The Neish Family Blog

Christmas, Cuba and everything in between.....

2010-05-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Mommy and Graham

Graham in the kiddie pool

The family christmas card picture-love that water!!!

Palm tree lined walkways- need I say more???

A small section of the pool- swim up bar in the background

Yes, I know it's been awhile, well November, since we last posted. We just havent had time to actually sit down until now.

So what's been going on? Lots of course. Graham is now 21 months old and running everywhere. And I mean running. he never stops. And of course, he has tumbled and hit his head many, many times in the same spot on his forehead. We used to freak out, now we just pick him up and say nothing. He is a constant source of giggles. He is chatting non stop, and literally said "Canada" today, since he was wearing his olympic hoodie with Canada on it. Then he said Barbeque. Why? I have no idea!! But it cracked me up. He has almost all of his teeth in now, and uses them to bite the other little boys at daycare when there is a fight over toys. Not happy about that, but they all do it, so it's hard to break that bad habit when you ar enot there with him.

Christmas came and went, and this year it looked like the tree had exploded- with gifts for Graham of course. It was so fun to watch his face as we opened gifts. The winter this year in Winnipeg was by far the mildest one we have ever had in a long long time. The snow did not arrive until just before christmas, and it melted early March. Unbelievable!!! And we hardly had any snow , and we only had two days of -30 this year. Not like last winter, which seemed to drag on forever. Figures, I'm back to work and this winter is super mild.

At the beginning of April we went on holidays for 17 days back to Ontario to visit Scott's parents. The original plan was for us to spend the first week of our holidays (and easter) in Elmira, then leave Graham with Nana and Papa for the second week, and fly off to a resort down south somewhere totally last minute. Scott's dad unfortunately got sick the first week and ended up in
the hospital (everything's fine- it could have been worse), and all other babysitting options fell through, so we decided to take Graham with us in the end. So that altered our "free as a bird" last minute plans to just jump on a plane and go wherever. We ended up going to Cuba.

We booked into the Paradisus Varadaro, which is the top of the line of the Melia Hotel chain's resorts. They touted being kid freindly, and having a baby club, so we booked it. We did get a super price for it, but it wasnt as kid freindly as we had hoped. The resort was beautiful. Palm trees everywhere, the beach was stunning, and the rooms were decent. However for a resort that has families from all over the world staying there, I found it incredible that they only had two highchairs in the dining room. What a joke. Trying to feed a toddler on your lap was so annoying. It was a mad scramble everynight to get a highchair at dinner. Other than a few tumbles, digging up every cigarette butt on the beach, and a ton of mosquito bites, Graham did have a great time. He loved tthe pool, but starved the whole week. The kid literally lived on bread, cucumbers and spaghetti noodles. The menu was a very European based menu. Lots of olives, artichokes, and fish. All the things a toddler eats. The poolw as the best part of the whole place, and we met many parents and kids there from around the world each day. We met one couple fromOntrio named Paul and Rosa, and their little girl Chloe. Graham loved Chloe, and of course wanted to do everything Chloe did. But chloe is about 8 months older than him, as as such she was much more steady on her feet than Graham was, and wouldnt run away from the dinner table if she was let out of her chair. That caused a few meltdowns at dinner a few nights, so evenutally we had to eat by ourselves in order not to spoil Paul and Rosa's dinner each night. Scott and I had a great time , it just wasnt the trip we had envisioned. We did make use of the baby club so we did have a few hours each day without the little one. We would definately go back to Paradisus Varadaro, but not with a child, and if we did have to vacation with Graham, we will be bringing family with us from now on. Any takers??? Graham did travel extremely well, apart from a fussy period it the Varadaro Airport the night we left, which was super hot and humid and he had to be confined to his stroller. All in all, it was a great trip as our first family trip. The resort was beautiful, but Scott and I have decided Varadaro is not our cup of tea. Too touristy for our liking. Plus the bugs were insane! They gave Winnipeg in July a run for it's money!

I will post again with just images from the trip, easter and after we got back from Cuba!!

Yes, Its been awhile...

2009-11-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

Lauren, Carson and Graham at the hotel.

Alex's kids Dori, Callista and Nick with Graham

Scottie and Craig installing the new tile!!!

Graham running as usual.......

Okay. For all of you that have been kindly "reminding me" to update my blog, here it is. Sorry it's been so sporadic, aka non existent lately. This whole getting back to work thing has thrown a wrench into my facebook and blog posts. My office has some staff changes happen once i got back, so we were scrambling trying to find a new designer, which we did. Enough about the boring stuff.

