A Mu-mu and the Boo Boo

Hoorah - Mimi's Mexico pics arrived today! I finally discovered the beauty of the crazy tie-dyed beach mu-mu whilst on this vacation - so light and comfy, and lots of room for cerveza bloat!

Me and my mu-mu and the boo boo at the beach

Viva le Mexico!

The Nielsens in Bucerias!

Team Nielsen, very hot and sweaty in PV

Uno mas cerveza, por favor!

What is it with me and cameras.....????
Our camera battery died on the first day, during the first hour so there aren't many pics to share right now (waiting for Mimi's shots).

View from the apartment....

Jasper's entire MX diet - milk and puffs.....

Three things I learned on this trip:
1. I really, really love guacamole
2. I really, really hate humidity
3. I actually like beer, as long as its served on a beach and with mucho limon

For the second time in 2007 Team Nielsen (plus Mimi and Papa C) travelled down south to the warm climes of Mexico. Final destination was Bucerias - a little town about 20K north of Puerto Vallarta and a most excellent location for a vacation...not a lot of tourists, authentic Mexican village living, a beautiful 2br apartment owned by family friends, really friendly locals (esp. when I spoke to them in butchered espanol), and an amazing stretch of beach with bathtub warm water. Bliss!

Congrats x 3 and a birthday

Congratulations to Ron and Monica for getting hitched on Saturday - it was a beautiful day despite the rainy weather!

Congrats to the Days for taking posession of their new house!

Congrats to the Vanderkuips for taking posession of their new house - and only 5 mins away from us! Hoorah!

Happy birthday to Auntie Alison!

Fun in the sun at Bongoloid Park!

We had a lovely afternoon today with the extended Day clan - cousin James and his wife Suzanne (and their baby-to-be), plus cousins Paige and Marley (and parents) met us for some yummy gelato and a little play at Bongoloid Park! (or for those not acquainted with the nickname - the playground at Commercial and Charles)

Jasper officially started walking on his own about 2 weeks ago...for some reason decided to choose IKEA of all places to start on his walking career but whatever works. As you can see he is still obsessed with wheels.....

Go Canada Go!

The last time Jasper was at a Canada Junior hockey game he was still 4 months in utero! I think he enjoyed the experience out of the womb much better - mmmmm...frosted malt!

Mmmmm...mini donuts!

So last year Jasper was only 3 months old and didn't really get the full experience of the PNE while tucked snuggly into his pram. This year, like last - was full of much sun and fun and calories (those damn mini donuts!) but Jasper actually was able to participate in some of the offerings - a little petting zoo, a few mini donuts, and his first 2 amusement rides! Note to self for future PNE trips - will definately make Dada be on ride duty, I was queasy just on the Merry-go-round!

Is it August Already?

Jasper - the only one smiling after a 2 hour wait at the US border

Yikes, its already mid-late August and again a solo post. We are having a minor crisis this month in that the digital camera has gone missing (I fear down one of the heating vents which is Jasper's new "game")..guess we'll find out when the furnace fires up in a few months time eh?

Team Nielsen just returned from 5 days on the O coast - Cannon Beach to be exact - which on the whole was a great time depsite the sketchy weather and Jasper's aversion to sand (!!!) and the $&*#&%)@*#% line-ups at the US border on the way down. Note for all future travel though - a seperate room for little boys is mandatory - Mum and Dad spent a cold evening on the porch and another huddled by the bathroom so Jasper would actually go to sleep.
Other trip highlights included...
- a world record number of steps from Jasper - 10-12!
- the worlds yummiest fish and chips (in Astoria, OR) - YUM!
- Jasper voluntarily eating - wait for it - BLACK OLIVES!
- family day at Seaside - more fish and chips, arcade games and a trip to the aquarium
- Taco Bell!!!!

Pics to be posted when we can figure out how to download from the video camera and/or actually find the digital camera.....

The month of July

Ok, I am really getting bad now - down to monthly updates (and I still blame facebook for this) but alas here is a little update from the month of July

First off, congrats to Dom and Elle - they were married during a lovely early morning ceremony at Queen E park, and depsite the CUPE strike, the show went on thanks to a kind-hearted manager - boo for unions!

Another big congrats to Papa C for reaching a huge life milestone which we are calling "man-o-pause" or "an extreme career makeover". Papa C is finally slowing down to enjoy some of the finer things in life like fishin and huntin and hangin with his grandsons.

Jasper finally got to meet some Scottish royalty when we took a trip to Kelowna to meet up with Princess Savannah Skye Roberts and her parents Ash and Dob at Shark and Ty's house. Despite it being a short visit, a fun time was had by all - the adults even got a baby free evenign to enjoy some Shakespeare under the stars at Summerhill winery - bliss!

The rest of the month has flown by and despite the fact that Jasper isn't quite walking on his own yet, he sure is giving it the ole college try - we finger walk 24x7 (no joke) and he is now doing 4-5 steps on his own. The rest of our time (when not walking) is spent in the water..any water..anywhere....any temperature...he sure didn't get that from me!

