for us and when Matthew woke up, we decided to head down to the Outlet Mall. Since moving to Calgary in 2005, there was a new outlet mall built north of Seattle, complete with a huge hotel/casino resort right beside. Can you say "GIRLS WEEKEND!!!" I can't think of anything more perfect! A nice hotel, a casino, restaurants and awesome shopping within walking distance! Girls ~ we'll have to talk! ;o)
Anyhow, Here's a picture of Matthew enjoying his lunch in the truck. Any of you who know Darren know that he never used to be that fond of eating in the car. Especially a new vehicle. But, I said the rules straight years ago, informing him that once we had kids, that was all going to go out the window. And boy, did it ever. From ice cream, to apple juice, to cheerios and pb&j sandwiches.. we ate them all in the car and we (Matthew and I) loved it!!
As you can imagine... shopping can be a bit boring for a 1 year old... but not when your Mommy lets you run around the Nike store while Daddy shops!
Oh yeah, and then when you're bored of that, you can always hang out with the manicans!
In the end, I didn't get as much shopping done as I had anticipated (I am a devoted follower of the Ann Taylor stores and was hoping to get a good start on a winter work wardrobe), but there again is a second reason why a girls weekend will have to be in the works at some point!
Matthew went down for his first real nap in the playpen in a few days and we just relaxed while he slept.
I packed a lunch for us and when Matthew woke up, we decided to head down to the Outlet Mall. Since moving to Calgary in 2005, there was a new outlet mall built north of Seattle, complete with a huge hotel/casino resort right beside. Can you say "GIRLS WEEKEND!!!" I can't think of anything more perfect! A nice hotel, a casino, restaurants and awesome shopping within walking distance! Girls ~ we'll have to talk! ;o)
Anyhow, Here's a picture of Matthew enjoying his lunch in the truck. Any of you who know Darren know that he never used to be that fond of eating in the car. Especially a new vehicle. But, I said the rules straight years ago, informing him that once we had kids, that was all going to go out the window. And boy, did it ever. From ice cream, to apple juice, to cheerios and pb&j sandwiches.. we ate them all in the car and we (Matthew and I) loved it!!
As you can imagine... shopping can be a bit boring for a 1 year old... but not when your Mommy lets you run around the Nike store while Daddy shops!
Oh yeah, and then when you're bored of that, you can always hang out with the manicans!
In the end, I didn't get as much shopping done as I had anticipated (I am a devoted follower of the Ann Taylor stores and was hoping to get a good start on a winter work wardrobe), but there again is a second reason why a girls weekend will have to be in the works at some point!
Adventure #5 ~ To the U.S.A. we go!
On Monday we made our way across the border to the United States of America. Again, another first for Matthew! He got to use his passport for real for the first time!
We luckily made it across the border without any delay whatsoever! We were especially relieved because it was the Monday afternoon of the Labour Day long weekend and sometimes the crossings can get very backed up.
Our first stop across the border was at our favourite little dairy store where you can buy ice cream. Daddy went for the super big swirl soft ice cream cone, which when we measured was almost 7 inches of ice cream! I don't know how he ate it without any of it falling all over him!
I decided to have a "fresh strawberry" milkshake... mmmm... it was sooo good! Just like the kind my mom used to make for us when we were little. I enjoyed a sip and then gave Matthew a sip.....
... and then never got it back again!
It was a good pit stop. Matthew got a chance to run around a bit and then we were on our way. Yes, the pit stop. That word got to be our friend throughout the week. I learned one very good tip for when travelling with kids. As long as you give them breaks to run around and be silly, they'll be good for you and sit in the car for a few hours. I don't think we actually had a single meltdown the entire trip. We had a few whiny times, but no down right meltdowns. Pretty good for a 15 month old little boy!
