well, after a week in the Great White North, we're home again. finally. let me just say that extended car rides (we're talking one 14 hour and one 12 hour) with a teething baby will actually take years off your life. i do not recommend it!! thank goodness he fell asleep during each ride, but when he was awake it was NOT pretty.
so, we set out on July 3rd to go "home" to Ontario for vacation and visit our family and friends. it was both restful and hectic, with a few memorable moments:
Memorable Moment #1 - crossing the border as U.S. residents for the first time... wow, what a strange feeling it was for me! about 10 hours later, we were at the cottage in northern Ontario.
Memorable Moment #2 - on the 4th, which was the day after our 6th anniversary, my parents told us that they were sending us into town for dinner to celebrate our anniversary, and that they would watch Josh so we could enjoy ourselves a bit more. We went to
Tall Trees , a great little restaurant full of character, with FABULOUS food. We took our time, and enjoyed every minute sitting in their screened in patio kind of room (which provided inspiration for how we want to decorate our dining room). (and we giggled over the idea that our waitress was nipping the good stuff on the side... every time she came back to our table she was just a little bit happier kwim?!)
Memorable Moment #3 - Josh had his first swim in a lake - good ol' Mary Lake, which is where i have happy memories from about the last 25 years. He is a little fish, so happy even in a cold lake!
Memorable Moment #4 - this is really 2 moments - Josh had a maternal great grandma and a paternal great grandpa on Brian's side who had never met him - it was really special to see them each holding him, and bittersweet knowing that it may be the last time we see either of them alive.
Memorable Moment #5 - my birthmom's mil asking us "So, how old was Joshua when you adopted him?"... as if she hadn't seen me as big as the Goodyear Blimp last October just before he was born!! it was both funny and sad, as it's becoming pretty obvious that she has Alzheimers. She just loved seeing Josh, and was so taken with his big toothy grin.
Memorable Moment #6 - seeing my birthfather hold Josh and give him his bottle - i know that the experience of having Josh around has been a healing one for both of my birthparents. He is the spitting image of me as a baby, and watching him grow up will be something special for both of them.
Memorable Moment #7 - Crossing the Canada/U.S. border on the way home, and realizing that, in fact, Canada is no longer home for us. Although we enjoyed visiting our family and friends, and although i'll always be a Canuck deep down inside, New York state is really truly home now. It was something i really hadn't realized because i have had a horrible case of homesickness until this vacation trip.
Memorable Moment #8 - realizing that all of Josh's misery was for one top tooth that finally cut to the surface on Monday somewhere around Syracuse on the trip home
Josh had his 9 month checkup today, and he's in the 95th percentile all round - 24.5 lbs and 30.5 inches long!!! My baby boy is not looking much like a baby anymore, as you can see from my NEW SIGNATURE PICTURE!! i am so proud of myself... i finally got PSP to turn out something i like!!
well, if you've gotten this far, bravo and thank you
we're baaack (vacation stories/update) (xpost)
Re: we're baaack (vacation stories/update) (xpost)
Glad to have you back with us!
