It’s been a busy month around here and no wonder…when summer hits, essentially everyone we know and love decides to come and enjoy the sun in South Eastern Ontario!
While the mosquitoes have been dying off in the past week, they were pretty fierce around our house over the past month. We finished up a lot of the deck work and are contemplating if we want to invest money in a gazebo or not. Unless a gazebo can prevent 10,000 mosquito armies from coming in, we’re not sure if it’s worth it? We still need to think about that one.
Sierra is…an interesting human being these days. I have heard about the ‘terrible two’s’, but I have no idea if we are in the middle of it right now, or if it’s just going to get worse? She is easily frustrated these days and generally says ‘Pas’ (‘Je ne veux pas’) to everything. It’s her automatic response even if she realizes two seconds later that she does, in fact, want to eat some yogurt. Mornings are especially rough. But hey, I’m preaching to the choir here! Everyone goes through this!
She really enjoys going to the park, and blowing bubbles and going on her swing and her slide in the backyard. The slide is called ‘hee hee’. Where does she come up with this stuff? It’s like her soother is a ‘na na’.
Words we’ve noticed in the past month:
Poppa = she’s starting to ask for her grandfather which is cool
Hee hee = slide
Pa = the park
La = lait
I’ve realized if I slow down words she can sort of piece them together. I think this will be the key to unlocking her vocabulary a little more.
Honestly, we can’t complain one bit about her comprehension skills. She understands most of what we are saying in both English and French which is quite incredible.
She is also starting to learn how to use the potty. I have to admit I haven’t been doing as much research as I should be on this front so I better start figuring out what this game is all about!
Did I already post a picture of this? Ah well, even so, I thought this was my favourite photo from her birthday.
The Al Mouna shawarma restaurant was nice enough to give Sierra her first shawarma on the house! They were very excited to see if she would like it. I would say she definitely didn’t like the turnips but she picked a most of it for the first few minutes. I consider this a win in my books, but I don’t think I’ve sold her on it to the level that she loves St. Hubert.
Remember that basement flood months ago? Well, the contractor who was going to renovate in August called us up and said he had an opening in his schedule for the entire month of June so he slotted us in! We were ecstatic! I was not as ecstatic when he showed up on a Saturday afternoon when I was having a nap and I proceeded to help bring in all the flooring you see in the corner of the photo. Ha ha! Ah well, I needed some exercise that day. This is a photo of after we ripped out the ceiling and everything else downstairs.
While not at the levels we saw last year, this Ottawa River was still pretty high near the beginning of June.
When a kid finds some mitts in the car and wants to play with them, why stop them?
Bam! Look at that ceiling grid!
Also, a last minute decision allowed us to take a spot in the rec room and expand a storage area!
Bam! Another day done and look how much is getting done! These guys were working at breakneck speed! Honestly, they had most of the stuff done in the first week and definitely had 95% of the job complete in two weeks instead of the estimated 4. They said at one point they had seven guys in there working!
Vero and I aren’t known for making decisions at breakneck speed but Mom convinced us (and the contractor) to put in a large door on this wall instead of the originally planned smaller door on the further wall. It was a great suggestion!
It’s pretty incredible when you come into the house one day and find a new floor and a new ceiling and new lights all from one days’ work! I can actually pinpoint the moment in my life where I said “Yep, I have too much going on in my life with Sierra. There’s no way I am going to take on large renovation projects on my own any longer.” I’m sure we can also pinpoint this moment in my life to the point where I made a horrible financial mistake? 🙂
Nat arranged to be the impartial person picking the winner of our charitable 50/50 draw.
Etienne and I had a sandwich down near the river at lunch and lo and behold, we saw this incredible tap system set up for the Festibiere!
That’s right, Sierra can be hired out to take care of flies!
I’ll have to go back in the history books to figure out when I introduced her to this Lego Animals game but she has now mastered the game whereas at the beginning it was a tough go at tapping on items on a screen.
The Buhr Clan picked up a slide for Sierra’s birthday. We didn’t bother opening it up the day we got it…we figured we would wait a few days so she could play with her other toys. She loves this thing!
If only I could convert this into a water slide one day.
Martin and I hanging out with Sierra at the park. This was one of the first times she was trying out this particular slide.
I love how this picture captures her excitement!!
Vero and a bunch of other crazy people went to Mud Hero which wasn’t too far away from where we live. I’m not sure if I could be convinced to spend money to jump into some mud, but they seemed to love every moment of it!
Tandreane with some birthday gifts for Sierra.
I love this photo of Abigail so much that I stole it and put it on my own blog!
I quite love working in Hull. One of the reasons is that they come up with quirky artistic ideas once in awhile. Look closely for the Pac-Man at the crosswalk.
We built a mobile app for Job Bank that won us a Deputy Minister Award. Here was part of the team on their way to the ceremony.
Showing off the medal. Someone told me it was made of pirate gold.
Sharing a drink with fellow award winner Michael.
Claude, Joelle and I went to Montreal for the day to see U2 on their Experience+Innocence tour. Here’s Claude and I hanging out next to this guy who was clearly posing for our picture.
I was pretty amazed our elevator had a television in it. Fast fact: I don’t stay in a lot of fancy hotels.
Members of Arcade Fire hanging out for the show.
