Genetics

If anyone ever had any doubt that Nick was Oliver's father this should put those thoughts to rest. My sister in law dug out a bunch of old photos the other day and I couldn't believe how much O looks like his dad. You be the judge.

Life in the fast lane

I've always said O is going to be a dare devil. He's never had any fear of throwing himself off something, being thrown up in the air as high as you can possibly get him or speed of any kind. He was in his glory when my mom pulled this gem of a toy out of the garage the other day. It's no Canada's Wonderland's Dragon Flyer or anything but from the first time down the track he couldn't get enough of it, going down over and over again.

Tell me that's not a face of someone enjoying himself. Loving being down south!

Do You See Baby?

Today was a day I've been waiting for for a long time. I had an appointment at UCBaby in Moncton and got to get a good look at the newest Steeves. Unfortunately he 'had an attitude' as the tech kept putting it and wouldn't take his limbs away from his face. One good thing about that is that at least we know he has all of them. To make matters worse he was also in an awkward position. In the end we got lots of ok shots and only a few really good ones but I'm ok with that.

For those of you who don't know, UCBaby is a 3D ultrasound where you get a really detailed view of the baby. It's purely for fun so they won't do diagnosis of any kind except gender determination if you choose to. I will be the first to admit, it's pretty pricey and now that I've done it, I'm not sure it's worth the money. One thing I was really surprised about was that whole session isn't done in 3D. Most of it (at least for me) was done in the regular 2D format and when the tech saw a good opportunity, she went in to 3D mode and we got to see those views. And as cool as the 3D views are once you've seen the first 5 or 6 views of the face, you've seen it. My session went on for about 45 minutes because to her credit, the tech was really trying to get the baby to move so she could get some good shots without his hands and feet in the way. I also think that if you did the ultrasound earlier in the pregnancy you would see more full body shots and movement rather than just bits and pieces that you may not know what you're looking at. Anyway, I don't know if it was worth the money but I can say I'm happy I did it. I wouldn't bother doing it again though.

So without further ado, I introduce you to Yet To Be Named Baby Steeves!!!

I love this shot because you can see his little foot.

Only 8 short weeks till we get to meet him in person. I can't wait.

Busy, busy, busy....

No, I haven't been swallowed up by a southern black hole. I swear I'm alive and well but wow, have I been busy. I think I now realise why so many people from the north blog... because they have alot of time on their hands. I'm sure that's not true of most honestly but I know in my case, It's the truth. It's amazing to think of how much time I spend on the computer at home in Nunavut and how little I've spent since I arrived in the south.

So what have I been doing with my time? As I mentioned before we made a stop in London Ontario to visit Jen and Ezri before heading back to New Brunswick. We had an amazing time hanging out with our friends and I'm so happy we decided to make that stop. O and Ezri got along really well except for the moment where Ezri decided to bite O's toe off. She didn't get it but did leave some really good marks. We all thought it was pretty funny and O wasn't really hurt so it's all good.

Jen bought Oliver his first ice cream cone at McDonalds. Looks like it was a hit!

Another hilight of our London stop was hooking up with Sarah for lunch.

My favorite part was watching Oliver play at the splash pad at Storybook Gardens. He didn't stop running the whole time he was there. I've never seen him enjoy something so much

After our time in London we hopped a plane back to Saint John. Since being here Oliver has been playing non stop with his cousin Erik and they are also getting along really well for the most part. It's great seeing my family again and having them have a chance to get to know O. We've been doing lots of fun things and despite a unexpected case of separation anxiety we are settling in well.

He thought painting his belly was funny so I added a little myself.

One of the reasons I wanted to come down early was so O could have a chance to experience playgrounds, pools, grassy yards and family. He is enjoying himself so much I'm really glad to we decided to do it. We miss Nick of course and O asks for Daddy regularly but I think all the fun makes it easier to deal with. Hopefully he'll get over the separation soon so I can have a little me time as well. In the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying watching my boy love life.

Random meeting

Oliver, I am your father......

I'm still here

So this is what I woke up to this morning.

Normally this view would show you mountains and wide open ocean. So, if you can't guess, it means I'm at this moment I'm sitting just below the arctic circle in my living room instead of on a plane half way to the land of heat waves. Northern weather strikes again.

I have rebooked my tickets, made the appropriate phone calls and now I wait for the morning to come again in hopes that the weather will be more favorable. The forecast looks a little more promising that it did for this morning so I'm holding out some hope.

Getting Ready

I got out O's car seat today to be sure it was set to the right size so I wasn't fumbling with it at the airport. It's been 6 months since he's sat in it but seemed to be right at home.

Happy Birthday Nunavut!!

Today Nunavut turns 11 years old. To celebrate the RCMP and the Hamlet put on a joint celebration in our neighborhood and we had a great turnout.

