Amherst Shore 2008 - Brown-Christie Games

Shore life is treating us well. The Brown-Christie Games will be decided today with the golf tournament. As it stands right now, the Browns are up by one point. If we win the golf, we will win it all. If not, the winner will be decided in a putting contest. We won bridge, cribbage, all three Trivial Pursuits, frisbee golf, the water relay, and junior softball. The Christie's won Hearts, Ultimate Frisbee, both volleyballs, open softball, Bocce ball, and the sack race.

I had to take a step back from my usual level of participation to be a Mommy, but I guess that is what happens when you have added responsibility. I think I'm the only person who has had to get a sub in the softball game to nurse the baby. Matt has taken up any slack that I left and has contributeed in most events.

Daniel is loving it up here and has been 'swimming' twice already. The salt water is working wonders for his eczema and diaper rash. I've taken to naked swimming since the swim shorts don't really protect the diaper, and he just ends up with a very large and wet diaper. You SFD girls would be proud of his nakedness :)


Daniel with his great grandfather Amos.

Nova Scotia Bound

Sorry I've been so bad at keeping the blog updated these days. Life has been absolutely crazy. Daniel has had lots of visitors, and we have been quite busy. Aunt Maggie was in town, and the Langsenkamp's were up, too. We also had a trip to the Wisconsin Dells for a couple days. Now we are finally at the cottage. Daniel was a great traveller, and we made it up here without much trouble. The only bad thing was that our luggage arrived somewhat wet because of the rain in Toronto. Daniel has adjusted to the time change well (sleeps from 10 pm until 7:30 am), and likes all the attention from the family.

The weather has been quite decent considering the forecast predicted rain every day. It is in the 70s and partly to mostly cloudy. The beach has not been too enticing, but that is fine with me as Daniel is a little sensitive to the bright light. For now we are spending our days receiving visitors at the cottage and working at the farmhouse.

Daniel is quite the charmer these days. We see tons of smiles, and last night Matt got him to giggle for the first time. Hopefully he will continue to give us giggles. He is shoving everything into his mouth and is grabbing and holding toys all the time. I suspect that we will see teeth sometime in the near future. It is amazing how much he has changed in the past few weeks.

The games are this weekend. So we will be busy all day with activities. I'll try to get some more pictures and updates up next week.

Daniel's first visit to a waterpark. Don't worry, we did not schedule this as a family outing. I had to be there for a conference.

Sleeping in his tent. So far he loves it. We think it will be handy for the beach. No bugs or sun inside!
Daniel loves the Bumbo. It is pretty funny to see him 'join the crowd' on top of the table.
Daniel decided to catch a few zzz's before getting on the plane in Milwaukee.
Daniel in his new hat at the cottage. He's loving it so far.

Many Milestones

It seems like Daniel does new things everyday. He is changing so quickly now. Maybe it is the additional attention he gets from Dad since he is around so much that is helping :) I must say that it has been wonderful having Matt home. He has been a big help and is getting to bond with Daniel a lot. In the past week, Daniel has started rolling over from his back to his front, he got his first cold, and he held his bottle. He also stands in your lap, watches me move around the house, and holds toys in his hand. I'm sure there is more that I'm forgetting or not even noticing. It is so amazing how little babies go from doing almost nothing to doing new things everyday in such a short timespan. Something happened right around the time we went to Notre Dame that has let him experience the world in an entirely new way. Here are a few pics of the big events and a few from this afternoon.

Paternity Leave and Life at the Lee House

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything. Life has been keeping us busy. Nothing too out of the ordinary, just managing to stay busy. Daniel is learning new tricks every day. Today he grabbed his foot for the first time. Wouldn't it be nice if we could define our new experiences as such simple things?

Matt goes on paternity leave after July 4. I'm really excited to have him home, but at the same time, I'm a little nervous. I hope we really take advantage of this time rather than wasting it away. He has worked a ton in the past few weeks (working from 8 am until 10 pm with a stop at home for dinner), so it will be great to see him more. I don't think I could have survived without Kelly.

We are also interviewing for a nanny. It is difficult to find people who want to work two days a week and from those finding the right person is a challenge. I've been waiting for a stormy day to bring us Mary Poppins, but she has not come yet. Thankfully we have two good candidates.

Here are a few recent photos:

But Dad, I don't like the Farmer's Market. In a few years this face will get him anything he wants.

Just chillin' on the couch watching the game.

We took our first ride in the big stroller.

Morning bouncer time. Probably his best time of day. We get lots of smiles, and I get an hour of free time.

Posing in the Pack'n'Play. Practicing for Grandma Peggy's photo shoot.

Mom, no more pictures, please.