A visit with Santa

Last weekend was the PCL kids Christmas Party. The party had kid-favourite food (Austin's favourite these days...hot dogs) crafts, gifts for each kid and of course, the highlight of the party, a visit from Santa.

The only problem was, as we got close to Santa, Austin was skeptical, and when I sat him on Santa's knee, he was terrified. Ryan snapped two quick shots of Austin sitting on Santa and the look of pure terror in those photos can break your heart. So, I scooped him back up and we were all much happier settling for giving Santa a high-five.
Aside from the real Santa, there was this inflatable Santa, which Austin was far more interested in.

Read more...

Head and shoulders, knees and toes

Austin is at a point where I think he's learning a word or more a week. He's learning so fast right now, yet I'm still surprised every time he asks for something new by name. Today it was apple, yesterday it was book. A few days before that it was 'quack quack quack'.

And, as you'll see by this video, he knows his head and shoulders, knees and toes very well.

Read more...

Happy Halloween!

Dressed as a skelton pirate, Austin went trick or treating for the first time tonight.

The original plan was to just go to the few houses of neighbours we're friendly with, but after the first few houses, Austin got the idea of this new game and wanted to keep going!

He'd grab my hand, walk along the street and up the driveway to the next house -- climb the stairs, knock on the door and put his hand out for candy. I guess you don't need words to understand the basics of trick or treating!

He does know thank you, though, when prompted, and I think every time he said it, people gave him more candy because they thought it was so cute!

And trust me, this kid made off with so many chocolates, suckers and chips that, if we'd let him, he'd be eating them straight through until Christmas.

The picture below is quite dark, but if you look really carefully, you can see Austin and mom walking hand in hand down the street.

The night before Halloween was pumpkin carving night, and Austin dug right in and helped pull out the guts.

And this past weekend, we took Austin to a Halloween party, meaning all three of us needed costumes. Since Austn already had his pirate outfit, mom and dad dressed as pirates too.

Read more...

The big news

The big news in the Evans household is that Austin is going to be a big brother. Mommy is 15 weeks along and his new baby brother or sister is expected on April 15. Let's just hope he or she doesn't get too comfy in there and decide to hang out for 12 days longer like Austin did!

We're all really excited about the news, although Austin is still a little young to understand it. We hope that once I start getting bigger (and bigger and bigger), we'll be able to explain it better. Regardless, we know he'll make a great big brother.

The arrival a new baby, means we'll be doing some renovations around here over the next few months. Austin will move out of the nursery and into a big boy room -- which is currently our office. That means, our office will have to move downstairs into the family room (after we re-carpet that room), and then we can paint and decorate Austin's new room. We'd like to have it done around his second birthday so that he can have time to adjust and move into it slowly. If we're lucky, he'll even move into a big boy bed at that time, but if he's not ready, we won't force him. We have the playpen/bassinette which the new baby can use until Austin's ready to give up the crib (or until he learns to climb out!)

Anyway, that's all the news that new around here. It's been awhile since I last posted, so here are a few photos from Thanksgiving weekend. We were at Grandpa's house on Saturday and Nana's house on Sunday.

Austin figured out that the dog door at Nana's house isn't just for dogs! All of a sudden he could go out back to play whenever he wanted!

On Saturday (Oct. 6), it was hot enough to go to the beach. We didn't have bathing suits (because who packs bathing suits in October!) but we all (Austin especially) had fun swimming at Port Stanley.

On Sunday, it was even hotter, but we did a more Thanksgiving-appropriate activity...apple picking!

Read more...

First plane trip and a weekend in Fredericton

On Friday, Sept. 7, Austin boarded his very first plane for a weekend trip with mom and dad to Fredericton. The two-hour flight went off without a hitch and Austin was too busy exploring his new surroundings and giving high-fives to some of the other passengers to complain about being in a closed space. He even sat on our laps (since we didn’t buy him a seat) and played with some of the new toys we bought him (there’s nothing wrong with a little bribery every now and then).

The weekend was a lot of fun. The purpose of the trip was a wedding on the Saturday night, which gave us pretty much the whole weekend to ourselves. The Friday night was spent at the rehearsal dinner – a barbecue at a nearby farmhouse – where Austin charmed everyone. On Saturday, the three of us ventured out into the heat (it was 30C+ that day) for a walk to the Fredericton Market – a very popular spot – then came back in time for nap (which is a little awkward when the three of us are sharing a room, but manageable because we both ended up falling asleep as well.)

At 6 p.m. a sitter came to watch Austin, who barely noticed us leave the room because he was too busy showing her his trucks!