Life in Winnipeg is good lately. Scott, Graham and I enjoyed a rather nice warm fall this year. September was super hot, and October and November have been great so far. We renovated our bathtub surround this September, which was a real pain in the a** for me with a 13 month old toddler. Our shower ( the only one in the house) was out of comission for two weeks while we re-tiled and re-glazed the exisitng bathtub. I thought I would lose my mind having to shower and bath at my mom's house every two days. But it is finally finished, except for the new paint onthe walls, and Scottie did a great job and worked so hard to get it looking like the spa shower I always wanted. A big thanks to our freind Craig who helped up with the tiling. I wanted to contribute, so I grouted the new tile myself!! It was kind of fun.

After that project, we started investigating building a new house in one of the new developments in South Winnipeg called Bridgwater Forest. it has lots of mature forest they have kept, and walkways and lakes. Its beautiful. So we have found a plan we like, and are just running numbers now to see if we can make it all work. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

In mid September, I went to Calgary on business, and took Graham with me. I stayed the weekend, and visited with my freinds Tracy and her kids, as well as Alex and her kids. As a special treat, we booked a hotel room at the Port O call to use the new waterpark I worked on. It was finally open ( the source fo the trip) and the kids loved it. It was a busy, busy trip, trying to do work and juggle Graham at the same time. I will never do that again on my own. I give my cousin Lindsay credit for travelling with her two kids by herself so much.

Graham is running around everywhere. I mean, the kid never stops. He has a permanent bruise on his forehead from the numerous faceplants he has taken in the house, on the street, at walmart.... Poor little guy. He went out for Halloween as a pumpkin this year, and hated his fleece costume his mother insisted he wear all night. But boy was he cute.

Murphy also had an accident last weekend, with a tree. We were at his favorite dog park, and he was running like a goofball with another dog, wasnt looking, and ran right into the ONLY tree in the area. He hit it so hard, he bounced off of it, rolled over and whimpered like he had been hit by a car. He came over to me shaking and limping, with a cut nose and bleeding eyesocket. So we headed home and I gave him some advil and he took it easy for the rest of the weekend. He now has a big scab under his eye, and is still kind of bruised, I bet. Silly boy.

So that's our life so far. We are getting ready for christmas, and maybe will be heading to Scott's parent's place this year for a change. it all depends on certain factors in Elmira, so we will see. So enjoy the photos. I promise to try to be more up to date.

More photos from the summer that never was...

2009-09-11T21:10:00.001-07:00

The birthday boy and his mommy.

Graham's new "ride".

Weird clouds above the house before a wicked thunderstorm.

The birthday loot!

Graham's Girlfreind Marlee.

Mr. Messy enjoying his cake.

Marlee and Graham

Graham in his Adirondack chair.
All he needs is a beer.

AC/DC, Walter Gretzky and the summer that never was.

2009-09-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

Scottie and Graham in their Scotland shirts to go to Folklorama

Family Portrait in the in-laws back yard.

With Walter Gretzky

Cake massacre

The cake before Graham got his hands on it!

So it's now the middle of September, and I know I havent posted a blog for a while. It could be that we were too busy building an ark, just to survive the insane amount of rain Winnipeg received this spring and summer. I say summer lightly, because well, we actually never had summer until about a week ago. Last weekend was in the high twenties temperature wise, so we went to the lake and I actually swam in the lake for the second time this year. But let me recap the last few months or so for you, as even though the weather was the s**ts, we did have some interesting moments occur...

In July we had to take a trip to Elmira Ontario, where Scott's parents live. His mom Pat had a health scare with her Chrone's disease in early July, so Bill and Pat were unable to come to Winnipeg for Graham's first birthday in August. So we hopped on the plane and flew into Hamilton ( much less stressful than Toronto and the 401 death ride) and spent a week there visiting. They threw a family birthday party for Graham, complete with a huge cake full of icing. It was such an awesome cake with a picture of him and a caption that said "It's cool to be one". I loved it. And Graham loved the cake!!! Scott and I got to escape to the country a few times and biked along the trails near their house, without getting eaten alive by mosquitos. While the weather wasnt great, we did have a couple of days of sun, and more importantly, Graham free time! Thanks Nana and Grandpa!

While we were visiting, Graham took his first steps and walked on his own. I was so happy he did when we were in Elmira, so Bill and Pat could see it. It was so funny, he was furniture cruising, and the next thing I know he just lets go, and walks over to the patio window. I was screaming with excitement,and so was my mother in law! Now he just runs everywhere.

