Aparantly it takes two days to get to Trinidad

Up at 4:15 am to get to the airport at 5am. Smooth sailing through Security and check-in we feel on our way. Not so much.

Firstly we were delayed in Calgary about an hour and a half but made it to Dallas, our first layover, to just have time for Kayt to stand in line to board and Stefan to get something from "Cousins BBQ" to take on the plane.  A wonderful collection of Southern US food all seasoned with a chemical version of smoke that made it on the border of inedible. But we were "hongry" so we devoured it whilst on the plane.  We were worried that we were fragranting the plane with our food selection but we were in the back back back of a very crowded bus so I am sure no one minded.... Actually most were more concerned that the air con was not working and we were stuck in a giant tin can absobing the dallas heat from the sun and reflected off the Tarmac. It was torture.  We sat on that hot crowed cattle car of an airplane for over an hour while they tried to shut the door!  After a long hour+ they told us they were going to have to deplane and find another plane and gate for us to go on.  One more long line and in the light of the heat we just endured, Kayt escaped to change into a summer shirt and skirt. Another hour later we were ready to head to Miami. The new flight thankfully the air con in well working order and Kayt regretted my change as we both froze the whole flight!!

We knew by then we would be missing our flight out of Miami to Trinidad but wondered if there was enough of us missing it for them to hold the plane.  Not so.  Even though that flight was delayed as well and still on the ground when we landed they took off just in time for us to see it taxi away from the terminal!!!  By this time, arrived in Miami hours late, we have the squirmiest baby on our hands and have to spend another 2 hours waiting in a line up for them to give us hotel and meal tickets and arrange a flight for us to get to our final destination.  On a side note, around this time Stefan's Uncle and Cousin are waiting at the Airport in Trinidad to pick us up!  He waited and waited until around one in the morning when there was no one else left in the airport.

We are wiped... arrive at the hotel they put us up in around 9 pm take a look on the menu and realize that the only thing on the menu the same price as our meal ticket is a side green salad:)  So we eat.... and crash.  The best news was that we were on stand-by for the next morning but that all the flights were full booked until Friday Morning! Stefan likes Miami but seriously we are supposed to be vacationing in Trinidad.  Determined to be the first in line (later... we found out that doesn't matter in the least) we wake before the birds and go sit at the airport for another 3 hours. At the last minute we get the best news of the day that we were in fact getting on the flight. Once on the highly coveted flight we sit on that plane for about 2 hours while they tried to fix another maintenance problem!!!  Thankfully this aircon does work. At last... it takes off!

Now up in the air reality that we had only packed for a single day of travel hits. We are on the last diaper and still have two hours of flight to go... no problem we just changed her and it is time for her nap... we are fine... Murphy decided to pay us a visit and bawooosh!!!!!!  The whole flight was probably wishing for parachutes at that moment and we didn't have anything to change her into!  So Stefan spots another baby on the plane and we begged for a diaper. 

We reach! but, where are our bags? We hadn't seen them since 5 am in Calgary yesterday.... with fingers and toes crossed (and serious doubt in our heads) we find our luggage, thankfully in tact.

Stefan's wonderful family meet us at the gate and take us to our apartment where they have groceries in the fridge, playpen and car seat organized. Dropped us off to get settled while they went and picked us up two rotis and cold beers. Nothing has tasted better.

We are beat but so happy we are here.  Asia was an absolute star the whole way charming people everywhere. Once here she ran around the apartment like we had filled her bottle with coffee instead of milk.  She is just happy to be  released from the confines of a car seat, seat belt or our arms and in a onesie and bare feet. Trinidad looks good on her.

Asia's Birthday!

ONLY 2 Months behind!!! But we had a birthday party we can simply not let pass without mention. Our little girl is one and we can hardly believe it- where did the time go? With balloons and streamers adorning the house we had some family and friends join us in celebration of the event. Asia was a star knowing the attention was all on her and a fun time was had by all.

