October in Canada

We have been in Canada for nearly 5 weeks now, and I am finally sitting down to post some pictures and tell some stories. Get ready, there are a lot of pictures (and it was hard to keep it to only these)!

Madeleine and I flew out by ourselves, and spent a week in BC before Steve arrived. She was a star traveler on the flights - slept for long stretches on the 14 hour flight from Auckland to Vancouver, and had no trouble with her ears popping. Our week in BC flew by; we went hiking at Mt Baker with Grandpa Mark, visited Madeleine's great grandparents in Bellingham, and saw some friends in Vancouver.
After Steve arrived, we flew to Ontario the next day and Grandma Georgia nearly ran out onto the tarmac to meet Madeleine. They were thrilled to finally have Madeleine in their arms.
Aunt Julie and cousin Caleb came over for a sleepover, in matching pajamas, of course. Caleb had just turned one year old, and was learning to walk, so Madeleine was in awe of everything he could get up to.
We had beautiful, sunny weather for our first week in Listowel, and it gave Madeleine a chance to try out her new summer frocks and sun hat.
Daddy showed her the corn field across the road.
Madeleine and I traveled to Hamilton several times to visit with one of my good friends and her girls. Emma, Abi, and Ida were like big sisters for Madeleine, and she loved hanging out with them.
Cousin Caleb showed Madeleine how to swim, and she seemed to really like it.
Grandpa Don let Madeleine sit on the tractor, and showed her how it works.
Our time in Ontario was wonderful - filled with family gatherings and visits with good friends. Part of our trip also included Steve having day surgery on his neck, for the removal of a lipoma (a collection of fatty tissue). The surgery was early on in our trip, and went very smoothly, plus it gave Steve an excuse not to shave for the remainder of our trip! Some other highlights from our time in Ontario include: Thanksgiving dinners, a day at a local cow auction, a visit to a family friend's horse barn, an Ottawa visit with old friends, a reunion of Steve's high school friends, a gathering with some of my university friends, and countless fun times with family.
After 3 weeks in Ontario, we flew back to BC for a final week before heading back to NZ. We went up to Mt Baker again, and got to see some of the first snowfall of the season.
We hiked a trail along a river near Mt Baker, and enjoyed the crisp fall day. My sister Kristin and her little dog Polly also flew out from Ontario, so we got to spend a full five days all together.
We visited my grandparents in Bellingham, and Madeleine got to show her great grandpa just how well she can sit up by herself now. She also rolled over for the first time at her great grandparents' house. I left her for a nap on her back, and went back to find her on her tummy! Fortunately, she did it one more time in front of everyone, but has not repeated it again since.
Since she is only a couple weeks away from 6 months, we decided to try giving her a taste of some 'real' food. She lunged for the spoon with sweet potato on it...
...but was less than impressed with the initial taste and texture. I will give her more solids once we're back in NZ, but it was fun to share her first taste test with family.

She has changed so much just in the time we have been here in Canada. She is sitting up on her own, rolling, and getting so much stronger and more coordinated. She has also started sticking out her tongue with every smile... it has made pictures a bit more interesting!


It is Halloween tonight, so here she is in her little pumpkin costume, all ready to answer the door for the trick-or-treaters.