Lobsters Etc

We recently had a string of hot, sticky days... culminating in yesterday's 31 degrees, very high for St. John's. But right now, it is 12 degrees outside. Aaaah. Blessed relief. Being largely pregnant when it is really hot is not easy!

Here are a couple snippets from our latest activities. 

Brian made us iced coffees on Saturday to go with breakfast... very refreshing!

On Saturday evening we went to a friend's house for their annual Lobster Extravaganza. It was BYOL(obster), and the big stockpot of boiling water was hot and ready to throw the poor helpless creatures in. Here is Bronwen getting aquainted before this one's tragic demise.

Not so sure..

However, she was really into the lemons that went with the crab legs. And eventually the crab legs themselves.

Washing off all the seafood juices! With cheetahs and lions.

Love this face.

More baby prep!

 This week we have had some great weather and I've taken advantage of the sunshine to do some more cleaning and nesting. I find it so much more motivating to tidy and clean when the sun is out!

Friends of ours gave us a car seat last week.. one of those huge, 3-in-1 car seats that is about the size of a small lazyboy. In the back of a small car. But, we gladly accepted it... when baby #2 grows out of his or her infant seat, then Bronwen can upgrade to the lazyboy seat and the baby can go in her other seat. So, we won't have to buy any more car seats for a long time. That's a good thing.
I washed the padding from all 3 seats and wiped them out. Just like new again!

Here is Bronwen demonstrating her growth in the past 18 months...

And reading the manual to her current seat (not a big car seat, this is about as compact as they come for this stage). Better make sure it's installed correctly, Mum.

Here is the progress on Bronwen's new room/ guest room/ office. Brian put the new crib together on the weekend. It was a bit of a pain, as Ikea cribs seem to be. However, based on stories I have heard from other people, putting a crib together is usually a bit of a trying experience. The dutiful husband with his largely pregnant and mostly unhelpful wife probably contributes to that... haha.

The curtains are washed and hung back up, and Bronwen's picture is on the wall, along with her special stuff on the shelf (and our photo albums, well out of reach of little hands).

Bronwen won't be sleeping in here for the first while as my mum is coming to stay in our guest room (hurray!).. but once the dust settles she will be in this room. The 'nursery' room is easier for a newborn with the change table and rocking chair in there, just what we need for all those night feedings and diaper changes.

Summer Days

The end of June was very cold here.. everyone was wearing pants and sweaters, and it was nice weather for pie. Rhubarb custard pie, a legendary Claus family favourite. Here is Brian's creation. I am pretty proud that my husband can make a pie like this. It was delicious.. and the rhubarb was from our garden which made it even better. 

Morning calculations on the couch.

All of a sudden, it got warm and summer was actually here.
We never taught Bronwen how to dip chips in dip... but here she is, demonstrating this intuitive skill perfectly on the first try.

Just to show I can be grumpy too...

We went down to Middle Cove beach because we heard that the capelin were rolling. Capelin are small fish that Newfoundlanders like to eat.. sort of like sardines. Around this time of year, if you time it right you can be on the beach when they are rolling- basically coming onto the shore in piles with every wave. People like to catch them in buckets and eat them in various forms. There weren't very many (live) capelin.. but we still had fun.

Some hopefuls waiting for the fish.

Bronwen making friends.. trading feathers and rocks.

On Saturday we went to the beach- it was a really hot day. We went to Sunshine Beach on Healey's Pond.. a small lake about 10 km from our house. It's a beautiful spot to swim and the water is clear, cold and so refreshing. I swam up and down the buoy line for a bit and it was so nice to feel weightless! Bronwen didn't love the water, it was a little cold for her. But she had a lot of fun investigating all the beach happenings.

35 weeks.. only approximately 34 days to go! Time flies.

My first cherry tomato. I was pretty excited to see this little guy.

Tomato plants all in a row on the back porch.. the stakes are a little droopy because we got some wind.

Bronwen in her new outfit from Grandma B.

