11 Month Update

Our little girl was 11 months this weekend. And we had a full weekend of fun activities to keep her busy! We took her to get weighed and measured. She is now slightly more than 20lbs and is 28.5 inches long. She continues to develop her walking abilities and, on the right surface, she will now even try running!

We went and saw our friend play in a Steel Drum band. Jen toured with the group on the East Coast of Canada this summer and they were excellent to listen to! Megan loved the rhythm and could be seen shaking her bum as she stood in place!

Scott is in a Slo-Pitch Tournament this weekend. His team is doing OK and will be playing in the 'B' Pool tomorrow for the finals. Scott has played really well this weekend - even had a home run in his first game this morning. Megan loved to watch her daddy and was there to greet him as he came off the field - very cute! The rest of the time she was content exploring the area with mom and meeting new people.

And here are a few quick shots of Megan playing at home this weekend. She knows and can mimic the sounds a dog and cow makes. Again, she loves to stand at the fridge and dance when the barnyard game makes noise!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend too!

Duck Race!

This weekend was the Annual Duck Race at our Lake. We bought numbers 14, 20 and 40 and cheered them on while raising funds for charity. Here's a look at what we experienced during the race!

More than 200 duck contestants started off in the box - we quickly looked for our numbers to say some final encouraging words, but couldn't see them! They were then dumped into the water near the top holding pond at the Lake.

Initial scouting reports had all contestants roughly equal after the dump into the water - but the ducks quickly lined up with the current as they approached the first set of rapids.

Not being able to see any of our ducks with the leaders, we dropped back to try and cheer them on in the middle-pack. There didn't seem to be the same urgency with these ducks! But near the front, the leaders were already nearing the second-set of rapids!

We caught up with the leaders just before they went over the water falls! In review of the photos, we think our 3 ducks may have been the ones hiding behind the rock...too scared to go over the falls! The falls were a chance to once again spread out the field - with several of them just hanging out in the lower pond waiting for their friends to join them!

But for the serious ducks, they navigated their way down the small falls and third rapids before getting into the final stretch. But where were our ducks? Had they forgotten to put them in the bucket at the start?

Just as we had given up hope, we spotted a duck that truly look scared! With big eyes and body below the surface, it floated by near the front of the group. Could it be? Sure enough, #14 was giving a final surge towards the finish line with the top of the pack!

Alas, it was not meant to be the winner tho! You won't believe the top finisher numbers...#39 came first and #19 came second...so much for our #40 and #20! It was a great afternoon. Megan is going to love running with the other kids and cheering on her duck next year.

By the way, #14 finished top 10 in the overall standings!

Megan Is Walking!

Megan has taken her first few steps! And then a few more...and then we went and got the camera!

Megan's a Movie Star

Now that we have a camera the takes short clips on video (that isn't 100's of MB's) we can upload more video of Megan! Enjoy...especially to those of you who don't get to see her in action on a regular basis.

Grandma was "nice" enough to give Megan a new whistle...and lucky for us she already knows how to use it. The first time she blew the whistle she couldn't stop laughing, but she's now gives a little giggle & smile and keeps on blowing.

This one is Megan in the bath...Daddy should consider trading in his uniform for a stylists apron!

This video documents why Megan prefers to walk everywhere! Her Quasimoto crawl just isn't all that efficient.

Megan and Daddy do a lot of playing together...and she loves to chase anyone who is willing to run from her! Our favorite part of this one is at the beginning when she pokes her head around the corner looking for Scott, and then pops up standing to chase him. This video is right before bed so she's quite a bit slower getting back up...sleepy little monkey.

And finally, Megan showing off her latest walking skills - I only need one hand now daddy! Last night she did get so caught up in playing that she actually took a couple of unassisted steps on her own before falling!

Kelowna 2

You have to tilt your head (sorry) but here is Megan taking a walk in the lake, with a little help from her daddy.

Kelowna

We made an extra long weekend and headed to Kelowna to visit Jenny and her parents. Jen is there visiting them for a few weeks and invited us along for a few days. We had great weather and enjoyed our time on the beach, drinking wine and simply relaxing! Megan was an excellent traveller (again!) for us. Katie kept her entertained during the car ride and once there, the house cat ("Carl") and all the activities kept her well amused.

Jenn's folks have a beautiful home on the hills of West Kelowna and Megan loved to kick-back and eat all the fresh fruit from their orchard. Peaches were in season and brought big smiles each morning as her mom cut them up for her.

Megan also spotted Ogopogo, but seemed less than impressed!

We spent some time at the 'Nut Farm' (haha - short trip for us, I know!) But it's a very cool beach area and Megan enjoyed trying some of the equipment for the bigger kids.

Our little girl had tons of smiles and seemed to alternate between 'mommy and daddy's girl' depending on what she wanted : ) We had a great weekend - thanks to Jenny and her family!

Tour de Bowness

Today, we went across the City to watch a few bike races in Bowness. We watched a couple different categories on the closed course. A Criterium Race - tons of laps (25-35) of a very short course (.75km) - making it a spectators dream!! We found a spot on a corner with tons of pads on it - and as luck would have it we got to witness a crash (not to worry everyone was OK!)

They have a pace motorcycle for all the laps and different laps carry with them cash or prize incentives - so you often see tons of sprinting throughout the race to make it even more exciting! Of course, the top three riders of each category get prizes too.

Megan loved to cheer on the riders and her new found skill of clapping came in very useful as they raced past her. In the large group they created enough wind to blow in her face - she loved that too and would turn to the side with a big smile as they passed our position!

Of course there was also tons of walking to be done. She had to walk past everyone to make sure they saw her! Dozens of the female riders who were waiting for their race stopped and talked with us and commented on our little girl. Megan, of course, loved the attention and had a smile for them.

And if the action of the riders and fans weren't enough, our little girl was distracted by each puppy-dog that went by too. It's clear that she loves animals. Last night at a friend's BBQ she crawled after a cat the entire night. And today it was dogs. She'd yell, clap or bang her tray to get their attention...and of course end up with a big smile.

We had a beautiful day out with our little girl. We hope she'll love biking too.

Rubber Duckies

We are now less than two weeks away from the Amazing Chaparral Lake Rubber-Duck Race!

On our walk today we stopped into the community centre and purchased 3 ducks. We didn't get our ideal number selections, but we are remaining positive that one of them will WIN. We've selected # 14, 20 & 40.

On Saturday August 14, all 200 rubber ducks will start at the top of the Chaparral Lake waterfall. They will be released and go over the falls and then down the river towards the lake. The first duck to enter the lake wins. (Not sure what the prize is actually - perhaps just bragging rights!?)

All proceeds go to charity and for $2/duck - it's worth the fun!! We will be at the race to cheer on our ducks and we will be sure to have photos.