Question for all bloggers

Hopefully there is a simple solution. Whenever I comment on someone's blog it automatically saves as LouiseandGary. This is fine. However, if someone clicks on this, they do not go to our blogspot. I'm nervous about messing around with templates etc. as I don't want to erase our blog by accident. Please help if you can!

My Dad

Please check out the link on the side of my blog, `My Dad's Adventure', if you wish to see the progress on his month long seadoo trip from Vancouver to Alaska and back!

This is a picture of my dad with Kai and Annika back in December so that you can picture him while you read it.

Lindeman Lake

Gary and I attended the FVC grad last night and again, it was great to see so many wonderful grads. It's always hard to believe that the kids I taught in grade 9 and 11 are all graduating. I remember the grad of my first year teaching, I almost cried because I thought I would miss the grade 12's so much! I didn't get to talk to as many people as I would've liked but it was good to see so many people. Because it was a long evening out (3-10pm), Kai stayed at gramma's house. We decided that because they live 30 minutes away, that Kai would spend the night. He did really well, although, he did wake up (and stay up) at 5am for gramma...oops!

Gary and I decided that it would be really nice to go for a short hike this morning before we picked up our little monkey. We went out to Chilliwack Lake and did the Lindeman/Greendrop Lake hike. We just went to the first lake (Lindeman), and it was fabulous! We got up at 7am and were out of the house by 7:05am. The hike was supposed to take 3 hours but just took 1 1/2 hours. Not sure if I've been scenery deprived lately but it seemed so beautiful to me. Gary and I are both biologists and not botanists in any way, but boy, did we love all the lichen, fungi, and moss. I have never seen so many varieties in such a short hike, a few are below (I may have named them incorrectly but this is what they may be):

`Devil's Matchstick' lichen?


`Tar Jelly' lichen?

I could not believe the concentration of sporangium in this patch of moss.

Walking across a fun bridge. The hike was pretty much 10 minutes easy walking and then 30 minutes that were somewhat steep. I would def. like to do this one again and go to the next lake when we have more time. It's just fun to go somewhere that you have never been. Gary spent a large portion of his childhood in Chilliwack and he had never been out there, so it was good for both of us to head on out there. On the way home, Gary showed me his childhood home and schools as we took the back roads `short cut' back to the highway.

What a beautiful way to start the day! When we went to gramma's (Gary's mom) to get Kai, I wasn't sure if he would be excited to see me or not, and he wasn't!!!! It could be that he was tired? Just wanted to keep playing? Either way, it was a strange feeling. He would be okay without us, this is comforting yet also somewhat sad. Overall, it was very, very nice for Gary and I to go hiking just the two of us. We could concentrate on our surroundings, talk about a lot of things besides Kai, and we could go on our own schedule and speed. I felt like we were dating again or something:) I hope we are able to do at least one hike a week this summer.

Finally, I have been very suprised about all the people I have run into that say they read our blog. Wow. It's so strange because when I talk to one of these people, they already know exactly what's going on in our lives. Thank you for reading and caring about what goes on in our ordinary lives!

Daddy Dressed Me!

`Looks like I'm ready to run the 100m race in the Olympics due to my spandex outfit! Daddy dressed me for our fun day of hanging out together again!' I think this outfit is meant for the pool/beach but maybe it is also meant for some speedy walking around the furniture?!

Kai loves books. He has just mastered using his two thumbs to open to a particular page. It takes a lot of skill if you ask me (I know, something we don't ever think about)!

One of his favourite books is a book on opposites with DOGGIES (uhgi he says) on every page. He loves to just sit in my lap and listen to stories, although, sometimes he wants to turn the pages which aren't always in order and he will usually take us back to the beginning again. I hope he will continue to love books forever!

Power Out=Marriage Booster

Yup, if there's going to be a power outage in the lower mainland, it will def. hit our house. On Sunday night, Gary and I sat in front on the fireplace and talked. Usually if I ask him some questions about his childhood or something, he will give me ridiculous answers, but this time, only half the answers were ridiculous so that was nice! We found out some things about each other, for example, Gary doesn't like cantaloupe. I thought Gary would eat anything but his top 5 worst foods are: olives (also in my 5 worst foods), cucumber, pickles, cantaloupe, and watermelon. We also talked about what our current selves would tell our 15 year old selves if we had the chance (I thought that was a pretty good question) and we also talked about our childhood memories of birthday parties, childhood chores etc.

