Caleb, Caleb and ... what else? Yep, more Caleb...

It was all good and fine until he gagged on a piece of cookie and barfed. Hm.

Caleb got a walker from Amma and Grampa. My favourite part is the variable speed options for the wheels, because it's not really a "walker" yet, more of a "propper"... more on that in the next few weeks!

Caleb also *can't wait* to watch his new Veggie Tales dvd from Auntie Elaine and Uncle Gary... okay, his mommy is looking forward to it too... He got a cute VT pillow too and an adorable "Lord's prayer" bear from Langa Amma. The Forsyth's got him a little dipper spoon, sippy cup, and a "baby's first photo album" that is soft sided and I finally get to put pictures in... we were waiting until we gave mom her book album for her 50th birthday with some of our professional photos in it that we got done while in NC..

Happy First Birthday Caleb!

More to come... but here's the cake I made yesterday :)

Wild Wild West...

Crazy but true, Karl is the only one who has gone to the actual Stampede this year (rodeo with his boss and colleagues), but if you live in Calgary or if you've ever visited during the 10 days of Stampede, you know there's a lot going on in the city that spins off of the "Greatest Show on Earth." I went with some friends to a free pancake breakfast at the mall on Tuesday (there are hundreds of free pancake breakfasts in the city over stampede week).Caleb loved the marching band and was surprisingly interested in the goats at the petting zoo too. [Note for those of you interested in marketing; a home builder was walking around handing out free (branded) single-use packs of sunscreen. Isn't that a great idea? Think Sonfest or Agrifair or anything outdoor... ]

I assured my crowd-hating girlfriend that the lines would be nearly gone by the time we arrived at 9:30... yeah right! But actually it wasn't too bad; about 20 mins in line... and we split up so a couple of us got food and she took her girls for pony rides and face painting. Here they are dancing to the country tunes!

One of the new foods introduced this year at the stampede... hot beef sundae. not kidding.

For a good laugh, check out a list of the other stampede foods on my friend's blog here. You'll gain weight just reading the list. Deep fried coke? eyeeee.

And today I went to the zoo with a friend of mine and her three girls... it was a good day for it: not too hot, not too cool, all the animals were out and about.The baby elephant hasn't grown as much as I would have expected it to from when I saw it last year.
There's a new baby gorilla that we got a really close look at. This is two month old "Yewande".
Call me uneducated or something, but I had no idea that hippos' legs were so short... I think they've always been in the water when I see them.

We got home just in time! The rain started pounding down shortly after we got in the door.

Getting Spoiled...

Yesterday was my birthday and look what was on my page-a-day! How serendipitous. Boy I got spoiled! I got greetings and flowers and chocolate and singing and lunch and supper and tickets to Cirque Du Soleil in August!... I just can't even go on more for fear of making you jealous ;o) Just Kidding! But I feel *so* grateful to have such loving friends and family around me! Thank you!

My Little stampeding cowboy :)

I hate government papers

"Hate is such a strong word", as I always say. But get this: I am filling out a form for the Alberta government and here is one of the instructions:

Item 5. All corporations must answer this question. If the corporation has not filed an Annual Return previously, this item will be blank.

So, does this mean I need to fill this out with some literal blanks!? How frustrating.

K

Caleb: "more"

this post is dedicated to sean and tim...

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a Breakthrough...

Try as I might, I couldn't wrestle the camera into the mouth of my teething baby for a good shot, but trust me... they're there... two of them... TEETH... what a concept; he's only eleven months old!And here's Caleb on Father's day with his Grandpa, wearing his "grandpa is my hero" shirt that I got him down in Mooresville. Missed the photo op wearing his "my dadaaa is #1" shirt that he wore to church! aww, so cute.

Karl was playing with Caleb the other night and started winking, which Caleb found quite hilarious... here he is catching it on video (is it so last century to call it "video taping"?)

