joie de vivre

Happy 3rd birthday!

2011-04-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

Char turned 3 years old and we had a little shin dig with friends, family, including a new sister, and delicious cake.

Can't believe you're growing so fast!

Rewind: November trip

2011-03-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Back in November, we took our last holiday as a family of 3. We headed to Vancouver Island to see the ocean. (Funny enough, we've lived here 5 years and had yet to go visit the ocean.)

We spent a long weekend in the Ucluelet/Tofino area. Two sleepy little towns, best known for their surfing, storm watching and food.

We took the ferry over and drove across the island to Ucluelet, with a stop at Coomb's market for lunch and shopping. Unfortunately, we didn't see any goats on the roof. We did enjoy seeing all the old jack o' lanterns abandoned along the sides of the road, greeting us as we drove along. Hundreds of them.

And a bear crossed our path on the drive home. That was impressive.

We loved the beaches and waves. The towns were small and not overly impressive. I have a feeling they're better to hit up in the summer. Char didn't like the beach dog that dug up her sand creations.

Overall, it was nice to get away. I don't think we're traveling again until at least fall.

Second and last pregnancy

2011-03-03T06:00:00.001-08:00

I cannot tell you how happy I am to no longer be pregnant. And that I will never do that again.

Pregnancy and I do not agree. Even my OB says the same thing.

This pregnancy was significantly harder than the first and that one was hard too.
This one started with severe vomiting and nausea. I was medicated to help get me through the days. I also had weekly acupuncture visits to help curb the yuck. I was also depressed, primarily due to how horrible I felt. Luckily, that lifted as the vomiting/nausea became less severe. The vomiting/nausea lasted the entire pregnancy and I stayed medicated to help keep it at bay.

The other doozy was my blood pressure. I developed pre-eclampsia in the third trimester. I never had blood pressure issues, neither pregnant nor non-pregnant. So this was new and the docs aren't sure why it was high. I was swollen - face, hands, feet and legs. As a result I was monitored closely in my third trimester to make sure the baby and myself were okay. This is why Miss E came two weeks early. For the sake of my health, she needed to come out sooner rather than later.

(This is also why there are no photos of me from this pregnancy. I barely recognized myself when I looked in the mirror.)

Other issues I struggled with: aggravated asthma, hip pain, mysterious thyroid lab results, low iron, bad aftertaste and gastric reflux - to name a few.
Luckily, almost everything has cleared up since delivering Miss E. My blood pressure is still higher than it is normally and we'll continue to monitor it.

I felt unwell for so long that I forgot that I would one day feel normal again.

I have a good way to go with weight loss to get my body back. I was relatively un-active during this pregnancy. I look forward to getting back into running and moving my body.

For now, I'm enjoying our new little girl and not being pregnant.

We had a baby.

2011-03-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Miss Elizabeth Louise Boulle.

Born at 1:53am on Thursday, February 17, 2011.

Weight: 7 lbs 6 oz

Height: 20 inches

Picture problem

2011-03-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

While on a mission to streamline my email accounts, I deleted my old gmail email and replaced it with a new one. In the process, I unknowlingly deleted all my blog photos. Hence why you see no photos on old posts.

The good news is, the photos are still labeled and I can go back and replace the ones I really want. This will be a time consuming process but I will plod through. (I was planning to go back and label all my posts anyways.) At the very least I'll replace the Charlotte ones since I plan to have books made for the girls with their posts.

Better late than never

2011-03-01T16:15:00.001-08:00

So things have been very quiet on the blog for the past few months. Life has a way of keeping me busy.

But I'm now on maternity/parental leave until February 2012 and hope to have a few spare moments to update the blog. I'd like to at least document Eli's first year, like I did Charlotte's.

And hopefully I can post a few other updates.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

A few highlights from our cozy little Christmas.

Mmmmmm...onkey

2010-11-22T18:35:00.000-08:00

While I was out

2010-11-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

While I was on nausea and vomiting leave, lots happened this summer/fall.

We met up with my brother and his family for a Mariner's game and seafood in Seattle.

We had great seats thanks to my brother (left outfield behind Ichiro).

The kid loved the peanuts and kettle corn and her cousin.

Char saw Yo Gabba Gabba Live. She scored her first tour t-shirt.

Phil and I enjoyed seeing Biz Markie.

Weekly trips to the farmers' market (and trips to the fountain) for us.

Numerous outings to the beach to build giant sandcastles.

Lots of exploring the city.

And finally a professional photo shoot to capture our little sprite.

Halloween: Not a spider

2010-11-02T18:51:00.000-07:00

For months, Charlotte asked to be a spider for Halloween. So I crafted her a spider costume, including a hand-knitted hat with eyes and giant pipe cleaner spider legs (worn like a backpack). Turns out she loved the hat but not the legs. I think they scared her. So in the end she went as a butterfly/fairy creature. Just like every other little girl in our neighbourhood. (I'm saving the spider bits for the next kiddo.)

Halloween night we headed out for a little trick or treating. One of our neighbours put on a fantastic 'Sideshow' to support the Food Bank. The building is known for its artists and apparently, they put on something big every year. We were very impressed!

Luckily, we saw the signs on Saturday and knew to head over for the show

with our non-perishables.

Char and the 4 million year old lady. She had the sparkliest shoes.

Several tables were set up with oddities and delights.

(The amount of time they spent on the whole production was really impressive.)

On the hour, they put on a show, including the strong man, tatooed lady

and a mad doctor.

They included games to get treats. And a fortune teller.

Char and I played Mr. Doom.

The whole block put on a great show and

Char finished the night with a bit of trick or treating.

Updates

2010-10-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long time since I updated the site.

Life has been busy and at times hard and slowly chugging along.

I'm pregnant and due in late February with Charlotte's sibling. The pregnancy has been hard - lots of nausea and vomiting and fatigue. Much harder than my first. It's taken everything I have to get through a basic day.