Here are a few pics for you to enjoy!
Thanks everyone who came and spoiled her rotten.


The cake!!! Proudly homemade by mom and dad.



This was her first taste of sugar. I think it went over quite well until a couple of bites into it, mom couldn't handle it anymore and we switched to sliced bananas!


This picture was a circus act to get! But we got it- and all our friends are looking good!


Even Mira got into the party mood!

I can't believe a year has flown by already. How she has grown and changed in the past 14 months has astounded us. She is truly the highlight of our everyday and we just can't stop thanking God for her.

Keeping up with Yesterday

Once again time has eluded me and so much has happened that I will have trouble to capture all the events since last blogging.

Let's start with Family and visits... Although it was difficult to have time off it was still great to have had a summer that we were able to visit with so many people. It is tough to keep up with all the family so we especially enjoyed that from Stefan's side Popsie, Gramma Sandi and Nigel were able to fly out and visit this summer.


Keli and Chris' wedding allowed us to see a lot of Kayt's Family. A fun time was had by all trying to get all the kids to smile at the same time... yeah right.


Nonetheless a great ceremony and a visit with Poppa, Gramma Mary Ann, Gi Gi, Great Aunties Martine and Gaylene,
Grammie Kim and Nan West.

Also, with Kandis and Joel coming up from Bermuda,
cousins Kalie and Asia were able to show off their stuff to each other.

It should be mentioned that Kandis and Kayt decided that they should hike Sulphur Mountain with the babies on their backs. Stefan went along for moral and carrying support and we did it just under the suggested two hour time.
Kudos.

We were able to get away in September for a bit of camping as a family. We packed up the car as if we were traveling to South America for a month and were ready for any and everything. Despite the fears of having a crawling pre-toddler on our hands things went very well.


We went to Old Mac Donald's Farm which is really well set up for Kids. With rides, petting zoo and a big shallow bay on the lake it was a great family environment.


Overall Life has been very busy but we have enjoyed seeing the new stages develop. Asia's teeth are coming along slowly but surely. Eating is going pretty well, she definitely show preferences from day to day. Blueberries are still the number one favourite and beets and fish are no longer even allowed in her vicinity. She loves to dance and jump and if there is something she isn't supposed to touch she relishes in trying to get it.
Peace

Fw: Heh happy birthaday

Sent: Mon, September 21, 2009 7:59:11 AM
Subject: Heh happy birthaday

Happy birthday day Asia…
Did you have a big day? I hope you are doing well,

take care and don't work too hard…

Carol and Parry

Fw: Imagine that

From: Mary Mahon

Sent: Sun, September 20, 2009 8:33:12 AM
Subject: Imagine that

Can`t believe ASIA is 1 year old today - Your little diamond is growing up - Have a happy day With love and kisses Grannie and Pop signature {{- MM - }}

---

Reclaim your name @ymail.com or @rocketmail.com. Get your new email address now!

Iron Chef Canmore

Good Morning All,

Please join me in Congratulating Chef Mahon for winning the “Canmore’s Iron Chef” competition yesterday. Great job in representing Silvertip. What is next, the television show “Chopped’???? Chef, by far you had the best dish, best presentation and the most accommodating chef at the competition, the award is very well deserved.

I would like to also thank Sarita and Vinod, who spent the entire day with Chef down at the competition and helped him prep, plate and present the winning dish yesterday. We served over 500 guests throughout the day, and would not have been able to do so without the supporting cast, so thank you very much!

Thanks to the kitchen brigade that helped chef get everything ready to go in less than an hour, that was awesome!!

Honorable Mention to Kevin Bellis, who did a fantastic job in the competition yesterday and only fell short by minimal votes. Good job Kev!!

Overall, another great day for exposure and another big win for Silvertip!!

Great Job Chef!!

