I have a broken ipod... I am lost without it because I listen to audible books during my commute and it is the 'peaceful' time I enjoy on my own. This evening Raf and Rich, who'd gone out to leave me with my grading, returned home with an Ipod Touch. Since our Flip has broken this is perfect as it also allows for some really good videoing. Here's Raf clapping before bedtime! It's currently his favourite thing... clapping followed by kissing as he wanders around the house.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
October 14th
October 14th - our 16 year-together anniversary, and our 8 year wedding anniversary. A morning run with the boys and then lunch at a pub.
And also two new baby boys arrived! Our dear friend Ash welcomed her little boy Carter into the world. a sweet, sweet little one who weighed just an ounce more than Raf (7 pounds 4) and the same 19 inches in length.
And little Quinn, the new son of our friend Meghann.
What a wonderful, celebratory day.
Yet we were all still thinking of Otis, the sweet little boy who should be a month old already. So much happiness brings this great sorrow into sharper relief, somehow.
And also two new baby boys arrived! Our dear friend Ash welcomed her little boy Carter into the world. a sweet, sweet little one who weighed just an ounce more than Raf (7 pounds 4) and the same 19 inches in length.
And little Quinn, the new son of our friend Meghann.
What a wonderful, celebratory day.
Yet we were all still thinking of Otis, the sweet little boy who should be a month old already. So much happiness brings this great sorrow into sharper relief, somehow.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Trip to an animal sanctuary
Weekends are going by much too quickly these days. I'm sitting here wondering how it can already be Sunday evening? Alas, it is, and whilst I have tomorrow off I have so many papers to grade. One of the reasons I have so many to grade is because I didn't do much work this weekend as I'd planned. Of course I am regretting that a bit now, but the weekend was busy and fun.
Yesterday we began our day with a family run. We were all tired and it was breezy and cold out but the run turned into a really fun time, and though after 8 miles Rich and I were frozen stiff (somewhat literally), it was a good way to start the weekend. Jess, our sitter, came over at lunchtime so Rich and I could catch up on some work. We went to a pub(!) to grab some lunch and a quiet table to do some marking, but, in retrospect, going to a pub to grade was probably not my brightest idea. Did i mention already that I have a lot of work still to do?
That afternoon we collected Raf and went to visit little Nico, the new baby, in the hospital where Raf was born. He is adorable, and I have to confess that it made me quite envious.
This morning we took the pups for a long overdue trip to the dog park. it was Raf's first time. We'd been reluctant to take him before now because other dogs might like to jump all over him, but Rich put Raf in the ergo on his back and I stood protectively around him and all was good. Raf got a real kick watching the puppies run around with the other dogs!
As the day warmed up and the sun came out we decided to head out on a family bike ride to a local state sanctuary which takes in animals who have been abused. I think it's a state sanctuary... and it homes mostly horses. These poor animals.. they come in close to death and this place really nurses them back to health. We saw some before and after pictures. it's incredibly sad. But there are also many cats there and a little pig - and Raf got to see many of them. He was especially taken by the kitties. They let us in the room where they sleep and play and he was so gentle and sweet with them.
We picked up a pumpkin at the sanctuary..
We made a lovely apple crumble when we got home from our long ride
Yesterday we began our day with a family run. We were all tired and it was breezy and cold out but the run turned into a really fun time, and though after 8 miles Rich and I were frozen stiff (somewhat literally), it was a good way to start the weekend. Jess, our sitter, came over at lunchtime so Rich and I could catch up on some work. We went to a pub(!) to grab some lunch and a quiet table to do some marking, but, in retrospect, going to a pub to grade was probably not my brightest idea. Did i mention already that I have a lot of work still to do?
That afternoon we collected Raf and went to visit little Nico, the new baby, in the hospital where Raf was born. He is adorable, and I have to confess that it made me quite envious.
This morning we took the pups for a long overdue trip to the dog park. it was Raf's first time. We'd been reluctant to take him before now because other dogs might like to jump all over him, but Rich put Raf in the ergo on his back and I stood protectively around him and all was good. Raf got a real kick watching the puppies run around with the other dogs!
