Camping, cottaging and lots of chatter
The last month has been super busy for us. We've survived our first two camping trips with a baby and spent a week in Idaho at a cottage with friends (a bit more relaxing than tenting!). Evie has been changing lots and communicating much more than in the past. It is so hard to believe that she's nine months already and that summer is half over!
Evie is changing so much lately. She had her nine month appointment last week, and is still up in the 97th percentile for weight (21 lbs 9oz) - but who doesn't love a chubby baby? (apparently lots of people, as I've found complete strangers will come and squeeze her arms and legs lately when we are out in stores etc). She can finally roll over with some competence, but still doesn't move around too much. I think she might get there in the next month or so, but we'll see - I still wouldn't be shocked if she just walked and didn't crawl.
She loves standing and often will just be happy standing at the couch and playing with toys (or the dogs paws in this case)
She is much more communicative now and is very responsive with her babbling when you talk to her. She also loves to make various different sounds, especially during mealtimes, so we have been pretty entertained (e.g. fake coughs, squeals, exaggerated sniffles). She really loves eating now, and I still haven't found much that she really doesn't like. Mealtime is still pretty messy, but I know that a lot more is making it to her mouth. She's also started on some cow's milk mixed with breastmilk and will actually drink from a sippy cup (which finally means some freedom for me after 9 months of breastfeeding a baby who refuses a bottle!). So that makes me feel a bit more confident that she'll be ready to go to daycare in 3 months.
Drinking milk is serious business
Our last month has been very busy, but for anyone who knows me (or has ever gone on a trip with me and seen my detailed itineraries), you'll know that that I like to make the most of my time. We have been having pretty amazing summer weather, and I feel like we have been taking advantage of it.
We've gone camping twice in the past month. Both in Kananaskis (the Alberta provincial park in the mountains to the East of Banff) at Etherington Creek campground and Boulton Creek campground. The first trip was on the hottest weekend of the year and temperatures were above 30 degrees during the day. It cooled off at night and in the morning, but the hot temperatures made it pretty tough for Evelyn to go to sleep (also difficult considering the tent is still very bright at 7pm when she gets tired). It took three hours of effort to get her sleeping on the first night, which is probably more effort than I've ever had to put in with her (I know I am lucky to have a good sleeper). Once she was sleeping though, she stayed down for most of the night and it was nice to be able to leave the tent in the morning without being super cold (which tends to be the case for most mountain camping trips....see description of our second trip below :). Other than getting her to bed though, the trip went well.
Hanging out in the tent at Etherington Creek - We had the playpen set up, but Evie wouldn't sleep in it so we all ended up on the air mattress...at least Hudson and Ruby were comfortable
Our first day we started out a 10k hike called Windy Peak Hills - we only did about 5km though since we decided it was too hot. With the hike being all above tree line, it was beautiful but just a little too hot for a baby. Definitely still on my 'To Do' list of hikes (a list that will never be complete)
Such a beautiful area of the mountains
Instead of doing the whole hike we went to a small lake called Bear Pond and had a picnic and went for a quick swim
Even though camping with a baby isn't without it's challenges, Evie really does like being outside (one of the current challenges is stopping her from eating rocks/sticks/pine cones etc)
She loved bath time outside
We managed to complete a hike on our second day since it wasn't quite as hot and the hike was a bit shorter. It was called Hailstone Butte, also in the same area (South Kananaskis)
Evie snoozing away while we consult the map
Ruby on the hunt for prairie dogs
Evie taking in the views at the top - It is an active fire lookout and the man who lives there has been doing the job for 25 years from May to November - at least he has a dog to keep him company, but I imagine it would be pretty lonely up there.
