Thanksgiving 2009

The Cousins

Griffin and Ole Mor getting some cuddle time

The soon to be Cedar Ave Industrial Court - watch out Donald Trump!

Little Boys in Blue

Seems like not long ago I was sitting at the kids table for Thanksgving!

Griffin and LC hanging out

Jasper and his bud Amelia playing Ballerinas - hee!

Ok, so am I way late again with posting. Things have been really busy these past few weeks as I have been yet again a "contract" working woman of the world (full time mommy-hood excluded), as well as developing the "pro-bono" division of Fifth Gear Solutions. We recently launched V2 of www.mamamaven.ca, my lovely friend Tanis is really starting to gain momentum out there with her wonderful workshops and I am happy to be a part of her important little business. As well, I have been working on designing a website for Team Finn, and a website for our familial industrial venture that is under construction in Summerland currently - whemph! Go Fifth Gear go!

So, back to Thanksgiving. yet again we were able to do the double feed - once here in town at Greg and Al's and another up in Summerland. Yum! We also had the chance to visit the construction site for the Cedar Ave Industrial Court - Team Nielsen's first foray into commercial real estate development and hopefully not the last! Jasper and Griffin had so much fun playing with cousins, and Jasper even got to "sleep over" with Everett in Mimi's closet - so cute to hear all the giggles and fun (although not as much fun for Mimi who had to try to get them to sleep!).

Next post - Griffin's 1st Birthday! Sniff, my baby is going to be a big boy soon : (

Confessions of an iPhone Addict

Jasper and I went on a little adventure across the seabus downtown and at the shoe store I asked him to pick out a pair of shoes for mommy. These are the ones he picked and proceeded to try on for me - hoorah for fake-python stilletto booties!

Crusin with the walker at Mickey McDougall - we are getting braver every day!

Thanks Grandma for the new toque!

The only use for the easel these days - splash eachother with the water that collects after each rainfall

Proud Grandma!!

Griffin and his favorite pasttime - eating!!

Jasper "Finding Nemo" at Children's Hospital. Griffin's ENT has an amazing waiting room!

Griffin at BabyEats - loving being uber mobile these days.

Ok, so the entire month of September is gone and we are half way through October and I have grossly neglected my parental responsibility of blogging/bragging about my children and documenting their growth on film and blog. This, I blame on my new (ish) iPhone and my poor kids will look back on these past 6 weeks worth of iPhone only photos and say "Mommy, you were such a neeeeerrrrrrrdddddd and these photos are teeerrrrriiibbbblllleeee!!!".

Ah well, the fall trundles along and we are gearing up for Griffin's first birthday on the 28th. Jasper's fall line-up includes school (escuela) Mon and Wed, plus Gymnastics, plus Music, plus Karate (well, maybe not since the Sen-sei scares him and to be honest he scares me a little too). I started swimming with Griffin every Wed morning while Jasper is at school and he has taken to it like a fish to water. Jasper has pretty much officially given up the afternoon nap and now partakes in quiet time each afternoon, which has complicated my life since now I have to keep him busy 11 or his 12 wakeful hours - sigh.

NHL Draft 2024?!

What could be more Canadian than strappin on the (Lightning McQueen) skates early on a Saturday morning?! As soon as Jasper is able to stand on the ice without Aaron holding onto him for dear life we will beon our way to the NHL! No pressure of course....

PNE 2009

Jasper and Grandma going for a slide!

One more year til Griffin will get a ride in something other than the stroller!

Auntie Alison and LC visiting the goats

Jasper and tons of "Ming-Mings"

The Cousins

Ok, so I swore that I would never waste the money again to attend the PNE when you can simply go to Playland for a third the cost and a third the chaos and crowds. But, it was simply too tempting to join cousins Marley, Paige and LC and Grandma for a sunny day of fun and kiddie rides and those little donuts - yum.