Nick and the guys barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs which went over big. Myself and Karine did face painting for the kids, and not a few people who used to be kids. Truth be told, being no artist I actually did crowd control while Karine painted along with the help of a few University of Manitoba students who are in town at the moment.

In addition to the BBQ the hamlet provided the beverages, and sweets and the Hunters and Trappers Association provided a few beluga. We had heard that they would come and butcher it right in front of my house which I was pretty excited about having never seen it done. Unfortunately for me, the rumors where wrong and it was already in pieces when it arrived.

One of the cutest things I saw all day was this little boy who was waiting in line to get his face painted with this baby duck. Apparently they are all over town. Oliver loved the duck but the picture didn't turn out as well of him with it so I'm sharing this one instead.

It was a wonderful day, probably by favorite since I got here to Pang. I met some really nice people and it was a beautiful day. Oliver had a wonderful time too wandering around (within my eye sight of course), meeting people and climbing stairs... his newest obsession. I love that I live in a place that I can safely just let him roam. I could never do that down south, and if I did I'm sure child services would have something to say about it. Just another of the many perks of northern living.

I hope everyone had a great Nunavut Day.

Vacation Plans

The countdown to playgrounds and playdates is down to 7 more days and I don't think I could be any more excited. Our adventure will begin with the flights since Oliver is that much busier now so I'm not sure what to expect. He's always been a great flyer but 6 months can change things dramatically.


Our first round of flights takes us to the first stop on our itinerary. We'll be spending a few days in London, Ontario to visit Jen and Ezri. I'm so excited to hang out with them. We have big plans which include shopping for maternity clothes because as you all know, there isn't a Thyme or Motherhood in my neighbourhood. (Believe it or not, there isn't one in my home town of Saint John which just happens to be the biggest city in NB?? Go figure) Along with shopping, we are going to hang out by Ezri's kiddie pool, drink slushy drinks and maybe even get to the spa for some pampering.


I will also be meeting up with my Grandmother in London. She hasn't seen Oliver since he was a week old so it should be fun to see her get to know him. Our plans include travelling up to the very small town of Rodney (about 45 minutes north of London) where she lived when my grandfather was alive. I spent many wonderful summers there when I was a young teenager. It's always nice to go back and feed my memories of the hours and hours at the local pool, eating ice cream with my grandpa afterwards and boys I used to crush on there.


After my time in Ontario it's off to New Brunswick for the rest of the summer. Oma (my mother) keeps telling me she can't wait to get her hands on Oliver. I'm thrilled she feels that way because I'm very much looking forward to some non-mommy time. There seems to be lots of people clamouring to spend time with him so I should get many much needed breaks. Of course between those breaks there are many things I want to do with my little man. From beaches to zoos we should be busy.

The lists have been made for weeks and the packing has just begun. I'm trying my hardest to bring the smallest amount of stuff I possibly can so there is lots of room to bring things back. I think my lists reflect meeting that goal but sometimes they are just the tip of the iceburg in the packing department. We'll see how it goes.

I do hope however that Ontario's heat wave breaks before I get there. Thankfully both Jen and my grandmother have air conditioning.

One year

Today I get to use that dreaded word... BLOGOVERSARY!

It's been one year since starting Babies and Bulldogs and I can't believe how quick time has gone by. There has been ups and downs, things have changed and things have stayed the same. It's been an eventful year.

I want to take the opportunity to thank the people who have taken time out of their days to read up about my little life. I never dreamed I'd have almost 24 thousand hits to date. Those hits have brought me new friends, helpful advice and interesting reading material along the way. Thank you to everyone who has dropped in on us.

Oliver and Tank say thanks too!! Here's to another year, hope you stay tuned!

If this doesn't answer your question....

Since I started this blog, Statcounter tells me the vast majority who just stumble upon me are looking for the answer to some form of 'how do bulldogs get along with babies' type question. I think that many of my posts have answered that over the last year but just in case there is any doubt, check out this short video. I know, I know, yet another video of my kid... but what I can I say? I'm a proud mama. I had forgotten about this one since it was taken when O was just 6 months old. I'm pulling it from the archives to share with the world. If you are a Facebook friend, you may have already seen it.


Enjoy!

Pangnirtung Canada Day

It was hard to believe it was July 1st yesterday considering we where wearing warm coats for the morning festivities. But hey, that's Canada Day in the arctic. The turn out was great and everyone had a good time dispite the weather. We also ended up with a little holiday miracle because they had been forcasting rain later in the day which would have put a real damper on our plans for a barbeque. Luckily, the sun came out right around 4pm so we had a great evening around the campfire eating yummy char, steaks, burgers and salads. My favorite part of the whole day? The parade of course! There is nothing that says celebration like a bunch of cars, trucks and atv's following eachother around the town with hardly anyone watching. Why? Because everyone is in the parade.

Happy Birthday Canada!!

I love it when people get really into the occasion.

The candy toss....

One member of Oliver's fan club.

Our 'family' celebration

Somehow the horse lost his tail.