Sigh

I used to be able to count on 20 minutes of uninterrupted "house cleaning" time. I would set Nate up with his paints, on a dish, a brush, some paper, and he would create art. Some of it is really quite well done. (As David will tell you, our son is a genius.)

So last Saturday, I set out to do the same. And I came back to this.

I'm not even going to mention that David was sitting in an armchair about 2 meters away and didn't even notice. I'm not going to mention it because David was nice enough (once he stopped howling with laughter) to bathe Nate. In the bathroom I'd just cleaned.

<> Kids.

Vehicular Ventures

On Mother's Day, we bought Nate a trike. You would think this would be a fairly easy task, but we actually had to go to three stores before finding one that wasn't a Dora tricycle. For those non parents out there, be happy that you don't know who Dora the Explorer is. In any case, at Canadian Tire we found a suitably boy style trike. We opted for the wide wheel version.

Because it was Mother's Day, we also bought Nate a helmet for the trike. I think David thinks I'm crazy, but we may as well get him used to healthy head habits now, rather than later.

Given Nate's current obsession with being outdoors, he wants to ride his trike or his "Flintstone style" car every day after daycare. Although we have sidewalks in our neighbourhood, they slope towards the road, meaning that two year old drivers with inevitably drift off the curb. It makes learning to ride hard, but I have no doubt Nate will conquer the sidewalk yet. We also might take the trike to the park where the tarmac is a little more even.

Here are some photos of Nathan enjoying the afternoon rides. (Note that there is no helmet in these photos... that is not my doing.)

The Vehicle



The sidewalk is slanted, so dad chose the road.



Helping Hand



Walking's easier



Distracted by ants



Dad taught me how to get on the trike.







Getting started



Slow this puppy down!



Okay, screw being green... let's go for the gas.

Introducing...

Baby Gratton, age: 20 weeks. Healthy, normal, right on target. And we're thrilled!

Below are the ultrasounds. I went in pulling (slightly) for a boy. Purely for practical reasons you understand. I have the clothes; I have the toys; I have a dry run under my belt.

So we waited with bated breath. I asked David right before going into the room (moms have to go in alone first... don't know why, but it's policy) if he had any intuition. We both felt it would be a girl.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It's a boy. I knew David secretly wanted a girl, so I felt a little sorry for him.

And now I am thinking, hmmm, maybe I want a girl. No rational reason. David just shook his head and said, "And that's why there's no pleasing women."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jenny helped me photoshop the ultrasound pics. Unfortunately, some of the detail gets lost in the scan and the resolution. Still, you can see the baby in profile (head to the right, tummy to the bottom, legs to the left) and then the bottom of his feet in the second.

Edmonton Ad/Ventures

We ventured to Edmonton at the beginning of May for a Moodle Moot conference. Don't know what a moot is? Don't worry. Suffice it to say that David and I (and Ronn from Donat Group) attended a three day conference in Edmonton. Given that Nicole (David's sister) lives in Edmonton, and Ron and Claudia could drive up from Calgary, we deposited Nate with the relatives and enjoyed ourselves at the conference. Fortunately it was an excellent conference with lots of activities to keep us hopping.

Nathan, on the other hand, had to suffer through amusing four adults dedicated to answering his every whim, home-cooked meals (including Grandma's famous cookies), trips to the farmer's market and the toystore. He confided in me that it was quite a chore. I thanked him for being so gracious about the whole trip and promised that we would not make him suffer like that again in the near future.

Here are some photos, courtesy of Grandma Claudia, of Nate's escapades. If I get adventurous enough, I will see how well I can figure out embedding video in blogger.

Mandy

Bowling. Don't ask about the lime green space suit.



Nate teaches everyone the finer rules to bowling.



Later, Nate teaches Auntie Nic how to read.



Sharing a laugh over beers with Uncle Matt. Hmmm... Nate did learn the word "Beer" on this trip. How did that happen I wonder?



Bubble gun -- definitely the hit of the weekend.



Bubbles everywhere.



A new meaning to the expression "bubble bath"



Okay. My work here is done. Later folks.