I do plan to start updating the blog again, hopefully sooner rather than later. I'll be on maternity leave for another year starting in late February, so I know there will be lots of updates with the new little one.

Before then, I'm planning to make this blog private. The blog started as a way to update friends and family about our move and new life in Vancouver. Since then it's become more about our daughter and our life together. Nothing untoward has happened to prompt me to do this - thankfully - but I don't think I could forgive myself if something did.

I'll wait until next week to flip the switch. After that, you'll need to log in with your email and a password in order to access our blog. If you're a friend or family, please send Phil or myself your email so we can give you access.

Baby steps

2010-06-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

I've been sitting on a number of large 'to dos' this year.

My hope, is that by putting them out there, I - or in many cases we -will finish them before 2011.

Write and file a will.
Buy plants, harvest the compost bin and plant plants on patio. (Our weather is the sucks so this one is on hold.)
Research, browse and test drive cars. Purchase.
Figure out frame set-up for living room wall. Purchase frames. Hang them.
Select and purchase storage ottoman for living room.
Arrange for charity pick-up of coffee table that ottoman is replacing.
Clean out and organize kitchen.
Clean out and organize large entry way closets.
Finish Charlotte's 'first year' book.

A few of these are going to hit the pocketbook. And then there's the car. I still need to figure out our budget for that purchase. Yikes.

I would love to complete them all ASAP - that's how I get stuff done. Unfortunately, the shear size and number of things is overwhelming.

Instead, I'm breaking them down. A few baby steps each weekend.

This weekend: ~~car budget~~, ~~start car browsing~~, design a few frame layouts, ~~harvest compost~~
Next weekend: buy frames, select ottoman size and maybe buy plants and plant

Wish us luck!

Mis-speaks

2010-06-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

Our favourite Charlotte mis-speaks that we have no problem not correcting.

"I'm a big gorilla." (Means: I'm a big girl.)
"Agillator" (Means: alligator)
"Applesauce" (Means: octopus)
"Q-bert" (Means: computer)
"Bernie" (Means: Ernie of Bert & Ernie)

May adventures

2010-06-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

My birthday.

Weekends at the beach.

And more beaches.

To Atlanta to meet our friends and their gorgeous offspring.

And to explore the neighbourhood where Phil and I used to live.

Ended the month with our first visit to Maplewood Farm.

Lots of hand washing and train riding.

Muffins!

2010-06-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

Life is busy kicking our bums around here. But I'm sneaking in a few blog posts while I can.

Our household is crazy about these muffins. We make a batch almost every week and freeze the muffins for breakfasts and snacks.

The recipe is from Daphna Rabinovitch, published in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Canadian Family. (One of my current favourite magazines.)

Carrot cake
3 eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinammon

Preheat oven to 350F. In a food processor, pulse together eggs, brown sugar, oil, oj and vanilla until well blended. Add carrots, flours, pineapple, baking soda and cinnamon; process for 20 seconds, scraping down sides halfway through, until well combined. Spoon mixture into greased muffin tins or Bundt pan. Bake in centre of oven for 20-25 minutes for cupcakes or 35-40 for cake.

My notes:

I throw in one medium or 2 small grated zuchinnis. Skin and all.
Grate the veggies using the food processor's grate plate.
I throw in the whole can of crushed pineapple, including the juice and then omit the orange juice.
We have a flour called Nutri Flour (blend of white flour and ground wheat bran) and I use two cups of that instead of the separate white and whole-wheat flours.
Because I throw in extra stuff, it no longer fits in our food processor. I mix it by hand and it turns out great.
You can also top the cake or muffins with cream cheese icing. I made this extra special version for Char's birthday treats for her daycare.

So easy and delish.

Growing up

2010-04-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

She transitioned to her toddler bed and is loving it. And pedaling the tricycle on her own. Next, she plans to apply to colleges and backpack around Europe.

For Auntie Mo

2010-04-27T20:07:00.001-07:00

She posed for this one with you in mind.

Bunnies, trains and eggs

2010-04-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely, busy Easter weekend. Lots of Easter activities. My favourites included the Stanley Park stuff: Easter train, petting zoo and a decent looking Easter Bunny. Charlotte's probably included her Easter basket, with gardening tools and a kite, the egg hunt at school, dyeing eggs with Dad and the Easter Bunny and Chick at Stanley Park. And the train. Choo choo.

Next year, I plan to host our own egg hunt at Stanley Park. Invite lots of kiddos and let them loose. (I wasn't very impressed by the various community 'hunts' we tried out this year.) And we'll ride the Easter train again next year.

Jump

2010-04-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today she figured out how to jump, with both feet leaving the ground.

Pete!

2010-04-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

We stumbled upon this window at our favorite book store after brunch on Sunday.

Pete the Cat!

The artist is from Georgia. I bought a Pete print before leaving Atlanta and it hangs in our home office.
What a lovely surprise to see Pete hanging out in Vancouver.

Like father, like daughter

2010-03-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Um...yeah.

Deux années

2010-03-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

Char turned 2 in simple style.

Heading out on her new set of wheels.

Hanging with dad at the park.

She blew out her green candle with a little help from dad.

Crazy, wonderful balloons on her actual big day.

(These balloons are still in the air - almost 2 weeks later. They must have used magic to blow them up.)

Native Vancouver-ite

2010-03-28T21:05:00.001-07:00

Grande skim vanilla latte please. No foam.

Two years

2010-03-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

This little girl turns 2 years old on Monday. We love her to pieces.

Olympic recap

2010-03-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

The Paralympics start in 2 days. My work schedule and duties will return to normal in 2 weeks. (If you're interested in what I'm working on every day, it can be found here: HealthWatch.)

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics were a lot of fun. Downtown Vancouver was at the center of of it all. Char's daycare was 1.5 blocks from the Olympic cauldron. They took frequent strolls to see it. Heading out to run any errand meant you were swept up in the Olympic-love fest. We were both in awe of and frustrated by the crowds. So many people. But everyone was in a great mood. You could almost feel the energy coming off of people.