Jason Guyitt

Director of Operations

Silvertip Golf Resort

One small step for Asia... one Giant leap for Mahonkind

I know I am close to a month behind but I had to record the moment. Asia took her first step today! The best part is that both Kayt and I were there to see it. She was standing up and holding on to the back door. I was sitting on a chair and clapped my hands and said "come to Daddy" She looked over at me, let go and took three little steps into my arms. Of course we had to see if it was a fluke so we made her do it again to me and also to Kayt.
Colour us proud parents but September 14th one week before her first birthday we will always remember.

so which of those summer days are supposed to be lazy?l

Ok It has been a long time... apparently I tried to blog on the 27th of July which obviously did not happen as I only typed a title and a line... So here goes...

Over two months of growth is a lot to cover. Last we blogged Asia was just learning to crawl. Since then she has conquered being able to pull herself up and will do so all the time. She was crawling along quite well but remained on all fours for most everything. Then one night (July 5th) a friend came over, (she is just 2 weeks older than Asia) and was very mobile, standing and walking with the aide of the furniture for quite some time.

With a helping hand and a competitive nature (that may have come from both parents) by bedtime that night Asia was standing in her crib holding on to the railings. Since then she has never looked back. Over the last week she has even let go a few times and has stood all on her own. I think she scares herself a bit so either sits down or grabs hold again. The glimpse into the future is that now she will walk with the aide of our hands. Needless to say the baby proofing as moved to a new level, about 3 ft high.

Eating is going well. Cheerios have lost pole position to Blueberries. She has tried some protines and likes cottage cheese and chicken but fish is not a fave. It has to be disguised by sweet peas just to make trough the gates.

Day Care has started. Kayt was back to the Salon on August 1st. We had a hard time choosing who got the privilege of hanging out with our child. We finaly agreed on the Canmore Community Day Care. Although Asia is not quite a year the preferred age for Daycare she seems to handle herself well. They only give babies one nap after lunch and our Sleeping Beauty could not function on only one nap. So I rearranged my schedule and it is Daddy Day Care every Thursday to Saturday from wake up to 11 am. It has been great for me to have that time to bond with her. Overall I think she loves it as when I drop her off and try to say bye bye she is off without looking back and I may a well be invisible. Although a blow to the Daddy ego, it is very encouraging to see how sociable and adjusted she is. On the scary side Kayt says she got the report from the daycare that Asia already has a boyfriend!

Tricks... Although our daughter has a very strict "I am not your trick pony" attitude she has learn't a few things. The only issue is she will only do them when she wants to. The first learnt and most readily shown is clapping. One verse of "if you're happy and you know it Clap your hands" and she is all smiles and claps.

Most notable and always performed with pleasure is to point to the dog when asked "where's the doggie?" She still will not point to Mum or Dad, but the dog every time. Less readily performed are the waving bye bye and blowing the odd kiss. My fav is when asked "who's cute?" she will raise her hands above her head and smile the full body smile that would melt a hardened criminal. Oh and speaking of the dog, although we feel she is a long way off from speaking (despite the nonstop babble) What started off as Doe-doe (when refering to her very best friend) came out clear as day as "doggie" yesterday!!! Hard to believe it as her first official word, but there was no mistaking it and there were wittnesses to prove it. Most parents have a competition as to who goes first mummy or daddy... but Mira took the cake on that one.

That's it for now... in the next episode. First Sickness and Family visits, family visits and more family visits!

Eeee Teee Phooone Hooome

In the previous blog we mentioned the pointing and exploring. Asia now points at everything.
The index finger sometimes is even in ready position while she sits just in case there is something to point at.

The dog, Daddy, the book, Mummy, toys, what ever. The cutest is that she now has the finger dexterity to eat Cheerios. However she must point at the one she wants, poke it around a bit then pick it up and cram it in her mouth. The "ET phone home" was a natural progression as she would point at us and we would point back. Index to index a al ET!!