When we were there, our freinds Colin and Veronica celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary. So Nana and Grandpa babysat once again, and we went to Milton (where they live) for a "grown up "meal. The restaurant we went to was a small Italian kind of place called Pascalluci I think, but it was awesome. So we were in our corner of the restaurant chatting when in walked Walter Gretzky. In case you have been living under a rock, or not Canadian, he is the father of the greatest hockey player in the world, Wayne Gretkzy, and almost as recognizable. Anyways, he was working the room, saying hello to everyone, and stopped at our table. We took our picture with him, and he asked us where we were from. When we said Winnipeg, he perked up, and told us this story about how his mother lived on a farm outside of Winnipeg when she first came to Canada. He only knew this from some woman he met in the Winnipeg airport ten years ago that mentioned it to him. But this woman never knew the name of the town closest to the farm, so he immediately wanted us to try to find out. We chatted some more, and to make along story short, I now have Walter Gretkzy's personal cell phone number, home phone number and address. I dont know where to start looking for this information, but we promised him we would look into it, so I guess I have to try somehow. The funny thing is, that this all happened in Milton, Ontario, which is a small sattelite town east of Toronto, and hardly a Celebrity hotspot.

I headed back to work August 4th, and began the nightmare of trying to get organized each night with Graham's food, clothes etc. It was rough. I did many late night Safeway runs buying yogurt and bananas for his lunch each day. Five days after I went back to work, it was Graham's actual birthday on August 9th. So I got balloons, had a cake made (one for him to destroy and one for us to eat) and invited a few close freinds and family over for a BBQ celebration. Luckily the rain held off and we only had a short sprinkle come down. For the most part we were able to have the festivities outdoors, and more importanly the cake. Graham was so funny- he dug right in again, and had icing everywhere. Now his little freind Marlee was'nt too sure about the cake, and definately would not put her hands into it and get messy. It's so funny how different little boys are from little girls. Graham could have cared less how messy he got. I did make an effort to have only white colored icing this time. Blue icing stains clothes I found out! So we are now the proud owners of every Fisher Price little people set on the earth it seems. At least that's what our basement looks like.

Mid August brought around AC/DC to Winnipeg. They were playing the outdoor Stadium on August 22nd. We had bought tickets for us and our freind Andy back in the winter. Our freinds Art and Teresa are like the biggest AC/DC fans in the world, and we all talked about going as a group if ever Angus and the boys came to town. So when the time came to get tickets, I offered to buy online for them, but they declined and went with a buddy "who had an in". I know first hand from working with my arena clients, that for big concerts, there are no "ins" on tickets. So I went ahead and bought 2 tickets for ourselves and two for our freind Andy. In the back of my mind, I was thinking "get six" but I didnt. In the end, Art and Teresea did not get tickets, so Scott and I decided to sell them ours. They were flabbergasted, but accepted, and we ended up seeing the whole concert for free by sitting in the Toys R Us parking lot across from the stadium!! It certainly was loud enough. We even brough Graham with us, although he went to sleep in the car right after it started! I figure if he sleeps through an entire AC/DC concert, then I shouldnt worry about my creaky hardwood floors at home waking him up.

So that's our summer in a nutshell. Not great weather wise, but so far September has been pretty good. Maybe this means our winter will be warm! Yeah right.

The good, the bad and the ugly.

2009-07-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

Boy wonder in action at the lake.

Side A.

Side B. Yes, it was very badly infected.

So, did you ever wonder what $$165.00 dollars looks like??? Check out the pictures of Murphy attached. It looks gross, and it was gross. And smelly.
Poor Murph. He finally got to go to his "happy place" at the lake in June, after a long and hard winter, and ended up at the vet's office.
Now Murphy likes to swim at the lake, and he jumps off the dock with such gusto that he submurges his entire head. His ears are wet, his face is wet, and if they dont dry properly, his skin doesnt dry and gets infected, with what is known in the golden retreiver world as "hot spots". His retreiver neck hair is so thick and heavy, that it doesnt let the air at the skin very well. We thought we had solved the problem ahead of time by getting our groomer Charlotte to cut down his fur a bit, but no such luck. Even my "all natural" hot spot medicine did not work this time. Off to the vet we went. It took three of us to hold him down while the vet shaved off the fur on his face. Antibiotics, pain pills, and ear infection medicine later, he is on the mend. Just in time for summer swimming season to begin.
Murphy we love you, but this was a bad one this time. My wallet still hurts.