We stayed in the Candlewood Suites in Oak Harbour, a small city on Whidbey Island. The hotel had actually only been open since March and it was gorgeous! It did not feel like staying in a hotel at all, rather like our own little apartment! New appliances, hardwood floors, a nice bathroom and a SEPARATE BEDROOM!! What more could you ask for!? Now we could finally put Matthew down at night and be able to at least watch TV without worrying that any little move would wake him up. Let me tell you, renting a suite (or at least a hotel room with a separate bedroom) is definitely the way to travel with little kids. I would gladly pay the upgrade any day!
Call me weird, but one of the things I like to do when we travel is scope out grocery stores ~ Especially in the states.. I just think they have such different things down there and it's fun to find new products. So, I had a lot of fun cooking meals for the three of us which proved to also be the best way to eat when you're travelling with a small child. We did try eat out once or twice, but each time we pretty much had to eat in shifts and neither one of us enjoyed the meal. Eating in your own kitchen was the way to go.
So, that night, I cooked up one of our favourite dishes of mushroom porkchops. We cleaned up our dishes, put Matthew to bed for the night (he actually went to sleep no problem that night!) and got to RELAX for the first time in our vacation... ahh... how nice!
Oh, and after we arrived, I soon realized that we wouldn't be needing/using the tub of toys that we hauled along because the hotel had a set of
and even a few
:O)
We luckily made it across the border without any delay whatsoever! We were especially relieved because it was the Monday afternoon of the Labour Day long weekend and sometimes the crossings can get very backed up.
Our first stop across the border was at our favourite little dairy store where you can buy ice cream. Daddy went for the super big swirl soft ice cream cone, which when we measured was almost 7 inches of ice cream! I don't know how he ate it without any of it falling all over him!
I decided to have a "fresh strawberry" milkshake... mmmm... it was sooo good! Just like the kind my mom used to make for us when we were little. I enjoyed a sip and then gave Matthew a sip.....
... and then never got it back again!
It was a good pit stop. Matthew got a chance to run around a bit and then we were on our way. Yes, the pit stop. That word got to be our friend throughout the week. I learned one very good tip for when travelling with kids. As long as you give them breaks to run around and be silly, they'll be good for you and sit in the car for a few hours. I don't think we actually had a single meltdown the entire trip. We had a few whiny times, but no down right meltdowns. Pretty good for a 15 month old little boy!
We stayed in the Candlewood Suites in Oak Harbour, a small city on Whidbey Island. The hotel had actually only been open since March and it was gorgeous! It did not feel like staying in a hotel at all, rather like our own little apartment! New appliances, hardwood floors, a nice bathroom and a SEPARATE BEDROOM!! What more could you ask for!? Now we could finally put Matthew down at night and be able to at least watch TV without worrying that any little move would wake him up. Let me tell you, renting a suite (or at least a hotel room with a separate bedroom) is definitely the way to travel with little kids. I would gladly pay the upgrade any day!
Call me weird, but one of the things I like to do when we travel is scope out grocery stores ~ Especially in the states.. I just think they have such different things down there and it's fun to find new products. So, I had a lot of fun cooking meals for the three of us which proved to also be the best way to eat when you're travelling with a small child. We did try eat out once or twice, but each time we pretty much had to eat in shifts and neither one of us enjoyed the meal. Eating in your own kitchen was the way to go.
So, that night, I cooked up one of our favourite dishes of mushroom porkchops. We cleaned up our dishes, put Matthew to bed for the night (he actually went to sleep no problem that night!) and got to RELAX for the first time in our vacation... ahh... how nice!
Oh, and after we arrived, I soon realized that we wouldn't be needing/using the tub of toys that we hauled along because the hotel had a set of
and even a few
:O)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Adventure #4 - A Ferry and a Wedding
Adventure #4 began on Sunday afternoon. After our fun morning at Ambleside, we found ourselves needing a breakfast #2 (after all, our wheaties had been eaten at 6am that morning!). So, what better place than our old favourite, Ikea! If you've ever had breakfast at Ikea anywhere else in the country than Vancouver, than you've never had breakfast at Ikea. In Vancouver, you'd swear the entire lower mainland was there at the same time. I've seriously never seen so many people lined up for $1 breakfasts. It always used to be like that, and it still is (except that now they charge .30 for the buns that used to be free.. go figure!).
