feeding phoebe

Silly guy, loves the cat but the cat's ambivalent about him. The fastest way to Phoebe's heart is through her stomach. In other words, she'll be getting much fatter and she'll let Gus climb all over her.

The holidays were good, Gus was spoiled but not too much. He loves all his new toys, spends hours talking with his "green baby" or Baby Tad. He loves to sing along with her. He mows the lawn alongside the carpet sweeper and plays with his squirties in the tub. He scoots around on his new little scooter (and sometimes the green baby goes for a ride). He's learning to draw on his Aquadoodle - which is an amazing invention obviously with parents in mind - no mess! The pen is filled with water and has a special writing surface. You can also use sponges and other shapes - just get them wet. He just loves it. You can see him in some cute holiday clothes on flickr (see previous post) in his Uncle Warren's new house.

His latest big milestone is mimicry - he talks all the time, tries to say whatever we say (which will prove dangerous soon enough). His favourite words: baby, dip-dip-deep (ketchup), and very well articulated "mummy" and "daddy". "Up", of course, comes up in conversation frequently. He understands almost everything it seems. With language, unfortunately, comes whining which he is doing right now.
He loves The Simpsons. He'll walk around with the TV remote demanding "simp-sees, simp-sees". and he gets quite annoyed on commercial break. He understands that when the credits are rolling, the show is over as he always respnds with "bye-bye". Our little TV addict.

He is generally quite well mannered - spent and hour and a half in the passport office today and he was great. I don't know why all the hype about passport delays - it seems for only $10, we could put a rush on it. The office was busy, but there were no hoardes of panicked travellers heading to the US under the new "regulations". We'll have his passport on Jan 12. Just in time.

Speaking of which, we are slowly getting prepared for the adventure. Passport for Gus today. Travel Clinic on Jan 3. Darren bought some swim shorts today, I might need a second swimsuit - apparently "swimwear" is appropriate attire all day, all the time in Puerto Escondido! I hope to find some sandals before we go too - tough going since it's winter here.

Oaxaca city seems to be settling down, although I am sure the struggle is not over. Corrupt politicians are still in power, and not much has changed. I am really looking forward to revisitng that city. It'll be different with all the grafitti on the buildings.

Dinner time. I hope you all had a fantastic holiday.

xmas 2006 - a photoset on Flickr

new slideshow!!! click here to see the xmas 2006 photoset on Flickr

40 sleeps until Mexico!

Days Between Dates (Date Difference Calculator)
if you ever need to calculate days to go...

Shade

The aforementioned new landscaping. THIS RED TEXT MEANS CLICK HERE!
Further reports tell me the weather is spectacular...man, snow is for chumps.

our home in Puerto Escondido

I'm starting to get serioulsy excited. 45 more sleeps. I can officially say "next month I will be in Mexico". I hardly feel prepared although I have successfully made an appointment for Gus to get his jabs before we go. We still need travel insurance, and a passport for Gus - or some sort of travel docs. Here are a few photos of the casita:

palapa on the roof:

I certainly can't complain, reports from my sister (who is already there) say that the pool has been fixed up with some new palm trees and umbrellas, just in time for us to arrive and relax.

Mask+Cape, Lucha Libre kids'

Mask+Cape, Lucha Libre kids'
While in Mexico, one of our objectives will be to find a Lucha Libre (NOT Nacho Libre) costume for Gus. The other objectives will involve sitting on the beach, cerveza poolside and beans, rice and tortillas.

poopoo in the potty!

I won't go into details (nobody wants to here it) but all I'll say is he's done it twice. and we partied both times. now all he talks about is poop.

Snow!!!

shake your boots and let it all hang loose.

tough guy

tough guy, originally uploaded by Augusten Elray.

a few more photos on flickr, some of you may have seen this one already. Love that little tough guy tee - it has angel wings on the back.

ahhhhhahhhhhhaaaaaa

A little movie of Gus running and yelling in his post bath bliss.

Typical guy?

Seriously. He is sitting on his potty watching the football game. I honestly don't want to believe that those "guy things" are somehow genetic, but moments like this make me wonder...

He officially has too many words to continue with the dictionary. He has now started saying two syllable words that actually make sense. Like "highchair" and "cracker" or "apple". He is also learning animal sounds - such a repetitive theme in kids books: The cow says MOOOO, the sheep says BAAAA, etc. He can even say "Curious George" (I think Darren is the only one who can actually hear it.).

