Caleb's First Trip

We returned home last night from Cusheon Lake Resort on Saltspring Island. The resort is one that Charles took his class to a few years ago, and since then we're returned three times with friends. The first time was with Mandy and Kevin, last year with Rina and Carl, and this time Mandy, Kevin, Rob, and (of course) Caleb joined us.
We arrived amid sprinkles on Sunday afternoon but by Monday afternoon it was clear and we enjoyed the sun on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sunday was spent getting settled and unpacking before dinner. After Caleb was asleep we all played Tricks followed by Catan - Cities and Knights which took us into the wee hours!
We attempted to visit two local bakeries on Monday (both were closed!) and we were pleased to find the Saltspring Island Cheese Factory open. After selecting a few varieties, we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grounds. In the afternoon Rob and Charles took out one of the canoes while Caleb napped and Mandy and Kevin went into town. That evening we took a break in between games (Bang and Tricks) to go down to the hot tub.
Tuesday was a beautiful day and we began by driving out to Mount Maxwell which has spectacular views of the islands. On the way back to the cabin we went into town for lunch and then returned for Caleb's nap. Later that day we all trooped down to the lake for some swimming and sunning on the dock. Charles and I took turns with Caleb on the shore where he made some little friends and really enjoyed wading out into the water with us. We had a somewhat earlier night and finished up with the games around 11:30.
Wednesday morning was spent enjoying a leisurely breakfast before packing up. We went into Ganges and spent some time in the galleries and shops before having lunch and heading out to the ferry. I've added some photos in the Saltspring folder.
We were a little nervous about how Caleb would handle being in a different house again - would he think we had moved again?!? There was nothing to worry about, though, as he adjusted just fine and slept pretty much as he would have if we were at home. The trickiest part was when Charles and I would head off to bed; Caleb was sleeping in our bedroom and since it's been so long since he's slept in a room with us that we were sure that he'd wake up as soon as we opened the door. It turns out we were worried for nothing - we should have been more concerned about him waking us up as it turns out that he talks/laughs in his sleep A LOT! He is so active that it's no wonder that he is such a great sleeper. He had a fantastic time showing of for and playing with Mandy, Kevin, and Rob. I wonder if he's now wondering where everyone went!?!
This weeked we'll be heading out to the Bard-B-Q and Fireworks performance of Taming of the Shrew with Mandy and Kevin and then on Sunday we'll be helping Rina and Carl move. Then it will be less than a week to Surf Camp!!! Somewhere in there we're hoping for news of Kris and Claudine's new baby!

I know, I know

It's been ages since I last updated our site!!! I blame: moving, Caleb, houseguests, and facebook so I think I can be forgiven!? We've definitely had our hands full the past few weeks. After moving in we've had workers here a few times a week to finish up little jobs that didn't quite get finished. The problem with buying in the last phase of a development (and getting pushed back by two weeks) is that all the trades have left to work on new projects and it's very difficult to get them to come back to finish off on their last project. Luckily we're both home now, so that's helped with scheduling. We're almost finished chasing down all the 'professionals' so pretty soon we should have our house to ourselves.
It hasn't been all work, though. We did manage to go out to see Amos Lee at the Commodore last week. We went with Cori, Kelly, and two of Kelly's friends. We had dinner at The Banana Leaf before-hand (it was fantastic) and really enjoyed the concert. Neither of us had been to the Commodore for a concert before and we really enjoyed the venue. We've also had Rina and Carl stop by a couple of times, Kris, Claudine & Alex came over for a bbq, and Trish and Tyler stopped by for a visit and tour of the house.
Charles' birth-mom, Laurie, and her two sons Austen and Landon are also here for a visit. They arrived on Saturday and are staying for one week. We took them to Fort Langley the other day and yesterday they were off to the Capilano Suspension Bridge while we stayed home to deal with more people coming out to the house. I think we'll be heading to the beach today.
I've added some family photos (June 2007) and will be posting some of the new house soon.

Moved In

We're moved in! We could not have done it without our wonderful helpers: Rob, Mandy, Kevin, Rina, Carl, Jitt (thanks Trish for freeing up Jitt so he could come and help), Chris, Cristi, Kris, Chris J, Matt, Friedhelm, Joyce, Mom and Dad; thanks guys! It took multiple trips over two days but eventually we got everything here. Mom and Dad were also a huge help as they watched Caleb throughout the move and Dad barbequed burgers for everyone on Saturday. For now our days are full of unpacking, reorganizing, and having workers into the house to finish those last-minute tasks that didn't quite get done. I'll add some pictures as soon as the house is 'show-ready' (provided I find the camera!).

Two More Weeks to Go!

