The call of the wild

Faith went to the Toronto Zoo today with her Sparks troop (think pre-Brownies). All the local Sparks, Brownies, and Guides piled on two buses this morning to head to the zoo.

When Faith got back tonight she had lots of stories to tell, along with complaining that she "walked all day long" and was too tired to do anything. Of course, she seemed to be bouncing of the walls too, so it was more of an over-tired/sugar high thing. She had many, many snacks provided by the troupe, included leftovers that she brought home! She still hasn't eaten them all. Apparently walking around the zoo required a backpack full of food.

She is also now full of very interesting animal facts and stories. Just two examples:

-One time somebody fed the orangutangs at the zoo and they got in a fight with the orangutang, and the orangutang fell into the water and died. Apparently Orangutangs can't swim. (My response to this story was "So, you're not supposed to feed the animals, right?" "No....but our leaders did.")
-Lions need lots of fur around their necks so if they get in fights they won't get their throats eaten and die.

Hey, they don't call them wild animals for nothing.

First baby pictures

Here's the first pictures of the baby, at 20 weeks. I had the ultrasound yesterday morning. The best part, aside from when they said I could pee, was seeing the baby moving around onscreen. I couldn't believe how active he was, and that I couldn't feel all that activity. Sure, I felt some of it, but at one point he moved from his front to his back and I didn't feel it at all!

And, yes, the Ultrasound tech let me know that the baby is likely a boy. It's not 100%, but apparently she saw the penis...or something that looked suspiciously like one. :)

George and I told Faith when we got home that night. When I told her the baby was a boy, she got a big smile on her face, so I think that's a good sign.
Although, she then went on to point out that sometimes they make mistakes and that it could still be a girl.

Later on, while we were sitting on our bed after her bath, I was braiding her hair. As I was doing this, I heard her whispering over and over, "Be a girl. Be a girl. Be a girl." When I asked what she was saying, she just smiled and said, "Nothing."

Good thing she has a few months to get used to the idea that she will be having a baby brother.


To translate the pictures

• the first is a shot of the baby's spine
• the second is the baby's feet
• the third is a face-on view
• the fourth is a side view

It snowed!

Today was our first snowfall. As I drove home from work, I started to see snow dusting the ground in shaded spots. When I got to the daycare, the kids were super excited that they got to see snow.

When Faith and I got home, we had snow on the front lawn so we ran inside to put on her boots and grab the camera. By the time we got back outside, the wind had whipped up and it was snowing again! We snapped a couple of pictures with Faith holding her hat down on her head.

My neighbour yelled out, "Robin, so this is all your fault!"

As we ran back into the garage to escape the blowing snow, I couldn't help thinking he was right. :)

When George came home later, he brought a snowball into the house to throw at Faith. She wanted to save it, so it's now sitting in hour freezer. The first taste of winter.

Family planning

Faith was sitting on the throne last week (she pulls this off really well as she enjoys making royal pronouncements from the bathroom) when she announced, "Mom, we should only have two kids in this family, otherwise it's too much work to care of them." In complete agreement. :)

This was after I did the typical response to "Mom, get me..."

I usually say, "What, am I your slave?"

This time, Faith said, "Yes. You're the mom and I'm the kid. I tell you to get me stuff and you do."

George laughing at times like this doesn't help.

Stuffed with turkey and other tidbits

We survived Thanksgiving weekend...likely the last really nice weekend until winter sets in.

The highlights from the weekend can be summarized by:

Happy Birthday to Mom
Flat tire on George's car
DQ Blizzard for me (while waiting for tire to get fixed)
Really good Chinese food in Harrow (who knew?)
Too much food...
Sweet potatoes with marshmallows!
Too much dessert...ok...maybe not
Plane fogged out for my Aunt from Edmonton
Nathan and Faith making a pile of leaves in Uncle Lloyd's yard
Leftovers!
Happy 35th Anniversary to Mom and Dad