The wedding was really nice, an evening ceremony followed by a garden cocktail party, and we had a lot of fun. It’s nice every now and then to get out and be an adult – even if you turn back into a pumpkin at midnight.

Sunday was much of the same, but this day came with an early morning wakeup call from Austin (6:30 a.m., following a wake up and a playtime from midnight to 1 a.m. -- another downside of sharing a room) and a trip to a 24-hour diner for breakfast. After that, we went for a long walk along the river – which was really pretty and made for some nice picture taking.

Our flight home left at 9 p.m., which wasn’t the ideal time because Austin’s bedtime is around 8:30. Meaning, by the time we boarded the plane, he was exhausted. Unfortunately, it made for a long flight home, as Austin refused to sleep, and had a complete meltdown scream-a-thon every time we forced him to sit on one of our laps (which is a must during take off and landing). Thankfully, the plane wasn’t full, so we spread out during the flight, giving him his own seat to sit in. Next time we fly with him, I definitely think we’ll try to avoid the flight that leaves after bedtime!That’s all the news from the three of us for now. My last few updates have been about our summertime adventures – and there have been a lot of them – so here’s a quick Austin update:
· At his last doctor’s appointment, it became obvious why he has outgrown all his clothes; he now stands 33 inches tall and weighs about 29 pounds.
· He runs almost everywhere which makes me wonder some days if he’s forgotten how to walk.
· Although most conversations with him consist of completely unidentifiable phrases, he has a few very distinct words – most notably shoes, car, hello, cat and dog. And he does associate each of those words with the correct item (or meaning).

And finally, I’ll admit it…he needs a haircut.

Read more...

A week at the cottage

Our week’s vacation this year was spent at a quiet little cottage on a lake in Sundridge – about 45 minutes north of Huntsville.

We spent most of the week doing absolutely nothing by adult standards, but having a heck of a lot of fun exploring in by Austin’s terms. Every afternoon was spent swimming – something that Austin absolutely loved. On the Sunday, he tried to get climb into the lake, shoes and all, and by the Tuesday he was jumping off the dock into daddy’s arms.

Although the weather was beautiful every day but one – and even on that day, it was still only cloudy and 20C – every morning it was too cool to swim, so we found something else to do. One day, we went for a drive around the lake; a couple of days we took Austin for a walk a few kilometres up the road and back.

Another day we drove into town and found a park – which happened to be on the water and proved to be just as much as a draw for Austin as the playground.

And on another day we went to the nearby petting farm. The goats and donkeys were really friendly – especially when you were holding food – and Austin really enjoyed feeding them.

The only activity we planned was a hike on the Tuesday. We left the cottage around 10:30 and drove until we found the Forgotten Trails. We heard about them from a pamphlet left behind at the cottage – and forgotten they were because only my keen eyesight found the tiny little sign pointing in the right direction. But, once we found the trail we wanted, we found it was well maintained, and apparently seldom used. In the two-to-three hours we were gone from the car, we saw no one, and our car remained the only one on the side of the road.

It was a two-kilometre hike up to a lookout (and then two kilometres back) – a pretty decent hike with an extra 30 pounds on your back (which thankfully, Ryan was carrying!).

But the view was really nice, and we even managed to figure out how to use the timer on our camera and snap a couple of family pictures.

That about sums it up. Ryan and I spent the rest of the time relaxing and reading when Austin napped and making our way through the James Bond collection in the evenings. Austin, on the other hand, when he wasn’t playing in the water or running around the property, was learning how to climb out of his playpen when he didn’t want to sleep and discovering that ice cream sandwiches are the best snack in the world.

Read more...

Photos from camping trip number II

We enjoyed camping so much, we went on a second trip the weekend of July 13-15. Well, to be honest, the second trip had been planned before we even went on the first, but regardless, we did enjoy ourselves.

This time, we went to Presqu'ile Provincial Park, near Cobourg, Ont. (on Lake Ontario) It was much warmer this time around, although we were all still more comfortable in pants than shorts on the Saturday. And unfortunately, Saturday afternoon was spent hiding from the rain. Although, at least we were just wet, not cold and wet like Canada Day. And Austin definitely enjoyed playing in the mud puddles that came courtesy of the rain.

Here are a few pictures, enjoy.

mmmmm, watermelon

The remenants of the Fudgeo!

On the Sunday (when the sun was shining brightly) we went to visit the lighthouse.

And then it was off to the beach. It was really windy though,
so we opted not to put our bathings suits on.
Although Austin did end up pretty wet!

Read more...

Canada Day camping weekend

Camping over Canada Day weekend was a whole new experience for Austin – and to a certain extend for mommy as well, who had never really done anything like this before.

