River Valley Cottage

Before I tell you about our weekend away at a quiet little cottage, I have to share this picture of Madeleine enjoying her new book. She got a package from my Great Aunt Ruth in Michigan (from whom I've probably inherited my love of dogs), and in it was a book all about a little dog named Boo. Madeleine was literally squealing with excitement as she saw the little dog on each page, and since "doggie" is one of her first words, she was able to correctly identify the animal on every page! 

Now on to our weekend away... we picked a cottage in the middle of the country, on a sheep farm, with the hopes that it would have a really dark night sky for Steve to do some observing with the telescope. We arrived Friday after Steve finished work, and that night was clear and the sky was amazingly dark. He was able to set up the telescope right outside the front door, which meant that I even got to keep him company for a little while.

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day and Madeleine loved seeing all the sheep (of course she called them doggies) and walked right up to them. The sheep could walk right up to the cottage on all sides except the front, which was fenced off, so when indoors, M spent most of her time at the windows, pointing to the sheep and saying "ooohhh!! doggy!! ooohh!"

She also loved sitting at the big table with us and eating pancake after pancake.

Dressing up in Daddy's hat...

Here is a view of the cottage from a nearby hill. We suspect it was once the shearer's accommodation, now nicely refurbished. We were amazed at how friendly the sheep were - usually sheep are shy and quick to run away, but these ones were quite happy to be pet and take a closer look at little M. Then again, maybe they were trying to get a closer look at the not-so-little me lumbering up the hill.

Madeleine finally got worn out from all the exploring, and insisted on being carried.

Saturday night was cloudy and windy, so there was no stargazing. Fortunately we had the last episode of Downton Abbey to watch, which was equally as exciting (for me at least). On Sunday afternoon we started the 2 hour trip back home just as the rain was setting in. 

At The Beach...

It was Labour Day weekend here last week, and we all enjoyed the extra day together. We walked to the nearby Days Bay beach for the afternoon and even though it was pretty windy and not exactly warm, Madeleine had a great time playing. 

She filled and emptied her yogurt container over and over, and buried her foot under all the pebbles and shells.

She and Daddy explored the water's edge.

She came back quickly to do more shovelling and dumping.

They shared some cuddles on the driftwood.

And she helped me find some long sticks to use for my little pea plants that are growing!

Spring Playtime

The past two weeks have been school holidays here, which means that all of the toddler activities we normally go to aren't happening. We've been keeping busy with toys at home, I was sick for one week, and when the weather is nice we head out for walks to the beach and park.  I'll have to be sure to bring my camera with me one of these times - it's really cute watching M select various rocks and shells and then decide to walk off (after telling me a long story in great detail), only to get completely distracted by a leaf or passing dog.

One of our neighbours and friends from church recently brought Madeleine this old wooden trolley, and a shoebox full of wooden blocks - she has had loads of fun playing with all three!

The shoebox has now become Poppy's bed. Poppy is a wool doll knitted by my mom, and M has just lately started showing interest in her, mostly to put her to bed and cover her with blankets over and over.

She loves carrying around this purse from Grandma Georgia, and usually keeps her arm up so it won't fall off.

Reading a story to Daddy after work.... She is constantly talking to us, but still has very few discernible words. She understands almost all of our conversation with her - goes to get things when we ask her, shakes and nods her head to our questions, and tells us what she wants with various sounds and gestures. We're amazed, and pleased, at how well she can communicate even without proper words. 

Posing for pictures with me to get some rare shots of this baby belly... I have hardly remembered to take any pictures at all. I am 26 weeks now, so have another 3 months to go before we meet this little one. We didn't find out whether it's a boy or girl because Steve loves the surprise so much. I am dying of curiosity to know, but am willing to wait. Steve likens it to peeking at Christmas presents before Christmas, which apparently he would never do... of course, I have to confess, there were many years when I scoured my parents' closet for hiding presents, and my friend Jill and I had a custom of opening and re-sealing one present each during our annual eve-of-christmas eve sleepover. So it really is quite good of me to not find out what we're having.

Daddy's turn for a picture with M...