Daycare is still a struggle - probably more of a challenge for me than for him. He cries when we drop him off, and clings to us as if we are completely abandoning him. It's awful, but I've been assured by other parents and daycare providers that this behaviour is completely normal and it will get better with time. I just feel like it completely goes against all my instincts - it is so hard to be away from him as it is, much worse knowing he is with a virtual stranger. Fortunately, it is a virtual stranger I trust. He was happy to see me when I picked him up today, he seemed to interact with our childcare provider so positively - it is so reassuring when he wants to give her a kiss goodbye!
I'm looking forward to the days when he cries when I pick him up from daycare - I have been told it will happen, that one day he won't want to leave. And I'm sure that will make me sad too, but for other reasons. At this moment it seems it would be easier, but I'm sure my motherliness will find it hard in one way or another. Lousy mother-child bond, always messing with me...
Who knows what my future schedule will be like... I am temporarily ordering the DVD feature films and TV shows for the entire library system (funny, my job sounds just like Darren's, only I get to spend the city's money...) until May, after that, it could be a completely different.

halloween slideshow on Flickr

click here for the halloween slideshow

green

a bunch of new photos of Gus in his little green sweater. He's a real character, I hope some of it comes through in the photos. silly lttle guy.
new photos

sweeper

sweeper
new photos, thanks for the halloween card Granny Joan and check out my new broom. it's my favourite toy.

cheesy grin

Man, this guy is a ham for the camera. He poses and makes silly faces. Our favourite is the cheesy grin.

New photos uploaded

Bath robe model

Dictionary of Augusten

Soon this dictionary will be too large to put online. It seems he learns new words every day. here are a few of the most useful terms:

ba' - (baah) - bath
baa - (baa) - the sound sheep make
beh - (beh) - bear
beh-beh - (beh'-bey) - Baby
buh - (buh) - book
boo-buh (bu'-buh) - buddha

ca (kah') - cat

dada (da'-da) - dada (as in Dad, not the art movement)
daw (daw) - dog
din-guh (din'- guh) - thank you.

ele (el'uh) - elephant

ga (ga) - grandma

ha (ha)- hi!
haah (hah) - hair
hah (ha') - hat

mama - (muh'-muh) - yep, it actually means mama now.
mehw - (mehw) milk
muh (muh) - more (as in muh mehw)

nena (ne'-nah) - banana

wuwuwu (wu-wu-wuh) - the sound a dog makes


I'm sure there are more. but these are the best ones.

tv on the radio

was the tallest show I have ever been to. there were so many tall people that even Darren couldn't see at times. tall people should not wear hats at shows. especially pointy hats with pom-poms on top. I know it's not their fault, being tall, but the hat thing is just a matter of consideration.
fortunately tall people have no stamina. strangely, about 20 minutes into the show, all the tall people were gone. I don't know where they went, but I imagine they must have gone to sit down. Darren is always complaining of sore legs during a show. I never get sore legs. Sore legs must be a tall thing and probably the reason they only stood for twenty minutes.
It was a fantastic show. Filled the Commodore Ballroom like only a seriously tight band can. and how does one band end up with two such talented vocalists? that can harmonize effortlessly? I don't know, but I'm glad they did.

slideshow on Flickr

NEW !!! slideshow on Flickr

LibraryThing

have I mentioned librarything.com? it's cool. I've just started adding to it, I'm not sure how it will grow as I don't buy books (I've got a huge library that stores all my books for me!). I've just been adding what I've been reading lately. I've started adding books I've read in the past that I think are cool. You can search my library on the sidebar.

fun stuff.

new slideshow

Latest photos available on FLickr
a funny shot of Gus wearing his Dad's shoes...

new slideshow

All photos uploaded on Sept 26, 2006 slideshow on Flickr

video montage

playing with google earth

Google earth uses satellite images to create maps. Here are some very awesome examples: This is a map of Oaxaca with a few key points on it - like the main square, and a couple hotels. Google Earth is so much fun.

Here is a cool shot of Angkor Wat in Cambodia:
Funny, I have a friend who doesn't like ruins, he says "Ruins are just piles of stones" and thus he dismisses them as boring. Angkor Wat is considered "ruins" - not a pile of stones at all but a living breathing organism in many ways. Buddhist monks still care for the statues and give offerings at their feet. The sweet scent of incense burns your nose in the long hallways of the main temple. This image is only of the main temple in the Angkor complex. It is perhaps the largest archaeological complex in the world, and it is stunning, spiritually overwhelming, a true wonder.