The three and a half day trip was at Arrowhead Provincial Park – about three hours north of Toronto (near Huntsville) – and was spent with three other families. In total we were 8 adults and 5 kids between the ages of 13 months and 7 years.

To sum it up, the trip consisted of sleepless nights (because the youngest member of the family takes up the most amount of bed space), cold days (because I doubt the temperature peaked above 20C all weekend), even colder nights (because it was a whopping 7C or 8C overnight), a lot of dirt, fantastic food (who says camping means only hot dogs and hamburgers?) and good company.

And we did have fun, even if Austin had trouble sleeping in his crib and ended up sleeping between us each night. For the record though, at least one of the nights, he woke up screaming because he was cold – and it was freezing that night. And even though it was too cold to go swimming and we all became experts at huddling under the shade tent for rain protection every time a shower passed through, we all really enjoyed ourselves. I think Austin especially loved being outside for pretty much three days straight. And by the end of it -- he was, shall we say, just a little bit dirty!

On the Sunday, Ryan and I strapped Austin to one of our backs and went for a hike to Stubbs Falls. It was a pretty easy trail for a total of about 4-5 km of walking, which is a good thing, because even though we bought a good carry pack, it’s still heavy to carry 27-pounds of Austin around on your back!

The rest of the time was spent doing pretty much nothing except watch Austin, Lilo, Isabelle, Andrew and Ian play on the campsites. And once the kids went to bed, the adults spent the evening by the fire.

Enjoy the pictures. There were some group shots taken, but they’re not on my camera – when I get them e-mailed to me, I’ll share them as well.

Coming back from the hike

Testing the water temperature in Stubbs Falls

Austin loved pulling this little wagon all over the campsites, so much so that he even tried to pull it when Isabelle was sitting in it.

Three of the kids (Austin, Ian and Lilo) hiding from the rain and watching the Backyardigans on the portable DVD player.

Read more...

Mr. No Fear

Austin has become Mr. No Fear these days. Nothing, absolutely nothing seems to scare him. Which I guess is a good thing, but certainly keeps mommy and daddy on their toes.

A few examples to prove my point:

Last week, I took him to the park after work. There are two play structures at this park -- a baby play area (for ages 2-5) and an older child area (aged 5-12). Austin only likes the big kid slide. Why, because there's 8 stairs to climb up instead of only 3 and the slide is longer AND twirls around, whereas the baby slide is straight and short. And of course, it's way more fun to go down on your tummy, head first.

Another good example is, he likes to climb up on the couch. And once up, he sees no reason why he shouldn't climb up on the back of the couch. So there he is, crawling along the back of the couch, while we hover between trying not to laugh and trying to tell him no.

And finally, a video:

Read more...

The Evans family keeps busy

I’ve been slacking a little on the updates lately, I know. It’s been busy around here these last few weeks.

So what have the Evans family been up to? Well, the adults have decided to redo the backyard, which is taking up a lot of time but will be a great space when it’s done. (This family picture was taken in my parent's backyard, not ours!) For those who haven’t seen the backyard – picture a space that had been neglected for 10 years where trees and hedges are wildly overgrown and starting to consume the yard and an abundance of weeds are a normal site – some of which can grow to six feet in height.

For many a weekends, this has been the project. And now, the wildly overgrown hedges are gone, the tree has been cut back, the weeds have been tackled and pulled and a new patio has been laid. Next comes the removal of the old patio and new grass and voilà, we will have a backyard!

Ryan takes the credit for much of this, as my official job description has been to keep Austin out of the way. (Although, I have managed to get good and dirty when he sleeps for a couple of hours in the afternoons.)

Austin is a happy kid these days and has now completely mastered the art of walking, using it as his only mode of transportation. Well, except when he’s trying to run!
The park is a favourite destination on weekends, where he’ll spend hours climbing up the stairs and sliding down the slide. And as you can see by the picture, we experimented with sidewalk chalk one weekend! Since then, we’ve stuck with crayons, which are a little less messy, but apparently taste good – leaving one of us to constantly repeat ‘we don’t eat crayons Austin.’

Now that the backyard is semi-done, it’s nice to know there’s a safe place to take him outside to play. He loves being outside, and always wants to walk out the front door – with a backyard, he’ll be able to and I don’t have to worry about him running onto the street before I can catch him.

We have lots of plans lined up for this summer already – a long-weekend camping trip in July and a week at a cottage on a lake in August. So there’ll be lots more updates and photos to come this summer. But I think we'll have to wait awhile until Austin's able to drive us there!

Read more...