Yesterday, Thursday June 18th we had finally perfected the art of crawling. Nothing is safe! I know parents everywhere have gone through this. We knew this time was coming but I am afraid that our little girl get's bored with things very quickly. Unless, of course, she isn't supposed to have it. Her toys, what toys? She wants to be like her Uncle Nigel and play with stereo equipment and wires. Even if we hide the wire to the computer under the couch, there we find her flat on her tummy arm reeeeaacching under the couch trying to dig for it! Or she wants to be like her Daddy and get into the food and wine! The wine rack has to go!!!! Maybe the X chromosome is holding true because shoes hold the biggest attraction! A good laugh is watching her with the dog too. Poor Mira has no peace as soon as she has had enough she will get up and lie on the other side of the room but newly mobile Asia finds her in no time and continues the barrage of pointing and poking.

Life continues to change, we continue to learn and grow as Asia does. Gone are the days of sitting in a restaurant having dinner while Asia sleeps in her bucket seat beside us. We had our last date with Asia in tow the other night. When there was more crying than sleeping, we figured the baby sitter is not an option any more... it is a must. Kinda sad, but it will make date night more valuable. >>any volunteers!


enjoying some summer patio fun! mmmm.... watermelon


All dressed up and ready to go to church.

Movin' on up

Quick note on mobility. Sometimes we take for granted being able to walk, other mammals are born with this ability. Us humans are a lot slower in this and most other departments. Asia has mastered sitting up long ago but last week I was able to witness the first time she got on to her hands and knees.

This I thought was the beginning of crawling. In my inexperience I figured she would be crawling by the time I got home from work that day. To my dismay and relief she wasn't. It is so exciting to see the changes but we are relishing in the fact that she is still relatively stationary.

A week later she had mastered backwards crawling and the belly spin. She can get from belly to back without issue and even get from belly back to sitting without getting stuck midway. More mobile but still manageable. Nonetheless baby proofing has begun.

Fast forward another week and yesterday we got first forward motion. For the most part she does her own version, what Kayt calls it the sniper crawl. She will get up on all fours then go to her tippy toes and hands. Tippy toe herself forward and worm onto her belly. It kind of looks like a caterpillar. Fast and sudden but in my opinion quite difficult. Very difficult to describe so here's a video.

By the end of the day we had a "proper" crawl of three careful steps.

Gross motor skills are still prominent but finer actions are starting to come out. She has recently started to point. Everything is now touched with her index finger first. Gingerly yet deliberately, great concentration going into every discovery. Speaking of discovery, it baffles me that she will put anything in her mouth yet there are some foods that she is not so fond of. Kayt continues to make all her food and apples and cinnamon as well as yams are still her favourite. She is learning to like broccoli and tomorrow she starts on cauliflower. For the most part she is a very good eater and we have taught her not to play with the food or touch the spoon. Still there are days that are better than others and no amount of teaching can prevent the sneeze with a mouthful of carrots from going everywhere! The most messy food so far was cooked blueberries! Dark blue galore! The drooling and teething continue. Two bottom teeth are fully out now. They help chomp down on watermelon, apple or carrot sticks.

Music is on often and today she seemed to be dancing for the first time. Where she learned that from I do not know but as natural as anything a head bob and a body rock for a few bars until the dog was more interesting. If we sing to her and hold her arms to make her clap she is now opening her hands and will make a clapping sound.

She has been taught by her Uncle Chris and Auntie Keli to put her hand in front of her mouth like a Native Indian on the war path and make the ah ah ah ah noise. Very cute! Mummy has taught her to give hugs. They are few and far between as she is not the most cuddly baby. She will also take a napkin or blanket and play peek-a-boo with you. We have to say it but she will work the napkin all by herself and we are rewarded each time with that infectious smile of hers...



The world of discovery for her and us continues. Each stage is more exciting as she gets so much more interactive. But we miss the "good ol' days" as well. Gone is the laying quietly and having a bottle with her little hand over her eyes. Gone is being able to sit in church while she sleeps. Gone are the days when she would play in her ExerSaucer and entertain herself.