We arrived back close to noon, which sent us into a bit of a panic because we have learned that with a 1 year old, you do not do things as quickly as you think you're going to. And we were right. Although we thought we'd leave the hotel at 1pm, it was more like 1:20. No biggy, except that we needed to be at the ferry terminal by 1:45 to keep our reservation.
As we headed onto the #1, we soon realized that wasn't going to happen! We had forgotten that the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) was in town last week and of course, when you have 1.5 million people trying to use a 2 lane highway, things back up quickly. But, of course, with Daddy's expert driving skills, we made it there with time to spare.
The wedding we were attending was in Gibsons (where they used to film Beachcombers for those of you who remember!). It was another first for Matthew! His first time seeing big boats and his first time going across on a ferry! It actually was much less eventful than I though it might be. We didn't get to go outside because we were wearing our fancy clothes and I was too worried we'd all get dirty!
We attended the wedding of our friends Shelley and Jonathan. It was a beautiful wedding in a little place on the coast. The ceremony was held in a garden behind the facility. The bride and groom made their grand entrances in an old fire truck. The bride's husband is a volunteer fire fighter. What a neat idea!! Definitely something everyone will remember.
This was also Matthew's first wedding! He behaved quite well considering again, the only nap he would take was in the truck. Mommy brought along an old wallet filled with a bunch of construction paper squares with letters and numbers on them. Matthew sat for most of the ceremony pulling one out at a time and handing them to Mommy. What a lifesaver those were!
This is my favourite photo of the groom. Everyone always watches the bride when they come down the aisle. I like to see the expression on the groom's face when he sees his bride!
Our friends Darryn and Amanda brought their little girl, Sienna to the wedding. Although Sienna is a bit older than Matthew, the two of them had fun swinging on a wooden swing on the property!
As far as Matthew was concerned... weddings weren't for standing around and visiting, they were for running around!
Like I said, it was a beautiful wedding and in a great location that left lots of room for us parents with little kids to let them run around outside without disturbing the party inside. Although we had to eat our suppers in shifts, Darren and I also enjoyed ourselves a lot and had a great time catching up with old friends!
We arrived back close to noon, which sent us into a bit of a panic because we have learned that with a 1 year old, you do not do things as quickly as you think you're going to. And we were right. Although we thought we'd leave the hotel at 1pm, it was more like 1:20. No biggy, except that we needed to be at the ferry terminal by 1:45 to keep our reservation.
As we headed onto the #1, we soon realized that wasn't going to happen! We had forgotten that the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) was in town last week and of course, when you have 1.5 million people trying to use a 2 lane highway, things back up quickly. But, of course, with Daddy's expert driving skills, we made it there with time to spare.
The wedding we were attending was in Gibsons (where they used to film Beachcombers for those of you who remember!). It was another first for Matthew! His first time seeing big boats and his first time going across on a ferry! It actually was much less eventful than I though it might be. We didn't get to go outside because we were wearing our fancy clothes and I was too worried we'd all get dirty!
We attended the wedding of our friends Shelley and Jonathan. It was a beautiful wedding in a little place on the coast. The ceremony was held in a garden behind the facility. The bride and groom made their grand entrances in an old fire truck. The bride's husband is a volunteer fire fighter. What a neat idea!! Definitely something everyone will remember.
This was also Matthew's first wedding! He behaved quite well considering again, the only nap he would take was in the truck. Mommy brought along an old wallet filled with a bunch of construction paper squares with letters and numbers on them. Matthew sat for most of the ceremony pulling one out at a time and handing them to Mommy. What a lifesaver those were!
