Work Hard, Play Hard!

Last week was a busy week! We stopped in at Hardy Oil to see Daddy hard at work. Jake managed to charm everyone in the office, especially the ladies:) Thanks so much for all the gifts - Jake will be wearing the cool threads in no time!





We also stopped in to see Protiviti and RHI - but I didn't have my camera, and Jake wasn't exactly on his best behaviour for those visits - but you can't win them all, right?


On to the weekend, and a much deserved brunch with friends and Uncle Mike... from here we carried on to pints of lager and pimms at the pub. Funny that infants are allowed in pubs you may think? Seems all too natural to us now - and we did manage to grab the last picnic table in the back garden to enjoy the beautiful weather, so we are not exposing Jake to smoke filled pubs, don't worry!


We left the pub to carry on to the train station - on the way, we passed this scene - a beautiful bride on her way to her big day! There is just something about weddings and brides that I love - I can feel the excitement and anticipation in the air! Rich definitely would not have let me get the pink car though...which I can kind of understand....




Then we were off to Elaina & Isaac's for a bbq - aussie style! Jake met some new friends and we enjoyed good food and good company!

Artsy photo - what do you think?

Playing with mum


Calia on her toes

I love mommy - of course!

Felix and Jake

Antenatal Gathering

(Or prenatal if you prefer)
Ok - so this is the group of women who share a common bond as we all had babies within a month of each other, and we attended a weekend antenatal class together. It is great to have this network if you need some advice, or someone to have a conversation with in the middle of the afternoon, when most of your friends are at work:) 2 of the woman actually have a further connection to us (the LBS connection - small world even here!)

We met on the top floor of Peter Jones (like the Bay in Canada) in their cafe, which apparently is the meeting place for all new mums (or expecting) in London. (At least 40 new mums up there - and babes!) I'm glad we were at the back as smack dab in the middle may have been overwhelming. (not for the babies, for me!)

I thought that everyone would like to see all the calm babies in the picture - except Jake! He was actually smiling a few minutes before this was taken - honest!! I think he wins the weight contest too:)

On our own...

....which is why the blog hasn't been updated for a few days....


Grandma Bev & Grandpa Gordon's visit went all too quickly, and they returned home on Monday. Jake loved getting to know them and will miss them dearly! His Grandma Bev had the magic touch when no one else's arms would do (not even his Mum!) and he already misses his Grandpa Gordon singing him Dr. Seuss!


Thanks again for all your help cooking, cleaning, running to the post office, sorting change, going for walks with us, changing nappies, and of course babysitting Jake for my first trip away from him. I left Jake for 5 hours last Friday when I went to get my hair cut. He was in excellent hands of course, and I only called twice to check in:)


Here are some of my fave pics of Gma & Gpa with Jake! He is laughing at his Grandpa in this first picture.

First steps...

Ok, so not his actual first steps, but his first steps into the English Channel with his Daddy...

Grandma Bev, Grandpa Gordon, Rich & I hired a car for the weekend and took Jake on his first road trip south of London through Canterbury and Dover. Here are some photos of the weekend - I really should have taken a picture of all the baby gear we took along for one little baby... we are really going to have to learn to cut down on the 'necessities'!


English Channel - Dover




Canterbury Cathedral -
The Cathedral's history goes back to 597AD! In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral and ever since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims, as told famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
We heard the choir rehearsing while we were inside - which really set the mood while strolling through the cathedral, taking in the unbelievable architecture and stain-glass windows.







White Cliffs of Dover...these chalk cliffs are really spectacular! You can actually walk up to the edge if you dare... this was Grandma Bev's favourite spot! Jake fell asleep on our walk to the cliffs:)

We also went on a tour of Dover castle which included a tour inside the cliffs in the secret wartime tunnels. In May 1940 these tunnels provided the nerve centre for Vice Admiral Ramsay to plan The Secret Wartime Tunnels Operation Dynamo – the evacuation of British and allied troops from the Dunkirk beaches of northern France. Over 300,000 were safely evacuated over 9 days!

Mini-Rico!

(See caption on Jake's t-shirt)


Thanks for another cool spanish outfit Auntie Jen! I think I'm more comfy without the jeans though...

Pram in the park

We had to off-road it a bit with the pram (stroller), but it was completely worth it today! Yet another sunny day in London, so we met up with friends in Green Park to take advantage, as this can't last...can it? I'm sure even writing about this will earn me at least a week of solid rain.


Jake is smiling back at us more and more, and even laughing out loud now. He was very happy with us when we removed some layers and found a shady spot for him to kick back and relax!

Birthday Boy!

On Easter Monday, we celebrated Jake's first birthday (1 month) with family and friends! I truly can't believe how fast month #1 flew by! On one hand it feels like we came home from the hospital yesterday, and on the other hand, I am having trouble remembering life without him. We are so lucky to have this wonderful little boy in our lives! Here are a few photos from throughout the day...



This one with Daddy is from Sunday - but I loved it, so it made the blog...



No birthday is complete without a birthday smooch:)



Playing with daddy...

Celebration time!!!



Relaxing with our friends in the park...he even put Renee's foot to sleep with this position...


After a big day, he needed to chill out with Gma & Gpa before bed - g'nite Jake!!

Jake's first picnic!

What a perfect start to the Easter weekend - a balmy 20 degrees on Good Friday! It was so sunny, Jake tried out his Daddy's cool shades:) (see below)

We spent the afternoon relaxing in a beautiful park called Hampstead Heath. Our picnic basket contained wine, cheese, bread, grapes, and grandma's homemade cookies for dessert! It was delicious!

Expert Reinforcements arrive!!

Grandma Bev & Grandpa Gordon have made the trek to London to help out the struggling new parents:) They arrived on Wednesday and Jake soon settled into a happy routine bouncing from one set of comfy arms to another:)






We decided Jake needed to get a view of London from above...so we took him down to Westminster for a ride on 'The Eye' - and even though he slept through most of it, Gma & Gpa certainly loved the views!