Okay, okay... since you insisted... here are more photos of the little prince that is the centre of our universe: Here he is using his "dipper" spoon that Auntie Melissa and Uncle Scott got him for part of his birthday present...Despite the rainy spring we've had, Karl has still been the king of the barbecue... beer can chicken with home-made rub, grilled pear chicken salad (my idea, his grilling...) burgers, and pork tenderloin... mmm I am one spoiled wife!

other uses for shampoo and lipliner

Caleb and I had a fantastic visit in Mooresville with my sister and her family... Here are some great photos; you can tell who was the "centre of the universe" while we were there, but he returned home surprisingly "unspoiled."

On our way home we had an unexpected overnight hiatus in Dallas. The weather was bad so our flight from Charlotte to Dallas was delayed (and Dallas is *so* on-the-way to Calgary!) and we missed the only connecting flight to Calgary. Karl hooked us up with a quick hotwire hotel near the airport and we had a rather uneventful night... that is except for the lack of luggage. Of course I had a tonne of emergency type equipment for Caleb... change of clothes, extra diapers, lots of wipes, extra food to accommodate 9 hours of delay... hmm, still not enough!

But Caleb is a trooper and ate mushed bananas and carrot baby food (his first time trying it... we all know how the asparagus started, but thankfully this had the same end-result... empty bowl!)

I'm a trooper too, if you qualify a 4-star hotel as roughin' it. I didn't have any make-up though! Okay, I'm no diva, but you have to admit it feels weird not to wear make-up in public when you're used to wearing even a little. It turns out that lipstick and lipliner make great eyeliner and eyeshadow alternatives in a pinch! Ladies, if you're going to try this, ideally go with a different colour than what's on your lips... helps the illusion that you didn't just have all of your luggage checked through to your original destination and that you're making do with one form of make up. Yes. I know. I didn't miss the irony that I did, in fact, have two different colours of lipstick with me. I also used shampoo as a "texturizer" in my hair after I washed and dried it; I just kind of rubbed some on my fingers and twirled it into the tips of my hair. Not quite as successful as the lipliner, but I think it did help a bit. ack... I didn't even have hairspray but wasn't up to buying more at the overpriced convenience store where I found Caleb's carrot baby food.

Here' my little prince in his makeshift crib on the floor at the hotel (now that I think of it, I bet I could have asked for a crib in the room, but I was tired...)


That's all for now folks...

Happy Birthday Uncle Karl!

I am just heading home from Mooresville, and Joel & Alisha wanted to send this message to Uncle Karl since today is his birthday:

And when we were uploading that, we found one in the archives from 2004... "they grow up so fast..." sniff sniff :'(

I guess it is over

Admittedly, the Detroit Red Wings has been the better team throughout Stanley Cup final series. It would have been nice to see a Game-7, regardless of the outcome then. Nonetheless, hockey is over... for now.

It ain't over til it's over!

The Pittsburgh Penguins won Game-5 of the Stanley Cup Final in triple overtime, and spoiled the party in Detroit. They still trail the series 2-3 though. It ain't over 'til it's over baby! Go Pens Go!!

vacation...

Caleb and I are in North Carolina visiting my sister and her family. We made a trek to the coast and spent some time at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and stopped in Savannah, Georgia for a quick look around as well "on our way" back home.

The weather is terrific and Caleb has been a trooper; facing each new site and sound with curiosity and little fuss. But we're missing Daddy/Karl! We'll be home on his birthday (June 9th). The rest of the trip will be pretty low key; the kids are still in schools so I have a feeling we may do lunch and/or show-and-tell...

More pics to come :) I have been getting a bit side-tracked by facebook lately and have been slacking on the blog.

Keener Living -- New Favourite Blog

I started to implement GTD for the third time. I had increasing success with the last two times I tried; but both times ended with me "falling off the wagon" for various reasons. This time, I am determined to make it work. I even bought a $600 PDA phone to make sure I have the right tool (that is, the right tool for me). While I was doing my research, I came across the blog at www.keenerliving.com and I am really liking it. This post, especially the last link about "just get started", is an example of what I like. Hope you like it too.

"Because I'm the Mom..."

Has it really been 3 weeks since I last posted? Seriously, February has just flown by. Oh... is it almost May? The snow had me confused.

Okay, here's a pictorial summary of the last month or so... click to enlarge.