Mexico in less than 4 months

It's done. I've booked the time off and we have our plane tickets in hand. We fly to Mexico City on Jan 15 and then onward to Puerto Escondido! We'll be staing at my mom's house - have a look it's pretty amazing.
We'll be in Mexico City for a few days, I've never been and Darren was there for only a couple days but he was doing business - trying to get paperwork for transporting a bus to Nicaragua and lamenting his lack of cash. Of course, I have been obsessively researching it, trying to find the best neighbourhood to stay in - either Zona Rosa or the Centro Historico. Anybody been there? have any comments to make? I'm leaning towards the Centro, because many of the attractions are there. Including Templo Mayor which is an Aztec temple right in the centre of the City. The zocalo, or main square is the second largest square in the world, second only to Red Square in Moscow. I'm looking forward to the Museum of Anthropology and Chapultepec Park. The National Art Museum will also be a highlight - I love the Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera, Orozco, Siquieros (rumoured to have been the one who ice-picked Trotsky). I also love Frida Kahlo's work (check it out here). Kahlo's work has been a big inspiration for Liane, a friend whose art adorns almost every wall in our house.
SO the big question is where to stay. The first choice for the Centro Historico is the Hotel Catedral - only $63US a night for a junior suite. It's a block from the Zócalo, right behind the cathedral, you really can't go wrong. or can you? Zona Rosa is the main tourist area, which has a lot of advantages. Usually I'd like to be on the outskirts of the tourist area, close enough to the amenities but far enough to not feel like I might as well be at home because everyone is Canadian/American. I want to be where the culture is different, why pay all that money to get away to basically be around others just like me? I might as well stay at home and get a hotel in White Rock. Since it is our first international stop with Elray (that's what he is calling himself these days), I'll be more cautious and stay closer to the tourist area.
We are going to spend the bulk of our time in Puerto Escondido. I was there over 15 years ago and it was a ten day party, I don't think I saw daylight the whole time. We'd get up late in the day, have dinner, watch the sunset and then spend our nights dancing at El Tubo until 5 or 6am. My memory of the place is blurry at best, although I do remember lovely beaches and a really hot surfer guy named José.
We will also make a side trip to Oaxaca, hopefully. Right now there is serious unrest, with teachers protesting in the main square every night- a travelblog entry from Sept 10 makes the point: Day 70 - Oaxaca - where the teachers are revolting. By January things should settle down. I hope. Oaxaca is a lovely colonial city with lots of charm. I'm sure it's changed since I was there, but it should still be an interesting aside from beach life. Las Golondrinas comes highly recommended, I have to find out if the beds are as hard as one reviewer mentions. My mom (and just about everyone) prefers a softer sleeping surface. It seems to be such a charming place from the photos though. Otherwise we may need a suite - having a kid means your hotel is more than a place to sleep at night. It is also a refuge during the day, for lunch, a nap or just to play.
So that's the plan. Pretty cool. Now we just have to figure out car safety and we'll be set. If you have ever heard of someone using a Tote n go for a carseat let us know how it worked. The online reviews are pretty contradictory.

new photos

New photos uploaded - click HERE!

baby's first burrito

deer and gus

Deer and Gus originally uploaded by Augusten Elray.

You can find all the photos from our relaxing days at the cabin this year on flickr: Here is the slideshow link: Slideshow


lots of relaxing, lots of wine, smelling of campfire, swimming in the lake, being pulled around by a boat on a tube, outhouses, mosquitos, more wine, bbqing, tossing testicles, jumping on the trampoline, being invaded by deer, eating meat and marshmallows, sitting on the dock trying to watch perseids, and breathing the fresh, fresh air.