I didn’t take this photo.
We were insanely close for the opening songs! I love the stage layout of this tour. It allows us to get closer to the action.
The Blackout is a blistering opening tune to get people in the mood!
I really enjoyed the part of the show where they played at the further stage and Bono adopted his Mr. Macphisto persona from the ZooTV tour. All in all, this particular tour may be one of my favourites. They are really playing up the concept of telling U2’s story of formation and demise (Pop album) and resurrection once again.
We ended up pretty to close to Adam when the band split up and went to the four corners of the arena. I love how Joelle was so absorbed in getting a picture of him that she didn’t realize they had played Pride.
Definitely my favourite picture of Claude.
Definitely my other favourite picture of Claude! We feel this one looks like someone had punched him in his face!
I definitely enjoyed this show more than the Innocence+Experience tour. It probably has to do with the fact that I enjoy their newer album a lot more. I also predict that this will be the last time we see them put on full out arena tours. They deserve the break.
Future U2 fan right here!
Maman was gone for the weekend with her friends so it was time to hit the town and see what the city had to offer. Nat, Sierra and I met up with Benoit and Cinthia as a flea market down at Lansdowne. I have to say that Sierra doesn’t really like the backpack as much as she used to.
Luckily she likes dragging the wagon around!
Sierra telling Cinthia how the playground works.
Sierra kind of messed up our plans. Originally we were going to stick to our regularly scheduled nap from 1-3PM and head over to a BBQ at Clayton and Pam (neighbours). However, she dozed off in the car and didn’t feel like a nap in the afternoon. I knew this was a recipe for disaster so I brought her to the park to tire her out. It definitely worked as she slept until 6PM!
Who knew the park could bring so much joy?
Taking a break.
I’m going to assume this photo was taken after wrestling a Yeti at the cottage.
I felt my Dad skills were put to the test when trying to push two separate swings full of children over at the BBQ! No broken bones so I must have accomplished the task.
I’m pretty sure they weren’t too impressed I was stopping their ride to take a photo.
Look who’s ready to go for a bike ride in the morning!
We stumbled upon a lemonade stand where I also purchased this year’s Halloween outfit…a cat costume!
We needed to go to the emergency room to get this thing off of Maman’s back.
Enjoying some bubbles on the new deck.
Marijo and I recording some voiceovers for a video at work. This sound booth we found is ridiculously hot when you have two people cramped in there! We call it the sauna.
Nanny Sybil sent some money up for Sierra’s birthday. We felt it was quite fitting to outfit her with enough bubbles for the entire summer season!
“Turn the volume down.” – a surefire solution to figuring out the navigation system in a new car!
I went down to Kitchener with my parents to see Uncle Tony and Aunt Lana. We decided to stop by Nanny Ruth’s apartment and snapped this photo from her porch.
Unfortunately, Uncle Tony was too weak to see any of us. It was nice to see Aunt Lana but it was definitely a rough time for everyone waiting to see what would happen each day. Uncle Tony passed away about a week after this photo was taken. I hope to write up a little more about him later, but for the time being, I can say that he was a good man and will be missed.
I brought my ukelele down as I couldn’t bring the guitar on the train with me. Here I was entertaining Mom and Aunt Dinah one night.
A nice photo of the four of us.
While I was away, Sierra and Maman went to the Franco-Ontarien festial where Sierra had her first yummy ice cream cone.
Also while I was away, I guess Sierra had to be my backup in the house!
Ryley and I enjoying a walk.
Mom had plenty of room in the backseat after we went to Home Depot to pick up a few things.
Sierra got me a very nice photo book for Father’s Day.
Grandma showing Sierra how to use this crazy bubble wand
Etienne and Nat enjoying these neat umbrellas hung up around Hull.
Poppa and Sierra playing with some toys.
Checking out the workbench.
Ah, the hunt for the great photo while holding a child. Nothing is perfect!
Mom, Dad and I went to the slot machines one evening. Dad realized that if you signed up for a member card, they give you $15 to play with! I ended up coming ahead by $9 that night, a first! I was ecstatic considering I brought in $20 to play with.
A quick photo before everyone had to leave for the day. Thanks to Mom and Dad for dropping in and helping us set up the basement and finish off the deck! Without the help of others, we would be sitting on a bunch of 2×4’s that weren’t even screwed together!
Tante Anne-Marie up for a visit!
The greatest photo ever taken? Perhaps!
Nice night to hang out.
I feel this is what a horse jockey looks like before a race.
Thanks to Anne-Marie for taking care of Sierra a few nights so that Vero and I could go out!
The morning Anne-Marie was leaving I noticed a pool of water near the sump pit. Unfortunately the pipe leading to the outer faucet was leaking! Are you kidding me?! Vero and I took a look at it later in the day when Sierra was napping but we decided to call the professionals in because it was still dripping when we shut the water source off. Better not take a chance! It was fixed the next morning. What a pain! We are thinking that the increased pressure in the system over the past few months is a little too much for the older pipes which doesn’t look like to have had the best solder job done to the joints. The person installing our heating system already had to fix four leaks!
Who would have thought a tarp drying on the driveway could be so much fun?!
Band practice for our gig at a wedding in a few weeks.
Lazing around while Mom was out for supper one night.