This is my favourite photo of the groom. Everyone always watches the bride when they come down the aisle. I like to see the expression on the groom's face when he sees his bride!
Our friends Darryn and Amanda brought their little girl, Sienna to the wedding. Although Sienna is a bit older than Matthew, the two of them had fun swinging on a wooden swing on the property!
As far as Matthew was concerned... weddings weren't for standing around and visiting, they were for running around!
Like I said, it was a beautiful wedding and in a great location that left lots of room for us parents with little kids to let them run around outside without disturbing the party inside. Although we had to eat our suppers in shifts, Darren and I also enjoyed ourselves a lot and had a great time catching up with old friends!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Adventure #3 - My First Dip in the Ocean
Hi everybody, it's Me, Matthew blogging today! Guess what? I'm on vacation! It's been lots of fun because I have seen all kinds of new things and done all kinds of things that Mommy keeps saying "this is Matthew's first time....". It has also not been fun because sometimes I don't want to travel in our truck again and again and again... but then Mommy brings out some kind of a new toy that I have never seen and it makes the trip fun again! When I need a break, Mommy and Daddy let me come up into the front of the truck and turn all of the knobs and buttons for a while. Then we go for walks outside where I run around and Mommy chases me. She says it is to wear off some of my energy. It usually works because then I have a nap the next time we go in the truck again!
Last weekend, we were in a place called Vancouver. That's where Mommy and Daddy used to live. On Sunday morning, they took me to a place that they said was their most favourite place in all of Vancouver. It is called Ambleside park.
We got to see the ocean! I got to dip my toes into it... it was very cold, but that didn't stop me! I also found all kinds of neat rocks and sticks and shells!
We also met all kinds of nice doggies who were going for swims in the ocean as well!
Last weekend, we were in a place called Vancouver. That's where Mommy and Daddy used to live. On Sunday morning, they took me to a place that they said was their most favourite place in all of Vancouver. It is called Ambleside park.
We got to see the ocean! I got to dip my toes into it... it was very cold, but that didn't stop me! I also found all kinds of neat rocks and sticks and shells!
We also met all kinds of nice doggies who were going for swims in the ocean as well!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Adventure #2: Remember Vancouver?
As I said before, I was itching to go back to Vancouver. It had been three years since we'd been there and I couldn't wait to get back!
It was so surreal to go back. It was like being blasted into the past. Seems like nothing has changed in 3 years. And the strange thing is, you almost feel like a different person as soon as you get there... like the self you left behind comes back!
The first thing we found out that we had forgotten was how crazy the traffic is there! That is one thing that has surely made me thank-ful that we moved to Calgary. I don't ever want to hear anyone complain about the Deerfoot traffic again. I don't know about any of you on the east coast, but unless you've driven through Vancouver on a regular basis, you are not allowed to complain about the traffic in Calgary! Let me just paint the picture. It was bumper to bumper on every single road we took from Richmond through to Coquitlam. . And it was only a SATURDAY afternoon. Yikes! Most of it, I think, is due to the skytrain expansion that they are putting in in time for the Olympics.
I also forgot how closterphobic I immediately get when I go back! I must have gotten used to it over the time we lived there, but all I could think about when we first got there was how many trees there are and how all the bushes seems to be growing over everything! Ah... but is is soooo green. I love green. Vancouver has the kind of green I love, Calgary sure doesn't!
Our first stop was at Bentei Sushi. Darren has been talking about this place for the last 3 months. We used to frequent there, at least 2-3 times per week, and as Darren puts it "the sushi in Calgary just doesn't compare". So, we picked up some sushi and some groceries and checked into our hotel.
About 7 or so we decided to put Matthew to bad considering it was such an eventful day and although he had about a 45 min nap in the car, it probably wasn't enough. He wouldn't have anything to do with the playpen. Stood up and gave his loudest wail of a cry that he could! This went on for a few minutes and I was worried that being a Saturday night, the hotel was actually full and we might get a complaint about his crying. I even told Darren that we need to pretend we're sleeping in the bed beside him, but that didn't work either.