Something exciting is that before the power outage, we purchased plane tickets to MEXICO!!! We will be going in December with a group of friends so we'll see how Kai does on a plane! We got a pretty good deal on seats and after paying for it, I realized it was pretty much the same as a couple visits to the dentist (for Gary...Mr. Root Canal-Crown-Filling King). This is def. going to be a much better way to spend the money than going to the dentist!!! Gary and I have never flown anywhere together as we drove to Alaska for our honeymoon (he had gone to Bolivia the year before and I had just gotten back from Kenya so we were okay without doing the overseas travel on our honeymoon!).

Kai loves running his hands through daddy's hair, it always elicits a giggle or two. The other day, Kai and I took turns making high pitched squeals and then we were both giggling like crazy in between, it was very cute.

Talking about `little guy', Kai is now seen as small! Whenever we go to the park (well, every day), we run into other kids that are his age and they all are much bigger! Maybe Cloverdale just has big babies? For the first 6 months of his life, he was a giant and now, he's kinda small?! People say, `Oh, he's a little guy!' What?! My Kai is little? There's nothing wrong with that, but it just seems strange as he was always the Super Size baby. Gary was jokingly (but maybe a little seriously) worried that I would bring all the short genes into the marriage and not give our kids a chance at some good basketball dunking skills so we'll have to see how Kai grows. Also, not all of Gary's family is super tall so he could be carrying that short gene too!.

Kai and daddy at the window to wave bye to mommy who was going to work today! I was home by 12:30pm and it was so great to come home to the two of them. Finally, Kai has taken about 3 steps in a row (by himself) when walking from daddy to mommy. It is so cute seeing his little body moving like that! Also, instead of just taking things apart, he has started to put things into bigger containers, secret compartments etc. which is fun to see. He has also started making new sounds like ug (I think for dog?) and ah and uh to add to his mama dada repitoire.

Have a great day in the sun!

144?!

Kai waving (looks a little star trekish) and wearing his new outfit from gramma, thanks Gramma! Hopefully the sun comes out so it makes sense to wear shorts right now!

Okay, I'm kinda nervous to ask (because I dont' know if anyone will respond), but I just feel like I'd like to know who reads our blog! Apparently, 144 people checked out our blog yesterday. Do I even know that many people?! I would really appreciate it if you left a comment (and name) so I know who checks out our blog...don't be embarrassed, I read a lot of blogs too and sometimes of people that I don't even know. I'm expecting 144 comments:)

Enjoy not having to water your lawns and gardens this weekend!

Golfing

Went with my dad to a tournament today. It was nice to hang out and there was good food (and prizes!!!) afterwards, but boy, golfing is not my thing! It's not because I'm terrible, because I don't think I'm the worst, but I just don't get excited about it like some people. I haven't been in 2 years and I think it's okay if I don't go for another 2 years. It just seems like every hole is the same, each drive and putt is the same...maybe I should do some mini golf, at least then the scenery changes a bit? I did win a $25.00 gift certificate to Safeway so that's awesome. I do have to say that I was impressed with my dad's putting, although, I realized towards the end that the 2 guys would just watch our putts (me and another girl) and then they could see which way the ball was rolling and then adjust accordingly. So ya, if I ever get the urge to golf again anytime soon, remind me, it's not my favourite thing! Off to Gary's softball game now....

Facebook

(picture from earlier this week in case you don't like to read posts)

Don't have too much to say about facebook, but just a few comments:

1. Facebook is better/faster at uploading pics than blogger
2. Facebook is amazing at connecting with many, many people
3. Do we want to connect with many, many people? I really appreciate Gary's perspective on it. He refuses to join. Why? He feels that if he doesn't even invest enough time and energy into the friendships that matter most to him, why would he `waste' time/energy trying to make new friendships or try to be connected to even more people.
4. Is facebook trying to give people a sense of belonging?
5. I went out for dinner last night with a couple of friends that I re-connected with. I could've found them through other means, but it was very, very convenient. By the way, it was really great to catch up and reflect on the past few years.
6. I don't think I spend too much time on facebook, so that's good. Maybe 15 minutes a day...I'll just check if there are new uploaded pics and see if there are any comments or birthdays, and then I'm good.
7. Blogging is better!!! If you want to stay caught up with people who live far and wide (or just down the street), it is such great insight into their day to day and I have really grown to appreciate and love it.