Not a bad lunch spot
Craig took Evie on the hike down - She was a bit cranky so we had to sing the whole way down to keep her from crying....at least any bears will hear us coming
We will sometimes let our dogs off leash on hikes when we are above tree line and can see for a good distance....Ruby probably puts in triple the mileage of the rest of us - I wish I had her energy! (Hudson won't stray more than 10 feet from us)
The second camping trip to Boulton Creek was the opposite - We did a hike up to Rummel Lake and in the course of the 3 hour hike, the temperature dropped from 16 degrees to 6 degrees and it poured rain on us the whole hike down. Luckily our hiking carrier has a good rain cover and we'd packed lots of warm clothes for Evie....we were freezing and sopping wet by the end, but Evie was happy and dry (being a parent definitely makes you care less about your own comfort). We knew there was a chance of rain so we had made sure to set up a big tarp at our campsite the night before. As Craig and I drove back to the site from hiking, we kept saying "at least we have our tarp, and our firewood and tent will all be dry". Of course though, we arrive back at our campsite (rain still pouring down) to find the tarp has ripped in the wind and is just flapping around. So we (Craig) set that back up and then sat in the tent for a while (with 2 very wet dogs) waiting for the rain to stop. We were lucky that we were camping with friends who have a tent trailer with propane heat - so that cheered our mood right up when they got back from the hike.
That night was pretty cold though and our tent and bed were a bit damp so that didn't help- Evie stayed warm, but I must have fed her ten times in the night - again, more than I've ever had to do before. We were all pretty exhausted the next day. It was definitely an adventure, but I would definitely take the extreme heat over the rain any day and I have a feeling that a tent trailer may be in our future too :) I'm still glad we did it though, and I know it won't be our last time out.
Our campsite - tarp still up before the rain started falling
Warming up in the morning by the fire
Yummy pancake breakfast
Evie and the Hoidas family
Made it up to Rummel Lake
Eating lunch at Rummel Lake
A real outdoors-girl
We look happy here - but the rain was starting to fall and it poured on us for an hour and a half after this....no pictures were taken after this :)
We also spent a week down in Idaho at a cottage with friends Brandon and Kat (and baby Owen who is a month older than Evie) and Mark and Ang (and boys Ben, 2, and Jacob, 3 months). It was a whole new kind of vacation, but was definitely a lot of fun and somewhat relaxing once we were all settled in to the new space. It was a good type of trip to do with friends though, since all the babies had different schedules but we could meet there needs since we were just in one space for the most part (luckily the baby monitors all reached down to the beach because there were probably only 2-3 times during the whole week when all the babies were awake at the same time).
The cottage was in Sandpoint, Idaho which is about a 7 hour drive from Calgary. I sat in the back with Evie to provide in-car entertainment. We stayed overnight in Cranbrook on the way down just because we weren't sure if we could do the trip in one day. It worked out okay and Craig didn't complain when I sangm Baby Beluga on repeat to get Evie to sleep.
Enjoying some great beach time on Lake Pend Oreille - it was great to be at a lake that wasn't glacier-fed for once!
Beach baby
Enjoying her plum on the beach while others are playing around her
She was not a fan of this floatie toy!
Much better to float around with mom and dad
Evie and the boys (trying to take this picture was pretty hilarious)
Showing off her bikini body :)
The dogs were in heaven at this cottage. I think Ruby fetched sticks in the water for 8 hours a day every day. Hudson did lots of fetching and digging (one of his favourite activities when there is sand around).
Ruby mastering the art of dock jumping
Hudson playing his weird digging game (I have no explanation for this, but he loves it and will do it for hours)
Craig trying out the stand-up paddle board we rented for an afternoon - it was a lot of fun
We all went out for dinner on our last night at the small resort next door - surprisingly, our meal went very smoothly with 4 kids under age 2.
The trip home - We let Ruby ride shot gun since she spends the whole drive trying to get there anyway
Me and my girls at our lunch break in Cranbrook
Other than camping and cottaging, we have done a few things close to home too. Our street hosts an annual Canada Day block party - often we are out of town, but decided to stick around this year. We had a few friends over to hang out and we hosted a cookie decorating station for the neighbourhood kids (all the houses set up something different, so it's a lot of fun). It was a hit and we went through all 200 cookies that I made (though I'm pretty sure some kids had way more than one cookie).
