Latest happenings

August is here! This is the month our baby will be born.. I think that I can say that with relative certainty, seeing as I am due in only 9 days. Feeling good still!

Here are some pictures from life lately. We've been sticking pretty close to home. Bronwen is the start of most of these pics.. before she has to give up her only child status very soon.

Some radishes from our garden.. it must be love.

 I snuck up on Bronwen when she was playing quietly in her room. Apparently she is practicing changing diapers with her toy rabbit. She kept spreading out this change mat and laying her rabbit down in the middle.

Serious business.

I see you!

Having smoothies with mum for lunch.

Bronwen got to spend one last afternoon with her buddy Sam before he moved with his family all the way to BC. Here they are at a crucial moment... maybe promising each other to get married someday.. (just kidding.. I don't want to be one of those parents, haha!).  

Actually, Bronwen mostly stared at Sam with this expression. I think she thought he stole her high chair. All high chairs that look like this in the world must belong to her, obviously.

Oh man, I love pop bottles!

And here I am at 10 days left to go, disheveled at the end of the day. Popped bellybutton (though it's been out for a very long time now) = fully cooked. Ding!

Camping Adventures

Last week I had the urge to have a quick little getaway before the baby comes.. because then I know that realistically, we probably won't be going anywhere for quite a while. (Plus, we discovered that with the car loaded with our camping gear, we might not be able to go camping with 2 kids in car seats in Rubee... unless we are very very creative.. or very minimalist!). 

We went to Bellevue Beach Campground, just over an hour away from St. John's. The forecast called for rain for Friday night and Saturday morning.. but we decided to risk it anyway. The weather on Friday was beautiful, after all. 

Here are some pictures from our trip!

Brian is exceptionally talented at roasting marshmallows. Golden brown and perfect every time. 

As a side note... you should try making s'mores with these cookies (we chose the dark chocolate ones though.. 70% cocoa and DELICIOUS!). It's easier than getting graham crackers and chocolate separately and makes perfect, delicious, chocolatey s'mores. Available at a Dominion/ Superstore near you. (this statement is not sponsored by Loblaws ;)

Well, it rained. A lot. It poured all night really.. thankfully, our tent is very waterproof. It was still raining a bit in the morning so we found this little gazebo with picnic table down the road for our breakfast spot, rather than staying at our soggy campsite. Dining room with a view!

French press coffee, sausages, bread, strawberries and eggs.. yummy!

Good reviews on the breakfast.

Boiling some eggs and growing a baby. At the same time.

The rain stopped! Walking down the beach. It had real sand, which is pretty good for Newfoundland!

Bronwen loved the beach! Especially poking her fingers in the sand.

Fog burning off.

Weekend Adventures!

We went camping this weekend... more on that later including pictures. But for now, here's a couple fun videos of our little Newfoundlander exploring the great outdoors..

Brian is picking wild strawberries.. he is ever the forager and always manages to find little edibles when we are on hikes and such. 

Notice the initial excited "hands-up-and-squat" move... she was going to go down to the water but decided to sit and watch it first. 

Sorry about the blurriness, it's hard to focus on a moving target outdoors!

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.