As August approaches we hate the idea of her going to a day care of day home as we will miss some of this. Hard to believe that soon Kayt will have been on one year maternity leave and will have to face going back to work.

Smirks and quirks

I'm not near as faithful or as eloquent as my dear husband in writing, but I have seen so much the past couple weeks its just got to go down in the books. Over the past 7+ months we have seen growth that has taken place at such a speed we can physically notice her growth spurts. But over these past two weeks we have had a major personality growth spurt! And boy are we in for it!!!!

Asia is a strong willed little girl who knows what she is after, and isn't afraid to put some effort into getting it. She is always good for a laugh, laughing with or at you. Stefan and I took a crack at the driving range the other day parking the stroller at a spectating distance. Every time we took a swing she would burst into a fit of giggles. Talk about support! It was something you would see on funniest home videos. She makes eyes at anyone who will catch hers at the super market, and it is kind of hard not to laugh when you see 3 burly men behind you in line making google faces. Yep, she's got a whole lot of danger cute going on.

She is a great eater, and has the belly to show it. But watch out if you run out of food before she is finished- the arms go flying and she lets you know she is not pleased. Some favorites are her apples and cinnamon in the morning and a banana makes a good snack as well.

I have nick named her Asia "Temper Tantrum" Mahon. As equally as she loves to laugh and smile, it takes 2 seconds for her to (loudly) express her dislike for a situation. This is never a production of sad tears, but rather flailing arms and a display of vocal chords at their best.

She is still sleeping like a champion. She goes down at night between 6:30 and 7 and will sleep till about 6:30 the next morning, but pleasantly babble away until about 7:00 when mom and dad drag themselves out of bed.

As my birthday has come and gone and I am another year older, I took a moment to examine how blessed our family truly is. Life is good.
How can it not be-
when we are THIS cute :)

these teeth are made for chomping

Asia asks "how you doin'?"

I remember back in Bermuda when she was 4 months old we thought a tooth was going to come through "any day"... 3 months and liters of drool later we have teeth. On Wednesday the 22nd Asia's first tooth broke through. The two bottoms ones are now broken through and one on the top seems to be trying very hard.

Our girl is an awesome eater. Kayt has kept up with the never ending process of cooking and pureeing a variety of foods for her. She has been taken to the next level with the adding of cinnamon to her apples and basil to her carrots and zucchini. All has been well recieved. The worst food has been the green beans. Her old fav the sweet potato has moved to second place with the apples and cinamon taking the comanding lead. Yesterday she started on raw bananas. we break them up and she eats them with a vengence.

This month has been active for us. Twice we left Asia alone overnight. Once even for two nights! Auntie Keli took on that task and to our relief and perrhaps dismay she was great. She did better without us and we did without her. Nonetheless we are encouraged that her independance and her schedule makes it easy for us to have her babysat.


That being said her little personality is starting to come through more and more. She is learning permanence and we have seen evidence of a strong will and tempertantrums! Knowing her parents I am a bit scared. We will have our work cut out for us. As a parent you start to really appreciate what your parents did or didn't do in order to make you who you are. Though I am sure I had my fair share of tantrums and stubborness, I can thank my parents for having patience with me and teaching me so much.

She has been steadily growing every day and we constantly ask for her to slow down so we can enjoy each step. This week I have been going to work before she wakes up some mornings and getting home after she goes to sleep every night. If I go two days without seeing her I feel like she has grown. She is very independent and does not really cuddle. Sometimes when I come home I just what to hold her and hug her, she will oblige for a short time but prefers if I pay attention by talking with her, reading to her, feeding her or playing with her. She is always smiling, sits up like a champion and will play independently most of the time she is up. She loves being read to and currently her fav book is Hand hand finger thumb... DUM ditty DUM ditty dum dum dum... I have to say I like reading it too.


She has always liked looking in the mirror but now there is real recognition and it will always make her smile. I have to say if I was that cute I wouldn't get tired of looking at myself either. I am afraid that she may become quite vain.

