Feeling grateful...

...for the man I am so happy to call my husband and father of my child. I still remember the first real face-to-face talk we had after I learned I was pregnant. P was adamant that he did not want children. But he accepted my decision as soon as I made it, and I think it's safe to say that he hasn't regretted a single moment since. I feel blessed to have a partner so open to change, and so willing to learn new things about himself. It has been a joy to watch him grow as a father, and I am so curious to see how baby #2 will change the whole dynamic!

It has also been wonderful to see my own father with Aedan. I had no idea he'd throw himself so whole-heartedly into grandfather-hood. Aedan and I are both so lucky to have these men in our lives!

I love you both so much, happy father's day!

Twenty-one months

June 13th marked 21 months of little Aedan living on this earth. I can't believe how fast the time has gone! Just what is he up to these days?

He's started to put two words together. "Heavy" is his current preferred descriptor: heavy rock, heavy stick, heavy truck, heavy bus, heavy poop(!), heavy bottle. He's also started experimenting with "hot": hot coffee, hot tea, hot sun. I think "sun" and "sunshine" are my new favourite words in his vocabulary! He makes himself understood so well...to Mama and Daddy, at least. He now points to my belly and says: "baby!", but I'm not convinced he doesn't just think that's the word for belly.

Over the past week or so, Aedan has become enamored of the "wee-wee" (television). We don't have cable or satellite, but we do have a few dvd's. He loves "Mo-nee" (Nemo) and we've watched it I don't know how many times. I'm conflicted about this. I want to limit his screen time; I don't want him zoning out in front of the television all day. And he asks for it all.the.time. To the exclusion of the books he so loved up until now. However, I tell myself that we have control over what he sees. He isn't taking in any advertisements, no violence beyond what is normal in nature. I tell myself this is a little phase he's going through. Sometimes, I can distract him with a book or blocks or going outside. But often, "Mo-nee" is all he wants. Sigh. It doesn't feel worth an argument.

It's not all movies, though! He does really love to go outside, but the sun is so intense at midday, so we usually try to get out early in the morning and again before dinner. We walk in the woods, where he picks up every stick and rock, gives it the once-over, and throws it into the trees. He loves throwing rocks, and we have to make sure he's throwing them away from people and dogs. It's impossible to reason with a toddler, so for now we mostly let him do what he will, so long as he's not causing any harm. He also likes to go down to the "gar-wah" (garden) to see what's new each day.

We've settled into a nice summertime rhythm. Aedan still naps once in the late morning, and is usually down for the night by 8:30. He still nurses to sleep and upon waking, and occasionally throughout the day for comfort. As ever, he is a delight to share my days with, and I learn so much from him!

A little bit of everything

I've been away from this space for what feels like a long time. That's because I've been enjoying every minute of sunshine and warmth we've had since we shook off the last of winter's snow. And being this close to the summer solstice in the North, that's a lot of minutes of sunshine!

Since the river broke on May 15th, we've had some very high waters. Our friends in the Rock Creek community have all had to evacuate their homes as the waters rose into their yards and swirled around their houses. Along the roadsides, many of the ditches ran high with water; in some places, it came level with the highway. Even in town, people talked of the possibility of flood (though it was just talk). The ferry landing was underwater, the walking paths by the river were all washed out. Huge trees can still be seen sweeping along in the currents: it is a dangerous time to be on the river. Most of the snow seems to have melted off the hillsides, though, and the water levels have dropped off significantly.

The leaves have all popped, and the wildflowers are budding and blooming. Purple spikes of lupine flash among the green and along the roadsides. The Jacob's ladder has just begun to open its little purple-blue flowers, and the bearberry is hung with tiny, pink bell shaped fairy-flowers. The labrador tea looks to flower soon, as do the bluebells. Our little hillside in front of the house will be covered in fireweed again this year, too!

We've been passing our time outside, trying to clean up the yard bit by bit, raking and burning brush. The area we cleared for the garden last fall is a mess of rocks and chewed up trees, it is incredibly overwhelming but I've been managing it by cleaning it up in sections. I hope to put in another 4 raised beds soon, and plant them with a green manure crop of red clover. It's hard to get much done with a toddler, though! He needs to be watched carefully with the dogs, as his gentle pats can often quickly turn to grabbing handfuls of hair and jowl and yanking with all his strength! I often spend a good part of the day just wandering around the property behind Aedan, helping him jump over logs, watching him explore the world. No complaints there!

I've been taking him to the pool regularly, too, and I'm happy to report that he's loving the water this year. The other day P and I were there together with him, and we got him to put his face in the water and blow some bubbles! Shortly after that, he lost his footing and dunked right under. He was on the verge of losing it, but we acted like it was no big deal and he decided it must not have been.

Sunday we're heading to Whitehorse for another midwife appointment. I'm finally showing a respectable baby-belly, and the little one is making their presence well known with kicks and pokes!

The other little one is waking from his nap...I'll try to post some photos later.