10 Months!

This month was a big "girth" month for Griffin - I think his thigh circumference has at least doubled and it feels like so has his weight! Maybe this explains the voracious appetite? A few more teeth have made an appearance making a grand total of 10 and counting. The cruising is picking up speed and he is standing on his own for a brief second until he realizes what is happening. Happy bday my little boy!

Farewell Team Scotland

A lovely last day with Team Scotland. Picnic on the beach and muy bien dinner chez Aleman. Alas we will miss the clan so much. Until we meet in the Bridge in 2010!

Leslie the dog made with Love by Auntie Caldero

Auntie Feathers and the Griff - a lovely pair! (and no, I didn't post the semi-porn kiss shots!)

Its Brangelina! No wait its Feathers trying to keep control of the kids!

Table for cuatro

Toast to the Sunshine Coast!

Savage and The Griff chatting on the ferry

Team Scotland pre-dinner and post many glasses of vino!

MegaDob flexing his muscles

Griff still smiling despite post kiss from Sage!

Griffin and I just got back from a lovely trip to the Sunshine Coast to visit with our good friends Shark/Ty and Team Scotland. It was our first visit to Shark and Ty's new palace on the water and we weren't disappointed! Griffin in fact liked it so much he decided that he didn't really want to sleep at all lest he miss some of the fun at 11pm, 12am, 1am etc etc... Sigh.

Anyways, was nice to be treated to fresh crab and prawns (all 6 of them - damn poachers!) and of course lots and lots of alcohol, chocolate and good laughs. Since Aaron and Jasper had the camera up in the Okanagan, all I have are some semi-crappy photos taken from my iPhone.

Updated Casa Nielsen

Jasper in his work gear "helping" dad

We finally had the landscapers come in to finish up the backyard which has been a complete disaster zone for a few months now. A little new sod, some prickly woodchips around the play area and some new bomb-proof plants and we are good to go. Too bad summer is nearly over.....

Mommy and Daddy - The Portraits

Thanks to our budding photographer Jasper!

Nine Months!

Griffin! You are 9 months!
You have your 5th, 6th, and sort of 7th and 8th teeth.
You say Mama and Dada like you actually mean it.
You continue to LOVE food and are willing to try just about anything.
You got your first ear infection : (
After months of sleep training you are back to sleeping horribly, but are too cute when you call out "Mama" in the middle of the night to ignore.
You are a super star swimmer.
You are bring put in your little place by big brother, but rarely cry about it.
You sort of clap and sort of wave bye-bye, both being more like a pat on your leg : )
We love you!

A Little Trip to the Beach

Flying Kites on Cannon Beach

Sandcastle building was popular until the kite was ready!

G-man looking fly in his new hat at Manzanita

Manzanita

Riding the Bumper Cars at Seaside

Papa C and Jasper on the Boardwalk (there was a wedding in progress on the beach behind us at the time!)

Mimi, Papa C and Jasper chillin on the beach

The Nielsen Boys Arrive at Cannon Beach!

After that most annoying heat wave (thanks global warming) it was very timely that we planned a jaunt to the Oregon Coast last week. In fact, not 2 hours after we began our trek south we entered a large fog bank on the I5 and the temp dropped about 10 degrees to a brisk 16 celsius - refreshing! In fact, the temperature did not rise that much for the rest of the trip but that was more than ok with all of us.

This was our 3rd time to Cannon Beach and the first time as a family of 4. We made a stop in Ocean Shores yet again on the way down where we were welcomed again by 16 degree weather with an added wind from the water - not much of an anything town if you can't spend time at the beach, but it was a decent place to rest our weary heads for the night.

Cannon Beach continues to amaze me every year. The beach itself is glorious with beautiful powdery sand and miles and miles of walking (and sand dunes, and wildlife etc etc). We also made the requisite half day stop in Seaside so Jasper could visit the aquarium again and this time we also headed farther south to Manzanita - a charming little seaside village with a stunning beach and super earthy low key vibe - very very chill. I would have liked a few more days of relaxing and beaching but its aways hard to know how much is a good thing til you leave. Counting the days til 2010's trip already......