I look forward to the changes that the next stage brings. We expect crawling any day now but are fine if she doesn't for a while. She has already shown great interest in grabbing anything adult like electrical chords, glasses, the dog, whatever could hurt her she gravitates to... Baby proofing here we come.

Finally we have video

As Stefan and I reviewed this video of the girls caroling at Christmas, we realize how we use to jump at the camera for one little cooo. A smile or a half a giggle was an event that kept us in awe. Here is a little clip boring to some, but captured some true firsts.

Random reflections at 6 months

Asia is now well past 6 months. The "firsts" are piling up and she is an ever changing baby, sometimes on a daily basis. The name Daddy, once a novelty somewhat foreign, has fully settled on me. Overall she has been fabulous and exciting to watch and experience her growth. We are so excited to see what comes next but on the same hand we wish she would slow down so we could absorb it all.

One thing not mentioned from our trip to Bermuda would be taking her swimming. As some may know I was a swimmer as a kid so to be in the pool with her was great. She loved it. Kicking, splashing, smiling and even trying to put her face in the water. I was so proud to see how she took to the water like a pro.

A notable milestone would be the beginning of solid foods. That is a bit of a misnomer as pureed yams isn't that solid. Nonetheless she has taken to eating very well. The cute unprompted mmmm mmmm mmmm noises that follow make it even more rewarding to feed her. Kayt has been impressive with taking on the task of preparing all of her food. We have been buying organic vegetables and her food bill is almost as high as ours! Her faves are the orange veggies, pears and apples. Zucchini is understandably on the bottom of the list.

Asia is a very happy baby. She smiles at the drop of a hat. In fact she will give a whole body smile as if her little body can not contain the happiness inside. She giggles and laughs readily and when she gets really excited she will "squeal like a little girl". Very cute even if it may pierce the ear drums.

Baby talk. I cannot wait to hear her voice. She is now at the nonstop babble stage no real surprize if you have met her parents. Call it proud father syndrome but I am sure she has started to relate words to things. When she is upset she will say "nay nay nay" or call for "Mum Mum Mum". There are times when she sees me she will whisper "dah dah dah" or shout "DA DA DA" I may be reaching with this one but when she is in the high chair she will call for a "Ba ba ba" I know too early to talk but we take for granted how amazing the skill of learning to talk is. Each consonant she learns she will practice as if to show off and say "look what I can do". Thanks to Aunti Keli, she has even learned that she can click her toungue.

Then there's teething. At four months we were certain that she was going to teeth early. The drool was turned on. Bibs became part of her outfit and she would chew on everything. Over two months later the drool is still like a faulty faucet but those elusive teeth that still haven't come!

When kayt and Asia were in Bermuda without me for three weeks I was worried that she wouldn't recognize me. I remember the first look she gave me when she woke up from her nap and Kayt brought her out. It was a look as if to say "Daddy! there you are! I missed you". This past week end Kayt went to her parents for a visit and even after a day of not seeing me she gave that same look. Nothing could melt my heart faster or be more rewarding than that genuine smile and joy that she emulates when she saw me last night.

She has also been sleeping through the night for quite some time. Last week she got sick and did not. She couldn't breath and we felt so helpless watching her knowing what she was experiencing but not knowing how to make it better. It brought back memories of the late night feedings. We forget so soon the lack of sleep and the not knowing what to do, the crying, etc. In fact we both shocked ourselves that the thought of another baby has even crossed our minds. As recently as a month ago that was out of the question. I believe God programmed us to forget in order to "be fruitful and multiply". For the record the thought only crossed our minds once. Mum, we are not trying. We have not fully forgotton yet.

I will leave off there and try to write more often so I can grab these moments before they too are gone. My reflection on what it is like to be parents is that love cannot be contained or measured for it increases exponentially as we grow in our relationship.