She can get up on the chairs by herself now.. just likes to have a sit.

Parting shot.. self-inflicted pig nose. Haha.

Forks are for Decoration

Baby Prep

The weather here is getting nicer, the sun is out, and the forecast looks promising. A good Newfoundland windy spring (summer, almost) day is perfect for hanging laundry out. So, I've been spring cleaning these days. Washing all sorts of things from bathmats and pillows to curtains and blinds. And then I'll be washing new cloth diapers and miscellaneous newborn baby items.

Some might call this nesting, but I think it's a bit too early for that.
I'm just taking advantage of only having one child to get as much done around the house when I can. It's not always easy to do housework with a toddler (she doesn't realize that freshly mopped floors are very slippery.. and likes to bring me her toys to help clean the bathroom. or feel the toilet water)-- but I figure it's a lot easier than doing housework with a toddler and a newborn.

I am trying to get a lot done with vinegar, dish soap and baking soda and it's been working well so far. It just feels a little better not to be breathing in too much from the cleaning stuff... plus Bronwen has always got her little paws in whatever I am cleaning and I don't care if she licks the freshly scrubbed tub if it's only got vinegar on it.

My spring cleaning list is almost done- just a few things left that I need Brian's help with (such as cleaning our windows from the outside... not about to get up on a ladder and the front ones are very high up). And move the fridge to clean behind it. Things like that.
Then it's onto the 'baby list' which is infinitely more fun- things like getting out the little newborn clothes again, and setting up the crib. And setting up Bronwen's new room (a cozy nook in our guest room/office).
Putting the infant car seat back in the car- this will be a good experiment in how a 2 door Yaris hatchback will hold 2 tall-ish adults and 2 rear-facing carseats. Let's hope it works fine because a new vehicle is not in the works for a while yet!.. oh Rubee, you continue to faithfully serve us.

I am going to try and make some meals for the freezer... does anyone have any ideas for summer-type freezer meals? So far I have 1 meal in there... black bean enchiladas. Side note.. if you are looking to help out any families with new babies... one of the BEST things you can do, in my opinion, is to bring food! I still will not forget when Bronwen was born and our friends Alex and Adrienne showed up with a big container of chili, and homemade bagels. They didn't stay for hours, they just said hi... and left us a wonderful gift. I'm sure there were other people who brought us food, but that's what stands out in my head the most.

looking back.. some of our friends at the hospital... they arrived en masse.

Bronwen, 1 week old. Maybe an August baby won't have to wear a toque 24/7! (she literally wore one to sleep every night for the first few months). 

Bronwen's latest activities

Here is a little movie I made last night of Bronwen's favourite toys lately. Please excuse the fact that she is not wearing pants...
(it's a little long.. but it's got some really cute parts ;) For one thing, I didn't even take the containers out of the cupboard for her.. she got them herself and filled them up.

June Days!

Here are some pictures from the latest happenings in our life.

30 weeks pregnant with our little sprout.... (this was a week ago now).

 Date downtown with Brian! We hadn't been on a date with just the two of us since January(!), so it was long overdue (getting a babysitter once or twice to go to parties doesn't really count, and neither does taking Bronwen along with us). It's a lot more work to go out child-free.. but always worth it! We hope to squeeze in a couple more dates before the new baby arrives (and it gets even harder to go out!).

We went to one of our favourite dinner spots, Nautical Nellie's, and then walked by the boats and had coffee and dessert at Rocket Bakery.

Mmm, I love dad's homemade bread..

Sometimes I like to eat my snacks on this little bench...

I didn't take many pictures, but we went to the wedding of some of our friends from church on Saturday. It was a really fun, relaxed, and beautifully decorated wedding. Here are the food tables.. they were still setting up, hence the Sobeys bag. Also, 'scoff' is Newfoundland-ese for 'a big feed' aka 'a good meal'.

Family picture!

We had some visitors from Vancouver and Regina. Krista and Chelsa stayed with us for a couple of nights and we got to show them around a bit.

That's all for now!