Gus had fun, although he overdid it one day and would not go to sleep without lots of crying and cuddles. Overall he slept well considering he was in a strange place and a strange bed with all kinds of excitement during the day. He enjoyed tumbling on the grass, playing with Laika and jumping on the trampoline with Dad. I have a few videos that I will try to post soon.

baby toes and sunglasses slideshow on Flickr

you won't beleive how cute and silly this guy is:
baby toes and sunglasses slideshow

New entries

Some new entries on the girl blog from Iraq - it's as important as it is interesting for us to know how ordinary people are coping inside the war torn region. It reads like a novel - for someone so young she has a way of bringing you inside her world and has a depth of perception beyond her years. Check it out: Baghdad Burning

Walking all over

Once upon a time he used to prefer crawling even though he could technically walk (I say "technically" because the walking was so clumsy that one might not recognize it as walking). These days walking is becoming more and more the preferred mode over crawling. There are certain efficiencies that come with walking, like not having to stand up to reach something as you go by. Of course, crawling is still faster and if he's tired he simply won't bother. He also gets so much positive reinforcement the further he walks as Mum or Dad showers him with "oohs" and "aahs" and cuddles and "wow-wee, good boy!"). So he's walking. and it's pretty darn cute, I will try to get a video of it to share.
For the time being, it has made our lives a lot harder. We have to watch him more closely as he now goes toddling towards slate floors, table corners and whatnot pointy things. He is also fascinated with steps. He could probably go down them (he still tries to crawl down, swinging one little legs sideways first to try to go down backwards), if we'd let him. I'm not quite ready to watch him tumble down onto the hard concrete. It's only a step and a half, but it's too many for this Mummy.
He can get off the bed in this manner, I actually let him do it a few times (with my hawk-like supervision). I was quite impressed, he swing one chubby little leg over the edge, turns himself around and then slides off the bed by pushing his body backwards with his arms. He hasn't quite figured out gravity yet and sometimes he slides down faster than he expects. But whether he lands on his feet or not has no impact on how satisfied he is with himself when he makes it down.
Fun times ahead - chasing the clumsy walking baby around the cabin - four more sleeps!

Thumbs up!

He looks way too cool:

Gus and Sadie

Gus and Sadie hanging out. We kept Gus up way past his bedtime. He slept well that night but I think we paid for it the next day. These two had a great time toddling all around the patio while the parents had a little to drink, a lot of meat and a ton of great conversation.

Video of Gus on the swing!

Gus and Dad self portrait series slideshow on Flickr

check out the newest slideshow...

Gus and Dad self portrait series slideshow on Flickr

video?

let me know whether you can see this video, it's really short:

new old slideshow from the lake

just to get us warmed up before the trip in a couple weeks. I thought I'd put together a little show from the lake. Most of the photos are from 2004, aside from the one of Clayton and Laika on the pier (2005). We didn't take as many photos last year, the weather wasn't all that nice. It was still amazing to get away and relax though. You'll get a funny series of shots of Darren off to rescue a floaty - you can't see the beer in is dinghy, but I'm sure he has one.
fun times ahead!
click on the photo below to see the slideshow

two new slideshows

kisses for bear
















bumped my head

steps on film

he's been taking a few tentative steps on his own for awhile, but these are the first I've managed to photograph... click on the photo to get the latest slideshow! as you can see from the slideshow he also bumps his head more often now that he tries to walk!

counteracting the effects of air (or vehicle) travel!

Go "carbon neutral" as my environmental hero David Suzuki suggests (Check out the article here).
By purchasing carbon offsets, the net result is zero emissions! It really makes sense...
You can also do more by planting a tree every time you fly.

zoom in on UNESCO World Heritage sites

The UNESCO website has a very cool interactive map pf world heritage sites:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/map/

Checking off the list, so far I've been to the following World Heritage Sites:

Cambodia

• Angkor (1992)

Lao People's Democratic Republic

• Town of Luang Prabang (1995)

Thailand

• Historic City of Ayutthaya and Associated Historic Towns (1991)

Viet Nam

• Complex of Hué Monuments (1993)
• Ha Long Bay (1994, 2000)
• Hoi An Ancient Town (1999)
• My Son Sanctuary (1999)

Bolivia

• City of Potosí (1987)
• Fuerte de Samaipata (1998)
• Tiwanaku: Spiritual and Political Centre of the Tiwanaku Culture (2000)
  

Chile

• Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso (2003)
  

Mexico

• Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán (1987)
• Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque (1987)
• Sian Ka'an (1987)
• Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza (1988)
  

Peru

• City of Cuzco (1983)
• Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (1983)
• Historic Centre of Lima (1988, 1991) ²
• Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Pampas de Jumana (1994)
• Historical Centre of the City of Arequipa (2000)

Canada

• Dinosaur Provincial Park (1979)
• Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (1981)
• Historic District of Québec (1985)
  

United States of America

• Redwood National Park (1980)

not bad, we hope to add a few more this year in Italy (where there are so many - evidence of Western bias, for sure) and maybe some more when we go to Mexico in the new year.

another new slideshow on Flickr

25 new photos in slideshow on Flickr

more photos added to First birthday slideshow on Flickr

New photos added to the First birthday slideshow on Flickr
I finally had some time to add the photos that Cheryl sent me by e-mail. Love the ones in his ducky raincoat!

eating fresh berries

NEW slideshow!

