Whistler

Here we are standing on the deck of our timeshare up in Whistler. It was not our first time in Whistler - but it was our first time using our timeshare and also our first time with kids! We really liked our condo which opened up in back to some beautiful fall colors. Many times I enjoyed watching the leaves fall like snow outside the sliding doors. The rooftop above and below our window were metal which lent itself to some beautiful music whenever it rained. We discovered this our first night. It's always hard to sleep in a new place, so whenever I would wake up I could listen to the soothing sound of rain on a metal roof. Ahhhhhhh...

Our condo is right in the village. It's just off of Village Gate Blvd, which goes right down the center of the village. We could walk a block east and be right on the "Village Stroll" with all the shops to browse and which led to the various lifts and gondolas you can take to the tops of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. Unfortunately, the gondola wasn't running. We would've liked to go up there.

Monday was our only full day in Whistler. Since it was rainy that day, I was very excited to visit the sports centre that had a very cool toddler pool. It was advertised to have a flowing river current, sprinkling bears, and a vortex! Plus it was open from 6 a.m. according to the web site. We got there at 8:00 only to find out that the kid pool didn't open until 9. They were kind enough to let us use the pool anyway. However, they didn't have the river, bears, or the vortex running, so that was disappointing. Then at 10:00 they told us we had to get out because they had swimming lessons. I couldn't believe it. There were only two kids and two instructors in the water. We wouldn't be able to come back until 1 pm. I was pretty disgusted by this. Anyway, we got out, got dressed, and ate the lunch I had packed over by the indoor skating rink where a bunch of guys (and one gal) were playing a game of hockey...

Kaylee loved these benches. Simple entertianment!

Hudson stole my grapes!

Back in our condo, Jeff got busy building a stellar Marbleworks contraption. We just got a bunch more pieces that we won on ebay. Now we can make them bigger and better! I think we have more fun with this toy than Kaylee does!
Back out on the town...we just love the cobblestone walkways, the rocks on the buildings, the planters...

Kaylee is kind of a scardey-cat. Here you can see she didn't want to look through the hole so I could take her picture...

And she wasn't too sure about this cow...

This is a very pretty area of the village stroll. There is a man made river that flows along here - with lots of little areas that have such charm. I love the yellow of these trees, so I had to snap a picture.

The day we left was so gorgeous. Sunny and cool, another perfect fall day! We wished we could have just one more night in Whistler so we could fully enjoy this gorgeous day!

Here are some of the views:

This picture is a little dark, but you can see a mound of dirt in the foreground. We wonder just what will be going up there. There is so much construction going on. On the roads and in the village - all to get ready for the 2010 Olympics! They are widening Hwy 99, which is currently a two lane highway, up to four lanes. There are countless new condos being built as well as new businesses all over the place.

Here's a view of Whistler mountain. The snow level is about halfway down the hill.

On our walk back to our car, I saw a gorgeous maple with brilliant orange leaves. I was so struck by this tree, I confess I stole a leaf from it as a momento. I mean, it's Canada - you have to have a maple leaf, right? So here I am acting like a big dork holding up my maple leaf!

We left on the 21st which is our usual date night. (First date was the 21st, we were engaged on the 21st, married...) We knew we wouldn't have time for a real date, so we stopped for Wendy's on the way home. I actually thought it was a great date, we had fun!

Kaylee looks so cute going for these fries.

I just love that little smile!

Updates

Kaylee has been growing so much lately - physically and personality-wise. She is a great big sister. She likes to hold Hudson and read him stories:

It's been really fun to watch her with other kids. Matthew is the first friend that she'll run off and play with without any moms needing to participate. They play together very well and seem to know what the other is saying - even when we can't. I find that extremely fascinating!

Poor Hudson. I had to snap a picture after wrapping him up in Kaylee's flower towel. I hope someday he'll forgive me.

Hudson has had longer wake times lately, so it's been fun to interact with him more and discover bits and peices about him. Mostly he's a very happy, contented kid. It seems like he's a real people person. He quiets right up when someone picks him up or comes to talk to him, making eye contact. He is quick to smile and has even started to coo and laugh. Just now he is laying beside me and stomping his little feet out of sheer excitement - I love how he does that, it's so cute! He gave a big "inhale laugh" and said "coo-goo!". Ah, be still my heart!

At his two month checkup he was weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces. A week and a half before he was 14 pounds, 6 ounces. That might give you an idea of just how fast he's growing! He's in the 95th percentile for weight and he's in 3-6 months clothing already!

