Just in case I forget my name

One of my grandfathers many talents is wood working and when I was born he made me a name plate for my bedroom door. I’ve had it up in every house I’ve ever lived in and will till the end of my days. Because my Opa made it. All the kids in my extended family have one and they are all different styles. When my babies were born I wanted to them to have one too and now they do.

On another note... my parents arrive today and I’m very excited. Tomorrow we are going to climb Mount Duval and Sunday we’ll be heading out on a boat trip into the park. We also plan to finally celebrate Isaac’s birthday. We wanted to wait for them to arrive so it’s a bit more of a party. It should be a busy few days.

Happy Birthday Isaac

Dear Isaac,

One year ago right now (11:13am) you came in to the world. You were 4 days overdue but once you decided to come, you weren't wasting any time making your grand entrance in just under 3 and a half hours. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that you didn't take your time. You arrived big and beautiful weighing in at 9 lbs, 6.5 ounces and looking very much like me. Oma and Nana both said that holding you was just like having me in their arms again which brought on joyful tears. When I look back at pictures of myself as a baby, I think they are definitely right.

This time around we decided to find out if our new baby was going to be a boy or a girl. When the ultrasound tech said BOY I was so excited. Ok, I’ll admit, there was a little part of me that was hoping for a girl but I certainly wasn’t disappointed. I’ve always said I hoped for two boys when I finally had kids and with you that dream has been fulfilled. Oliver fell in love with you the moment he saw you (....Baby!!!) and that hasn't changed. I think the feeling is mutual because you can't get enough of him either. One of your strange quirks is that even though you are a very happy baby you rarely laugh or giggle out loud.  The few times I've heard you in the throws of a good belly laugh have been when when O was entertaining you.  I hope for you to be best buddies as kids and best friends as you get older. To always be there to for each other and for you to hang out because you like each other, not because you are related. 

Like most parents I think I wondered how another baby was going to fit into our lives. How was I going to love another tiny human as much as I love the one we already had? Once you arrived I realised that loving a second baby was so much easier. Not that I loved you more but since I already understood that special bond between mom and baby I think finding that  love again was like second nature. I also feel that knowing you were a boy and having chosen your name months before you were born made it seem like we'd known you for such a long time already.

A few things I want you to know:

-As a newborn you had the cutest cry I have ever heard. We called it The Lip cause you would stick out that bottom lip in a tiny pout every time.

-You are huge flirt and love to ham it up for the camera.

-If I had to choose 3 words to describe you, the first one hands down would be LOUD. You have a screech that would shatter glass if you really tried. The second would be headstrong. You have no problem at all telling us what you want and are even more obvious about what you don’t want. The third would be smiley.

-As an infant you could blow out a diaper like no baby I’ve ever seen. That  may seem like a strange thing to mention in your birthday letter but trust me, your ability borders on legendary and needed to be acknowledged.

-Your dark blue eyes are going to break hearts someday.

Where has the year gone? I can't believe you are turning one already. You are becoming a vibrant and active little man who keeps us on our toes. You have made our little family complete and I'm so happy and proud to be your mom. Your dad and I love you always and forever.

Happy Birthday
I Love You
Akuluk

Love Mommy

X0X0X0

Minutes Old

This is September 23rd.

Guess what we woke up to today?? Happy first day of Fall....

Kraft Dinner Face

It's a continuing challenge to get Isaac to move on to real people food from the puree's he seems to love so much. He will eat toast when he feels like it, dry cereal and cheese.
Anything else we've tried he will chew and spit out.

And then he tried Kraft Dinner and he fell in love. I don't think I've ever seen him eat so much at one sitting. He is truely his momma's boy.

Vote Fundy

Have you heard about the New Seven Wonders of the world?? No? It's probably because they haven't been chosen yet. You can be a part of the process by voting and I hope you do.

Taken from the website:

The New7Wonders of Nature campaign highlights and celebrates the beauty of the planet, fostering greater respect for the earth's fragile natural equilibrium.

The New7Wonders Foundation started this contest on July 7th, 2007 with the election of sites from around the world.. It started out with 441 sites from 222 countries and they are now down to the final 28 wondrous things. Some of the sites you may have heard of include The Great Barrier Reef, Uluru (Ayers Rock if you know it by it's old name) and the Galapagos. I have to admit, I didn't know half of the places on the list so if nothing else, check them out and learn something about our world.

The reason I'm posting about this is because the Bay Of Fundy is the only site in Canada that made the final cut. I'm from Saint John New Brunswick and the 'Highest Tides in the World' where something I saw everyday. Why is it worthy of being one of the New7Wonders?

Highest Tides in the World
Bay of Fundy tides are 53 feet (16 metres), five to 10 times higher than any tide in the world. It takes six hours and 13 minutes for the tides to go from high to low and for 100 billion tonnes of seawater to flow in and out of the bay twice daily. More water moves through the Bay of Fundy in one cycle than the combined flow of all the world’s freshwater rivers. The amount of water in one tide cycle would fill and then empty the Grand Canyon.

Ecology
The Bay of Fundy has been compared in marine biodiversity to the Amazon Rainforest. Through ocean currents and its massive tides, it is biologically linked to the rest of the world by fish, bird, and marine mammal migrations.
WhalesThe Bay of Fundy hosts over 12 species of whales during their summer and fall feedings, including half the world’s population of rare and endangered Right whales.

Dinosaurs and Fossils
The Bay of Fundy has the world’s most complete fossil record of the “Coal Age” (300 million years ago). It is home to the world’s oldest reptiles and Canada’s oldest dinosaurs, and the site of one of the greatest extinctions the world has ever known — the Triassic/Jurassic extinction.

Green Tidal Energy
The Bay of Fundy has the potential to become one of the world’s greatest producers of tidal energy. The Bay is 10 times more powerful than any other site in North America and is already generating environmentally-sustainable electricity.

Culture
The area is rich in the culture and history of its original First Nations as well as European settlers who arrived in 1604 — before Canada was a country. Regional culture and history are celebrated at interpretation centres, historic sites, horticultural display gardens, and artisans’ studios.

Source

I have to admit I learned something by reading this information too. I always thought the tides where the only thing that made the Bay of Fundy so special. (Maybe I should be a tourist in my own home a bit more huh?) So how just how high are the highest tides in the world? Look for yourself:

Source

Source

These are the Hopewell Rocks outside of Alma New Brunswick. In my opinion this is the most dramatic before and after view of the tides. I've walked on that part of the ocean floor and I've watched as the water rose. It's definitely something to see.

So I ask that you vote for our home town (home country) wonder and get the Bay of Fundy on the global map. And all you other bloggers and facebookers... please spread the world.

VOTE HERE

Testing, Testing

I am yet again changing the look of the blog. Why? One: I like to shake things up every so often, I get bored easily. Two: I loved the last incarnation when I first changed it but realised quickly that it was too busy and the pictures where just too small.

So far I'm liking this new look but I'm trying to figure out the details. And by the way... this picture is here stricktly for testing purposes. Well, that and he's super cute!

Oh and just in case you were wondering (and seriously, as if you couldn't tell) Yes, Tank was photoshopped in to the new header. Getting a dog and two kids together for a picture is getting even more diffucult since Isaac is on the move. Thank god for Photoshop.

Splash

Just a few shots from our family ATV outing last Sunday. As you can imagine Oliver and Nick needed a hot bath and some hot chocolate when we got back to our place. It was only about 3 degrees so those splashes made for a chilly ride home.