Big Boy in the Tub!

Today Loic sat up in the tub like a big boy, chewing on his tub frog toy. These photos were taken on Rob's iphone, tomorrow I will bring the nice camera in to get some better shots. The cuteness shines through though!

Tasty tub frog!!

Ack - the cuteness!

Loic didn't want to get out of the tub! Rob took him out once the water got too cool for him :)

Oh Teeth

Loic is getting his first teeth! Oddly enough, it looks like the first one to come is in an upper tooth. My happy, happy baby is well, still pretty darn happy!

I need to figure out if I can back up this blog because I would hate for this journal to be lost at some point; it will be nice to be able to look back on it when Lolo is bigger :)

E

The Easter Bunny came early!

Loic and I went to visit my good friend Lindsay this weekend. Linds lives in Fort St. John but was down here visiting with her family. While we were there the Easter Bunny arrived!

He is very secure in his pink bunny ears :)

(More) Highchair photos

The following photos show what happens when your baby eats yoghurt, avocado and god knows what else!!

What a mess!

Learning to use a spoon (kind of!)

Simply adorable!

Loic is not into eating baby food anymore, so now eats a variety of "people" foods (can you tell I have dogs?!). He loves toast, avocado, apple sauce, yoghurt, all sorts of fruit, chick peas, tortilla, chicken, beef etc. etc.

You can see the tip of his first tooth coming in today! My boy is growing up.

E

Barn AGM Drama

We had quite an AGM this week which involved the voting in of a new board of directors - Congratulations to my mom who has been re-elected to the board for her third term! (Sucker for punishment maybe? Just kidding, we need people like my mom on that board).

Yours truly was responsible for creating quite a stir; I put forward a motion that angered a lot of people but in the end pleased more than 2/3 of the members, which was enough to have it passed. To make a long story short, a few years back the board made an honest mistake which cost the club some money to fix. Everyone apologized and we all moved on. Well, not everyone apparently because some new board members took it upon themselves to create a "committee" to try to lynch a few people who they don't like in order to make them pay for the mistake. My mom was that board who made the error and I did not like the tone or goal of this "committee". (I am putting committee in quotation marks because it wasn't open for anyone to join in and they only let certain people in). My motion? To have the committee disbanded and to have the lynching stop. Oh the drama!! In the end, we won, which was awesome. I am glad that I stood my ground on this issue, even when accused of creating an illegal motion, being told I was out of line and being bullied by the (old) president. Hopefully next years AGM goes a bit more smoothly!

In baby news, Loic is cutting his first teeth. My normally happy, happy baby is slightly less happy right now. All things considered, he is still wonderfully behaved. Will post a tooth photo when they appear!

E

What exactly is Tyler doing?

In this photo?!

Funny face Tyler!!

We went on a lovely walk today with our friends Tracy and Ben (her little boy) to the dyke near our house. I had Tyler, Toby and my cousins dog Blue with us and boy did they ever have fun! Tracy brought Kootney, a ridgeback pitty cross, and the four dogs RAN and RAN and RAN. They were really funny to watch and while I tried to take decent photos, none turned out well - maybe Jody can give me some pointers!

E

A baby and a little lamb

My mom, Loic and I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Powell River, Campbell River and Quadra Island. We went to visit family and to check out my brother's new digs on Quadra. We spent one night in Powell River visiting with my grandparents and two nights in Campbell River. We stay with my Aunt Christine and Jim in Campbell River and she is just a riot. *Thanks for the fish and meat Jim!!*

Ryan just moved to Quadra to work and live on a really neat little farm where he will be starting up a seed company with his lovely other half, Jessica. It is really beautiful there and they have all sorts of nice animals. Here are some photos from our trip!

Loic petting a baby sheep

We are laughing because he had just tried to eat the lamb's ear...

Awww, nice petting!

Loic and his Uncle Ryan in Powell River

Ryan and Jess in front of their new abode on Quadra Island

Spiders, oh the horror

So, last year Rob said to me "I saw a black widow spider in the crawl space" and I just laughed at him because I figured that we didn't have them here (maybe I was just not allowing myself to think that they could live here?). Today, while he was installing our new mud room cabinets he found...a black widow spider. Alive. In the house. She is now safely in the freezer, in a sealed up jar. I am going to use her as evidence.

After Rob talked me out of calling the emergency pest control line (they have been living in the crawl space for A YEAR now, so I guess it isn't an emergency) I decided to call first thing in the morning. Not sure if I will be sleeping tonight. I love insects, I still miss my pet mantid Paris, but spiders? I HATE spiders. Way too many legs, creepy, creepy eyes, fast moving, POISONOUS spiders. In my house.

I did some googling and yes, we do have black widow spiders here. Great. We now know that they are in the crawl space AND in the garage, where the cabinets were until today, now they are In My House. Oh the horror.