Reading notes

What I'm reading: The Gods Drink Whiskey : Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha
Why it's so good:
He is writing as the exact time we were in Cambodia. I mean EXACT - he described the anti-Thai riots we observed (you know, the one where we had no idea what was going on - we thought the Thais beat them in a soccer match - until we saw it in CNN) and he also talks about an ASEAN nation tourism conference that was going on while we were in Phnom Penh - we were accidentally mistaken for conference participants after we'd had a few beers at the Foreign Correspondents' Club (yes, as cool as it sounds) and given a whole bunch of free stuff: backpacks, t-shirts, pens, hats...
It is also amazing because he is pondering a question I've asked many times on my trips to Southeast Asia - how is it that the most devoutly Buddhist countries seem to be the most chaotic? Isn't Buddhism about acheiving inner peace? About being calm and meditating? How can these two states coexist? Insane traffic, sex tourism, pollution, intense poverty, chaos in its most pure (and fascinating) form - and devout Buddhism - over 95% of Thais and Cambodians are Buddhist.
I highly recommend this book (Kessa, you should check it out, it's pretty hilarious, but you find out a lot about the world too). Through crazy tales and meetings with odd characters (from dignified prostitutes to hard drinking louts to hard drinking Buddhist monks) and strange situations (marijuana pizza, massage parlours) he tries to debunk many of the perceptions that Westerners have about the East.
Check out the reviews on amazon.com I promise you won't be sorry!

New photos

Check out the new photos on flickr!!!

Irregular posting

It has been tough to get a moment to post anything these days. Since I've gone back to work, I try to spend much of my time off playing or feeding or some activity with Gus - either that or I am having some serious downtime. The last thing I wan't to do is sit in front of a computer after spending a full day at work doing just that. So here I am, making excuses for not keeping up to date.
Since my last post, our son has had his first birthday, had a visit from Granny Joan learned to walk and then forgot how to walk...
Something about visits from grandparents. It seems our boy was just on the verge of walking when Joan left and then he completely lost interest. I'm guessing we haven't been encouraging him quite as much as she did - he went from taking a couple steps towards you before falling into your arms, now he stands and lunges into your arms skipping the couple steps part.
His first birthday was pretty fun - ate a big piece of carrot cake:
We had a second party on the weekend with a poor showing, seems all his little friends have a pretty busy social calendar! He did get some fun stuff though: toys that make noise, toys for the bath (hooray bathtime!) a little swimming pool which he absolutely loves:
and it's a great way for us to keep him in the shade because he can't crawl away.


Yesterday we went to the shockingly crowded Sasamat Lake for a picnic and a swim. Looks like we have a water baby, he wanted to get right in despite the cold water. Sorry no photos for the blog, but we did take some with an old fashioned camera so one day you might get a chance to see them. Since I've been working and Darren has an aversion for outdoor activities on the weekends (too crowded at the nearby spots) we haven't been getting out as much as we'd like. We have, however, firmed up plans for our yearly cabin getaway near Prince George. Just waiting for D to get home so we can book the flight! We are hoping to do some camping soo too - maybe at Garibaldi where they have a couple yurts. That way if Augusten has a rough night we'll have more than a tent to keep the noise in. Personally, I don't care who hears him but Darren is just way more considerate than I am. I've also booked off a bit more time in the summer (or tried anyways) so maybe a few more day trips will happen. The weather is supposed to be spectacular for the next few weeks! We have been barbecuing every night. Hooray for summer!
On a child development note, we are finally training him to sleep in his crib. Two nights down and so far it seems pretty painless. He falls asleep after about 5 minutes of crying and then has a couple 5 minute crying interludes through the night (although he did have one on the first night that lasted 40 minutes). The weirdest thing - we peeked into his crib last night before we turned in - he was just sitting there silently...until he noticed us and started crying. I don't think he's getting enough sleep in the night, he is sleeping until 10am! The whole training thing may be disturbing his naps though - he and I wrestled with naptime for about an hour today before he actually fell asleep. Who knows, the whole thing has messed up his schedule, but eventually he'll be sleeping in his crib and we'll all be getting a good night's rest. Well, that's the idea anyways...