Evie's first Canada Day bike parade - maybe next year she'll be riding in it :)
200 sugar cookies ready for decorating
Ready to celebrate our country
Craig and Evie manning the cookie station
It got pretty busy at times
The dogs got a few cookies too I'm sure
I also did a few hikes locally with Evie and my friend Talecha who has a 3 month old boy (Jethro, or Jet) - We did Grassi Lakes in Canmore which is a really popular hike - so it was nice, but the children's day camp doing it the same day made it a little crazy for my liking. We also did Rock Isle, Grizzly and Larix Lake which was a really nice hike where you start in Alberta and cross over into the Southern edge of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park of BC. You take a shuttle bus up to the Sunshine downhill ski base and hike from there, which means you can get into alpine territory without spending the extra hours climbing all that way (I'm finding its pretty hard to get above tree line with a baby). Anyway - it was an awesome hike and I would definitely recommend it to visitors or beginner hikers as well ($27 for the shuttle up and down though, so more expensive than most hikes). The best part is that it's only 7km, so we caught the 10am bus up and the 1:30pm bus down (time is always an issue when babies need naps!).
Wildflowers en route to Grizzly and Larix Lakes - I'm usually not really into flowers on hikes, but this was about the best I've ever seen on a hike
Rock Isle Lake
Talecha and Jet on our way through the Sunshine Meadows
Selfie in front of Rock Isle Lake
Getting ready to continue on after our lunch break
Grassi Lakes hike - it is a pretty lake despite the crowds
Enjoying our picnic
Dogs loving their swim in this blue-green water
Craig and I also took Evie to the zoo this month. We were last there about two months ago, and what a difference that time makes. Evie actually paid attention to most of the animals this time around, so that was really neat to see.
Looking at the penguins
Watching the meerkats
Loving the stripes
The lions were actually moving around for once - they were very close (kind of scary when a big animal like that eyes up your baby)
Camels
Finally - I will leave you with one of my favourite past-times: trying to make Evie laugh. I can just never get enough of this.
Evie is changing so much lately. She had her nine month appointment last week, and is still up in the 97th percentile for weight (21 lbs 9oz) - but who doesn't love a chubby baby? (apparently lots of people, as I've found complete strangers will come and squeeze her arms and legs lately when we are out in stores etc). She can finally roll over with some competence, but still doesn't move around too much. I think she might get there in the next month or so, but we'll see - I still wouldn't be shocked if she just walked and didn't crawl.
She loves standing and often will just be happy standing at the couch and playing with toys (or the dogs paws in this case)
She is much more communicative now and is very responsive with her babbling when you talk to her. She also loves to make various different sounds, especially during mealtimes, so we have been pretty entertained (e.g. fake coughs, squeals, exaggerated sniffles). She really loves eating now, and I still haven't found much that she really doesn't like. Mealtime is still pretty messy, but I know that a lot more is making it to her mouth. She's also started on some cow's milk mixed with breastmilk and will actually drink from a sippy cup (which finally means some freedom for me after 9 months of breastfeeding a baby who refuses a bottle!). So that makes me feel a bit more confident that she'll be ready to go to daycare in 3 months.
Drinking milk is serious business
Our last month has been very busy, but for anyone who knows me (or has ever gone on a trip with me and seen my detailed itineraries), you'll know that that I like to make the most of my time. We have been having pretty amazing summer weather, and I feel like we have been taking advantage of it.
We've gone camping twice in the past month. Both in Kananaskis (the Alberta provincial park in the mountains to the East of Banff) at Etherington Creek campground and Boulton Creek campground. The first trip was on the hottest weekend of the year and temperatures were above 30 degrees during the day. It cooled off at night and in the morning, but the hot temperatures made it pretty tough for Evelyn to go to sleep (also difficult considering the tent is still very bright at 7pm when she gets tired). It took three hours of effort to get her sleeping on the first night, which is probably more effort than I've ever had to put in with her (I know I am lucky to have a good sleeper). Once she was sleeping though, she stayed down for most of the night and it was nice to be able to leave the tent in the morning without being super cold (which tends to be the case for most mountain camping trips....see description of our second trip below :). Other than getting her to bed though, the trip went well.