I was accredited for the Vancouver athletes' village and made a few visits to the area. The village is in walking distance of my work. I enjoyed checking out and mentally rating the various countries' Olympic outfits.

My only celebrity sighting was seeing Shani Davis, with gold medal, and Nancy Kerrigan at the Japadog stand near our home. (No pic though, I was driving.)

I worked 6 days/week through the games. Unfortunately, between kid and work, I didn't get out to many events or national houses. I scored a few tickets for events, primarily for my mom - which she loved, and was given a ticket to the opening ceremony rehearsal. That was a fantastic experience. Phil and I also were lucky enough to see Feist in concert as part of the Cultural Olympiad. (Holy moly, that woman is amazing live. Next time we're getting closer seats.) Raphael Saadiq is also coming as part of the Olympiad and I'm dragging Phil to see him.

The Olympic mascots didn't get much television airtime but they are all over the place in Vancouver. On buses, billboards, buildings, store fronts. Char adores them. They are pretty cute. My work even had it's own Dr. Quatchi pin. The pin was limited edition and extremely popular with the pin traders. We took Charlotte to see the daily mascot skate the last Saturday of the games. I had mistakenly thought this would be a 'watch the mascots skate with the kids' thing. Turns out it was a ice-capade-esque show (see below for the few photos I could get). The crowd was enormous. The kids were screaming and squealing for the mascots. I had never seen anything like it. Probably one of the more surreal experiences I've had since becoming a parent.

The days following the end of Olympics were both a relief but also a little depressing. I think many people didn't expect to enjoy them as much as they did. It was crazy to go from the Sunday afternoon after the gold medal hockey game and closing ceremony to the Monday night, officially post-Olympics. What a shift. I'm hoping the Paralympics brings back a bit of that energy.

Charlotte hanging with the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic mascot.

Blogging break

2010-01-29T21:32:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid this blog will be neglected the next few months.

Phil's back at work after a much-welcomed and deserved 4-week holiday.

I'm incredibly busy at work preparing for the Olympics. It's exciting, fun and exhausting.

Charlotte is busy growing, laughing, singing and being loved. It's only 6 weeks until her 2nd birthday! There may be a tryicycle or mini-kitchen in her future. Shhh!

We've had more than our fair share of illness and various technical/mechanical challenges this past month and a bit. I'm hoping the rest of 2010 is much less eventful.

My plans for 2010 include a return to running- including 2 half marathons, visiting Atlanta with Charlotte, using up my backlog of vacation days, learning to sew, a complete house clean-out and hopefully a beach holiday.

11th & 12th day of Charlotte: Christmas Train part 2

2009-12-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

As if riding the train wasn't exciting enough, Beluga stopped by for hugs and a photo.
She loves her 'belulas'.
(The 11th day was supposed to be video of Charlotte singing Jingle Bells but I have a new camera and switching out the memory card erased that gem.)

10th day of Charlotte: Christmas train, part 1

2009-12-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

We trekked over to the Christmas train in Stanley Park on Saturday.

I neglected to buy tickets in advance and thought it should be no problem getting a seat on the train the Saturday before Christmas with lovely weather.
Right. Lesson learned.
Instead we enjoyed the lights, displays, churros
and visited with a mounted police woman's horse.

We now have reserved train tickets for next Saturday.

9th day of Charlotte: Christmas cookies

2009-12-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

Charlotte was in charge of sprinkles.

While decorating, she would say "Sprinkle, sprinkle."

Surprisingly, she didn't eat any cookies while decorating them.

8th day of Charlotte: Carlotte

2009-12-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

The kid loves to sing. A lot.
But she won't perform on video without a fee and I'm cheap.
So no singing video for you.

7th day of Charlotte: Puddles

2009-12-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

She loves them. We couldn't get her out of the rain.

6th day of Charlotte: Breakfast with Santa

2009-12-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

No great pictures emerged. See below.

Santa was actually decent minus his creepy white face paint. Phil and I were both puzzled as to why they felt this was necessary. It looks even worse in the photo. Char prefers to see Santa from a distance.

Charlotte scored a humpback whale stuffed toy. And pancakes and a giant candy cane. We scored coffee.

There was also crafting, a kid's performer and cookie decorating. All in all a fairly nice way to ring in the season.

5th day of Charlotte: Candy canes

2009-12-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

The kiddo discovered candy canes the day of the Santa Parade. Lucky for her, that day people walked down the street and handed them to her. What a magical day.
Shhh...don't tell her dentist.

4th day of Charlotte: Hanging out

2009-12-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

3rd day of Charlotte: Santa Parade

2009-12-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

Two weekends ago we watched the annual Vancouver Santa Claus Parade.

Securing her front row seat.

I wasn't sure how long Charlotte would last. This was her first parade since she started walking.

The kid was a parade pro. She adored the bands, dancers, horses, mascots, and Santa. Luckily, it's very kid oriented. I had Charlotte sit on my lap, since she was so excited I was worried she would run off into the parade. Note: She almost did this. She very much wanted to hug the bear mascot.

The bear she wanted to hug.

Charlotte was a swag magnet. Every person handing out something stopped at Charlotte. She scored an awesome Vancouver Library cow bell. (Perfect for ringing at future races I plan to run. I almost bought it for her the day before at the library gift store. Saves me $4. Score.) She collected a huge Vancouver Fire truck sticker. She adored it. And we had an endless supply of candy canes.

Good times.

She was happily entertained and lasted the entire parade, about 1 1/2 hours. She even danced with some strangers in the street on the way home.

2nd day of Charlotte: Dancing in the snow

2009-12-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

We had a few flurries yesterday. Always a treat when it snows. (I can say that because I don't need to commute in it or shovel it at the end of the day.)