Madeleine kicking up a fuss about being brought back inside... she would spend her entire day outside if she could.

The Chair!

I realized I didn't have a picture of the final product to post yesterday, so here it is:

And here is a very proud little M, perched on her chair, playing with an old cell phone that doesn't work anymore.

Construction and Flowers

Steve made a little chair for Madeleine this past weekend. She was very keen to help and kept a close eye on everything in the planning stage.

She seemed interested in the construction phase for a little while, but her attention soon wandered and I had to find something else to keep her busy while Steve worked on the chair...

She loves playing with water and containers, and of course got herself completely drenched.

The tulips are out in bloom at the Botanic Garden in Wellington, and Madeleine and I had fun wandering around there for a day. Needless to say, it's really tough to get her to stay still for a picture!

A Week in Ontario

I am a little late getting these pictures up, but I did want to share some of the highlights of our time in Ontario. Steve had flown out from NZ to meet us, and it was a fun week full of visiting with friends and family. 

 Monate and her girls Helena and Anniek were down from Ottawa and we got to see them for an afternoon.

We spent the weekend at the cottage on Lake Huron, and Madeleine got lots of quality time with cousin Caleb.

She loved the lake, despite having a cold and not lasting as long as she might have if she had been healthy.

Steve's sister Julie and her boys, Brody (6 weeks here), and Caleb (almost 2!).

Madeleine and I got to see my friend Henrietta and her three girls.

A major highlight for Steve was the big rocket launch. He and his brother Chris built quite a few model rockets in their younger days. While visiting for the week, they dug out the box of rockets, found an unbuilt kit, built it, and then launched at least a dozen rockets altogether.  Their old fireman helmets completed their launch safety equipment.

We're back in NZ now, and settling back into our routines. It is still surprisingly cold most days, and we're back to wearing many layers. Madeleine keeps us constantly entertained with her endless conversation, where she is clearly talking to us with gestures and intonations, but no understandable words. She seems pretty bossy at this point, but since we don't know what she's saying, it's easy to laugh at.

A Bit of BC Fun

Madeleine and I flew to Vancouver at the start of August, and our time here has been wonderful. The weeks have flown by, and here are some pictures to show a bit of what we've been up to...

Our luggage did not arrive with us, so M wore her "winter" clothes in rather hot BC weather, but she didn't seem to mind. She loves putting things on her head, and here she was trying on a bandana.

We've had some great visits with my grandparents who live in Bellingham, just south of the US border. Here are Great-Grandpa and Madeleine playing pat-a-cake.

I got to meet up with four of my nursing school friends, which was a lot of fun, especially with three little ones added to the mix.

Madeleine loved playing in the wading pool made by Grandpa Mark.

She also loved sitting in the little chair that he made for her - in and out, in and out...

We spent some time one afternoon at Jericho Beach in Vancouver, which was beautiful, and fun for Madeleine to play in the sand.

Our whole family (minus Steve) enjoyed the wading pool (albeit slightly more clothed than Madeleine) on one particularly hot day.

My sister's dog Polly was a big hit with Madeleine. After a week of each being unsure of one another, they were great friends and M could not get enough of her.

Grandpa and M going for a walk on the trails near the Mission Abbey.

Mom, M, and me on the same trails - my baby belly is growing, and I'm almost 19 weeks along now. I've been feeling really good, and have been enjoying feeling the baby move for quite a few weeks already.

M sitting in front of some doors at the Abbey, looking so grown up!

We met up with my friend Monica and hiked up the Stawamus Chief, north of Vancouver. The hike was a bit steeper than anticipated, but the views were definitely worth it. I carried M on my back for the way up, and my dad carried her on the way down.

M had a great time exploring the rocks at the top.

The views from the top were beautiful, and in the background you can see another rocky summit, called the first of the three summits. We chose to do the second summit, which was new to us all, and it turned out to be higher and perhaps a bit trickier to reach.

After three weeks here, M and I fly to Ontario tomorrow to see the Gibsons. Steve is en route to Ontario right now, so we are looking forward to seeing him, and the rest of the family!