Some of our Favourite Things

Well, if you can't complain about the rain, how about complaining that it is too hot!  Yesterday it was 30 degrees, without the Humidex, and 41 degrees with the Humidex, and today it is already up to 30 and 38.  (Humidex, I understand, is like windchill in the winter - how hot it actually feels - which is calculated using moisture ratios, and formulas I didn't really try to understand.)  Too darn hot, and no mistake.  

I took some pictures this week of Griffin with two of his favourite things.  His little blue bear, which he loves.  He watches it, and snuggles it and sucks on it, and everything that is cute with it.

And his stripey blue blanket, see all of the above.

Some more contenders for 'favourite photo' I think.

He can get so engrossed in doing these things, that I have been able to sneak in the occasional activity of my own.  I had fun going through my old photographs, and drawing up and embroidering this wonderful lady.  I'm pretty happy with how it came out, although when I asked Jai his opinion, he could only say, "It's weird."  Well... yeah.

I suppose it is :)

Hello Again.  Life is rambling on here in the Valley.  More wet, humid, grey kind of days, interspersed with moments of intense heat when the sun does make it out from behind those clouds.  Yikes.  I hope we get a real summer one of these days, but for now, we'll take what we can get, knowing that we'll miss it anyway when the snow begins.

We had a very nice weekend visiting with each other, and with friends.  Brandon and Jo came over to hang out and eat pizza.

And the next day, we actually ventured out for brunch.  Griffin was a hit with the girls, and totally loved all the attention.  Today he is looking at me like I am boring him.

What else have we been enjoying?  Long walks that sometimes involve ice cream...

(This is one of the local cemeteries, which is actually a beautiful place for a walk.)

Watching the garden grow...

And getting big toothless grins from our little boy.

Baby Days

Hello Again!  I once again find myself sitting in front of the computer with a sleeping baby on my lap.

  These days... I know I will miss them greatly when they are over.   And although I sometimes am frustrated to find myself bursting with ideas, with seemingly little ability to follow through on them, I also feel that this - just sitting with Griffin - is one of the most magical things I've ever done. 

 Today he is dreaming almost non-stop.  All day when he has fallen asleep, he has been a flurry of activity - eyes twitching beneath lids, lips moving, fingers stroking.  It looks like he has inherited his Mom's proclivity for Dreaming Big Dreams.  Although he may have gotten some of that from his Dad, also.  Jai said to me the other day, 'I don't care what Griffin turns out to be, or what he is interested in, if he's a genius or an athlete, I just hope that, whatever else, he is creative, and he has a sense of imagination.'  And I thought, 'it's no wonder that I love this man so much.'

Our sleep experiment is going well.  I think Griffin mostly enjoys having his own giant bed, and he is starting to learn how to put himself back to sleep, which is very exciting for me.  I could have done a giant happy dance the first time he went right back to sleep after our three a.m. feeding - except that it might have woken up the baby.

"Logic will get you from A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere."

~Albert Einstein.

July!

Happy 10-week Birthday, Griffin!  What a growing boy.  Time is just slipping quietly past, in the heat and haze of summer days.

The garden, beautifully, is surviving without my tender loving care.  The raspberries are ripe, the lavender and the sweet peas are blooming profusely, and the apples are getting bigger and redder by the day.  All these things go on without me, but luckily I can fit in moments to appreciate them happening.

Our first of many apple crops!  The most wonderful thing about planting a tree is imagining Griffin's children sitting in the shade of it, enjoying the bounty of a fall harvest.  The second most wonderful thing will be that first bite of crunchy Honeycrisp goodness.  (Only the best apples ever grown on this Earth.)

Griffin and I are doing well this week, although his nose has been stuffy for the last couple of days.  Since babies only breathe through their noses, he sounds horrible, but luckily most of the time it doesn't seem to bother him.  Other times he scratches and digs at his face, and I just try to distract him.  Poor little guy.  Imagine having a stuffy nose and not even being able to blow it.  

Jai and I have been taking him for walks around town every night before bed.  He just loves it - watching the leaves go by, seeing new faces, listening to the kids splashing in the community pool - you can see him soaking it all in.  Everything is new and equally wondrous.  What fun.

Jai just took this picture of him, and I think it is one of my all-time favourites:

Treasure Hunting

These are the Bear River treasures I was telling you about:

One stack of old photos, picked out of several boxes of photos (3 for $1.00)  I found some great people shots in these, full of life and personality.  I'm looking forward to using them for something.

And one very old picture book.

For $1.00.

I love the illustrations, and the colours.  And I love the stories they tell.  

Two Months and counting...

It's been an eventful (by our current standards, anyway) couple of days here.  On Thursday Griffin had his two month checkup.  He got weighed and measured and poked and prodded, and pronounced perfect.  The Doctor said he is in the 75th percentile in height and in weight - he's going to be a big boy.  And he was all smiles for the Doctor... right up until the vaccinations.  Ah, the dreaded two month shots.  I have mixed feelings about this.  I'm all for vaccines, I just wish they could wait until he was a little older.  Anyway, he took them like a pro, and really only cried for a couple of seconds after each shot.  And then he got two matching bandaids.We thought the worst of it was behind us, until the next day.  