This week has been a vast improvement! We are starting to see real progress in our house; all the kitchen and bathroom cabinets are in as is the laminate flooring. The ceilings have been sprayed and most of the linoleum floors are down. Now they need to paint before installing the countertops, mirrors, and carpetts. On the outside all of the siding is done and they are just working on the board and batten section. Of course this means that we finally have to really start packing.
We didn't get any packing done this weekend as we were pretty busy. Rina and I took the boys to Aquafit on Thursday. Both of them are really enjoying their time in the water. It seems like they both really get into it at the end of the class so we stayed in the pool playing with them for a while after the class was over. It was really relaxing for us all. On Friday we went for dinner at Pearl with Rob to celebrate his new job. They have a new chef and so there are some big changes to the menu; however, they've also kept a few of their signature dishes. We all really enjoyed our meals and, although we all shared a Creme Brulee, we we still able to walk up the beach for Gelato afterwards. On Saturday we took Caleb for his swimming lessons in the morning - he's getting really good at blowing bubbles! In the evening we went for an early dinner with Kris and Claudine at Wings. They've been telling us about the wings there for a while and we were glad to finally have the chance to try them out. They were great! After dinner we tried to get to the early show of Pirates 3 but it was sold out so we headed over to Chapters/Starbucks while we waited for the next show. Despite the fact that it's received some negative reviews, we really enjoyed the movie. Today we're going to head out to do some shopping between Caleb's naps so we can enjoy the afternoon in the sun!

Week From Hell

I am so relieved that last week is over! It started with finding out that our house is delayed by two weeks on Monday and something negative happened every day for the rest of the week up until Saturday. I won't get into it all here, I've been able to vent a bit to friends and don't really want to think about it anymore.
On the up side, we did have a great time at Claudine's birthday barbeque last Tuesday. We had a delicious dinner and really enjoyed our time with friends and Kris's family. Thanks guys - it was definitely a bright point of my week!
Caleb had a fantastic week. He got into a sitting position by himself on Monday, started crawling on Tuesday, and waved bye-bye to us as we were leaving for the barbeque. We've had our hands full as he is becoming more and more mobile. No matter how many more foam mats we buy for the tile floor, he remains determined to get off the mats and onto the floor. Today he got the first of what I'm sure will be many bumps on his head. He cried for about a minute and then was back to his cheerful self.
So far this week has been much better and I hope it continues that way!

Mother's Day Weekend

This past week, Caleb and I had company at Baby & Me Aquafit as Rina decided to sign up for the next set of classes. Mattias was right at home in the water and Caleb is becoming more and more playful during the class now that he has completely examined the pool and its surroundings. It seems that he needs to truly analyse his environment before he begins to trust it.

I spent some time on Friday getting a group together to go to the Roxy Surf Camp in Tofino. So far there are five or six of us planning to go and I'm sure it will be a fantastic time! The camp includes three hours of lessons a day for two days and all of the necessary equipment. All that is left for us to figure out are accommodations. I can't wait! Although I imagine it won't be the same as surfing on Maui!

In the evening, we went out for dinner with Kris and Claudine at East Side Mario's. We hadn't been there before and enjoyed trying something new. Then we went over to Colossus to see Spiderman 3. I definitely wasn't blown away. It felt to me that the movie took too long to build up and that there was a whirlwind of action to finish the storyline. Although the main characters had already been established in the first two movies, some of the new characters weren't developed enough and, as a result, the motivations for their actions did not ring true foilr me. The special effects were fun to watch, but overall, I found that the movie actually seemed long (I haven't felt that way about a movie for a long time!) Nonetheless, we had a very enjoyable evening with Kris and Claudine.

I spent Saturday renewing my first aid certification with Mom. Now that Caleb is venturing further into the world of solids I really wanted to be sure that I felt confident in my ability to help him if it ever becomes necessary. While I was out, Charles took Caleb to his first swimming lesson. I was really sorry to miss the first one, but I'll definitely be joining them for the rest of the session. They did a lot of singing songs and just moving around in the water. The only part that Caleb seemed wary of was when the babies were dipped underwater. We'll just keep working on that part! When I got home, we went to check out a daycare near our school. It was recommended to us by another teacher at work and when we called a couple of months ago they were full for September. Luckily for us, one family unexpectedly has to move away in the summer which leaves one space for an infant open for us! She has a fantastic set-up and her rates are quite reasonable so we're signing up for the available spot starting in September. It is such a relief to have everything settled for the school year. We stayed in for the evening as we were both exhausted! We watched some TV (The Office & Grey's Anatomy) and caught up on Facebook before turning in early.

This morning I woke up to flowers and gifts for my first Mother's Day. Caleb managed to select and purchase some fantastic items from Lululemon and Charles presented me with some of the Mums for Moms which benefit BC Women's Hospital. Then we enjoyed some waffles for breakfast and now Caleb is settling down for his nap. Today we're going to go see our Moms and stop by the new house to see the progress. Three more weeks...

House Cooling

Last night we had friends over for one last big get-together before we move (less than four weeks now!). People started arriving around 3:00 and we had a good time visiting and nibbling on the many appetizers that friends provided throughout the afternoon. Caleb enjoyed visiting and playing with Mattias and Alex; however, at times he was a bit overwhelmed by all of the people! He got up on his hands and knees and had everyone holding their breath to see if he would actually crawl, but he decided to keep us all waiting. Maybe it will happen at the House Warming? A few people had to leave in the early evening and then Charles started preparing dinner for those who wished to stay. After putting Caleb to bed, we had rosemary garlic lamb, roasted potatoes and carrots. It was delicious! Of course, no evening would be complete without a game of Catan! Cori, Kelly and Rob stayed to play a game before they, too, headed out. We have really loved this house and truly enjoyed entertaining in it for one last time! I've added photos in the May album.