So we brought him into the bed with us and both pretended to fall asleep.... er... we both FELL ASLEEP....... actually all 3 of us fell asleep..... until 6 am the next morning. Gosh, we must have been tired!
It was so surreal to go back. It was like being blasted into the past. Seems like nothing has changed in 3 years. And the strange thing is, you almost feel like a different person as soon as you get there... like the self you left behind comes back!
The first thing we found out that we had forgotten was how crazy the traffic is there! That is one thing that has surely made me thank-ful that we moved to Calgary. I don't ever want to hear anyone complain about the Deerfoot traffic again. I don't know about any of you on the east coast, but unless you've driven through Vancouver on a regular basis, you are not allowed to complain about the traffic in Calgary! Let me just paint the picture. It was bumper to bumper on every single road we took from Richmond through to Coquitlam. . And it was only a SATURDAY afternoon. Yikes! Most of it, I think, is due to the skytrain expansion that they are putting in in time for the Olympics.
I also forgot how closterphobic I immediately get when I go back! I must have gotten used to it over the time we lived there, but all I could think about when we first got there was how many trees there are and how all the bushes seems to be growing over everything! Ah... but is is soooo green. I love green. Vancouver has the kind of green I love, Calgary sure doesn't!
Our first stop was at Bentei Sushi. Darren has been talking about this place for the last 3 months. We used to frequent there, at least 2-3 times per week, and as Darren puts it "the sushi in Calgary just doesn't compare". So, we picked up some sushi and some groceries and checked into our hotel.
About 7 or so we decided to put Matthew to bad considering it was such an eventful day and although he had about a 45 min nap in the car, it probably wasn't enough. He wouldn't have anything to do with the playpen. Stood up and gave his loudest wail of a cry that he could! This went on for a few minutes and I was worried that being a Saturday night, the hotel was actually full and we might get a complaint about his crying. I even told Darren that we need to pretend we're sleeping in the bed beside him, but that didn't work either.
So we brought him into the bed with us and both pretended to fall asleep.... er... we both FELL ASLEEP....... actually all 3 of us fell asleep..... until 6 am the next morning. Gosh, we must have been tired!
Adventure #1: Thank God for Bits and Bites......
The few days leading up to our vacation were crazy as usual... somehow, no matter what, I always end up running around at the last minute getting or packing this or that. This time I told myself it was going to be different! I made lists weeks before we went... I got out our luggage weeks before we went... I even started to put things in the luggage weeks before we went... and yet, I still ended up packing a lot on the Friday before we went.
Matthew and I cheated coming out to the coast. We made Daddy drive our truck out and we flew. Actually, it was Daddy's idea in the first place, so we didn't feel too bad. We couldn't afford two days to get out here and I didn't want to drive overnight through the mountains, so we compromised on letting Daddy leave early in the morning, which he loves to do... drive straight through with a few 2 minute pit stops (which is the way he likes to drive and there was nooooo way that was going to happen with Matthew) and we would meet him in Vancouver.
It went pretty close to as planned.. except that I couldn't sleep the night before, so I probably got about 2 hours.
On Saturday morning, our neighbour Erin drove us to the airport and Matthew was in a great mood! We cleared security with no problems... (that one is always fun when you're juggling a few jackets, a few bags, a blankie, a stroller and a child all while still holding your boarding ticket for the nice man to check over)... I had an entire bag of snacks and drinks, so I thought they'd might want to take a peek in that one, but they let us through with no questions asked. Heck, I even went through with my housekey in my pocket and it never beeped... hmmm.. gotta love our security systems.
