Keeping Up With The De Oliveiras: February 2014

Looks like I'm playing catch-up with blog entries - this visit happened 3 weeks ago!

The last weekend before the holidays we had a visit from Kent! It was great to have another cousin come by and stay, and though Aimy was pretty shy initially, by the end of his visit, she would go to where he was sleeping and ask for him. And even for a few days after he left, she would look for him and ask "Where Kent?" It was pretty cute. Alixe, on the other hand, was a bit scared of our visitor, though she started smiling at him at the end. Seems like it takes her a while to warm up to new people!

Though the weather was pretty awful (except for the day we went out) we did manage to get to the beach town and were able to go to the Dune. When we arrived, though, we had a bit of a shock: the weather had been so awful leading up to Kent's visit, and the wind did a number on the dune. It had moved inland a few meters in 2 months, and was extremely steep where we would normally climb up. I'm not sure the pictures can do it justice, but for those of you who have been there, you should get an idea of how steep it was (and how difficult it was to climb while carrying a baby!!)

Nobody there - it was pretty cold and windy at the top

Climbing the very steep dune

Looking back at us

Hi, Kent!

Finally at the top

Getting a bit chilly

Cousins in the wind (and baby trying to look at the camera)

Hanging out at the bottom

Family photo

It was nice to have Kent visit, though I hope he didn't get too bored. It's not always easy to go out with the girls, especially when the weather has been as awful as it was during his visit. I will be so glad when the norm isn't 60km/h+ winds and constant rain. I'm just hoping that he was able to rest here and enjoy some non-travel time. Looking forward to seeing you this summer, Kent!

It's been a while, and lots has happened since my last post. I believe I mentioned that I was still suffering from a cold that wouldn't go away... Well, it ended up being a case of sinusitis, and I finally started to feel like myself again just last week. It's been hard to beat this one, especially since it was keeping me up (or waking me up) at night. I'm glad it has finally run its course!

I also have to admit that I thought it would be easier to find time to write, but the girls (and life in general) keep me busy. At the end of the day there always seems to be something that keeps me away from the computer. I hope that since I'm feeling much better now that I'll start feeling a bit more energetic once the girls have gone to bed (especially since I have been in the habit of taking a small nap while the girls are napping in the afternoon!)

Otherwise, the weather here has been rotten for what feels like an eternity. We've beaten rainfall records and have had abnormally warm temperatures for a typical winter, and the wind has been making it hard to fathom going outdoors. As a BC girl, I can handle the rain, but 60km/h+ gusts of wind with rain while pushing a stroller and carrying a second kid in a carrier are just a bit outside my comfort zone. Our back fence borders on a private driveway and our lawn slopes slightly towards the back and front, which has kept our house and yard mostly dry and helped the excess water drain away, but there have been periods where the hedge and the neighbour's driveway have been in a nice-sized puddle. The level of water at the lake is so high that all of the parking lots are under at least 3cm of water, parts of the bike path are flooded, and almost all of the beaches are underwater or have been washed away. It's going to take a while for everything to go back to normal there, that's for sure.

News from the girls: Alixe is sitting up more and more, and will often complain if I put her on her playmat, as she would much prefer to be in a sitting position, either on the couch or in someone's lap, so she can see what is going on around her. Her appetite also amazes me. The quantity of food that she ingests at every meal is astounding... I don't know where she puts it all! She is very shy around new people and will often cry if she sees an unfamiliar face and isn't in my arms (and if she is in my arms, she grabs hold of me like there's no tomorrow and might still cry!)

Aimy's language skills are progressing well. Her new favourite words: empty, broken, help. Taken out of context, it sounds like things are always out of control at our house! What is funny is when she uses them - empty is for food and drink receptacles, of course, but broken sometimes comes out when she can't make something do what she wants it to do... and if it's not working for her, it must be broken! She has also started to say things like "be back" when she leaves the room if people are watching her, or say "Oh dear!" when she drops something or is shocked. And she picks up on words easily too, so I find myself spelling things I don't want her to hear or say. She loves having a shower (no more bathtub for this kid!) and is disappointed when it's not her turn.

The girls have started to form a bond, and it's adorable to see them together. If Alixe is in my arms, she will swivel her head around to find Aimy, and when she does, she gives her a big smile. That usually make Aimy laugh, which will make Alixe giggle, and the two of them just keep going like that for a while. Aimy loves it when her sister touches her in any way, and will try to comfort Alixe when she is crying. There are some rough moments between the two of them, though. Aimy doesn't always like to see Alixe playing with her toys (or any toy she wants to play with, for that matter) and can get huffy if I won't let her take them for herself. She also doesn't know her own strength and doesn't always understand that her actions can hurt her sister. But in general, they seem to have a lot of fun together.