Lindsay, Luke and Evelyn's visit

2009-07-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Mom and Lindsay with the kids.

Luke, Evelyn and Graham.

At the children's museum with Daddy

Mom- can I have the car keys???

The three amigos.

Family portrait.

The bobbsey twins discussing bathtime.
"You go in first and test it out...."

At the end of June, my cousin Lindsay and her kids came to visit us for 5 days. They are moving to china in September, so Linds wanted to visit the Winnipeg relatives before they move half way across the world!

The visit was a great sucess. It was great to see Luke in all his boisterous glory ( it gives us a head's up for what's ahead with Graham), and Evelyn was only two months younger than Graham, but practically the same size as our kid, so they looked so cute together. Murphy went to stay with my mom for the first three days, as we figured his stress level would go through the roof with three little ones running and crawling around. The weather was pretty good, and we did trips to the park and Children's museum to fill the days. We also had a nice family dinner at Uncle Pete and Nicole's house one night, where we celebrated Peter's birthday. Lindsay and the kids went own to the lake for two days, where unfortunately it rained for the two days she was there. however, they did see a bear, actually Luke spotted it first, and told his mom there was a "teddy bear" by the garbage cans!! It was great to see Lindsay again, as we dont get to see each other as much as I would like. Now that they are moving to China, we will have to plan that adventure so the three kids can get together once again!!!

Sunshine Coast pictures- Part 2

2009-06-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Uncle Jim paddling out to sea.

(No the motor did not die.)

Our hosts.

Sunset from the beach.

Horseshoe Bay.

Comox yacht club.

Sunshine Coast Pictures-Part 1

2009-06-26T09:12:00.001-07:00

Bucky by the sea.

Refuge Cove

Just pooped out!

Pole dancer.

On the fire truck at

Stanley Park with Zachary.

Here are some random pictures from the trip!!

The Sunshine Coast- Part Three

2009-06-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

In the pool
On the ferry to Nanaimo.

Olympic countdown clock.

The cousins and the kids.

NEVER try to take a ferry in BC on a Friday afternoon without a reservation. Or you will end up sitting in a hot car with no AC and a fussy baby for four hours. Let's just leave it at that.

So we got back to Comox eventually, and had three more days left before we had to go home. I brought my mom back with me, and it was the first time she had seen Jim and Sue's new place. We had some great meals, and I managed to meet up with my good freind Jenn D (the Vancouver Jen was Jen K from design school and work) and her daughter Zariah who is almost two now. We had bought Graham a little wading pool, and he sat in it hour an hour splashing and playing. Zariah loved it too. If they are anything like their mothers, those two will be water babies. On the Sunday, Uncle Jim took me out on his whaler boat up to Lund BC, and the beginning of Desolation sound. It was beautiful. On the way over it was a bit choppy, but coming back it was smooth as glass. I saw starfish, and sea lions, and a jelly fish right in front of their house. (Uncle Jim dropped me off on the way back to the marina so I could relieve the babysitters.)

One of the definate highlights of the trip was when Sue decided to feed the Bald eagle mother. Now here is the story. There is a Bald eagle with a nest of two babies behind their neighbour's house. A week before we came, the eagle managed to swoop down and kill one of their chickens as food for her babies. Sue put extra chicken wire out, and the eagle was not having much luck finding food for the babies. So their neighbour Chris went to his place and grabbed some freezer burnt tuna steaks one night and brought it over. Sue waved it at the eagle, then laid it on the rocks by the beach. We all stood on the balcony ( I held onto Graham for dear life) and watched this magnificent creature swoop down and grab this tuna (better that then Chris and Darcee's little dog Chopper). Then she did a fly by right in front of us as if to say "thank You". I have never seen an eagle up close like that, and let me tell you, she was a beauty.

The time on our trip went by so fast, and I was sad to leave. Usually I have the itch to get home after a while, but I was not ready to leave. I think it was because it was so peaceful and relaxing.
But we were anxious to get home and see Scottie and Murphy, who I missed so much. Thanks to Uncle Jim and Sue for their great hospitality. I am looking at seat sales all the time now, partly because I want Scottie to see the area, and partly because I want to kick Sue's butt at CRUISE SHIP again!!!!