New slideshow!

click on the photo to see the latest slideshow!

New slideshow!

We bought him a new ball - thankfully it is as good as the first one in his eyes...click on the photo for the latest slideshow! There's a great shot of all four of his little teeth!

Back to work

So it's official, I'm a working mom. I have only been going in part time and I already find it tough. I am applying for a full time job - despite the obvious burden it might be - it's one of those opportunities that don't come up all that often and it's really the direction I want to be going in as far my career goes. I miss Gus most of the day, and he misses me - I can tell by the way he clings to me all night right now. He will have to get used to it eventually, but it seems like its pretty tough on him. Darren has been fantastic being a stay at home dad. It's tough though because we don't get much time together anymore - he does his work when I'm at home. We did make it to the beach this afternoon (sorry no photos), at least we took advantage of the heat wave we've been honoured with. June is usually wet in Vancouver so we have to take what we can get. Lousy temperate rain forest. I will try harder to add more entries more often...

berries

Who knew that feeding a baby could be so funny! It seems whatever we give him most of it ends up on the outside and not on the inside. He looks more than a little satisfied with himself.

New slideshow!

New slideshow on Flickr
If you want to go through them at your own pace follow this link:
Augusten's photo pages

Swimming in Nanaimo

Back in April (around the 23rd), Kelly and I took a refreshing dip in the ocean on a nice warm day. The water was chilly, of course, but the sun was there to dry us off afterward. Thanks Cheryl for taking the photos!



Here is a shot of Laika on the same beach:

and here's Augusten and I and Laika on the beach in Parksville. I was planning to swim here too but the tide was so far out it would have taken me 20 minutes just to get to the water!

"torturing phoebe and more" slideshow on Flickr

NEW SLIDESHOW!!
"torturing phoebe and more" slideshow

ball...

Here is Elray with his ball again. He carried it with him almost everwhere over Easter. It was his favourite. I say "was" because it vanished on the trip. We are now in search of another. It was the perfect ball, it came with a toy that Grandma Joan brought him for Christmas. So if we want to get the exact one we'd have to buy the whole toy. Rats. It was so soft and had little indentations which made it easy for his little hands to grasp. Thus begins a game of trial and error to replace the perfect ball...
We are going to try one of Darren's hockey balls, at least it's the same colour.

First sushi!

He loved the sushi. Most kids do - I mean, what's not to love? sticky rice and avocado with a little nori? Looking forward to expanding his repetoire.

Nanaimo at Easter slideshow

Nanaimo at Easter slideshow on Flickr

swinging

swinging3, originally uploaded by Augusten Elray.

Believe or not, this photo was taken with my phone. Yes, PHONE. as in cell phone. I love technology. Check out my awesome pink phone online.
At the park on the way home from babytime at the library. He LOVES the baby swing. Check out flickr (click on the photo) for more swinging adventures.

Easter Bunny a pagan tradition?

OK, I really want to believe this story that the Easter bunny originated as a pagan belief:
Easter Bunny story from about.com
It seems, however, that there is no evidence of this pagan tradition anywhere in writings prior to 1990 (wikipedia article). Rats.

Laika and Elray

Laika and Elray, originally uploaded by Octopus Prize.

Over the long weekend, the cousins found lots of chocolate eggs and bunnies from the easter bunny, the adults couldn't stop eating them (the eggs, not the cousins). Laika paused for a moment to give Gus a snuggle. He had no idea what was going on.

multi-tasking

Last night Darren came home to find me multi-tasking:

Eating nachos and breastfeeding.
Now that's a supermom for you.

Musical Treats from North of 53

Musical Treats from North of 53
thank you. keeping up with the cool kids just got a whole lot easier.

Burnaby Lake

We went for a short stroll around Burnaby Lake today - we didn't have much time as Darren had to go change a light bulb, so Burnaby Lake was perfect as it is only about a 10-15 minute drive. Too bad it's not quite far enough to not hear the city. It was good nonetheless. Here are a few photos:



Click on any of the photos to see a bigger image. You can see a few more photos at flickr.

Stayed tuned for scenes from Vancouver Island where my mom lives - we are going there for Easter weekend and from a hike in Pitt Meadows - we hope to go there when I get back from the Island.