• My Grandma Jacquie (Trent's mom) celebrated her 80th birthday on April 12th. I created a photo book (I have used quite a few programs/services and officially recommend Shutterfly) for her and used this picture on the cover; what a looker eh? She was about 16 here as I recall.
• Karl's delicious corn meal muffins
• our basement as a bit of a work in progress. it is pretty much finished now, with the last 20% taking 80% of the time... there's a principle in there somewhere... just a bit of trim and pantry shelving left... oh and the carpet on the stairs but we're delaying that for a bit. Any advice on berber vs. low pile, etc?
• A delicious salad we made with barbecued flank steak, feta cheese, red pepper, sugar peas, sprouts... mmm it was the perfect summery day for it too; hard to believe the weather that followed for a couple of weeks and wouldn't let up...
• Bit hard to see in this picture, but this was a martha stewart project of mine that involved splitting kinder eggs and using a melon baller to place a little scoop of mango ice cream in the middle. They were "bite sized" desserts for company for easter dinner. A big hit!
• A shot of our fireplace and entertainment "extension" because I don't really know how to decorate it. I sent some photos in to "Steven and Chris" and it's going to be on TV on Friday CBC at 2pm MT... Right around the time we're driving through Moosimin. More on that later...
• Said easter dinner company (Karl's family)
• Biggest Turkey breast ever; left over from said easter dinner. The Turkey was over 20 lbs... we had a lot of company, but we had a LOT of leftovers. mmmm, turkey soup.
• My friend's daughter Chloe, who got a kick out of getting Caleb to sit in her princess chair. She then pushed two chairs together, front to front, and created a "little bed" for him that he laid in. Too cute.
• King-Caleb-Kong; master of his universe. He has this "intellitainer" excersaucer thingy that he was seemingly trying to haul down that day. It has a little bell where his head is that he likes to ring... with his head...
  
• Caleb cheering for the Flames when they were still in the playoffs
• Please people, I beg you; do not shop at the Superstore (for food). This photo was taken February 19 (expiry date reads: January 29)... it was on the shelf. Don't get me started.
• Pre-kiln piece that I painted for Caleb's room to go with his nursery ("Malawi" theme)... turned out great although I wanted to do a light switch plate. They didn't have any... Next time!
• Karl & Me & Caleb at Jacquie's 80th
• Two pics of itty bitty Caleb... he's only 9 months old now but it's already hard to remember that he was that tiny.

A few updates: Thank you to my friends and family for sponsoring me for the Mother's Day Walk... I have exceeded my goal! I still have some coming in, including pledges that I don't know amounts for yet... but it looks like I will have over $1000.00! Thank you so much everyone (official thank yous coming in the mail...)!

And that's your mega-blog update... probably for another 3 weeks! We head out to Manitoba next week (are we crazy going on a road trip with a 9mos-old baby?) Then three weeks later, Caleb and I head to NC to see the Forsyths :) Have you ever tried to get a passport for a baby? Whew, whole other blog post.

Okay, one last thing... I just have to link this blog for any of you who have ever been stuck with any rendition of "Our God is and Awesome God" being lead by a worship leader who was stuck on repeat... or looking to get a kick out of any irreverent jab at most things Christian... If you have spent more than a few years in church in your lifetime, and probably even if you haven't... you'll relate: Stuff Christians Like

My First Mothers' Day

Caleb: 3 days old, special care nursery @ Foothills Medical Centre

Hello Blog Readers... Will you consider sponsoring me for the Sport Check Mother's Day Run & Walk? I am participating this year because the money raised is going towards a cause that is close to our hearts... The Calgary Health Trust special care units and nurseries.

You may recall a previous post about this back in February, well, the push is on! I am currently 17% of the way to my goal of raising $726.07 (goal amount inspired by Caleb's birthday).

Please check out my other blog for more details; thank you for considering supporting us!

Blessings,
Dayna & Caleb :)

mmmm; asparagus...

Here's the plot spoiler:And here's Caleb's first taste of asparagus (mixed with rice cereal):

BYOB...

My folks went to Vegas in August and brought this back for Caleb :)

new 'do...