The Sunshine Coast- Part Two

2009-06-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

On the swings at Stanley Park

English Bay at Sunset

Ferry Ride to Vancouver

Graham and Heather

Graham and Aunt Lynne

So on Monday the 25th, we had a three hour drive from Comox to Victoria. I was planning on spending the night at my Aunt Lynne's place in the Victoria area, then heading to Vancouver the next day on the ferry. So here's how the car journey played out:

10 am: We drove Sue to Uncle Jim's office in Comox to pick up his vehicle,as I was using hers for the week. We basically got five minutes down the road when Graham started screaming for food.

10:10 am: Pull into a nearby McDonald's and feed him his lunch.

10:30 am: Out on the highway onto Victoria.

11:00 am: Semi trailer of LIVE FISH has overturned on island highway. Highway is closed for a portion of our trip. Detour onto "scenic" Oceanside highway.

12:00 pm: Stuck on scenic highway behind some "pleasure drivers" wondering when I can get back onto main highway.

12:40 pm: Car is getting very warm inside. Decide to chance it and detour back on at Parksville. Never mind everyone else I was following has long deserted me and gotten back onto 4 lane highway again.

1:45 pm: Graham is having a meltdown again. Decide he may be too hot in the car. Pull into Tim Hortons in Ladysmith and strip him down to a onesie. Try to go to the bathroom while holding Graham.

2:00 pm: Back on the road again after a unintentional scenic tour of Ladysmith due to a wrong tour out of Tim Horton's.

2:15 pm: Graham is now screaming at the top of his lungs and wants out of his car seat. Detour into Mill Bay for a breather. Take Graham out and walk him in the stroller, get ice cream-ANYTHING to settle him down. Have to use bathroom in supermarket to change Graham's diaper as there are no public washrooms anywhere.

2:50 pm. Call Aunt Lynne and explain we will be arriving later than I thought. She informs me I could save time and take the Brentwood bay ferry from Mill Bay. Great Idea I say. She is checking ferry schedule. Ferry leaves at 3 pm. No chance we are making that one.

4:30 pm. We finally arrive at Aunt Lynne's place. Uncle Jim calls as we walk in the door, as I promised to call him when we arrive. He is concerned because he has not heard from us yet. All thanks to the fish truck, Graham now hates his car seat and cries whenever I put him in.

Once we got to Victoria all was good. We had a great visit with Aunt Lynne and Janie, and they were so good with Graham. I only wished Scottie could have met them, and we had a little more time to visit. Heather came up to see us, and she looks awesome!!! She's lost 40 pounds or so, and is quite the hottie now!!!

Tuesday we took the 1 pm ferry to Vancouver. It was my first time ever driving on a ferry and I was a bit nervous, but it was super easy. The crossing was great, and the trip into Vancouver was fine. There is so much construction happening in Vancouver due to the upcoming Olympics its a total nightmare. I was glad we only spent three days there. Mom and I stayed at the Best Western Sands on Davie street just off of English Bay. It was a great location. A bit noisy, but we could walk by the beach every night and morning. I love that part of town. Bonus: Tim Hortons was right across the street!

The main reason for our visit to Vancouver was to see family. My cousin Darren, and his wife Maria had a baby boy Leo in March. I wanted them to see Graham, and for Graham to meet all his cousins. So Auntie Jean had a family BBQ on the Thursday night for all of us. It was good to see everyone, and I found it really cool that myself and my cousins, whom I used to see over many summers when I was younger, now all have kids. I am hoping we keep the kids in touch so they can continue the tradition. Before the BBQ, I drove out to Darren and Maria's place in New Westminister to visit. Graham tried to crawl onto Leo as he sat in his baby chair. We are working on the concept of "gentle" still. I think D and M were surprised at how messy a baby can make a floor when it eats. Unfortunately, I had to feed Graham his lunch while I was there. I also had a chance to meet up for an "adult" dinner with my good Friend Jen at the Four Seasons at a restaurant called "Yew". It was awesome, in a big plate, small portion kind of way. Thanks to grandma who babysat!!! We also went to Stanley Park and Graham went on the baby swings. He loved it!! we wandered down Robson street, ate at White spot, and generally had a great time. Everytime I visit Vancouver, I wish I lived there. Everyone is so fit, healthy and generally are outdoors more.Then I remember how expensive it is, and that idea slowly deflates.

After three days in Vancouver, mom and I were heading back over to the island via the ferry to Naniamo. Our plan was to take the 3 pm ferry on the Friday afternoon. But sometimes, the best laid plans don't always work out it seems.....