Charlotte enjoyed dancing and singing in the snow. She eventually consented to wearing her hat.

If we don't get any decent accumulation, a trip up one of our local mountains may be in order before the Olympics begin.

Twelve days of Charlotte: Day 1

2009-12-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

It's time for the 2009 '12 days of Charlotte'. I started late this year but it will hopefully work itself out in the end.

Day 1 - Charlotte's first glimpse of our decorated Christmas tree. It goes on for a while, I couldn't help myself. She's in her new holiday owl pajamas.

I placed the non-breakable ornaments at her level. Many of them were made by my Aunt Ruthie. I also placed a few of the everyday glass balls at her level. She likes looking at her reflection in them. So far, she's been great with the ornaments.

The first thing she does when we come home, after being at school or out and about, is run up to the tree and look at the ornaments.

Plan B

2009-11-02T20:56:00.000-08:00

Halloween Day turned out to be a glorious day in Vancouver. And after a week of rain and flu, I was ready to get out.

After Char's afternoon nap, we broke out the bike and went for a ride. Char loves the bike and her 'helmut'.

We biked to Lost Lagoon to visit the geese and swans but she didn't want to stop so we continued onto the seawall, with a break at the playground to stretch our legs. Then we cycled home, checking out the trick or treaters and the spooky houses.

A little piece of Lost Lagoon

In motion.

Along our ride, Coal Harbour.

View of Stanley Park, Lions Gate Bridge and North Shore.

Park-break.

Halloweenies

2009-11-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

I guess I spoke too soon in my earlier post about our illnesses. I came down with the flu last Sunday and spent the week at home, resting. I can't honestly remember the last time I had the flu but I'm also normally vaccinated every year.

I didn't enjoy having the flu but I did love that it allowed me to spend the days reading and resting. I can't complain about that, given those are things I rarely get to do anymore.

Now I'm recovered and back at work, crazy busy working on flu-related stuff. It doesn't end.

Miss Charlotte had a low-key Halloween. Her main festivities were at daycare. They carved pumpkins, wore their costumes, ate pumpkin cookies, enjoyed Halloween stories, and the staff put on a Halloween play.

Char was a tree frog this year. I had planned to make a paper mache fly for her to carry but that never came to fruition. I actually bought the costume for her in late August. I knew I wouldn't have time to make anything. Plus she's at that age where she really has no interest in wearing a costume so why put energy into it.

These are her 'not so happy' photos:

Quarantined

2009-10-19T19:42:00.001-07:00

Things have been quiet around here, at least blog wise.

I've been experiencing blog burn-out the past few months.

Not sure if I'm interested in keeping it updated. It's turned more into a Charlotte-blog and she doesn't pull her weight around here.

Plus, our house has been disease-central. Luckily, no flu yet. (Touch wood.) Vancouver is flu-central right now. And I should know, I do the surveillance. My work days are flu, flu, flu. But home....not yet. All three of us have suffered from humdingers of colds. I developed a sinus infection and am going on my 4th week of illness. Charlotte's cold morphed into an ear infection. She's been out of her daycare more than she's been in it the past 2 weeks. Phil's so far escaped a secondary infection but has been left with a nagging case of exhaustion from caring for his ill family. We're a happy bunch here.

I still can't get over how much kleenex our family went through. Well, primarily me. I think I counted at least 8 boxes in 2 weeks. And a jar of manuka honey. A box of Emergen C. Some Cold Fx. Dayquil, Nyquil, Tylenol cold and flu, Advil cold & sinus, child's advil. We could fund a small country with the funds I spent on cold recovery items.

Finally, here's some non-ill Charlotte to make us all feel better:

C to the H to the A to the R

2009-08-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Holey moley, it's been a while since my last Charlotte-centered post. I hope you survived.

Our summer's been beautiful weather-wise. We experienced a heat wave in July but we all survived. The rest has been so nice. I'm in denial that it will ever end.

We finally have a spot for Charlotte in a group daycare. She starts mid September. Child care stress is not good stress. It took a few years off my life.

Char continues to walk, with abandon. Now she's starting to run.

She loves trucks, buses, diggers, scooters and bikes. Anything with wheels.

The kid cannot get enough of being read to. Her favorite books are 'Goodnight Gorilla', 'My Friends' and any Sesame Street book.

I gave her her first baby doll a few weeks ago. I lucked out and found a newborn Cabbage Patch kid, a throwback to my childhood. Its head smells like baby powder.

She gets more frequent haircuts than I do. Mainly for bang trims but they did an all-over trim yesterday. I was worried but it turned out great. Her curls look even more lovely.

She's become super independent about going to sleep. She'll point to the crib, we put her in it, tuck her in and she's off to dreamland. We're traveling soon, so I know this will come to an abrupt end. It will be months before she's back to this easy-go-to-sleep routine.

At our Farmer's Market with a pal's backpack.

At the beach.

Kissing the Moo goddess at a community garden.

Shopping for new kicks. Loving the rain.

Mastering the ice cream cone at the aquarium.

Posing on the sea wall at Stanley Park.

Fountain time at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Agua

2009-08-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Charlotte continues to impress us with her vocabulary and comprehension.

She picked up my phrase 'all right'. All right, all right.

She says 'agua' for water. One of her day care buddies speaks a bit of Spanish.

Her now former care provider spoke Serbian to her daughter and Char picked it up. She doesn't speak it but she'd respond when she heard Serbian.

Phil's speaking French more frequently to her. I swear she said au revoir to her toothbrush last night. (We're hoping to send her to either a French immersion or French primary school, both available through our public school system here.)

She also says bike, truck, car, mix, ball, wow, and uh oh. Not all clearly but we're picking up on them.

She understands more than we realize. Last week I asked her to take a diaper to the garbage thinking she'd have no idea. She picked it up and marched directly to the garbage in the bathroom and put it in the garbage. She likes having tasks to complete. I'm keeping her busy!