Waiting for the plane was lots of fun because Matthew thought that the little "trains" (aka baggage carts) whirring around in circles outside were quite funny. I also thought it was remarkable that he pointed at the planes and said his version of airplane since he'd never seen one in the ground in person before. He's good at pointing to them in the sky, but I guess he does really remember things that we look at in books!
This was the first trip where Matthew got to walk onto the plane all by himself! He proudly walked across the bridge to the plane and all the way down the aisle... right to the back of the plane! "Matthew!! Stop! Our seat is over here!!!" Thank goodness the flight attendants are so nice on Westjet flights :O)
So, we took our seats and enjoyed watching out of the plane window as other planes came and went. Unfortunately, the flight was full and of course, we were seated beside some 20 year old guy who didn't look all too thrilled to have a 15 month old seated beside him who figured that the man's blackberry should belong to him as well!
We had no problems with take-off or landing, which was a relief. I kind of thought at one point Matthew might nap because he hadn't up to this point (it was already 1 pm) and he's usually done his nap by this point.
Then the fun started.
Matthew discovered that the tray goes up and down and that if you bang it against the seat in front of you it makes lots of noise! There was a little boy seated in front of us, so he didn't much mind what Matthew was doing, but again, not sure if the guy next to us was appreciative of Matthew's new game.
We get into the flight probably 10 minutes and ... ew.... what is that.... Oh, Matthew, did you have to POOP YOUR PANTS ON THE PLANE!!!! We've taken probably 8 or 10 flights with Matthew already and he's never once pooped on the plane. Great. Well, first time for everything!
So, we nicely ask the man beside us and the lady if they could move and I say, "believe me, you'll be happy that we don't linger here for long".... we get to the back of the plane and into the teeny tiny bathroom (which does actually have a change table) and change the diaper. No big deal. Phew. Ok. we put the stinky blue bag in the back where the flight attendants tell us and make our way back to the seat. We ask the people to excuse us again and we get back into our seats.
At this time, the flight attendants are bringing around the snacks. She asks me what I want and I say "apple juice please". Long gone are the days of having cran and soda or gingerale or whatever I want. Nope, now it's just apple juice. "do you want a little glass of juice for him?", she says? "uh, no thank-you. We'll share. That's the last thing I need is for him to have his own glass in our 2 foot space.
So then we enjoy our apple juice and our little bag of bits and bites, one at a time, for the next 20 minutes. Ahhh... peace and quite.
We continue on our flight for probably another half hour and then.... hm... I think.. no... "oh Matthew.. you POOPED AGAIN??????" By this time, the package of wipes had been thrown under the seat by Matthew (oh, did I forget that part) and so I had to go into this one with only a diaper and the kleenex in the bathroom. Again, we made it through, although I probably emptied most of the kleenex in the bathroom!
Finally, we made it to the ground... we made it through the airport and we made it to Daddy! As we were 10 seconds into our drive away from the airport, I said to Darren.. "well, he didn't nap today so I bet he ..." and as I turned around, he was already sleeping :O)
Matthew and I cheated coming out to the coast. We made Daddy drive our truck out and we flew. Actually, it was Daddy's idea in the first place, so we didn't feel too bad. We couldn't afford two days to get out here and I didn't want to drive overnight through the mountains, so we compromised on letting Daddy leave early in the morning, which he loves to do... drive straight through with a few 2 minute pit stops (which is the way he likes to drive and there was nooooo way that was going to happen with Matthew) and we would meet him in Vancouver.
It went pretty close to as planned.. except that I couldn't sleep the night before, so I probably got about 2 hours.
On Saturday morning, our neighbour Erin drove us to the airport and Matthew was in a great mood! We cleared security with no problems... (that one is always fun when you're juggling a few jackets, a few bags, a blankie, a stroller and a child all while still holding your boarding ticket for the nice man to check over)... I had an entire bag of snacks and drinks, so I thought they'd might want to take a peek in that one, but they let us through with no questions asked. Heck, I even went through with my housekey in my pocket and it never beeped... hmmm.. gotta love our security systems.