Talking 2.

The Dictionary of Augusten.
or more like a bilingual Augusten-English/English-Augusten Dictionary.

hch (pron. like "ich" in German, as in "Ich bin ein Berliner." but exaggerated to sound like the Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark). - I want breast milk.

mbuh-mbuh (mbuh-mbuh) - mama.

dedede (deh-deh-deh) - not to be confused with dede (see previous dictionary entry). Usually paired with some crazy swinging of the head. Translates to: dancedancedance.

Childproofing

Today, we started the long road to making our house safe for baby. After he tried to stick his finger in the electrical outlet three times in one day we decided it was time. (Darren shouldn't have drawn the cute bunny face around the outlet.). So far we've covered two outlets, and put a squishy protector over the corner of one of our shelving units. We also bought a new crib. Teresa loaned us a fantastic crib, but unfortunately we couldn't fit it anywhere but in front of the window in the baby's room - which means he can grab the curtains. And pull.
He's pretty fast at getting around these days so it's only a matter of time before we do even more childproofing. I think we'll need a gate to keep him out of the kitchen and maybe another to keep him out of the cat litter. I can't forsee anything else - some of those childproofing ideas are just a bit too much - like a toilet seat lock. Close the bathroom door instead. Seems easier to me and besides it's bad feng shui to leave your bathroom door open (and bad feng shui to leave the toilet seat up - means all your money will go down the toilet).

News Flash: Vancouver 3rd best place to live in world

News article: Vancouver 3rd best place to live in world
Again!
Of course, it's mostly due to our "natural environment and recreational sites". All of which we are looking forward to taking advantage to this summer. I've gone through our copy of Best Hikes & Walks of Southwestern British Columbia and bookmarked all the "easy" hikes under 2 hours - since we'll now be doing all of them with a baby in a backpack. I put special blue bookmarks in for the ones I can go swimming at! Expect lots of great photos of Gus and Darren and I having various outdoor adventures this summer.

Other cities on the list: Toronto came in 15th (up one spot from last year), all Canadian cities on the list were well ahead of US cities - Honolulu came in 27th and San Fran in 28th. Baghdad came in last for the third straight year - Thanks George Dubya for really f#%$&@g that one up. Your lousy invasion started three years ago - not a coincidence at all. For first hand account of how much Baghdad sucks right now read Baghdad Burning an awesome girl blog from the heart of Baghdad. or get the book, Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq by Riverbend from your library or local bookstore. It's winning tons of prestigious awards these days including third prize in the Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage, and now shortlisted for 2006 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction. She also won a Bloggie for Best African or Middle Eastern Weblog.

Sasamat Lake

The three of us went on a short 1 hour hike around Sasamat Lake yesterday. I took my first swim of the season. You can see my wet hair in the photos as proof... and the little brown spot on my nose from the hot cocoa/kahlua afterwards! it was more of a dunk than a swim to be honest as the lake was ice cold. Actually two dunks as Darren informed me after my first swim that it didn't count because I didn't put my head in. Thankfully, the sun was there to warm me afterwards. Augusten slept through most of it.
I think it is the beginning of a family tradition - we are going to try for weekly hikes (and maybe swims too) now that the weather is nice.

For those of you who don't know Vancouver, Sasamat Lake is a short 40 minute drive from Vancouver, check out the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) website

chasing the ball

New slideshow! chasing the ball

Newset slideshow: 3/29/06 through 4/4/06

3/29/06 through 4/4/06 slideshow
Thanks to both grandmas for the cute outfits! Pooh from Grandma Joan and the striped Baby Gap dress shirt from Grandma Anne (or maybe it's Baba?). We spent a few days in Victoria with my mom - the photos on the bench with the trellis in the background are taken in the rose garden at the Empress Hotel in Victoria.

Most recent slideshow

Augusten's most recent photo slideshow Enjoy!

Bookslut

Wondering what to read next? Check out Bookslut, a great source for book reviews, author interviews and other great things literary. Up to the minute - so if you want the next great thing before everyone else have a look. Read it monthly. Love it.

My next great YA read. YA stands for Young Adult.