I think more than anything, she loves finally walking. Yesterday she splashed in rain puddles. Every single one on our walk.

And she's off

2009-07-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

No paparazzi please.

Girls' trip

2009-07-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and I traveled to Missoula, MT last weekend to visit some of my favorite people, my siblings.

This was my first time flying alone with Charlotte and hopefully my last. At least while she's a toddler. The flights were short but the planes were small and she was flying in my lap. Overall, she was an okay flier. On half our flights she had some serious meltdowns while we prepared for take off. She was one unhappy camper. Luckily, she would sleep after these outbursts but those 10 minutes of screaming were uncomfortable for everyone. We're planning to fly again in September and I've recommended to Phil we buy Char her own seat. And look into tranquilizers. (Kidding...I think.)

Missoula was wonderful. So, so beautiful in the summer. I enjoyed catching up with family, visiting Missoula's wonderful Saturday farmer's markets, shopping at Target, eating my first It's-it, and soaking up a bit of sun.

Charlotte enjoyed hanging out with her cousin, fawning over her cousin's new cat, visiting the neighbourhood park everyday - sometimes even twice, riding her first carousel, and eating delicious ice cream.

I can't wait to return. I know Charlotte will enjoy visiting even more as she gets older and can join her Uncle Paul while he fly fishes and tube with her cousin down the local rivers.

More words

2009-06-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

hello (she drops the 'h')
hi
up
Elena (Her friend from daycare. She also says this surprisingly clearly.)
bu-bye (with waving)
baby
no more

It seems like every day there is a new word.

She's also crazy-good at understanding us. She knows to head up the stairs when it's time to change her diaper. She'll sit on our lap if we ask her. She knows to head to the bathroom when we say it's time to take a bath or brush her teeth. I know all kids do this but it's strange to go from a wee thing to this independent little girl within a few months.

The above picture was taken at the Stanley Park children's farmyard. She was a bit hesitant with all the animals but she did pet the goat. And wanted to pet the potbelly pigs but they were sleeping.

You're invited to brunch on the patio

2009-06-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

This summer, I decided to get a little crazy on our patio. Spice it up a bit. Mainly by playing with color.

I normally shy away from committing to color when I decorate, I'd rather use it as an accent. But for this project, I had nothing to lose and took a risk.

We had wooden Ikea patio furniture which worked well but looked weathered. I'm not a fan of weathered wood. And the rest of the patio is fairly blah color-wise, including peach stucco, terra cotta pots, faded maroon flooring, etc. The patio needed some love.

Here's the before:

And here's the after:

Fun, no? They make me smile. The paint is from Behr, colors include mango madness and intense teal. The teal was supposed to be darker, according to the paint swatch, but I've made my peace with this more tropical color. The paint is an outdoor semi-gloss enamel, so I'm hoping it holds up okay.

If I ever get to Ikea, I'll pick up some solar powered Chinese lanterns to hang on the awning.

The process took a while to complete. Between half-marathon training and only painting when Char was asleep, my painting sessions were limited to 2x per week. The last thing I wanted was a 14 month old into that paint. But I finally finished on Friday night.

Just need a pitcher of margaritas and all is good.

Half marathon - check

2009-06-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

21K. Done. And I came in 10 minutes faster than my goal. Awesome, if I do say so myself.
It felt good, hard but worth it. The training really paid off.

And I'll probably do it again. One day.

Me. Celebrating my awesome-ness.

Char, sporting her mom's medal. It's her new necklace.

H2Omelon

2009-06-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

Summer

2009-06-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Summer's here! Actually, it's been here for about a month. It's been wonderful.

Things continue to be busy. I hope to update the blog more frequently but it always falls to the bottom of my list. This is a start.

Words

2009-06-02T06:58:00.001-07:00

Char's second hair cut. The bangs require constant upkeep.

Charlotte's world of words:

da da
ma ma
bubbles (she says it surprisingly clearly)
arf
meow
no (sometimes with a finger wag)
mina (I think this is short for Jasmina, her child care provider.)

Beginning to ambulate

2009-05-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Char is every so slowly getting her sea legs. She's in absolutely no hurry to walk. She's been walking on her own, with the help rolling/sliding objects, for the past few weeks. Chairs, strollers, carts, humans, etc. Anything to help stabilize her.

Here she is in Toys R' Us with a plastic shopping cart. Doing her shopping.

Portland

2009-05-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago we took advantage of a long BC weekend and road tripped down to Portland. Char was a trooper for her longest road trip. A bit longer than expected due to traffic but it was nice not to be in a hurry.

It was our first visit to Portland and our first real 'family vacation'. And we'll definitely be back. For sure. What a great city. (I was pretty certain we'd enjoy it.) And it didn't hurt that the weather was fantastic.

Here's our trip, via Charlotte:

Enjoying the public transit. She's a pro at this.

The Portland Zoo. Charlotte's first trip to the zoo.

Ice cream in the Pearl District.

Reading at Powell's Books. Wonderful children's book section. Huge store.

Checking out the views of downtown from across the bridge.

Waiting for the bus in the Hawthorne neighborhood.

Showing off her new Keen sandals. Very Pacific Northwest of her.

Equestrian in the making

2009-05-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

Charlotte's new favorite thing to do.

We have a brave little girl on our hands. No fear, this one.

Char char update

2009-05-04T11:58:00.001-07:00

Things continue to be busy here. Not crazy, just busy. I'm amazed at how quickly days/weeks fly by now. Seems there's always something to be done. And when we're not doing, we're trying to rest.

Charlotte still loves day care. She's always happy to be there. Lots of playing, friends, beach time, park time, singing time. She could probably use a bit more napping but luckily/thankfully, she makes up for that at home.

She's such a happy kipper. Unless she's tired then it's grump/whine/tantrum alert.

No walking yet but getting closer. We'll sometimes catch her standing on her own, near support but not holding on. She's very efficient at moving around - a speedy crawler. She's obsessed with stairs. Crawling up and going down.