Waiting for the plane was lots of fun because Matthew thought that the little "trains" (aka baggage carts) whirring around in circles outside were quite funny. I also thought it was remarkable that he pointed at the planes and said his version of airplane since he'd never seen one in the ground in person before. He's good at pointing to them in the sky, but I guess he does really remember things that we look at in books!
This was the first trip where Matthew got to walk onto the plane all by himself! He proudly walked across the bridge to the plane and all the way down the aisle... right to the back of the plane! "Matthew!! Stop! Our seat is over here!!!" Thank goodness the flight attendants are so nice on Westjet flights :O)
So, we took our seats and enjoyed watching out of the plane window as other planes came and went. Unfortunately, the flight was full and of course, we were seated beside some 20 year old guy who didn't look all too thrilled to have a 15 month old seated beside him who figured that the man's blackberry should belong to him as well!
We had no problems with take-off or landing, which was a relief. I kind of thought at one point Matthew might nap because he hadn't up to this point (it was already 1 pm) and he's usually done his nap by this point.
Then the fun started.
Matthew discovered that the tray goes up and down and that if you bang it against the seat in front of you it makes lots of noise! There was a little boy seated in front of us, so he didn't much mind what Matthew was doing, but again, not sure if the guy next to us was appreciative of Matthew's new game.
We get into the flight probably 10 minutes and ... ew.... what is that.... Oh, Matthew, did you have to POOP YOUR PANTS ON THE PLANE!!!! We've taken probably 8 or 10 flights with Matthew already and he's never once pooped on the plane. Great. Well, first time for everything!
So, we nicely ask the man beside us and the lady if they could move and I say, "believe me, you'll be happy that we don't linger here for long".... we get to the back of the plane and into the teeny tiny bathroom (which does actually have a change table) and change the diaper. No big deal. Phew. Ok. we put the stinky blue bag in the back where the flight attendants tell us and make our way back to the seat. We ask the people to excuse us again and we get back into our seats.
At this time, the flight attendants are bringing around the snacks. She asks me what I want and I say "apple juice please". Long gone are the days of having cran and soda or gingerale or whatever I want. Nope, now it's just apple juice. "do you want a little glass of juice for him?", she says? "uh, no thank-you. We'll share. That's the last thing I need is for him to have his own glass in our 2 foot space.
So then we enjoy our apple juice and our little bag of bits and bites, one at a time, for the next 20 minutes. Ahhh... peace and quite.
We continue on our flight for probably another half hour and then.... hm... I think.. no... "oh Matthew.. you POOPED AGAIN??????" By this time, the package of wipes had been thrown under the seat by Matthew (oh, did I forget that part) and so I had to go into this one with only a diaper and the kleenex in the bathroom. Again, we made it through, although I probably emptied most of the kleenex in the bathroom!
Finally, we made it to the ground... we made it through the airport and we made it to Daddy! As we were 10 seconds into our drive away from the airport, I said to Darren.. "well, he didn't nap today so I bet he ..." and as I turned around, he was already sleeping :O)
Hello....
It's been a few days since I've had a chance to post! We're all well and having a great vacation.
Now it's time to get some posts logged. This is warning... these next posts could be lengthy! I apologize to those of you who don't want to read through them... just skip through the pictures!
I know there are those of you out there who like to read my blog, but truthfully, blog more for myself than you guys ;o) I don't do well at journalling and I didn't do that well at a baby book, but I love to take pictures and blog, so I consider this my personal journal!
Now it's time to get some posts logged. This is warning... these next posts could be lengthy! I apologize to those of you who don't want to read through them... just skip through the pictures!
I know there are those of you out there who like to read my blog, but truthfully, blog more for myself than you guys ;o) I don't do well at journalling and I didn't do that well at a baby book, but I love to take pictures and blog, so I consider this my personal journal!
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