Hanging out in the tent at Etherington Creek - We had the playpen set up, but Evie wouldn't sleep in it so we all ended up on the air mattress...at least Hudson and Ruby were comfortable
Camping breakfast - the mornings were still pretty chilly
Our first day we started out a 10k hike called Windy Peak Hills - we only did about 5km though since we decided it was too hot. With the hike being all above tree line, it was beautiful but just a little too hot for a baby. Definitely still on my 'To Do' list of hikes (a list that will never be complete)
Such a beautiful area of the mountains
Instead of doing the whole hike we went to a small lake called Bear Pond and had a picnic and went for a quick swim
Even though camping with a baby isn't without it's challenges, Evie really does like being outside (one of the current challenges is stopping her from eating rocks/sticks/pine cones etc)
She loved bath time outside
We managed to complete a hike on our second day since it wasn't quite as hot and the hike was a bit shorter. It was called Hailstone Butte, also in the same area (South Kananaskis)
Evie snoozing away while we consult the map
Ruby on the hunt for prairie dogs
Evie taking in the views at the top - It is an active fire lookout and the man who lives there has been doing the job for 25 years from May to November - at least he has a dog to keep him company, but I imagine it would be pretty lonely up there.
Not a bad lunch spot
Craig took Evie on the hike down - She was a bit cranky so we had to sing the whole way down to keep her from crying....at least any bears will hear us coming
We will sometimes let our dogs off leash on hikes when we are above tree line and can see for a good distance....Ruby probably puts in triple the mileage of the rest of us - I wish I had her energy! (Hudson won't stray more than 10 feet from us)
The second camping trip to Boulton Creek was the opposite - We did a hike up to Rummel Lake and in the course of the 3 hour hike, the temperature dropped from 16 degrees to 6 degrees and it poured rain on us the whole hike down. Luckily our hiking carrier has a good rain cover and we'd packed lots of warm clothes for Evie....we were freezing and sopping wet by the end, but Evie was happy and dry (being a parent definitely makes you care less about your own comfort). We knew there was a chance of rain so we had made sure to set up a big tarp at our campsite the night before. As Craig and I drove back to the site from hiking, we kept saying "at least we have our tarp, and our firewood and tent will all be dry". Of course though, we arrive back at our campsite (rain still pouring down) to find the tarp has ripped in the wind and is just flapping around. So we (Craig) set that back up and then sat in the tent for a while (with 2 very wet dogs) waiting for the rain to stop. We were lucky that we were camping with friends who have a tent trailer with propane heat - so that cheered our mood right up when they got back from the hike.
That night was pretty cold though and our tent and bed were a bit damp so that didn't help- Evie stayed warm, but I must have fed her ten times in the night - again, more than I've ever had to do before. We were all pretty exhausted the next day. It was definitely an adventure, but I would definitely take the extreme heat over the rain any day and I have a feeling that a tent trailer may be in our future too :) I'm still glad we did it though, and I know it won't be our last time out.
Our campsite - tarp still up before the rain started falling
Warming up in the morning by the fire
Yummy pancake breakfast
Evie and the Hoidas family
Made it up to Rummel Lake
Eating lunch at Rummel Lake
A real outdoors-girl
We look happy here - but the rain was starting to fall and it poured on us for an hour and a half after this....no pictures were taken after this :)
We also spent a week down in Idaho at a cottage with friends Brandon and Kat (and baby Owen who is a month older than Evie) and Mark and Ang (and boys Ben, 2, and Jacob, 3 months). It was a whole new kind of vacation, but was definitely a lot of fun and somewhat relaxing once we were all settled in to the new space. It was a good type of trip to do with friends though, since all the babies had different schedules but we could meet there needs since we were just in one space for the most part (luckily the baby monitors all reached down to the beach because there were probably only 2-3 times during the whole week when all the babies were awake at the same time).