She enjoys sitting on chairs and couches. She'll attempt to get up on her own but is usually too short. So we boost her up and she sits and pretends to be all adult-like.

Char still loves music. I often find her bopping along to whatever tune is playing. I have a feeling she'll be a wee dancer once she's on her feet.

If she could spend her day doing anything, she would spend it in the swing, with mom or dad blowing bubbles. With occasional breaks for waffles and Yop. And maybe a turn or two down the slide. And lots of other kids to hang out with.

Happy Sara Day!

2009-05-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

Belated.

Phil treated me to this wonderful cake from Cupcakes.

So cute. And delicious.

Ha!

2009-04-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

Just reread my 10K post. Had to laugh because I've already printed the training regimine for the half-marathon at the end of June. I'm giving myself until mid-May to decide whether I'll sign up for it.

It picks up where the 10K leaves off. It has me running 8-10K on Sunday. Yikes!

Run 10K - check

2009-04-19T21:57:00.001-07:00

Ran my first 10K today. It felt great. And at no point during the run did I want to walk. That, in itself, is fabulous for me. I had a few aches and pains or, as I like to think of them, lessons learned.

I'm pretty happy with my time. 3 minutes over my goal of 1 hour. So close, yet so far!

Someone was trying to talk me into a half-marathon in June but I think I'll wait until the fall. No need to go crazy here.

Counting down

2009-04-12T11:32:00.001-07:00

One week until the Sun Run 10K.

I trained the past 12 weeks to run the whole thing. (Ibriskly walked it twice in the past.) I'm by no means speedy but I do feel good doing it.

Fingers crossed for fantastic weather. (Forecast is looking too good to be true.)

I'm already thinking about my next event. Contemplating a half marathon this fall.

Hoppity hop hop

2009-04-12T11:08:00.001-07:00

The Easter Bunny dropped off a lovely basket for Charlotte this morning.

Complete with the floppiest, softest bunny. Turns out Char has little interest in it. Whatever kid.
Though she is enjoying finding the colorful, plastic Easter eggs hidden around the house. After her morning smoothie, of course.

Op zoek naar Maria

2009-04-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

I have yet to come across one of these in real life.

But the idea that it could spring up around me at any moment makes me incredibly happy.

This one via Superhero Designs

Char's days

2009-04-06T22:14:00.000-07:00

Are like this...

And she loves it.

Busy, busy

2009-03-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

Things around here have been crazy busy. Going back to work has been great but it means less time for updating my blog.

Charlotte absolutely loves day care. She loves having a play buddy. The past few times I've gone to pick her up she crawls to the kitchen to hide. She doesn't want to leave her friend and toys.

Today she stayed home with Phil. She's had a cold for the past week and yesterday came down with a fever. Her first one. We're hoping it ends soon. Poor thing.

Here's a little treat. Throughout Char's first year we headed to the photo booth for pictures. The left strip is from July 2008 (4 months) and the far right strip is from this past Sunday. The ones in between are from the months between.

One year

2009-03-17T15:01:00.001-07:00

Dear Miss Charlotte Ruth,

You are one year old! And you're loving it.

You've learned to ask us to sing to you. You do it by rubbing your thumb against your pointer and middle fingers (the 'cash/money' symbol). Not sure how you learned this sign but it works. And your face lights up when we sing. You're a big fan of the ABCs and B-I-N-G-O. You clap along to BINGO.

You're still into books. Big time. And, unfortunately, my keys.

You've become a pickier eater. Probably because your appetite has decreased and you'd prefer to feed yourself. You're sipping from straws. My breakfast smoothie is no longer just mine.

You're still a social butterfly. Asking strangers to sing. You've adjusted well to daycare. It's probably your ideal way to spend the day, with other kids.

I think you're still a few months from walking. But you're an efficient crawler and still scooching.

Your smile still lights up the room. And your laugh is one of my favorite sounds. You're also a expert babbler and have pretty interesting conversations with yourself and us.

You enjoy helping dad with laundry. But your folding needs work.
It's been a wonderful, exciting, exhausting year and I'm so happy we have many more to share.

Love, hugs and kisses,
Mom

1st Birthday

2009-03-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

Charlotte's big day was Sunday.

We celebrated with a simple gathering of friends, tea & cake. Charlotte actually napped for half of the celebration. But once up, she loved playing hostess to our guests.

My original plan was for a yellow party. It's a cheerful, sunny, lovely color. Just like Charlotte. We had lemon cake & cupcakes, yellow m & ms, yellow tulips and yellow plates and napkins. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to pick up yellow balloons. And I opted out of a yellow table cloth for a more festive Ikea fabric. In the end, not exclusively yellow but still nice.

Char was cautious about her little cake. She tried some icing but I don't think she actually ate any of the cake. She has yet to discover the wonderful-ness that is cake.

One week ago

2009-03-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

This is was what it looked like one week ago today. We were on our way to Char's daycare.

Luckily, the snow is long gone but it looks like Spring is a few weeks away. I'm so, so hoping for a decent Spring this year. Otherwise, a move to Hawaii is sounding mighty nice.

Makes me smile

2009-02-26T21:29:00.000-08:00

Afternoon adventures

2009-02-18T19:02:00.000-08:00

Beautiful weather.

Swinging.

Ducks.

Coyote.

11 months

2009-02-15T17:32:00.001-08:00

Holey cow Charlotte! You're 11 months old.

This past month was another big month for you. Most importantly, you started crawling. The world is now your oyster. You're an independent gal, heading off on your own when we head to play groups. (Unlike many of your male friends, who tend to hang around their moms for a while.) You're curious and like climbing under things. Often you get stuck but you are a good complainer and we get you out quickly.

You've become quite the monkey after your bath. It takes a fair amount of wrangling to get you into your pjs. You'd much rather be crawling around your crib or wrestling with your toys.

