Inspecting the Shenken

On June 5th, we had a quick visit from Marj and Dianne, who were on a whirlwind tour of the capital. Marj got off about 2000 pictures of Ethan (I think my Mom requested that as a minimum), by using the automatic shutter feature on her fancy camera. I'll have to see them when we get back to Winnipeg at the end of July.

At one point, Marj proclaimed that she couldn't leave yet until she inspected the shenken (spelling???). My low German isn't great, but I'm thinking it's leg fat. Any ideas? She seemed impressed by it either way, so I guess bub is doing well.

Mum and Bub

(Soph's post) - Ethan mostly likes to take 40 minute to 1 hour naps during the day (vs the 1.5 hours we read would be the norm -don't believe everything you read!). Occasionally I can catch him before he really goes into a meltdown (ie. Why have I been left alone in this room?!! Come get me NOW!), and he'll fall back to sleep in my arms for another half hour or so. Then I sit at the computer and play silly games (or write one-handed emails.)

It's hard to complain though, as he's basically been sleeping through the night since he was 6 weeks. We decided to make his last feed of the night a formula feed, and this carries him through till around 6 am. So we try to put him down at 8, and then do his "dream feed" at 11 pm. I'm making it sound easier than it is though, cause it took a couple of weeks of convincing him that when he woke up at 3am, that all he needed to do was go back to sleep.

Still not much sign of any real hair growth. It appears that he'll be a chrome dome for ahwile yet.

Cutest picture!

Summertime

(Soph's post) We've been very happy about the fine weather, and have gotten out and about to take advantage of it. We got out to the Gatineau Hills, just north of us in Quebec, to a short hike we did last year. The views are spectacular, and we could just imagine how these hills used to be bigger than the Himalayas. They also remind us of the hills that are always in site in Perth, where we often went walking. It was pretty hot and sunny, so Bub was protected from the UV by a big opaque blanket (courtesy of Grandma S!).

We found this little orchard of cherry trees the first spring we were in Ottawa. It's hidden behind the art gallery and is so beautiful while the trees are flowering. We made a point to see it again. Ethan enjoys the walks; the bumps in the sidewalk lull him to sleep. If it isn't raining, we'll be out walking somewhere in the evenings!


An afternoon in the park near the canal was quite ideallic; Bub only broke the pristine silence with a few five-alarm screams. He enjoys 'flying' above us, a trick we learned in yoga - gives mom a good workout at 14lbs!

Tummy Time

Ethan has a lot to say about spending time on his tummy. We figure that it's a good thing that the advice these days is 'back to sleep', otherwise he'd have protested loudly.

Here he is just a week before his 2 month birthday. His big head hasn't caused him to roll over quite yet, but I'm sure it will happen soon enough. Babies are funny this way, with their heads being about 1/4 the size of their body, and adults being around 1/8 the size of their body. Imagine how cartoon-like adults would look if their head was a 1/4 the size of their body!

Ah, a quiet moment. He has since grown out of this onesie; the stitches were pulling to their limit at the crotch!

Soph's post II

At the beginning of May, we had alot of friends and family come to Ottawa for Marc and Lori's wedding on the 5th. My mom, and her friend Karen came from Winnipeg, and they were joined by my Aunt Nancy and my Popham grandparents from Lake Cowichan. My Grandmere also flew out with my cousins Eric and Jon from Winnipeg. Marc and Lori's daughter Keelin had her first birthday on the 7th, so there was a little party for her at the Delta hotel where everyone was staying. My mom had the deluxe suite, with a living room and kitchenette, and a fantastic 14th floor view of the parliament and the Gatineau hills, so we spent alot of time meeting up at the hotel. Nancy also had lots of cold "Baha Fogs" waiting for us, which are perfect for summer. Anyhow, it was pretty neat that Ethan and Keelin got to meet their great-grandparents!


Keelin thinks hand-sucking might be ok for Ethan, but she's over it! Grandmere and Grandma make sure she's 'Gentle' with Ethan. Keelin got some cool stuff from her great-grandparents and grandma and her great auntie for her birthday.

The highlight was the Strawberry Shortcake running shoes, I think!






The great grandmothers did such a great job of holding Ethan while we visited; Mom and Papa were very happy for it! And Ethan enjoyed all the attention.








The city was also ready for visitors, and the weather was fantastic, the tulip festival was getting into full bloom so we took advantage of it. We walked all along Dow's lake where the tulips are, and all got lot's of vitamin D in the sunshine. We stopped for a bite to eat at a nice Mexican restaurant in the pavillion and enjoyed the view over the water.

It was a busy week, and we enjoyed it very much. It's always hard to finally see everyone leave Ottawa at the end, and there is always this sense that there was so much more to do yet. I guess it's motivation for our friends to come back.