He started sleeping through the night consistently this week - for the record I believe he is 10 weeks old. YEAH!!!!! The next challenge now is to get him to bed sooner. As it is, I can't get him down for the night until 10 or 11 o'clock. I'm not going to complain though... it's so nice to get uninterrupted sleep!

When Kaylee paints, she always ends up with a very colorful paint tray. I think they are beautiful works of art in themselves and will have to start collecting them! I just thought this was a neat picture.

Oh, another thing I forgot to mention about Kaylee. I've been really impressed with the way she notices letters when we're out and about. She seems able to recognize both capital and lower case letters and more often these days. I don't write this to brag, but just so I remember and can later compare with Hudson.

Up next - our trip to Whistler, B.C.

Fun Stuff!

I've finally allowed Kaylee to hold her baby brother and she just loves it! Now whenever she wants to hold him (which is almost always), she says "up-up Husson?" I can't say Hudson likes it very much however. He almost always has a concerned look on his face. I have to stay close of course because when he begins to fuss or something else distracts Kaylee, she puts her hands on his back and gives him a good shove. Who knows where he'd end up if I weren't there to catch him!

It is far too easy for me to rely on the "electronic babysitter" to entertain Kaylee while I nurse Hudson, clean, make dinner, or just to fill up some time in the day. I've been trying to keep the TV off lately so I'm looking for quick and easy fun things for her to do when I need to get other things done.

One idea I had is a tub full of oatmeal with various bowls, spoons and gadgets:

Kaylee can stay occupied with this activity for quite a while. Of course you have to be willing to buy some oatmeal that you'll never eat, and also not mind having to clean up afterwards. But it cleans up well and I think it's good for their little brains to scoop and pour, stir and dump.

Another quick and easy idea is plain old cups. You can use paper cups, but I have a gazillion plastic cups of many different colors. I just take them out and plop them on the coffee table. Kaylee can sort them by color and stack them in various ways. Then if you're really brave, you can add the secret ingredient that makes anything fun - water! I fill one cup about half full and she pours it from cup to cup. She also likes to dunk her superball into the water and swish it around. Again, you have to be willing to let things get a little wet. I figure it's just water. It won't stain and it'll dry.

Today we made a fun craft project at our weekly art class. I just had to write about it. Kaylee wasn't feeling very expressive today, so I got to enjoy this fun project. All you do is paint vinegar onto a piece of paper, then stick tissue paper onto it:

When the paper dries, the tissue comes off and leaves this:
Pretty neat, huh? And...it's a neat project. No messiness. You could do this with Christmas trees for Christmas, eggs for Easter, just about anything for anything! I love it! It's a great project for toddlers.

Well I was all excited because I had both kids down for a nap, but now Hudson is awake and screaming at me for some reason. Better go see what's up.

Can Cakes

I just had to write this down before I forgot. Kaylee's all time favorite food (and my favorite pronunciation so far) is "can cakes". "I want can cakes." She says it almost everyday and usually many times every day. To me it sounds so cute when she says it in that sweet little voice of hers.

On a related note, Jeff was getting ready for work yesterday when Kaylee came into the closet and said loud and proud "Bull Crap" - only she didn't say 'crap' if you know what I mean. He was totally taken aback. He must've wondered what has been going on at home that she would so casually exclaim such a phrase. Then she pointed to his shirt and said again "blue shirt" - which with her pronunciation sounds so much like "b.s."

Oh yeah, we got it on video!

Bapa and Maka K

This past week Jeff's parents stayed with us. Kaylee really loved having her "Bapa and Maka" here to lavish her with attention. We wish they could live nearby and we could see a lot more of them.

Here's the cast on a night out to Bob's Burger:


Kaylee is reading a compeling novel.

Bapa and Maka pretending to be happy that I am taking their picture. Sorry I forgot to crop this picture. It's really bugging me, but I'd have to redo the entire post, so... I'll have to live with it.

This is me. No, I haven't been drinking - although it sure looks like I had a few!

My guys!

One day we spent the afternoon at a park. What a nice, sunny day it turned out to be. I'm sorry for all the many pictures below. I just couldn't pick favorites, so I had to include them all.
How fun!
How precious!
How sweet!
This has got to be one of the coolest pictures ever! Jeff took it. Kaylee looks like she's just suspended in the air.

Tiny moments in the life of a toddler:

Racing Bapa:
Not liking the tube slide (but loving the "do"):
More tiny moments in my toddler's little life:

Check out Jeff - ha!!

Let's go throw rocks in the water:


Oh yeah, Hudson was there too. He slept through it all and woke up complaining that I never take him anywhere!