He had a small fever all day, and he was MISERABLE!  With the exception of a few half hour breaks, he screamed all day long.  Nothing could console him, the poor little guy, although we did our best.  It sure made me appreciate just how cheerful he normally is.  He's been feeling much better since, although he had his first nightmare the next day.  That made me kind of sad.  Now he has bad experiences to dream about, whereas before he sometimes laughed in his sleep, but he never woke himself up by crying.  But I suppose it had to happen eventually.  I'd love to, but I can't protect him from everything, even when he's this small.

As a contrast, though, we had a great day on Saturday.  My parents came down for a visit, and we all felt well enough to brave a trip down to Bear River, to check it out.   It was perfect - nice and relaxed and fun.  And I got some new treasures at my favourite Bear River hangout - I'll have to share them next time - I think you'll like them :)

  And today he's doing pretty good.  I've got him dressed in this adorable outfit I got at Frenchy's for $1.35.  Damn, he's cute.  And another toe picture, because who can resist?

The Boat Walker

Check this out - coming up for auction next weekend in Annapolis Royal:

"An early child's walker in the form of a boat, circa 1920. All original, some rubber tire loss on one wheel."

Fun!  I hope whoever ends up with it will actually use it (although it probably wouldn't meet any safety codes.)

So I've Been Thinking a Lot About Sleep...

Well, we finally did it.  We finally set up the crib.  Up until now, we have been sharing our bed with Griffin every night.  It works pretty good, except that it's only a queen size bed, and Jai and I are pretty big  people, and Griffin mostly likes sleeping with his arms straight out to the sides.  Plus for the first month, I felt a pretty constant need to be able to hear him breathing.  That's a little paranoid, I know, but he had so much trouble breathing for the first week, and it was terrifying.  So now we have set up the crib with one side lowered, pushed right up against the bed.  Griffin likes falling asleep sucking on my finger (whatever works!) so I can still reach him whenever I need to, and I can still hear him breathe.  But hopefully Jai and I will be a little more comfortable.  Last night was the first test.  My night was no worse than usual, and Jai said he slept great.  So we'll see.  I've got my fingers crossed that this is an arrangement that will suit all involved.

So far, Griffin seems to really like his new bed.

And who wouldn't with that gorgeous quilt and matching sheet that Jai's Mom made for him?

Sweet dreams, indeed.  Here's hoping.

When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, 'Did you sleep good?' I said 'No, I made a few mistakes.'  

-Stephen Wright

Bears Like Marmalade

My friend Jo found this Paddington Bear at her last Frenchy's run.  She said he was just sitting there, facing the door, waiting for her to come in and grab him.  He's the same size as Griffin, which is pretty cute.  He even still has the tag - don't worry, we'll look after him very well - thanks Jo!

Jai and I got all those strawberries frozen, so I am already looking forward to eating frozen berries. 

But for now, I have something more immediate to look forward to...

The raspberries are coming, the raspberries are coming!  Wow, summer is flying by, and it doesn't feel like we've had much to enjoy yet.  Today is gorgeous, though, so we've been out in the yard as much as possible.  I took some pictures of Griffin smiling in his sun hat.

And here's the picture of Griffin and Jai, as promised.  Jai tells me that they are newsboy hats, not page boy hats.  I stand corrected.  Whatever they are, they look good on my men (although Griffin has a little more growing to do before he can really wear it.) 

Happy (Belated) Canada Day!

Happy (Belated) Canada Day!  We had our third annual Canada Day bash yesterday, and it was the biggest one yet.  My arms were pretty full of baby most of the night, though, so I didn't get any pictures.  Anyway, it was great fun, and it was especially nice to see Griffin enjoying having so many people around.  He especially liked getting kisses and licks (!!!) from a couple of young girls - what fun!

It rained (of course.)  (I think it's rained every day here for the past 2-1/2 weeks, and the forecast for the next five days is all about rain.) So it was a good test for our house, and I'm proud to say it passed.  And so did the rain, just in time for the fireworks - hooray.  

Our boy is growing fast - already topping out the scale at 13 lbs, and only 8 weeks old.  At this rate in another couple of weeks he'll be double his birth weight.  He's definitely interested in what's happening all around him now, which is fun to see.  And those smiles. . . all is right with the World when a little baby smiles at you.

I had my follow-up check-up with the obstetrician today, and everything is a-ok, so Griffin and I took our first (of no doubt many) trips to Frenchy's today.  I had him strapped to my chest in the BabyBjorn (Frenchy's - $2) so I couldn't try on any clothes, but I did pick up a pair of shorts and some skirts for myself (even with the rain the temperatures and humidity levels have been unbearable) and some pants for Griffin.  I also got him an adorable page boy hat that matches

one that Jai owns.  Pictures will be forthcoming.

On the way home I picked up a flat of strawberries and some freezer bags.  Hopefully there will be time tomorrow to store some of this summer fun until it's needed in those cold winter months.  Our firewood is already sitting in the driveway.  Strawberries and firewood - I'm all set.  

Look, my foxgloves came up for the first time:

The plants are certainly loving all the rain.

And Griffin and I even found time for a little embroidery.  It took me strapping him on and bouncing for an hour, but it was worth it.  I find myself doing the "baby bounce" all the time now - whether holding Griffin or not.