Better late than never

I've been totally lax in my updates here and it's partly because I don't know if anyone actually visits the blog. The comments don't work (why, blogspot, why?) so it's gradually taken a backseat to the occasional Facebook updates. Oh well. I'm going to try and post here more often again, even if no one except Chris and Gram read it.

Augie will be TWO in two weeks!! So many changes so quickly these days. He's the laughing, running, playing light of our lives and it all just keeps getting more fun. Seeing the world through Augie's ceaseless wonder and desire for new things is one of the best parts of parenthood so far. Little adventures every day.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was busy and fun. We went to the neighbourhood fire station with plans to merely peek in the windows and check out the beloved fire trucks but lo and behold, there were five fire fighters literally jostling to let Augie see inside the truck, climb up inside, look inside the compartments with cool tools, and wear a mini firefighter's hat. I've always thought firefighters were great but I've been impressed by how eager they are to please kids, wave, open up their doors. Augie was awestruck.

After that we went to our fave Maplewood Farms and roamed around with the horses, sheep, goats and ducks. We weren't done yet, though. Next was our favourite neighbourhood parks for some digger, slide and swing time. August can now climb up and slide down all by himself! What a big boy.

Step stool

We bought August a step stool to help him reach the sinks and counters and he is loving it. One of his favourite things to do is play for a bit with the water in the sink, so I give him a few toys to "rinse" and "wash" and he does his thing.

Our Day at Iona

We drove out to the airport and the jetty, where you can walk a mile out to sea. It was windy and chilly so we stuck to the beach and trails. Augie loves being outdoors anywhere, anytime so he was thrilled to muck about in the sand, check out the bramble- and bird-filled trails and lay down on the grass every chance he got. Another highlight was the airplanes coming in very close to land. OooOOoh.

Visit to the farm

A medley of Augie-ness

I don't know how to use iMovie very well so I inadvertently melded four videos into one instead of what I intended, which was just to post the last one of Augie looking at the lambs at the farm. Some of the vids go sideways for a bit so hang in there...

Untitled a video by beebs on Flickr.

Our friend Amy sent us a link to a new childrens' bedding site called Little Auggie

We love the name, of course.

these boots were made for puddle splashing...

Untitled, a photo by beebs on Flickr.

Nana hand-painted these yellow rain boots with frogs and Augie's name. They keep his feet nice and dry and he loves them.

Spring!

"Here We Grow isn't growing", is what Gram said to me today. So true. It's been hard to find time for blogging these days, what with our walks and library trips and stick collecting, worm hunting and trips to the park. Augie is loving spring and wants to be outdoors every chance he gets. When he's not outside, he's drumming every surface, asking (by pointing enthusiastically to his paper and crayons) to sit in his highchair and draw pictures, and indulging his ongoing obsession with trucks.

We went on a hike last weekend to Lynn Canyon and Augie saw ducks and threw rocks in the water with Dada. LOVED it.

We were all pretty psyched when Uncle Adam & Auntie Beth visited last week. It rained every day but we got some outdoor play time and they helped chase Augie around Fort Langley. We ate out a few times and August was seriously amazing. He aced the whole 'toddler sitting and playing quietly for an hour while the adults talk' thing. Most 20-month-olds would be far more interested in running around/crawling under tables/tossing food across the room. Let's hope he keeps this up!

Augie's finally over the nasty cold he's had for a few weeks so he's finally breathing easy and sleeping through the night again. Poor kiddo.

Fun times with Gramma

Augie really loves his Uncle Adrian (aka Lindsey Buckingham), as you can see.

with a quack quack here and a quack quack there...

Sledding!

We went up to Cypress on Sunday to go sledding and weren't sure how well it would go over with August. Well, he LOVED it. I wish I'd gotten a better shot that captures just how much. We'll definitely go again this winter.

Sweeping is so last year

He still loves to give the floor a good sweep now and then but his favourite new thing these days is pretending to cook while I'm making meals. He'll reach for the spoons and pots until I set him up with his own chef's table. Funniest part is that he does it all with a very serious expression.

Toddlerama

It's been a while since I catalogued some of Gus' obsessions so I'll do that now for posterity. It's mostly for my own gratification--rapid passage of toddler time and all.

Here are a few current fave things:

-Bellybuttons! This involves sticking his finger in your belly button if he catches sight of it.

-Bronx cheer, blowing raspberries, zerberts: whatever you want to call them, August LOVES giving them.

-Wrestling

-Drumming

-Toothbrushes

-Dancing

-Puddle jumping

-Stick gathering

-Vacuums (Watching me vac, playing with unplugged vac, pretending to vacuum)

-Cats and saying "meow meow meow"

-Dada's guitar, listening to him play.

We've been lucky to get some breaks from the standard January deluge here in Vancouver so August and I have made the most of it with puddle stomping, swing testing, stick collecting, and general tearing around in parks. Can't wait for February, when the buds start to peek and the days lengthen just a little.

Diane Arbus self-portrait, 1945.

I can't recall if I posted this one before but it's from a year ago and it kills me! I found it as I was sifting through photo archives for something non-Augie related. Took me a lot longer to find what I was originally looking for...

Happy Holidays

August had so much fun during our Christmas visit to Nana and Papa's, despite all of us muddling through colds and other maladies. The whole family, near and far, gave Aug some awesome goodies that he was amazed to discover were his to take home. He's going through an extra-shy phase these days so he played coy with Nana and Papa (and Uncle Adrian) for a few minutes each day before letting loose again. We enjoyed the sunny, snowy days with plenty of cribbage, good music, rest and yummy food.

Ho ho ho

Bright Nights train ride! Augie loved every minute. Lots of "oooooh's".

Stanley Park's miniature train comes in. We found out that this is its last year in the park. Vancouver Parks Board cuts :(

Helping dada decorate the tree. Ooooooh.

Decided hats aren't so bad after all and wanted me to put this toque that Nana knitted on his head. He very earnestly "sweeps" the floor like this at least once a day.

In other news, the inevitable indoctrination has begun: when you ask him what Santa says, Augie laughs, "Ohh ho ho!"