The cottage was in Sandpoint, Idaho which is about a 7 hour drive from Calgary. I sat in the back with Evie to provide in-car entertainment. We stayed overnight in Cranbrook on the way down just because we weren't sure if we could do the trip in one day. It worked out okay and Craig didn't complain when I sangm Baby Beluga on repeat to get Evie to sleep.
Enjoying some great beach time on Lake Pend Oreille - it was great to be at a lake that wasn't glacier-fed for once!
Beach baby
Enjoying her plum on the beach while others are playing around her
She was not a fan of this floatie toy!
Much better to float around with mom and dad
Evie and the boys (trying to take this picture was pretty hilarious)
Showing off her bikini body :)
She liked playing in the sand (but didn't like when she rubbed it in her eyes and ate it)
Evie and Owen - he is one busy little guy that made me realize how much I need to enjoy these last few easy months of Evie sitting still in one place (he is crawling and climbing all over the place!)
Taking in the sunset with my boy
The dogs were in heaven at this cottage. I think Ruby fetched sticks in the water for 8 hours a day every day. Hudson did lots of fetching and digging (one of his favourite activities when there is sand around).
Ruby mastering the art of dock jumping
Hudson playing his weird digging game (I have no explanation for this, but he loves it and will do it for hours)
Craig trying out the stand-up paddle board we rented for an afternoon - it was a lot of fun
We all went out for dinner on our last night at the small resort next door - surprisingly, our meal went very smoothly with 4 kids under age 2.
The trip home - We let Ruby ride shot gun since she spends the whole drive trying to get there anyway
Me and my girls at our lunch break in Cranbrook
Other than camping and cottaging, we have done a few things close to home too. Our street hosts an annual Canada Day block party - often we are out of town, but decided to stick around this year. We had a few friends over to hang out and we hosted a cookie decorating station for the neighbourhood kids (all the houses set up something different, so it's a lot of fun). It was a hit and we went through all 200 cookies that I made (though I'm pretty sure some kids had way more than one cookie).
Evie's first Canada Day bike parade - maybe next year she'll be riding in it :)
200 sugar cookies ready for decorating
Ready to celebrate our country
Craig and Evie manning the cookie station
The dogs got a few cookies too I'm sure
I also did a few hikes locally with Evie and my friend Talecha who has a 3 month old boy (Jethro, or Jet) - We did Grassi Lakes in Canmore which is a really popular hike - so it was nice, but the children's day camp doing it the same day made it a little crazy for my liking. We also did Rock Isle, Grizzly and Larix Lake which was a really nice hike where you start in Alberta and cross over into the Southern edge of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park of BC. You take a shuttle bus up to the Sunshine downhill ski base and hike from there, which means you can get into alpine territory without spending the extra hours climbing all that way (I'm finding its pretty hard to get above tree line with a baby). Anyway - it was an awesome hike and I would definitely recommend it to visitors or beginner hikers as well ($27 for the shuttle up and down though, so more expensive than most hikes). The best part is that it's only 7km, so we caught the 10am bus up and the 1:30pm bus down (time is always an issue when babies need naps!).
Wildflowers en route to Grizzly and Larix Lakes - I'm usually not really into flowers on hikes, but this was about the best I've ever seen on a hike
Rock Isle Lake
Talecha and Jet on our way through the Sunshine Meadows
Selfie in front of Rock Isle Lake
View southwest into Mt Assiniboine Park
Getting ready to continue on after our lunch break
Evie's first ride on a school bus - the shuttle on the way down
Hiking buddies
Grassi Lakes hike - it is a pretty lake despite the crowds
Dogs loving their swim in this blue-green water
Craig and I also took Evie to the zoo this month. We were last there about two months ago, and what a difference that time makes. Evie actually paid attention to most of the animals this time around, so that was really neat to see.
Looking at the penguins
Watching the meerkats
The lions were actually moving around for once - they were very close (kind of scary when a big animal like that eyes up your baby)
Finally - I will leave you with one of my favourite past-times: trying to make Evie laugh. I can just never get enough of this.
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