The Sunshine Coast-Part One

2009-06-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

So its been a month since got back from our awesome trip to BC last week . And I do mean awesome. Yes, it has taken me awhile to post (thanks Alex for the "gentle" reminders). The weather was absolutley perfect, warm and sunny every day for ten days. I dont think I have ever been to BC without it raining during the trip. Graham and I had a fantastic time. We only wish poor Scott had been able to sneak away from work to join us.

I will be writing a few posts on our trip, as it was jam packed and one post just wont cut it....

We left May 23rd and flew to Comox, with a 2 hour stop in Calgary. My freind Tracy and her kids met us for the layover and we all got some breakfast since it was 8 am Alberta time when we landed. Then it was onto Comox (I was on my own with Graham for a hour long flight) and Graham was a superstar flyer once again. The seniors on the plane just loved him. I think we were the only two on the flight, beside the flight crew, who were under the age of 65.

Comox was awesome. Uncle Jim and Sue's house was right on the ocean, over looking the Strait of Georgia. It was an amazing place, so peacful and relaxing. Graham loved the cornucopia of farm animals they had, and he was especially enamored with the chickens, or "the girls" as we called them. Every night we watched for cruise ships, and it was a contest to see who would spot them first. These huge boats were on their way up to Alaska, and I must say, I was very good a spotting the ships. It was so cool. The first night we saw a huge one, called the "Island Princess" heading south to Vancouver. Apparently they have to time the passage at Seymore just right to hit the slack tide. At that certain point, the tide from the north meets the tide from the south, and it is so strong that when at full blast, it can turn a huge cruise ship around like a sailboat. Who Knew??? The house was incredible, I felt like I was staying at a little resort on the ocean, and the ocean air was so crisp and clean. I slept like a log, so did Graham. Graham loved their yellow lab Will, who was so gentle and patient with a 10 month crawling all over him.

After a few days, I packed up Graham and drove down to Victoria, then took the ferry over to Vancouver for a three day visit. We spent the night with my Aunt Lynne, whom I had not seen in years, and of course Graham had never met. It was so good to see her and Janie again. We had a sprinkling of rain that night, but nothing major. It cleared right up in time for us to take our big ferry boat and start leg two of our adventure...

On the mend

2009-05-06T14:41:00.001-07:00

Well, sorry for the lack of posts lately. Graham was super sick last week with a bad flu bug, and it got so bad we went to Children's hospital one night at the advice of our pediatrician. He was worried Graham was dehydrated from the awful diarrea he had, and might need an IV. It turned out he wasnt dehydrated enough, so they sent us home with a bottle of pedialyte and told us to mix it with apple juice and get it into him. Yeah right. First of all, it tastes like crap, even with the apple juice. Scott basically had to pin Graham down while I pried his mouth open and squeezed in the stuff through a tylenol dropper. Talk about difficult. Graham screamed his head off, and hated the whole expereince. I dont blame him. After 5 days, the diarrea seemed to be under control, and he was getting a bit of color back to his face. He was one sick baby, and I felt so bad for him, as he looked up at me with those big grey eyes as if to say "Mommy, what's going on?" Now he is his same old self, crawling everywhere, pulling himself up on anything, and discovering the blades of grass on our lawn. Of course those go right into his mouth, along with the odd dried leaf he manages to sneak by me. Spring has finally begun to apprear, the temperatures were in the high teens this week, so we spend most of our days outsaide,going for walks, playing in the yard and just enjoying the sunshine. Of course that will all change now with the arrival of the Wii.

No, we did not buy a Wii. Our freinds Ian and Sheri, who won the Wii unit as well as the complete Rockband unit at a wedding social in December, have graciously loaned it to us for a month. Now Ian and Sheri are the most non video gaming people you would ever meet, so the irony of them winning this thing was hilarious. It sat in the box for a couple of months, until Ian decided to hook it up one day, and needless to say, he was hooked on the Wii. However, he is at the tail end of his thesis process these days, and found the Wii was a major distraction. (I think Sheri laid down the law and told him to pack it up) So we now have the Wii until the end of the month!!! Scott was so excited. We have played the Rockband portion before, and it is super fun. I am excited to play the Tennis game again, and maybe try my hand at the guitar on rockband. Graham just likes playing with the box. Of course Scottie will do the drums again. Hopefully I will not neglect my child too much with the Wii in the house. Maybe I can convince Scott we really, really need to buy our own Wii now.

In other non Wii related news, my beloved Manchester Unit have advanced to the finals of the UEFA cup for the second year in a row. Go Reds!!! This is much to Ian's dismay. Ha Ha.

