November Rain

Winter is well into her ninth month, and when I try to imagine her when she was born, how small her fingers were, how she felt so weightless...I find it more difficult each day! She is a creeping, crawling, energetic and clever girl, armed with two teeth and an endlessly fascinating repertoire of facial expressions...



She loves to pull herself up on the back of the couch, but as of yet is too unsteady to allow me to actually take a photo...soon enough. If I hold both her hands and coach her, she will walk around, in a drunken sailor kind of way (reminds me of her cousin Violet so much!).



Sometimes it hits me that I have a little girl, that one day I will be sitting in her room having a tea party, watching anxiously as she shows me how she climbs her favourite tree (or rock), holding her hair back when she is sick, building forts with her in the living room, teaching her how to swim, painting her toenails, biking with her to school...But for now she is still my little baby Winter!



Scuba has totally become a little doggy-mama, watchful and gentle. My worries were completely unfounded. Winter doesn't seek her out, because she is not too fond of facial baths-by-tongue, but once in a while I find them together on the rug, engaged in some game of discovery.



I have a few weeks to go until I start school again. Israel and I are watching LOST, which at first I thought was totally cheesy but...well...it's LESS cheesy now. I'm also painting a lot, I have an exposition coming up in a local cafe and am painting a surfboard for one of my friends.
As soon as the weather co-operates there will be a new post with all sorts of exciting photos....until then, Winter promises to stay adorable.

A Weekend Visit

My Dad came to Squamish this past weekend to spend some time with Winter. It pretty much rained non-stop, so our outdoor activities were limited, but he and his granddaughter had some quality play sessions on the rug, and Winter never was shy for a moment. Thanks for the quick visit Dad, I hope you enjoyed yourself!!!



In other news, Winter has two bottom teeth now, is crawling in the fashion of a seal, and babbles pretty much constantly. She is so much fun and has a great sense of humour. I love her more every day. We are even enjoying the rain, thanks to our awesome umbrella -equipped baby carrier. I am enjoying a break between semesters at school, catching up on my knitting and reading and painting, I needed a break so badly! I hope you are all having a wonderful Fall, I hear the colours of Ontario are amazing this year.

Notch Road comes to Squamish!

Last Sunday my cousin Deirdre, her man Nathan, and their two children Quentin and Asha came to visit for a week. They had just traveled all the way across Canada and were full of wonderful stories. Quentin and Asha LOVED Winter, and Winter LOVED them!



I was looking forward to taking them to explore Squamish, but I think the most fun was had just being cozy at our house, telling stories and getting to know each other all over again. One night Nathan cooked us his famous (and rightfully so!) fried rice with braised Bok Choy, and on the last night we went (of course) to eat sushi.



Asha was a real little mother to Winter, checking on her during naps and helping my choose outfits. Quentin got a Bionical Lego man in the mail and proceeded to turn our coffee table into the most awesome Lego fortress EVER.



Deirdre and Nathan really inspired Israel and I with their happy and loving family, and we wish them a safe and adventurous journey all the way down to Mexico, and back up the East Coast. WE MISS YOU!!

Rain, Rain, and......some more rain!

September in Squamish is traditionally a time of preparation for our winter travels...saving that last bit of cash, finding a new bikini, buying plane tickets and finding a place to store our bicycles. This year, we aren't going anywhere, and it sure feels strange to watch our friends getting ready to leave. It started to rain a few days ago.........with no end in sight.



I am in the throes of studying for exams...the last few days, immersed in the wonderful world of Renaissance poetry. Sometimes a girl just needs to dress her baby in a snowsuit.....





In other news, Winter is seven and a quarter months old...no teeth in sight, just learning to scootch across the bed, waving at people (real waving, not random arm flailing), and mixing vowels and consonants..gagagag dadadada etc. I think it won't be long now before I hear the sweetest word of all...MAMA!





Until next time, I wish all of you a happy fall, and for those of you in dry and colourful Ontario, take a deep breath of that sweet wood-smoky, ripe-apple, golden-leaf air for me!

OMA'S VISIT!!!!

It has been almost a month since my last post, so much has happened, but the past two weeks REALLY flew by because OMA WAS HERE!!!!!!



Winter never wanted Oma out of her sight! It was really awesome to see my Mama and my Winter so enthralled with each other. Oma has a way with children, and seeing her teaching Winter little tricks and gently encouraging her to reach farther, reminded me a lot of being young. Oma taught Winter a little cough-speak, so Winter now coughs as a greeting....very earnestly. We went to visit Israel at the house where he is laying rock...



Mom got to see a typical new Squamish house being built, and Israel got to show off Winter!










But despite my feeling youthful and wishing time could stand still, my 29th birthday came and went. It was a wonderful day. Morning tea with my family, swimming at the pool with Mom and Winter, a relaxing afternoon enjoying my new sound system (thanks Isra!), then out for SUSHI!



My three-week-long vegan life fell to its knees in the face of tuna sashimi salad with triple salmon roll...



And later I amassed all my birthday fortunes for a photo...



Not shown is a gift certificate from Mom for the wool & gelato shop, one from my friend Tim for some funky old-new clothes, and some very loverly kisses from Winter all over my face. It was a super-duper day all round. I also put Mom to work with a broom and some courage, ridding our house of huge spiders!



This morning Winter and I took Oma to Vancouver so she could fly back to Ottawa. It was a sad morning for all of us. Two weeks has never gone so quickly. Winter will be looking for her new best friend...Thanks for the amazing time Mama! Can't wait to see you again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Six Months Ago....

Winter has now been part of this world for six months! Congratulations beautiful girl! At 7:55 tonight you will be half a year old. Wow. I am amazed at how fast these months have gone by, especially considering that I never thought I'd make it through the first week! Israel and I are totally in love with our little Winter......


She is starting to not only enjoy having baths, but playing with the bath toys and splashing her mama....she is eating rice cereal and bananas....she plays copy-that-sound....she sleeps for up to 3 hours every afternoon, and lately sometimes through the night! I love watching her change every day...and I swear I feel younger since I had her!

Winter's Weekend

It's Sunday evening, Israel and Winter are in the tub, and I am taking a moment to bring you all some new photos of this weekend's adventures, including but not limited to; making a bed for Oma's impending visit, eating some bananas, and spending all of today in the forest with the guys.



Winter is just about ready for some climbing shoes of her own....


...and after all that, she helped me make sure Oma's bed was soft enough!





all in all, a lovely low-key weekend with my beautiful girl.

Boots weren't made for walkin'

These Moccasins deserve a post of their own. They were given to Winter by my aunt Trudie, who is a nurse in Fort Severn Ontario, on the shores of the Hudson Bay. A woman in her village made them, and they have served Winter well for five months now. They have gotten more compliments than Winter herself. Alas, they are approaching foot-binding status, and will now enjoy their retirement. I do believe they are the best moccasins a baby ever wore. Thanks Trudie.

Sunshine came softly...

...and this is what she looks like now, caught in the light of a long summer evening. This is her "hungry" look.

Flashback

Every day I look at Winter and I can't believe how quickly the time has passed since that January morning when I lay, watching Israel sleeping, feeling the first contractions in my belly, so happy that our baby was finally ready to meet us. Twelve hours later, there she was...and my world changed forever in the best way possible. A new little sun in my universe, a whole new meaning to my existence. And lots and lots of laundry. This is what she looked like then....

Sweet Child o' Mine

Winter and her parents are in the depths of a hot July, spending days lolling about on the living room floor, trying to catch a breeze. When the tide is high we trek down to the ocean so Scuba can get some relief, but the water is too cold for furless ones....this Ontario girl really misses all those wonderful lakes this time of year!

In other news, Winter is well on her way to being a diaper-free baby! I was so tired of washing diapers, and felt sorry for her tiny sodden bottom....I started paying attention to her "elimination" patterns, and now I know that when she wakes up from naps, after nursing, and upon arriving home after a walk, she'll want to go. So I hold her above the toilet and make a sort of whistling noise, and she obliges happily! She still wears diapers most of the time, but now they stay dry...down to two a day. I am really amazed at how quickly she caught on, and looking forward to her being able to give me some kind of signal to tell me when she needs to go!

And then there were three...

My Girl, My Girl....

Winter is definitely her own boss. Some days she just doesn't feel like rolling over or trying to crawl, she just wants me to hold her and cuddle...but we all have days like that don't we?
I can't believe she will be 5 months in only two days. Yesterday the last little hairs fell off her ears.....and today I MISS THEM!



Israel set up the barbecue yesterday and cooked us red snapper with veggies for lunch. It was delicious. The summer has been so beautiful in Squamish so far, just enough rain, not too hot, perfect for our little nature baby. Between studying and napping Winter and Scuba and I go for a few walks every day. I see other women out with their older girls and I can't believe that will be us in a few years. Stay my baby for a bit longer Winter! I love you just the way you are!!!

Dance her Outside

Winter's first downtown party! Squamish has some amazing local talent, and Winter has a Papa who loves to dance!

Squeaky Clean

Winter loves to have baths. She is very happy with me jut holding the back of her head, floating and kicking an laughing away...
In other news, I haven't figured out how to put more than one photo with text in between, sorry!
Winter is growing so fast, she is into making the sounds over and over again, really shrill squawks that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up...she is also teething, which makes for slightly more dramatic evenings! We had a wonderful Father's Day, lattes at the cafe, then a day of bouldering. Winter loves the forest!

Fast Friends

When Winter was born, I worried a lot about Scuba...how she would feel, if she would be jealous, if she would ever bite Winter, if I would ever have TIME to hang out with her again, and all those worries were completely unfounded. Scuba likes Winter just fine, and Winter recognizes Scuba and laughs at her all the time....I`m so relieved.

Winter's New Blog!
Hello from Squamish, home to Winter, her adoring parents Rhea and Israel, and their doggy Scuba. Winter is four months and one week old..and our lives with her are filled with laughter and adventure. She is a very happy, easygoing baby, except for the odd bit of (Spanish) temper.
Winter hopes you will like her blog, I will try to write often, as she grows SO FAST.