Tuesday, June 23, 2015

All about Odin


It's happened. My little baby has turned a corner this past week. Something in his brain has been switched on and you can almost see the wheels turning as he begins to understand, really understand, all the goings on around him. The growth and development are almost tangible. His mind and body are ready to learn and he is mastering new tricks each day.

Repetition is essential for a baby to learn new skills and sounds.  Odie will work for days on sounding out one letter at a time. Today he is working on his 't' sound. A few days ago it was 'n' and before that the 'mamamas' and 'dadadas'. He will intently watch hand movements and actions before attempting to mimic them. He claps and waves constantly, shakes his head 'no', can point to a nose and is working on his high fives and kisses. Pretty impressive talents for a 9 month old. He has moved from a creep to a full on crawl, pulling himself up and all. This newfound mobility is both exciting and terrifying to witness. Maybe we are in need of a baby helmet!

Clapping in man pyjamas. So dignified.
Most of all, Odin is filled with joy these days. It's hard to believe he was once a difficult infant, screaming the second he was out of my arms. He is now completely comfortable with people and he thrives on making eye contact, smiling  and instantly stealing the heart of everyone he meets. He loves to reward us with big belly laughs after being tickled and is an all-around happy, adorably sweet little boy. I'm definitely feeling like a pretty lucky mom these days.

Father's day gift for Alan (and Sunny). I'm hoping this will really tie the RV interior together!

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Sunny!



After years of dreaming, we are so happy to finally introduce the newest member of our family - Sunny, a 1986 GMC Citation 20 ft. Motorhome! We are beyond excited with our new purchase and with the many family memories that will soon be made. I have always loved the fact that Alan grew up going to bluegrass festivals with his family, staying in a camper and falling asleep to the sounds of  musicians jamming outside his window.  I love that my boys' summers will now be filled with similar experiences and memories. And my being on maternity leave means all 4 of us will be able to travel together and road trip around the Maritimes for the next few months.

 As happy as Alan and I are, Caleb is the one who is completely over the moon. In the past 24 hours since Sunny joined our family he's made bold statements such as "This is all I've ever wanted in my whole life.", "I love Sunny to death", "I can't believe this is ours - we really have our own camper!" "I love Sunnt 100% right now, and when she is all fixed up I'll love her 200%!", and my personal favourite "I scream, you scream, we all scream for Sunny!". He hasn't left Sunny's side since we bought it, and of course we all wanted to sleep in Sunny last night so we made the maiden voyage to Grammie and Grampie Jeffries' house and slept in the driveway! Cale asked before falling asleep where we were going to camp the next night. In many ways it feels like we finally have a home for our family of nomads. A space to renovate and really make our own. As Paul Simon said 'Sunny gets sunnier day by day, by day by day.'

First night at 710 McEvoy
Enough space for everyone
Brothers on the top bunk
And now for a few summer fun pics!

My happy little guy. I love his toothy grin. 

Having a laugh at the beach
The swimming docks are now in the water at our home on Kelly's Creek. We were spending all of our time by the water until Sunny came along!


Monday, June 1, 2015

12 weeks of summer


Graduate!

It's official. We are now on summer vacation! Caleb has graduated from junior kindergarten and I have 12 wonderful weeks of maternity leave left, so we are planning to make the most of it! Here is our list of fun activities so far. We are hoping to cross them all off and add many more!

1. Catch a fish
2. Bike across both bridges in Fredericton (walking bridge and Westmoreland St.)
3. Music festivals
4. Annual mom and kids camping trip

5. Swim at the beach in front of our house! 
6. Sleepovers with cousins
7. Build something BIG with Greg (go-kart, maybe?)
8. Day trips to Sussex and New Denmark
9. Upper Clements Park
10. Tent in our back yard

11. Find 50 geocaches with Ava! We've found 20 so far this year, so 30 more to go this summer!
And now for a wonderful little video of Caleb singing 'Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree'. This performance was part of a concert that my mom put on for seniors living at Shannex. Needless to say, the concert was a huge hit. I love that my mom brings her students to spread joy around the town, and Caleb loves chatting up the audience after the show.