And finally, some really big news- one of my projects I did two years ago will be featured in the August issue of Western Living Magazine. It is a basement renovation we did for a client who basically wanted his own nightclub in his basement. In his words he said he wanted to "Pimp my Basement". The place looks like a vegas nightclub, with a sound system that could rival any club in the city. It was an awesome project to work on and I cant wait to see the feature. Keep your eyes open for the August Issue.

Here are some latest pictures of Graham. He attended his first actual birthday party this past weekend. Our freind's daughter Tara turned 2 this week, so he was invited to her party. I dressed him up in his new sweater vest and polo shirt (god he was cute).They had an awesome cake, with the Hungry Little caterpiller theme. It was yummy. Graham enjoyed the vanilla butter icing very much. I loved the cake so much that I think I will get one for graham's first birthday party. Despite the fact he had to have a nap halfway through (he was Mr. cranky pants), I think he had a good time. Earlier in the day, we went to a baby shower for our freinds Tim and Shannon, and their little girl Kasey. It was a busy day, but very fun.

Spring for real?

2009-04-14T11:33:00.001-07:00

Well, I dont really have too much to write about today, other than it is 16 degrees here!! Yea- spring is finally making an apperance. It was so nice to go out for a walk without a parka on, and shoes with no socks!!! We are heading out today to meet my freind Karen, and her son Jake in the park to take the boys for a walk. I think everyone has spring fever in Winnipeg, and is desperate to get out of the house. Unfortunatley, the nicest part of the park is now under water. The Assiniboine River had a massive Ice jam as well, and water backed up all over the English garden and Leo Mol sculpture garden. There was so much water that it flooded out of the garden, across the road and over into the duck pond. Good for the ducks I guess, bad for mommies trying to walk off their baby weight.

Here are some more photos of Graham for everyone to enjoy. Oh yeah- those photos of us in the jungle type atmosphere on the last post were taken in the Assiniboine Park Conservatory last weekend. I know it looks funny mixed in with the Ice jam photos.

Graham's new trick is that he has discovered the dog's bowl (yuck) and water dish in the kitchen. He happily splashed around in it under the watchful eye of his father (thanks Scottie) until he was soaking wet! I cant really lift the water dish up off the floor, as it is a self filling jug type of system, and really heavy and awkward to lift. So when Graham plays on the kitchen floor, its the first thing he "scoots" to. Somehow I have to figure out how to corral it off from him, without giving Murphy a nervous breakdown. The poor dog is terrified of the highchair,(at 100 lbs- who would have guessed that one), but I think once food starts falling from it, Murphy may reconsider. Still no crawling from the kid yet, but he is trying. On a positive note, we have had two nights in a row of sleeping through the night. Hopefully I just did'nt jinx us......

The Ice Jam

2009-04-12T19:54:00.001-07:00

So it looks like spring is finally beginning to arrive in Winnipeg. Of course that means the threat of flooding here in the Red River Valley. Now normally everything melts, the floodway takes all the extra water, and everyone is safe in the city. Well not this year. This year, because of our extended winter, the red river, which runs through the city, took a long time to melt, resulting in massive ice jams. The ice chunks were so big this year, that the city couldnt even open up the floodway gates! But eventually the ice began to break up, and started to float up through the city. We went on Good Friday to check it out, and it was impressive. There were chunks of ice two feet thick in some spots, very jagged pieces which caused destruction in its path, wiping out docks and property along its way. Check out the shots we took along St. Mary's Road. Gotta love the one of the life preserver stuck in the ice jam. The river is supposed to crest next week, and already the water levels are very, very high. But we should be okay.

The ice jam viewing session was the highlight of the past two weeks. Scott and I were struck with a violent stomach flu last week (thus the reason for no posts). The kind where you are sick for 6 hours straight and cant do a damn thing about it but pray it goes away fast. I got it first, then passed it onto Graham, who weathered it the best of all of us due to a flu shot he received at 6 months. Scott got it last Sunday and so far Murphy seems to be resistant. It was awful. But on the plus side, I lost 6 pounds!! This past weekend, we decided we needed to get Graham to go to sleep on his own, as opposed to us holding and rocking him to sleep. Its been a tough battle, especially when he wakes up at 2:30 am. We tried the "let him cry it out" method, which only makes him infuriated, sick to his stomach, and so worked up it's more difficult to settle him down after. Plus I hated hearing my baby cry. He can also pull himself up to standing in the crib, so I go in to settle him, and he's standing in the corner, crying. But I think we are making progress.