As the day warmed up and the sun came out we decided to head out on a family bike ride to a local state sanctuary which takes in animals who have been abused. I think it's a state sanctuary... and it homes mostly horses. These poor animals.. they come in close to death and this place really nurses them back to health. We saw some before and after pictures. it's incredibly sad. But there are also many cats there and a little pig - and Raf got to see many of them. He was especially taken by the kitties. They let us in the room where they sleep and play and he was so gentle and sweet with them.
We picked up a pumpkin at the sanctuary..
We made a lovely apple crumble when we got home from our long ride
Saturday, October 9, 2010
15 months
On Thursday Raf turned 15 months. I have to say that this is one of the best stages we've experienced. He is growing so quickly, and developing skills at such a rate that he masters things one day when the day before he seemed a long way off. I am not the best at deciphering baby talk, but it's also becoming apparent that he is saying words - and quite a few - but we're still a little deficient hearing them. Today he said 'Chee' for cheese (he loves LOVES a new vegan cheese we recently discovered), I think he said 'ca' for cat when Dafty, our kitty, walked towards him, he has said 'ba' for a long while when referring to a ball, and his most clear word is 'Peppa' for Peppa Pig - an English cartoon that we've allowed him to watch on YouTube. And I really need to catch on video him waving and saying 'ba ba' (bye bye).
Perhaps the most sweetest thing is that he now blows kisses.. and, when you say (well, when I say) "come and give mama a hug and kiss" - he toddles over and puts his arms around you.
Raf is also a pretty funny boy, and often he cracks himself up. This morning Sammy had his lead on waiting to be taken outside, and Raf picked it up and pretended to walk him and he was giggling so much. Sammy is the cause of a lot of Raf's laughing... when he's eating in his highchair Sammy can often be found parked right underneath him waiting for the inevitable scraps. Raf's favourite dinner time game is to drop things - not FOR Sammy, but ON Sammy - all the while laughing like a little lunatic.
Raf seems to go through toy phases. This week it's a block and shape set given to him by Aunty Bex and Uncle Habby. It's one of those wooden blocks with holes for matching shapes. Last week Raf could only consistently put in the pink, round piece - and this week he can do almost all of them. Where did our little baby go?
And on baby notes - today we got to meet a new little baby boy, Nico Alexander. Raf came with us to Mercy hospital this afternoon. He takes a few minutes to get adjusted to new environments but once he does he totters around happily and sweetly, playing on his own, but interacting with with all of us as he blows kisses, gives us things he's been playing with, and more.
What a great little boy we have.
Perhaps the most sweetest thing is that he now blows kisses.. and, when you say (well, when I say) "come and give mama a hug and kiss" - he toddles over and puts his arms around you.
Raf is also a pretty funny boy, and often he cracks himself up. This morning Sammy had his lead on waiting to be taken outside, and Raf picked it up and pretended to walk him and he was giggling so much. Sammy is the cause of a lot of Raf's laughing... when he's eating in his highchair Sammy can often be found parked right underneath him waiting for the inevitable scraps. Raf's favourite dinner time game is to drop things - not FOR Sammy, but ON Sammy - all the while laughing like a little lunatic.
Raf seems to go through toy phases. This week it's a block and shape set given to him by Aunty Bex and Uncle Habby. It's one of those wooden blocks with holes for matching shapes. Last week Raf could only consistently put in the pink, round piece - and this week he can do almost all of them. Where did our little baby go?
And on baby notes - today we got to meet a new little baby boy, Nico Alexander. Raf came with us to Mercy hospital this afternoon. He takes a few minutes to get adjusted to new environments but once he does he totters around happily and sweetly, playing on his own, but interacting with with all of us as he blows kisses, gives us things he's been playing with, and more.