Finally, not anything to do with facebook, but...I'm starting to work next week. I'll be a support worker in a preschool for 5 weeks. When you are on maternity leave, you can only make a certain amount and this worked out perfectly! So, 3 days a week, in the morning, I'll be out working. Gary and Kai will get some good bonding time in and hopefully we'll utilize our long weekends to do fun stuff!!!

Phone call

This is how life has changed:

Me (called home from the cell phone and before I could say hi...)

Gary (speaking of Kai): He's in bed. He wasn't fussy. He pooped once. He ate shepherd's pie and banana for dinner.

Me: What time did he go to sleep?

Gary: 7:30.

Me: Well, that's actually not while I called. I wanted to ask you...um, I mean tell you I love you?

Gary: NO you didn't, what do you want?

Me: Um, is `So you think you can dance' on yet?

Gary: No

Me: Okay, see you in half an hour.



What has happened to our conversations? Ahhhhh!!!! Don't worry, we really do have good conversations but we have to watch ourselves that we don't talk too much about Kai or tv:)

I think that there should be pre-baby classes. I mean, I know there are prenatal classes that talk about pregnancy and labour and delivery but what about the first year of life?! I really learned a lot about Gary in our premarital classes and would recommend it to everyone. You know, people warn you about planning a wedding and not planning your lives together BUT what about a baby?! There should be courses for everyone and people should talk truthfully about what it's all about. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving it but WOW, total life adjustment. I'm not the Louise who can do whatever SHE wants, I'm the Louise who can do what she wants as long as it works for Kai's eating/sleeping/pooping/drinking/temp level/noise level and as long as it doesn't cost too much money AND as long as Gary has biked so I have the car:)

I wish someone had interviewed me before having Kai. I wish they asked me, `What do you think your day will look like?' `Will you and Gary get out together? If so, who will watch Kai?' `When do you think you will sleep 8 hours straight?' `What do you think a baby's schedule is like?' `Do you think you will talk about Kai's b.m's every day with Gary in regards to frequency and consistency?' (so gross i know but you gotta watch out for these things). Honestly, I had no idea what I thought about a newborn. I thought about what kind of mom I wanted to be to a 5 year old, but to a baby?! Didn't think about it much. I wish I could look back and laugh about what I thought.

On a completely different note, well, it does have to do with babies so maybe not a completely different note...one of the coolest books I've ever read is called `Taking Charge of Your Fertility'. It was recommended by a friend and I have recommended it to many others since then. It discusses natural family planning and how to get, or not get, pregnant. I just found it very educational to learn more about what's going on in the female body at different times. I'm not saying this method is for everyone but def. an interesting, and easy, read. Although I have a biology background and knew the basics such as the anatomy and the endocrine (hormonal) system, there is so much more!

I want to write about facebook but will do so on a different post. Bon nuit! La la salama!

Sleep in

Kai `reading' to his doggy

All I have to say is that one hour makes such a difference. For the past 2 days, Gary has gotten up with Kai at 6:30 (Kai had been up since 5:30am) and fed him, changed him etc. so that I could sleep til 7:30. Kai has been a bit of a pain in the butt this past week as that top tooth has just broken through. He is also so ready to run but still needs to hold someone's hand and it gets very tiring being bent over all day long (okay, I don't do it all day long, but you know what I mean). I still think he's a fabulous boy but I will be SO excited when Gary is home for 2 months and I can run out of the house whenever I want!!! Oh ya, the new park 3 blocks from our house is complete. There really isn't that much to do, especially since there is just one baby swing and we live in a neighbourhood of 10 million babies. It's funny as yesterday I was one block away and saw 2 other strollers approaching the park, I def. sped up by tried to act casual...let's just say Kai got to use the swing first:)

On our way to the park:)