Graham is still waking up at night, sometimes two times a night. I'm hoping its a developmental thing, like he is on the verge of crawling or something. I had a baby who slept through the night, and wham, at 6 months he starts waking up. He is pulling himself up on everything now, and each night we hope we tire him out enough so he sleeps through the night. Not a chance, unless he's sick. Usually he sleeps 4 hour stretches, and wakes up. I try not to feed him at night, but I think he needs some food, despite what the pediatrican says. It makes it much easier to settle him back down, although lately, we have had to resort to a full swaddle again. But we cant keep doing that when he's two, so I am at a loss of what to do. Anyway, I guess we will muddle our way through it. But it sure is frustrating. And Scott wonders why I am tired all the time....

What happened to Spring???

2009-03-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

So last week, the backyard snow was all melting away nicely. I even wore shoes with no socks for god's sake, it was that nice. The dog was getting outside and staying out for more than five minutes, and we were all looking forward to spring. Then the snowstorm hit. On Tuesday night it started snowing for two days (on top of the melted snow that turned to ice) and we got 15 cm. Then the winds started. So everything drifted in, the roads were a slippery mess, and hard to drive in, even by Winnipeg standards. Gone was the grass covered lawn. I was so depressed. I mean we have had enough. Our winter started on November 6th with an early snowfall, and it hasnt let up. To say we have cabin fever would be putting in mildly. Then I threw my back out shovelling out my car that was stuck in the back lane. No more P90X for me for a while.

But the week wasnt all bad. Our freinds Sarah Jane and Craig came over with their baby girl Marlee Saturday night. Marlee is one month older than Graham, and technically his "girlfreind". Sarah-Jane went back to work in January, so we had not seen Marlee in a few months. She was crawling everywhere, and not too sure about Murphy. Graham had fun too, doing all the typical little boy things, like pulling Marlee's small tuft of hair, rolling over her and generally being active all night. We were used to it, but Craig commented on "how his legs never stop." It was good to see them, and compare parental notes and laughs again. Craig even volunteered to help us rip apart our bathtub surround this spring, so we will keep him to his promise!!!

Also this week- Graham discovered that if he drops food off his highchair, there is a good chance Murphy will pick it up. We gave him some spaghetti noodles to play with while we ate our dinner, and besides getting them everywhere, the little monkey figured out how to feed the dog! We also caught him pulling himself up on his toys by himself now. His little jungle playtoy (which Craig described as "baby vegas" because of the noise and light show it gives off) is the perfect tool for him to practise on. He loves it. We hate the musical numbers. Our basement has been taken over with "musical" kids toys. Murphy is having severe anxiety attacks these days......

Florida

2009-03-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pictures from our trip to Orlando last month. The weather was the pits, but we managed to get a couple of days of sun out by the pool. Graham was awesome on the four airplane rides he took- even with a bad cold. It was so nice to escape the freezing cold of Winnipeg, even if Orlando was going through a cold spell. There was an orange grove just behind the house we rented, so we stopped to check it out. It smelled so fragrant, and Graham loved pulling on the oranges! One day we decided to drive out to New Smyrna Beach, just south of Daytona Beach. It was freezing. We literally drove there, got out, took pictures and jumped back into the van and turned the heat on. Seriously. The beach was nice- white white sand. But man was it cold. I had to put my feet into the ocean, and let me tell you, it was'nt like Jamaica. we didnt do any Disney- it was way to expensive, and the weather was the pits, so why bother? So we went to the malls and just hung around the rental house. graham decided to try out the sink as a bathtub, at the urging of his Nana. I think he liked it. Anytime he can chew on his rubber duckie is all good with him. And of course, he had to have a beer out on the deck with Daddy and grandpa......

The First Attempt

2009-03-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well here it is. I have finally caved into the family pressure and decided to start a blog. Actually, it makes sense,as Scott and I have decided we have been awful new parents at sending out pictures of our kid, who is now 7 months old. Incidentally, Graham has crawled towards me and has gotten stuck in between the ottoman and bouncy car, so this may be a short posting. Since this is my first attempt here at being more technologically advanced, I will try to post some recent pictures of Graham for everyone to see.

Graham is doing really well. he is 7 1/2 months old, and deperately trying to crawl. He just kind of wriggles his bum side to side, but can make it across the floor, and to Murphy in no time at all.

He has 2 teeth now, not much hair, and is pulling himself up on his crib, toys, whatever. Its crazy to think I have to go back to work in August. Usually my little guy can sit and play by himself so well, but of course not today as i am trying to post a blog. Figures. Gotta go.