 

 
 

A final sale and a birthday!

We closed the sale on our old Kitchener House on the 10th - very bittersweet day for us, sad in that the house has so many good memories for us, but we are also happy that a lovely young family is moving in to enjoy it for years to come (and getting the money doesn't hurt either!).

Jasper and I went to Katelyn's first birthday at the Kerrisdale Play Palace on the weekend - I think perhaps I had more fun than he did (it was a tad overwhelming for him, but very cool). I was honored to be theonly non-family member invited to the soiree, it was very nice of the entire Parr/Cortese clan to invite us - what a great family!

OBHS Class of 2022?

Jasper and I had a fantastic time on the Island this past weekend. The highlight was seeing all my old gals (OBHS Grad 89) and their kids at Janet's Mum's house, and even better yet, the girls night out (dinner at Pag's followed by drinks at Milestone's on the patio) without the kids!

(Unfortunately cranky Jasper went home early and missed the photo op!)

I was treated to a lovely longbike ride on the Lochside Trail all the way out to Mattick's farm on friday, have been yearning to ride a bike lately so am very grateful I got out even though I have serious bum bruises!

Anyways, I came to fireworks in bed! Ok, you pervs, its nothing X rated like that, but Aaron and I were able to watch the Canada Day fireworks from our bed on Sunday night - what a treat!

Blog competition!

Ok, I just realized its been AGES since I posted to the blog and for that I place the blame squarely on Facebook, or Crackbook as I like to call it. In a mere week, I went from innocently signing up at the invite of a friend to obsessively scouring around looking for everyone and anyone I used to know.

I also realized that I have been a terrible mother and have barely taken any pics, and completely forgot to bring my camera to the Okanagan last week where Jasper and I spent a lovely 4 sunny and warm days visiting with Mimi, Papa C and MELK while Dada was partying, I mean golfing with his friends in Vernon. I also was lucky enough to have an afternoon free to go visit with Shark and Ty in K-town. Shark and I treated ourselves to a little pampering at the Europa Spa and Salon, and then to a lovely (albeit windy) dinner on the pier at the El Dorado.

We are off to the ISland for the long weekend where I will have a long awaited reunion with most of the Yahoos (Lynelle, Janet and Lisa) - should be good and I promise to brig my camera this time!

One

Jasper, yesterday you turned one year old, where has the time gone?
You love to climb up (and now down!) stairs.
You love cruisin around furniture and all over the house with your new walker.
You have a bit of a temper, and are not shy about vocalizing your displeasure about not getting your way!
You are starting to learn the word "No!"
You are getting your 9th and 10th teeth.
You love to explore and spend time outside.
You love to dance (and have your Dada's poor rhythm).
You are starting to get this whole eating thing (finally!)
You like cake!
You look at me with such love and adoration it makes my heart almost burst.
My handsome little blond haired blue eyed boy, you are the joy of our lives!

A Good Week

   

We sold the house! We sold the house! Big, big relief and now we move to the new casa in just over a week's time. Fun!

Happy belated bday (at least on the blog) to Greg/Uncle Greg who turned 37 on Thursday! We celebrated with the extended Day/Campbell/Graham clan out in Ladner on a sunny Saturday.

Happy early 1st birthday to our adorable nephew Everett! Hugs and kisses from JAC, sorry we won't be there to party with you!

11 month report card (by jasper)

 
I still do not like to eat very much, and I barf a lot, but I do like bananas, yogurt and milk!
I am very very fast at crawling, I am good at escaping from mum-mum!
I like to climb to the top of the stairs when mum-mum is not looking, but I fell down once and bumped my head - ouch!
I like to press the power button on mum-mum's computer when she is typing - hee hee.
I am now over 25 pounds - just try to lift me!
I like it when mum-mum and Dada help me walk, maybe soon I will do it on my own!
I like to say "Ka"(cat) and "Ba" (ball) and of course "mum-mum" and "dada".
My favorite book is "Where's the cat" - I read it at least ten times every day.
I sleep a little more now, even up to 7 hours in a row, maybe everyone will stop asking me if I am tired?
Soon I will turn 1 year old, I can't wait to have my first birthday cake - YUM!

Open House #2.....

Ok, so its still early to be panicking - its only been a week, and this is only our second open house, but I am sure any mother out there knows how %$&^#)#@* hard it is to keep your house clean for an hour, let alone an entire week/weeks/month or however long its going to take to sell this house. Arg. I think I have emotionally checked out of this house and am excited and ready to move so keep your fingers crossed for us for an offer soon!

Anyways, on a lighter note - Jasper is quickly approaching the 11 month mark. He is over 24 pounds and is such a little troublemaker! He is curious about everything, especially things he is not supposed to touch (hello breakables, cleaning products, alcohol, coffee, toilet paper etc). He has also recently discovered the joy of climbing the stiars, and now with the baby gate down, its the only exercise that I get!