E

Oh Tyler!

An old photo of Tyler, Toby and foster dog Gigi

After his amazing performance at the last trial, I guess I was hoping for some good results today but Tyler had other ideas! His first run began with disaster - a terrible start line stay which was more like a complete barking meltdown (which resulted in my grabbing his scruff and him screaming, thank god his spastic barking covered up the screaming sounds!). The run itself was ok, he did some nice things, but I am so frazzled at the beginning that it isn't fun for me at the point. His second two runs were a lot better, mainly because as soon as he sat at the start line we went. He only had one bar knock down in Masters Standard, so I guess I am happy with that. Oh Tyler, when will you learn not to have a barking meltdown before *every*single*run* ?

I need to keep in mind what he was like when we adopted him; we never ever thought he would be able to do agility, let alone make it into Masters!

E

Messy, messy baby

Ok, I used to find photos of babies covered in food a bit gross, but now, I find my baby covered in food to be completely adorable! Loic is into eating finger foods now, he is not too keen on baby food anymore, which means that he is usually covered in something! He almost always needs a change of clothes after meal time and is getting to be a bit...strong willed. He wants to hold his own spoon and feed himself (on a side note, not sure where he got that trait since I am so easy going and relaxed about everything, mom and Erin, stop laughing right now!!).

Avocado, toast and a grin!

Avocado in his hair...

What an adorable mess!!

Sleep sack pj's my aunt made for Loic, so very cute and please ignore my gardening sweater!

Napping Woes

Loic was a great napper up until last week....when he decided that napping just wasn't fun anymore.

Needless to say, this is tiring for everyone involved! He still sleeps well at night (when Arthur doesn't wake us all up, but that is an entirely different topic) but seems to have forgotten how to nap. I have resorted to putting him in his crib at nap time and letting him cry. Now, he doesn't cry the whole time, he chats to himself, cries and then takes a break, but it is hard to listen to him. I keep telling myself that he needs sleep just as much as he needs food, so hopefully we will be back to napping soon!

This morning he fell asleep after chatting for a few minutes, so maybe there is hope yet!

E

ETA - Loic had a TWO HOUR nap this afternoon! Yipee, good job Lolo :)

Dog Day

Rob took these photos at the park today, between playing with the squid on his swing :) We sure like having a nice grassy field two blocks away from our house, it is so handy for dog walks when we don't feel like loading everyone into the car.

Tyler doing what he loves to do!

Super fast Toby cornering

Stick chewing Toby

And Arthur...who is probably plotting against us all at this point

E

Cutest. Baby. Ever

Today Rob and I took Loic and the dogs to the park near our house so that I could show Rob how much Loic likes the swing.

Daddy and Baby moment at the park

Little monkey!

He loves the swing!

Who does he look like here?

So, so cute!

Rob took some awesome dog pictures today too, will put them in their own post!

E

Swinging away!

Today, Loic and I met my cousin and her three kids at the farm. We had a lovely visit, but the fun really started when we hit the playground outside of the farm. Loic has his first swing ride and he loved it!

Funny laughing face!

Trying to touch my cousin

Happy, happy, happy Squid!!

In food news, we gave him some yoghurt yesterday and he was NOT impressed! I will try again but will mix it with some sweet fruit. Tonight he ate avocado for the first time and although he made a really funny face, he didn't seem to hate it.

ETA - we are watching the movie "The Hurt Locker" and I am more than a little disturbed. It is up for an Oscar and I heard about it on the CBC today. It is a little too disturbing for my liking, so I am spending some time checking my email etc. while Rob watches the movie...

E

Loic has his 6 month shot today

And I took him alone. For the last two sets of shots, I wimped out and asked Rob to come with us (which he did) but I figured it was only one shot this time and I could do it. Loic cried for, oh, 3 seconds, then went right back to smiling at the nurse. We talked about food for him because while he is healthy and happy, he is still on the small side. So - we are going to start feeding him pieces of toast with butter, yoghurt and other higher fat foods. Should be fun! He is back to eating well after not feeling well last week. He is not wanting to nap this a.m., maybe because of the shot? but is otherwise A-okay. Good baby.

Another cute baby alert!!

While I make dinner, Loic "helps" by throwing his toys on the floor!

Let's make...

... Vietnamese salad rolls!

Now, these are kind of a PITA but are well worth the effort. I make these in steps, first, I bake chicken breasts, then I prepare all the veggies, and then I assemble. Ready? If I can make these while handing Loic his toy that he dropped every 8 seconds off of his high chair, so can you!

You will need:

-rice paper

-rice noodles (vermicelli)

-carrots (2), cucumber, green onions (2), red pepper (1) - or any other thinly sliced veggies, steamed asparagus would be nice too

-2 chicken breasts, cooked and thinly sliced

-dipping sauce

To start with, bake your chicken breasts. I did this this am when I was feeding Loic breakfast. I put a little bit of oriental salad dressing on them, but you don't have to.