What a great little boy we have.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Autumn weekend
We enjoyed such a nice weekend, packed with lots of fun and family time. On Friday evening we were invited to a new friend's house for dinner. our hosts have an almost two year old daughter, Rosa, and they're also expecting another baby any day. In fact this weekend they passed their due date, so they were pretty phenomenal hosting us. Raf was so shy when we arrived, hiding behind my legs and putting his head into my shoulder, but he was soon tottering around, watching Rosa - a sweet, funny, outgoing, lovely little girl - as she toddled around. She gave Raf a little hit, swipe and a push - followed by a little hug and kiss, so this could be the start of a beautiful relationship :)
On Saturday we walked the pups on a trail and happened upon some soccer fields where we spent some time watching these tiny little people kicking the football around. Very sweet. An afternoon bike ride ended a gorgeous autumn, sunny day.
Our hosts from Friday - Stacey and Noah (a new colleague at work) invited us to go apple picking on the Sunday morning. Unfortunately Raf was fast asleep for his morning nap so we had to postpone but we decided to head there in the afternoon to do a bit of apple picking on our own. So after an invigorating family run, we headed to Limington for some apple picking. Believe it or not I'd never apple picked before, and now I've done it I can't believe I haven't been before. There was live music, many, many people milling around, beautiful fields and stalls and food.. Here are some of our favourite pictures.
On Saturday we walked the pups on a trail and happened upon some soccer fields where we spent some time watching these tiny little people kicking the football around. Very sweet. An afternoon bike ride ended a gorgeous autumn, sunny day.
Our hosts from Friday - Stacey and Noah (a new colleague at work) invited us to go apple picking on the Sunday morning. Unfortunately Raf was fast asleep for his morning nap so we had to postpone but we decided to head there in the afternoon to do a bit of apple picking on our own. So after an invigorating family run, we headed to Limington for some apple picking. Believe it or not I'd never apple picked before, and now I've done it I can't believe I haven't been before. There was live music, many, many people milling around, beautiful fields and stalls and food.. Here are some of our favourite pictures.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Hike
One of Raf's most favourite things is to totter around on grassy surfaces. Yesterday we took him to the local trail and before we headed for a mini hike with the pups we had a very fun half hour with Raf running up and down the field.... He even attempted to walk a bit of the trail himself :)
Friday, September 24, 2010
Hello
Goodness, we haven't blogged properly in a while. We've been left reeling following the loss of Otis, and it's been quite consuming for us all. But we've also been dealing with a lot of sickness. This past week each of us found ourselves at the Drs. On the 12th Sept. it was Rich's birthday and he, unfortunately, was hit by a stomach bug, two days later Raf and I were down and out with bad colds... both requiring trips to the Dr (I needed an inhaler). And THEN poor Rich developed this really awful body rash... I am still dealing with a cold and Raf is now teething... wow. It's not even October. And poor Rich had his birthday in the midst of all this illness.
But we have been doing other things, too... aside from working, that is. Today I took Raf to a Music Together class, and, well, whilst I was really excited about it because he LOVES music, and he especially loves Music Together music (thank you Sarah Hope), it was not the best experience Raf has ever had. He burst into tears as soon as the singing started and I had to take him out... he did settle in a bit, though not one smile passed his sweet lips, and during the final song the tears returned. it seemed that he didn't really care for the guitar. I'm hoping next week is better.
Tonight also marked a sad evening for me for it was the first evening I was away for Raf's entire bed time routine, and I didn't even get to say good night. Silly, silly work.
What else?
2 weeks ago I did my first triathlon! I had a blast and it was made extra special with Raf and Rich at the finish line.
Raf at O'Naturals... we went there for Rich's birthday - though he was really ill.
But we have been doing other things, too... aside from working, that is. Today I took Raf to a Music Together class, and, well, whilst I was really excited about it because he LOVES music, and he especially loves Music Together music (thank you Sarah Hope), it was not the best experience Raf has ever had. He burst into tears as soon as the singing started and I had to take him out... he did settle in a bit, though not one smile passed his sweet lips, and during the final song the tears returned. it seemed that he didn't really care for the guitar. I'm hoping next week is better.
Tonight also marked a sad evening for me for it was the first evening I was away for Raf's entire bed time routine, and I didn't even get to say good night. Silly, silly work.
What else?
2 weeks ago I did my first triathlon! I had a blast and it was made extra special with Raf and Rich at the finish line.
Raf at O'Naturals... we went there for Rich's birthday - though he was really ill.
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