Joe Sacco

Joe Sacco rocks. He is the pioneer of cartoon journalism. Palestine won rave reviews from other graphic novelists such as the great Art Speigelman who won a Pulitzer Prize for Maus, a graphic novel set during the holocaust of WWII. My descriptions could not do his brilliance justice.
Equally worthy of mention in the graphic novel genre is Pyongyang by Guy Delilsle. Thank you Darren for the thoughtful and perfect Xmas gift. It was riveting, humourous, rare look inside the walls of North Korea. Pyongyang could not have been more bizarre: a brief glance inside a country completely cut off from the rest of the world.

crib woes, stroller envy and hooray we're going on vacation!

It seems that kid gear is always unsatisfactory in one way or another. It took a couple trys before we got the right stroller and even then we ended up with three. It looks like the crib is going to be the same problem. My dear and wonderful friend Teresa loaned us her son Jaden's crib. It's a fantastic crib but sadly we just don't have the space for it in Gus' tiny room/home office. It has built in drawers which is really great but we just don't have the space. Augusten's new found ability to stand up in his crib means we can no longer have the crib by the window or he'll pull down the curtains. We'll be heading to the crib shop soon - to invest in one of those 4 in one cribs that allows you to convert the crib to a toddler bed, day bed, and twin size bed (click to see example). A worthy investment since it should last him years. And sadly The one we have, being older and well-used, has a noisy gate so it wakes Gus up every time we close it. and you have to use two hands to put the gate up and down. Newer ones have silent drop gates that you can slide down with one hand.
The good news is that I think I'm finally done with the stroller envy. Choosing a stroller is one of the toughest things - they are expensive and there are so many choices. The MacLaren is almost perfect - although I would have purchased one of the lesser MacLarens;s if I could go back since he doesn't really need a full recline anymore. and the cheaper ones are smaller and more lightweight. I think every new and expectant mum I know obsesses about it. I am big a fan of the backpack - we both have to get in better shape before our big trip to Italy. We are heading to Victoria for 2 days tomorrow - It'll be so nice to get away and we'll get to test out the various contraptions we have to transporting the little guy. Stay tuned for some fantastic new photos of Gus' adventures in Victoria. And a million thanks to my mom for coming with us and hanging out with the boy if we want to go out! We are staying at the Strathcona Hotel, a superb character hotel with FIVE bars! yeehaw!

Baghdad Burning

Baghdad Burning
This blog is written by a young Iraqi woman living in Baghdad. If you've ever wondered what it's like to live in a warzone or are interested in Iraqi perspectives on war, politics and occupation, have a look. It is very well written, funny, sad, and brutally honest. A book of key entries from the blog has been published and is on the longlist for the BBC Four Samuel Johnson Prize.

Thanks Gramma Joan!

Here are my Big Boy Jammies:


and oh-oh here is my Big Boy Beverage:

check out the look on Darren's face!

collon candy

hmmmm....

cruisin' slideshow on Flickr

cruisin' slideshow on Flickr
he can now cruise around furniture - you can't tell by the photos but he originally pulled up on the table and moved over to his "space ship"

Cute new slideshow

highchair antic slideshow on Flickr

I love my chariot!

I love my chariot!, originally uploaded by Augusten Elray.

Tested out the new chariot with a stroll to Queen Elizabeth Park (where we got married). It was a good 45 minute leisurely walk from our house, a hike on a kinds of terrain through the park and back again - Augusten slept through much of it so I guess the thing is comfortable. Although as one person in the park remarked as we bumped down some stairs - "Kids can sleep anywhere!". Too true.
Check out the Flickr page for the latest photos!

Hooray for spring!

march blossoms, originally uploaded by Augusten Elray.

Talking.

The dictionary of Augusten:

mama (MUH'-muh) - when he's upset. I think it translates to "this sucks."

dede (deh'-deh)- actually means "Dad"

tongue clicking (!K) (like the !Kung San of the Kalahari) - I think this clicking translates to: "I need a drink" or maybe "cat"

Crawling.

Well, the easy days are over. Augusten started crawling (forwards) two days ago. Crawling has two very serious implications: 1) we can't leave him alone for a second and 2) he can't sleep longer than an hour because he sits up in his sleep. Fortunately, once we come to bed he'll sleep until about 7am. We had nine glorious months of a baby who slept in until 8, 8:30 and even 9am!! Boy, we're we spoiled. I'm hoping once he's used to crawling and sitting up he'll go back to sleeping like a teenager. He can also pull himself up to standing on the furniture, but he forgets that he can do it so it doesn't happen all that often. Here is an attempt at sharing photos of crawling with you: