Camping!!!

Our first trip out was quite successful for the most part!

We had our maiden voyage in our new (to us) tent trailer in the Lions' Campground here in Devon.  It took us less than 3 minutes to drive from our house to our campsite (right on the edge of the river), but once we were there we were in a whole new world.

We camped with our good friends Jill & Anita, who also recently purchased a tent trailer.  This was not only a relaxing hang out weekend, but a chance to work out the kinks and do some learnin' before we were in the middle of nowhere (with a toddler).

Notice Meow in Chariot ... he comes with us on  a lot of our adventures!

We now know:

• how to properly run the fridge off the propane so as not to quickly kill the battery
• our list of things we still need to buy to consider the trailer "stocked"
• that the furnace is really nice to take the edge off, but the heated mattresses ROCK!
• Maklin is IN for lots of camping adventures!

 Maklin slept well -- the fresh air helped with that I'm sure -- and really enjoyed just sitting and watching the birds, the river, and us slowly wake up and get moving in the morning.


He was content to sit in a camping chair and nibble at his breakfast for about an hour each morning (which was awesome for us to get up, sorted, and have breakfast).

This weekend was also Devon Days.  Saturday we walked up to town and took in the parade:

Sunday afternoon, Maklin and I wandered through the midway.  He won a l'il stuffed caterpillar by 'catching' this fish in the fish pond.  What can I say ... there weren't a lot of 'midway' activities appropriate for a 19 month old.  Maybe next year ...

What a trooper ... his cheeks look like this cuz he was teething insanely (2yr molars).

After a full weekend of camping, Justin and I loaded up and packed the tent trailer speedily and efficiently.  Maklin played with rocks.

Sand Angels

Justin's parents are building on an acreage.

Acreage = dirt.

    Dirt = heaven for little boys.

Pancakes

This morning we went to Thorsby Jr. Sr. High to visit Daddy.  He was organizing a pancake breakfast for the community as a fundraiser for MS, which means we:

• were able to support a great cause
• ate a yummy pancake breakfast (Maklin was very excited about the 'yummy-nummy' breakfast sausages)
• ran around in a gym and down school hallways and laughed at/with jr & sr high kids
• got to visit Daddy at work and see his office and shop
• met lots of Daddy's coworkers and students

What a nice morning!!

May Long

Long weekends mean family time ... down time ... get stuff done time ... quality time.

WE:

1) started organizing our tent trailer.  We also had test naps on the bed, which worked eventually ... after Maklin finished playing on it like it was a trampoline.  

Spent loads of time in the backyard planting our garden, playing in the sandbox, enjoying the sunshine, rinsing in the sprinkler, and lounging ...

We even made the best of the not-so-sunshiny weather ...

Finally, we visited the Ewashkiws (friends who run an Elk Farm) to meet the newest baby Elk, Isabella.  We couldn't get close enough to get a picture of her, but we were able to feed Barney (the bull):

Right after this, Justin managed a sneak feel of the fuzzy antlers!

Ultrasound

This morning we had our ultrasound with Baby K2.

Maklin kept Justin busy in the waiting room for an hour while I tried desperately not to pee myself.

All worth it to find out that we have a healthy on-target baby!  The measurements put Baby K2 the same age to the day as the estimate: 18 weeks 1 day.

(sorry ... no picture.  My scanner is not cooperating, and we didn't go to a place with a fancy 3D machine.  Close your eyes:  picture a rough outline of a baby profile, head on the left, right hand giving a little thumbs up.  Our little baby was very active during the ultrasound, so snapping photos showing facial features etc was quite the challenge.  We'll find out what he/she looks like in roughly 22 more weeks!).

jump ... JUMP

Maklin [heart] trampolines.

Summer Jammies = Cutest Things!

 

Wheeee!!!!

17 weeks

Hard to believe I'm almost half-way through growing baby #2!

I'm completely over the yuckiness of the first trimester, and am doing my best to enjoy pregnancy before the unavoidable (for me) swelling is in full-swing.  I don't think I look like I'm retaining extra water yet, but I already can't wear my wedding rings.  On the bright side -- I still have ankle bones ... and contrary to the end of my pregnancy with Maklin ... ankles!

Fingers crossed that walking, bike-riding, chasing after a toddler, drinking lots of water, and limiting my sodium intake will keep the swelling to a mimimum!!

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, we got beautiful spring weather!

Maklin and Justin gave me a beautiful hanging basket for the deck, and we spent the day together.  Maklin was thrilled to be able to help with yard work ... working hard to transfer dirt between the garden plot and the wheelbarrow (and vice versa).  All that work led to an impromptu picnic snack:

mmmm grilled cheese and straw-berries ... outside ... with dirty hands!!

Bee-oww!

Maklin LOVES animals.  His favorite ... cats.

Yesterday we wandered through a garage sale, and little kids got to pick a free 'teddy'.  Maklin was digging through the box pretty casually, until he saw this Kitty.  He was SO excited.

Mee-oww!  MEow!  MEOW!  Me ... BeOW!!!!

Pretty much inseparable ...

Sentences

While each new animal name and sound was exciting ... having Maklin acquire some language that was helpful in day to day conversations has been nice.  Especially that he can communicate in small sentences now.

I use the word 'sentence' loosely ... as they tend to be a combination of sounds, words, and signs ... but he gets his point across.

• "hey! (pointing) Dadda [insert truck noise here]"
• "more" then signs "milk" and "please"

I wonder how many words he's saying that I just haven't figured out yet??  For example, he's been saying "Nana" - which is what we've been calling my Mom (for Grandma).  But he was saying it at what I thought was weird times.  Turns out ... he was referring to 'banana.'  OH.  That's why he was saying it at snack time.

Guess it's time for me to work on MY language comprehension ...

Bike Riding

Mountain biking is a favorite pass-time/meditation/activity/sport of Justin's.

I haven't owned a bike in nearly 10 years - until now.

Today Maklin and I cruised around the bike trails in Devon. Me getting re-accustomed to riding a bike and simultaneously used to having a trailer pulling along behind.  Maklin getting used to wearing a bike helmet and going much faster in the chariot than when we're walking/jogging.  He loved it!

What a great feeling to be cruising along in the spring air and sunshine and hear your little boy laughing and giggling and pointing out birds.

I'm still a ways away from barreling down mountain trails, but I'm sold on family bike tours.

Maklin also has his very own bike.  With his shoes on he can just reach the ground.  We decided to skip the tricycle route and go straight to the bicycle with a 'runner'.  So -- this summer we're going to see how far we can get with Maklin learning balance!