Fairmont, BC

eight months.

He's still not crawling, but he rolls around and can pivot on his tummy when he's lying down.  He's got the right leg movements, he pushes them out, but I think because his rolley polley tummy lifts him off the ground a bit, his feet don't make contact with the ground so he can't move himself forward.  It's like he's swimming on the spot.  No teeth yet, but he loves slamming back the puree.  I've been making baby food and in the beginning, it seemed like it wasn't too much trouble and I liked knowing what was going into his food.  But the romance of it is slowly wearing off and I can see the convenience of store-bought jar food.  But he's sleeping through the night, for which we are utterly grateful.  I don't know why I'm still so tired during the day though.  I guess it just comes with being a parent.

His rolling of his fist turned into opening and closing of his hand, like he's doing "twinkle little star" or saying hello/goodbye.  And he's really into making babbly noises by "strumming" his lips (I don't know how else to describe it).  Whether he's happy or angry (his voice goes up and gets tense), it's like his way of communicating right now.  And I'm loving how when I put my hands out to him to pick him up, he puts his hands up to me to be picked up.  Sometimes when we sit next to him and he's done playing on his own, he'll turn to you and start to reach out to grab you or try to eat whatever body part of yours is closest to him, because he just wants to be with you or wants your attention.  It warms my heart every time.

People say he's looking more like his dad.  His hair and skin have gotten lighter.  But I can still see me as a baby in him, especially when his hair gets curly after a bath as I had curly hair too as a baby.  And I was a chubster baby like he is.  He is one solid kid.  My back will never be the same.  But how can you not want to pick up this bundle of slobbery cuteness?!

Breakfast in bed with an episode of Chopped.  Couldn't have asked for a better way to wake up.

danny & annie.

"Being married is like having a coloured television set. You never want to go back to black and white."

This is a couple of years old but it's a beautiful and touching example of deep love and commitment.  Their story makes me cry every time I watch this.


Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Happy Heart Day.

shrove tuesday.

One of our housemates took the lead in organizing a pancake dinner for Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent.  I've never partaken in any sort of shroving or mardi gras-type of activity so I was excited to participate, especially since we were basically having breakfast for dinner which is always a good thing.

We opened the meal with a simple liturgy that incorporated the ingredients of pancakes.  We invited some of our neighbours and the kids participated as readers in the liturgy.  It was lovely.

God calls us to move on from where we are,
To walk with Jesus on the Lenten journey.
Come leave what you cling to, lay down what you clutch
And find, with hearts empty, that hearts can hold much.

So, we sift some flour, our sadness from the past.
And we add a touch of salt for flavour.
We take an egg, a symbol of new life.
And we take some milk, nourishment for the journey ahead.

We mix it all together
to use up ingredients of the past,
ready to move forward on our walk with Jesus.

And as we share this food,
may we be amazed at the new life
that God is bringing into our lives
and into the world.
Amen.

(adapted from Judith Jessop, Broomhill Methodist Church Liturgy Group)

nutella lovers, unite.

Did you know there is a World Nutella Day?  It's February 5.  Of course, I celebrated because I heart nutella very much.  I had high hopes of making nutella brownies, but alas, making baby puree all afternoon trumped that plan.  However, I couldn't let the day end without fitting in nutella somehow.  So, I kept it simple and ate it like I most often do...spread over vanilla ice cream.  Yes, it has to be vanilla to bring out all that choco-hazelnutty goodness.

Took a walk to a nearby park after a dusting of snow.  Little monkey boy really loves swinging.

More photos as requested by grandma :)