You are the biggest fan of dogs I know. It devastates you when they have to leave. If it were up to you, you'd bring all of them home.

You mastered the sippy cup and are getting pretty good at using a regular cup. There's something about watching you use your cup that makes me feel like you're a big girl now. It's super cute.

Two random strangers thought you looked like Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. It must be the blonde hair and pouty lips. Most often people comment on your blue eyes and smile. One of our neighbours nicknamed you Smiley.

You enjoy eating fro yo, waffles, fish, fruit, scrambled eggs and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. And yogurt, toast, cheerios. Pretty much anything.

Your favorite toys include a giant wooden spoon, stacking cups, balls, books and the plastic lawn mowers at Jellyfish time. And you like going down the slides at Jellyfish.

I hope you have a wonderful last month of your first year. I can't wait to celebrate your first birthday pretty girl!

Love, hugs & kisses,
Mom (aka Kissy mom-ster)

Time's almost up

2009-02-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Man am I tired. Utterly exhausted.

But we have child care for Charlotte. And it's good, full-time child care at that. Unless something goes awry, I will start back at work on March 16th. Charlotte will transition into child care starting March 9th.

Now we begin the melancholy but sweet days of knowing our year is coming to an end. Much tougher for me than her.

I look forward to working again but am already sad about the smiles, laughs and steps I'm going to miss. Luckily, there are mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays and the 6 weeks of vacation time waiting for me when I return to work.

I asked Phil if he felt like he was missing out on watching her grow up since he works. He said 'sometimes'. It's my fear but I know we'll find what works best for our family.

Crawling

2009-02-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

I call this the pirate crawl. Phil calls it the zombie crawl. Every once and a while she crawls normally. This is a post-nap crawl so it's pretty slow. I've seen her trucking when she wants to.
And she still scooches. She likes to have options.

Short blog break

2009-02-02T10:08:00.001-08:00

I haven't felt very inspired to blog this past week. Maybe later this week.

We passed on the Chinese New Year's parade because of lousy weather. Very lousy weather. I'm already looking forward to next year's parade.

Most of my time has been taken up stressing about child care. Not how I wanted to spend the last few weeks of my parental leave. Hopefully, we'll have more answers by the end of this week.

In other news, Charlotte is crawling. She's been mobile for the past 2 weeks or so. She loves it.

Saturday afternoon

2009-01-26T09:16:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, I sneaked off to visit Deep Cove. It's one of the prettiest places around and, this being Vancouver, that says a lot. My primary mission was to visit Room 6, one of my favorite Vancouver stores. This is the store I would open but I don't have to because this one exists. I was on the hunt for Growbal planters and Room 6 had them 50% off. Yeah!

Above is the one I bought for Charlotte's room. Looking good! The plant seems to be enjoying its new home. I also picked up one for my work space (when I return to work).

And I may or may not have indulged in a freshly baked Honey's doughnut. (Worth the trip alone.)

I looooove me.

2009-01-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

Day 20

2009-01-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

After 19 days of fog it is finally sunny! Finally! Vancouver has only had 6.5 hours of sunlight so far this month. Although, I think this depends on where you live/are in Vancouver. Higher elevations had less fog. Downtown Vancouver wasn't one of those areas.

Bring on the sunshine.

Giant!

2009-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

I enjoy normal size Pocky. I didn't even realize giant Pocky existed until last week when I noticed it in a Japanese store. Phil says it's tasty and giant. Now, I just need to find an excuse to try it.

10 months

2009-01-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

Miss Charlotte is 10 months old today. Hip hip hooray! She continues to grow like a weed. But is still cute, so all is good. She sprouted two new teeth this past month for a grand total of 8.

She's almost crawling. So very close. Instead of spending all her time learning to crawl, she has opted to master the art of scooching, stacking rings, pulling herself up to standing and then sitting down, and eating Cheerios. Who knew a baby eating Cheerios could be so adorable?

Charlotte spends lots of time paging through her books. Her current favorite book is 'Where is Baby's Bellybutton?'. (Thank you Daubs!) She specifically grabs this one from her book shelf. Her face lights up when she lifts up/down the flaps.

Charlotte enjoys her curried lentils but it was a no go with the Pad Thai. We'll try some veggie sushi this month.

She still favors Brobee and her blanket. And continues to be a social butterfly. Smiles for everyone.

She digs Motown tunes and silly Mommy & Daddy dancing.

Finally, she's started to say momma and dadda but only in times of need or distress. Not quite her first words yet. But it still tugs at our heartstrings.

Munching on a lemongrass chicken drumlette bone from Phnom Penh.

I take that back

2009-01-14T10:12:00.006-08:00

Phil has been called back to the Bacon Factory. Hopefully only for a few weeks and then he'll be able to finish up his break in February. Fingers crossed.

We're all kind of bummed but it is what it is. Next time, we'll have to travel to avoid this potential hiccup.

Scoocher

2009-01-14T10:12:00.003-08:00

Charlotte isn't crawling yet. She's pretty much doing everything but. Luckily, she's discovered an effective way to get from point A to point B.

Weekend in Seattle

2009-01-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

We spent this past weekend in Seattle. Visiting friends, exploring the city, shopping and eating.

Charlotte did well in the car. It was her first real road trip. She needed a bit of company on the way back but she's good company to hang with.

We picked up a Le Creuset fondue pot for a steal. (Thanks Amy for the kitchen store recommendation!) We raided Trader Joes, ate yummy Greek food and checked out the Seattle Art Museum. And of course, we got our Target-fix.

Break

2009-01-05T09:00:00.001-08:00

Phil has been home from the bacon factory since before Christmas and doesn't return until the end of January. (He's between projects.) I'm enjoying every minute of having him home.

We had originally planned to take advantage of this time to travel but we're really enjoying hanging out at home. And we have a number of things we need to get done - like finalizing our will, reviewing our finances, cleaning out a big, messy closet, etc. It will be great to get these things done. And I need to take advantage of this opportunity to get back to the gym.