A Word on Travel and Family from February

Well I should of updated the blog weeks ago, but I guess this little one knows how to go on vacation... because its ended up lasting quite a while! Early January we left for Toronto so Asia could go meet Stefan's Family. In four days we saw
Uncle Nigel and Auntie Christine.
She was taken right a way with Auntie E.

her Grandma Sandi and her Popsie,


The last day was a visit with The Tryssenaar side including a lunch with many cousins at Aunt Laura's and a visit to meet her great Grand parents Oma and Opa,




It was a great few days that went by way too quick.

The whirlwind continued when we went to Orlando to see
Stefan's Grannie and Pop.

There we had a chance to relax and stay a while. I think Stefan and I had visions of basking in the sun, but to our luck Orlando had the coldest weather in eight years!
None the less, we had a great time visiting and even squeezed in a trip to the Epcot center. Lucky little girl got to go to Disney world and she wasn't even a year old yet.

Stefan had to say good-bye and get back to the real world while Asia and I had one more stop to make. So

we jumped on a very scary flight (by our lonesome) to Bermuda!
What was to be a one week vacation has turned into a month! We have settled in so nicely here we decided to stay a while as Kandis needed some one to mind Kaillie for a while for the first couple of days she went back to work. And if anyone has seen that cutie pie, we just couldn't say no.

Asia and Kailie have grown to be quite aware of each other in the past few days, and I think they even get excited when they see each other now.

It has been so nice to spend some time with Auntie Kandis and Uncle Joel while watching the kiddos play.

Asia continues to grow before my eyes. She laughs quite loud and readily now, and almost looks like she is about to crack in half by smiling so much. She has become quite solid and loves to swing up in the air. She watches very carefully everything I eat or drink and tries to grab at everything she can. The most adorable discovery this week have been her feet. Her legs are constantly up in the air and she finally realized that those toes belong to her! She is trying desperately to roll over, and I am waiting any day now to turn around and find her on her tummy. Her favorite game is putting her pacifier in and out of her mouth. This isn't so good when she is tired and the pacifier is suppose to be calming her down not entertaining her! None the less she continues to be such a happy girl, and is constantly making me smile. It has been a great trip of firsts... first plane ride, boat ride, first swim and the list goes on! She is such a star and takes everything on with that great big smile of hers.
We missed Stefan so much, he decided to come and join us for our last week here. Now we are just counting down the days until Daddy joins us for the last stint of our trip!

Rustica review

Dear All,
I just wanted to share a write up from the Calgary Herald. It was great to get recognized for doing what we do when we had no idea he was there and on one of the busiest nights when we were under full pressure.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/neighbours/story.html?id=598ce2db-ddea-4e03-9256-93f3e4266aec

Are you Laughing or just smiling loudly?

3 G's of Ganuary


Giggle - 1st week in Jan she started to giggle. Little ones at first that grew to full giggles. It was almost like we got the first inclination as to her voice. Each stage has brought new insight to her personality and being. As much as we cant wait to hear her say Daddy or Mummy we want her to slow down so we can fully absorb each step.

Grab - 2nd week in Jan she made her first grab. Such a small thing but to see the concentration as she tries to "use the force" to get her hand to extend and take the rattle, grasp it and take it from our hand... These things we take for granted every day that we can do but had to learn at some time.

G diapers - We have started using the G Diapers. Very cool. Still getting used to them but it is the alternative for cloth and disposable. The outside is a like underwear which has a plastic liner that you stuff with a large disposable liner. This liner is compostable, flushable, or trashable. Did you know that experts speculate that a disposable diaper can take anywhere from 100-500 years to biodegrade in a landfill? This means that EVERY SINGLE disposable diaper ever used is still out there decomposing somewhere! Who knows it may not work but we are trying.

I digress... We are now on our first family vacation visiting Sunny Ontario then Orlando introducing Asia to my family. It is great to see how a baby brings a new dimension to a family. As I hear about what I was like then or we recall what my sister was like then. The hard part is trying to decide on the Grandparents names but I think we have just about sorted them out. We look forward to the further adventures in Babyland.