Daddy's first post

Hello!


Mommy (we always promised that we wouldn't call each mommy and daddy, but then we bought a bungalow) has been feeling a little under the weather recently, so it has fallen to me to update the family blog! I am so excited and nervous!

I'm the older one in the back. We take our smoothies pretty seriously.

Well, Violet is 19 months. I realized just recently that I had been telling everyone she was 16 months right up until last week. She is getting cuter and more clever all the time. Why, just the other day she emptied out the entire toilet bowl, one cupful at a time, onto the bathroom floor. I think our cat made her do it.

Mommy and UV posing with the School of Rock DVD (ask me where she got those gorgeous blue eyes...)

Things have been going very well for our multi-generational household recently. Having my mom around is really turning out to be great. I never got to see enough of her when I was a youngling, so it is nice to be able to make up for it now. We put UV and Mommy to bed and stay up late watching trashy TV.

It is especially fun when my sister comes over to hang out. My dad also comes over to visit a whole lot more than he ever did before the little one was born. Having an adorable kid sure is a humbling experience. We are hoping that Mommy feels better soon so we can all spend time together, we have been missing her.

Violet is a natural rockstar. You can see that she has already perfected the bored, its so easy to be this cool look and she has the somewhat glazed eyes of a veteran rocker. I've had her listening to gnr since she was in the womb. That being said, she sure likes hip-hop too. What a well rounded kid.

Her newest most favouritist song, however, is none other than "Chippee Chippee" (sic?) from the Motorcycle Diaries' soundtrack. I have no idea what they are singing about but the chorus is compulsively fun to sing.

I think that is enough for now. I hope you are all well, wherever you are around the world. Whether we know you or not, we are glad to be sharing this part of our lives with you! Don't worry, we've saved a lot of juicy stuff for the scandalous tell-all book.

Woah!

Violet spontaneously made up her first 5 word sentence the other day.
"Daddy teeth, Violet teeth too". She wanted to brush her teeth at the same time as Jesse. She's been getting pretty good at using 'too' in the correct way. She's also started to speak gibberish more often (and laughing when we repeat it). I've been reclining on the couch quite often of late, letting Jesse do the 'parenting', and from afar the gibberish often sounds like close approximations of phrases like "ok then, let's go", and such. She sure talks a lot.

I had mentioned we had been visiting our Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Wakefield. One of UV's cousins graciously parted with an extra tutu she had. She also got a nice red hat from Auntie B. Violet came home and started wearing both pretty steadily. I would say this would be the first outfit she coordinated herself. Good one!














We've all settled into our routines again, which is nice. It's Sunday afternoon, Violet is watching Elmo's World (she especially likes Mr. Noodle) and Jesse is doing the dishes. I'm thinking about what to make for dinner.

I finally downloaded the photos from my camera. On it were some taken the day after we got back from Qatar. I think you can see that she seems at bit hesitant about our presence, but the shots turned out well.














But Dad still plays the same games.














We missed that goofy smile. I'm sure you all did too!

I KNOW...I'LL DO IT

Readers are getting antsy!

Tonight, I promise, I will update this blog.
It's just that I've been sick, at work (which is still ruining lunch dates with friends), and have too many pictures to download off the camera.
Till then,
N

Home again

We made it home!
I am totally reeling from jet lag, but very happy to be here with my little girl again. Grandpa, Lauren and Violet came to pick us up at the airport. I was anxious to see how she would react to seeing us. She stared at me in wonder for a few long seconds, and then a little tear formed in the corner of her eye. OOF! Right in the heart!
Yesterday she was very clingy, whiny and weepy (very trying with the jet lag). This was to be expected - poor girl. She's more herself today,so we're off to visit some cousins in Wakfield.
UV got smarted and cuter while we were gone! She has some new tricks, like saying "windy day!" when we blow in her hair.

That was one amazing holiday. Not only did my Dad and Libby pay for all our tickects out to Qatar, but completely spoiled us that entire time we were there. The desert, the food, the Ritz...everything was incredible.
It really felt like a once in a lifetime experience, and we are so grateful.

Pictures to follow!
N

Zikreet

The best way I can describe how Qatar looks is like a huge expanse of cleared
and bulldozed landscape. It is desolate, scrubby and rocky. It is beautiful though!
Camels and goats and SUVs roam the landscape.
There is also garbage absolutely everywhere.
We've been doing a lot of driving, and you can just turn off the highway
at almost any point into the desert and start driving over anything you like.
Jesse has really taken to desert driving, but it was Libby who
got all four wheels off the ground.
We just drove up to there incredible formations and
hiked around.













The sky is an incredible blue.













It's been unseasonably cold and very windy. When we're standing
out in the desert, being whipped by wind and sand,
and I look around and see NOTHING except more of the same.
I've often feel we must be on Mars. A beige Mars.













We went out to an old movie set in Zikreet. It was really amazing to
come across this in the middle of, again, nowhere. Two
guys live there as caretakers, which must be a very lonely
existence. One of them has a Grandmother who lives in
Toronto. Small world!














We climbed around the set, which had been
constructed authentically - so cool!














Today, we are headed to the Ritz Carleton to lounge by the pool
and get massages. Whooohooooo!