Welcome home Phil!

Bella & Tara

2009-01-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

I saw this piece on CBS Sunday Morning this week. Very sweet.

Polar Bear 2009

2009-01-02T10:06:00.001-08:00

I rang in the New Year by taking a dip in English Bay yesterday with 1,500 other folks. Yesterday was the 89th Annual Vancouver Polar Bear Swim. And I did it. Phil still thinks I'm crazy.

It was invigorating to say the least. The water temperature was 6C (43F) and the air was 4C (40F). And there's still snow on the ground.

We went down with a couple of friends and our babes. Phil snapped photos and had the towels waiting.

The event is known for the wacky costumes and characters. I think there were just as many spectators as swimmers. I decided to pass on the 100 yard race, maybe next year.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

I was looking back at my 2008 resolutions and pleasantly surprised to see I had accomplished a few. And made a good effort toward almost all of them.

That put me in good spirits while planning my 2009 goals.

I'm still working on my final list. But here are a few I'm thinking of working toward:

Hugs: Hug Phil every day.
Hydrate: Drink more water.
Buy less: For at least one month, buy only what is absolutely necessary.
Travel: Take a family vacation.
Reign in sweet tooth: Go at least 2 weeks without sweets.
Stretch: Attend yoga class regularly.
Patio!: Set up and use our patio this summer.

Christmas wrap-up

2008-12-31T15:53:00.000-08:00

We packed up our Christmas stuff today. The tree is off to UBC to be recycled and used as mulch in their botanical garden.

Our Christmas was perfect. Quiet, simple and snowy. Full of Christmas pjs, presents, naps, fondue, monkey bread and apple galette. We are very thankful we did not travel anywhere this year and that no one attempted to travel here. We had that white Christmas I was wishing for.

12 Days of Charlotte: Twelve

2008-12-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Finally, found!

2008-12-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

I've been on the hunt for the perfect 'first' Christmas tree ornament for Charlotte. I searched high and low for something attractive that had meaning for us. We finally found it at Granville Island this morning. It's from the Wood Co-op. I think she'll enjoy hanging this on her tree one day. Until the, it will hang proudly on ours.

12 Days of Charlotte: Eleven

2008-12-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve at Granville Island

12 Days of Charlotte: Ten

2008-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Charlotte & Phil in Stanley Park.
Brrr!

12 Days of Charlotte: Nine

2008-12-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

Charlotte on the Christmas train.

Holiday treat

2008-12-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

Instead of Christmas cookies this year, I've been making these treats.

Pretzels on top of melted rolos. Super easy, quick and tasty.

Idea and 'recipe' from Coveiter: Bon Appétit. I bake mine on parchment paper to make the process even easier.

It continues to snow.

2008-12-21T13:04:00.000-08:00

Maybe we'll have a white Christmas.

12 Days of Charlotte: Eight

2008-12-21T12:52:00.001-08:00

A little holiday spirit and waffle.

12 Days of Charlotte: Seven

2008-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Charlotte at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. So civilized.

Ready, set, bake!

2008-12-19T08:15:00.000-08:00

I picked up this magazine in late November.
I suggest you run out a pick up a copy before they take it off the shelves.
I made the apple galette for American Thanksgiving and will make it again for Christmas Eve.
I made a sausage, spinach and Monterrey jack strata for brunch. Yum.
I also whipped up some of the most delicious waffles I've ever tasted using their recipe. Char agrees.
I'm going to make monkey bread, from scratch, on Christmas Day using their recipe.
I baked a cinnamon pecan coffee cake and took it to my work for my colleagues to enjoy.
I'll also find an excuse to make the caramel bread pudding and flourless chocolate cake.
And, when I get up enough courage, I'll whip up some French-style macaroons.
It's hard to go wrong with their recipes. Lucky for us, they've already tested the recipes 10-40 times.

12 Days of Charlotte: Six

2008-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

And a Charlotte by our Christmas tree.

9 months

2008-12-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

Charlotte turned 9 months old on Monday. Pretty much no longer a baby but a little girl.

She's over the 95th percentile for height and weight and the 90th percentile for head circumference.
Favorite toys: Brobee and her humidi-penguin (not technically a toy but she adores her humidifier)
Favorite eats: Tofu, halibut, cheerios and baguettes
Favorite activities: Swimming, playing with friends, scooting around on the floor, emptying out her toybox

New skills: No crawling yet, but she's getting closer - lots of wiggling around. Great pincer grasp. Clapping - which is so cute! Putting the rings back on the stacker. Partially pulling herself up on things.

Holiday happenings

2008-12-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

So I let the holidays come to us. Instead of forcing them upon us, I relaxed and somehow they found us.

Here's what we've been up to:

-picked out our Christmas tree at Kitsilano Secondary School. (I think Grimace burned me last year, so we passed on a cheap Ikea tree and hit up one of the school lots. So much better! And crikey, that was one big tree last year.)

-checked out the holiday lights in the neighbourhood

-decorated our tree and a wee tree in Charlotte's room

-attended the kid's holiday party at Phil's work

-attended the holiday gathering for my work

-visited Santa

-watched the Santa Claus parade

-donated toys to Toys for Tots

-listened to Christmas tunes at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's tiny tots holiday concert

-And, finally, if the weather cooperates, we're going to check out the lights at Stanley Park and ride on the train next week.

Whew! Sounds like a lot but most of it's been low key. And we still have the actual holidays to celebrate.

12 Days of Charlotte: Five

2008-12-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

And on the fifth day of Charlotte, even more snow.

12 Days of Charlotte: Four

2008-12-17T09:30:00.001-08:00

On the fourth day of Charlotte, a visit to Santa was in order. She asked for more rice crackers.

12 Days of Charlotte: Three

2008-12-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

An oldie but goodie. Our wee one, 9 months ago. So wee.