Bits and Bobs

 Went for a wander with some friends in Kelowna. 

Tempted to head back there with our mountain bikes!

Cassia enjoyed her first taste of apple!

We bought a couch to match our beaver.

Cassia's first ski tour!

We took Cassia out to "The Wrist" (at the bottom of the fingers) today. Good times! 

First time in the backpack.

Mom and Cassia take a snack break.

Cozy Cabin Christmas

Cozy Cabin tree (Pseudotsuga menziesii) on Christmas morning.

Stockings (J's socks) and the nook.

The chaos of gift opening.

Nevis says thanks for all the envelopes, boxes, wrapping paper and ribbons.

My new giant beaver-ottoman (Castor canadensis var. ottomanii).

And have I mentioned that blogspot has changed their layout and it is driving me bonking mad as I can't get the format I want?

Do pine martens eat cats?

James found some mystery poo in the woodshed last night.

After a bit of sleuthing and forcing all friends who dropped by to look at the poo and give us their opinions, we have deduced that it is from a pine marten. Now we want to know how Nevis the cat will fare with a pine marten living in his territory. We don't think he'd get eaten by it, but we suspect there could be some pretty big vet bills involved if they did decide to challenge each other. Unfortunately Nevis is the kind of cat that sleeps in a baby bassinet and I don't think he'd do to well in a fight with something that kills things for a living. Any advice out there?

More smiles and diapers

I've been meaning to blog for awhile, but whenever I look at the photos I've recently taken, my winter folder looks much like this:

 

As you can see my blogging fodder is rather one-tracked. And yes, there are pictures of diapers in there.

Here are said diapers hanging by the fire.  I knew it was time to leave the house and take a break from being a mom when I hung them up in Roy G. Biv

Cassia at 3 months.

Hanging with Ruby.

 Bundled for a walk.

 And for comparison, here I am at around the same age.

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

 Are those eyes going brown? We're still not sure.

Lilies

 

Great-grandma Lily with Cassia Lily

We(s)t coast of Scotland

 

Wet weather bimble on Craignish Point, near Ardfern, we(s)t coast of Scotland.

 Windy

The main point of going out was to get wet and cold so that we could go back in and enjoy the fire more.

Andy's technique for getting wet fast was rather effective.

Cartier Lookout

New Denver

We went down to New Denver for a weekend of camping, mountain biking and chillin'. Overall Cassia did great on her first camping trip, though we did learn that over-heated babies cry very, very loudly on our first night there.

Cassia and I explored the Kohan Japanese Gardens in New Denver. The gardens were built to bring awareness about the Japanese internment camps that were located in the area during WWII.

 

 Ranunculaceae (buttercup family)

 Japanese maple

 Gingko leaf

 Baby at correct temperature.

Wilson falls

Something in the water last November...

All of these babies were born at the end of July or early August. This was our final midwife appointment at 6 weeks for Cassia. Group appointments rock! You get to meet all the other moms and babes and compare notes. Clockwise from the baby  in blue are: Olive, Theo, Lila, Siri and Cassia. 

Siri, Cassia and Olive hanging out after baby massage class.

Smiling!

 This makes 5 weeks of waking up several times a night worth it.

Thanks to the many folks who have donated clothes for Cassia - we haven't bought a thing!

Family Visits

 The Blasy girls -  my sister, nieces and little Cassia.

 Me and my girl.

 Family portrait.

 I've been wanting to go to the Enchanted Forest for years now. I finally had some kids to go with as an excuse. It was rad! This tree house was definitely the highlight.

 View of the 3 little bears house from the top of the treehouse.