Then, during nap time, I chopped and thinly sliced my veggies:

Thinly chopped veggies, minus the green onion which was on the cutting board during this photo...

Then you need to cook your rice noodles, which is really easy. All you do is put them in a bowl then pour boiling water onto them - they will be cooked in a few minutes. Just taste them and drain the water off when done!

Rice noodles, ready to be cooked

Cute baby alert!!

To assemble:

1. Put one sheet of rice paper in a large dish of hot water (I used a lasagna sized dish). This is the tricky part, the paper will want to stick to itself when it softens - don't let it!! Once soft, take the paper out of the water (only takes a few seconds) and lay it flat on a clean, damp dish towel.

2. On your wet rice paper, place a few sticks of each of your veggies, then a thin slice or two of chicken and finally a bunch of rice noodles (sorry, didn't get a photo at that stage). Roll them up like a burrito as tightly as you can.

Assembly (minus the noodles, sorry)

Finished rolls - so very tasty

To serve, you just need a dipping sauce. I use a mixture of half soy sauce and half hoisin sauce, but peanut sauce works too.

We are eating these for dinner with steamed broccoli - tasty and healthy.

Enjoy!

E

What is in your slow cooker today?

In mine is hamburger-veggie soup! I made this soup during Loic's first nap this am and it is cooking away on low as we speak, ready for Rob when he gets home from work and ready for me when I come home from helping Jody move later tonight. It is so good and sooooo easy to make. Oh, and if you don't have a slow cooker - get one! You will be amazed at how good your kitchen will smell. Just kidding, you can make it in a soup pot too. I will post the recipe below.

In other news, we went on a lovely hike with Deb today: 8 dogs, Deb, myself and Loic had a lovely walk. The dogs are tired, the baby is currently fighting his nap (in a half assed kind of way, he is just muttering to himself, hopefully he will stop soon) and my soup is cooking away. It was raining when I left so I left the camera at home which is a shame, because the sky cleared up and we had sun for our walk! Next time I will bring the camera.

Here is how you make this delicious soup. My mom makes it a bit differently, and I tend to make it based on what I have in the house. You will need:

-hamburger meat

-4 cups of chicken stock (I make my own and freeze it in 4 cup containers, but you can use store bought)

-1 can condensed beef consume + 1 can of water

-one onion (diced)

-3 cloves garlic (minced)

-1 yellow pepper (diced)

-1 zucchini (diced)

-2 carrots (diced)

-about a cup or two of cherry tomates (diced) OR one small can of diced tomatoes

-seasonings: salt, pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme, bay leaves and italian spice mix

This is so very easy to make.

1. Brown your ground beef in a frying pan. While the beef is cooking, dice up all of the veggies and put them right into your slow cooker, or your pot.

2. Add in the 4 cups of stock, the beef consume and water to the pot.

3. Once cooked, add in the ground beef to the pot (see how easy this is? Just chop everything up and throw it into the pot! Easy peesy).

4. Season! Add a few tablespoons of the herbs, salt and pepper to taste and a bay leaf or two.

If you are using a slow cooker, cook on low all day. If you are using a pot, simmer until the veggies are tender. That simple!

Serve with small pasta noodles, on its own or with a loaf of bread. Will add a photo later, baby still not napping, need to go try and convince him to go to sleep now...

E

I can eat your face!

Loic and Jody relaxing on the couch

Loic trying to eat his aunt :)

I took these about two weeks ago; Loic was trying to eat Aunt Jody's face! Funny boy.

I love my baby

Everyone told me how much I would love my baby but I don't think that you can know just how much you can love a baby until you have one. And, of course, my baby is the nicest one out there! :)

I watch the new show "16 and Pregnant" and cannot believe some of the people on that show. It is a documentary about very young people having babies. Some of the young women make excellent mothers and some are terrible. One young mom, who had her mothers help, couldn't wait for her three week old baby to go to daycare! I am already upset about Loic going to daycare mid August and can't imagine leaving a one month old in daycare. I know people have to do it, but this girl couldn't wait for one more week to be able to drop him off. So sad for that baby. And the dads - most are terrible, I am sad to say. I have two words for these people: birth control.

Here are a few pictures from this weekend.

Fast asleep - so cute it almost hurts!

Eating away in his high chair! He loves to hold the spoon

A naked baby ready for bath time! Such a ham

We are going to meet a mom who lives very close to my office this week who is looking to babysit one baby because she isn't going back to work after her maternity leave. I am leaning towards at home care for the three days a week that we will be needing daycare and hope that this mom and I hit it off. Wish us luck! Alice, I wish you were still nannying, but I am happy for you about getting into nursing school.

Erika