Photo update

Spring has sprung

I am so happy to be back online! Heather and I both put in some hours trying to get back on our page but it was HG’s determination that carried us through. You will see that I did post some of the update emails that I had emailed to family in the meantime.

Spring, maybe even summer, has come to Ottawa. This is a welcome relief after last Monday’s wet snowstorm that was so reminiscent of Halifax weather. By Friday, I was concerned about Keira overheating in the sun!

We are all doing well. Jason went for his first real dentist appointment and did so well they want to use him as a model for 3-6 year old on going to the dentist. He helped out on an Earth Day clean up at the local park. He is still having lots of fun on his bike. He has also started swimming lesson where he is in the pool without a Mommy. He did great and this comes at some relief for me, after climbing in and out of pools in the winter, I can now join the parents reading on the side! He has gotten a few pairs of new shoes over the past couple of weeks which have led to real headaches for mommies. He is completely obsessed with shoes so the arrival of new shoes, sandals and Crocs has really sent him spinning. Buying “Cars” shoes was possibly the biggest parenting mistake I have made so far – his passion for them takes him to highs and lows!! This morning I had to wait for him to get ready and get on his Cars shoes, hat and sunglasses before we left this morning – he is such a Diva.

Keira is doing great, another cold, asthma attack and trip to the ER aside. She is really on the move and now when she wants to connect with people and get their attention she shows how she can stand up by herself. She is a real climber and likes to sit in big kids chairs. She also loves the park and can climb up the stairs on the playstructure. She is doing lots if talking with discernible words and also VERY LOUD babbling – i.e. it is difficult to have a conversation in the front seat of the car. Her sleep patterns have changed and she really doesn’t seem to need too much during the daytime.

I survived having the main floor of the house painted – apparently I am not the person have home during any kind of work. Heather and I are enjoying the great weather and had lot of fun this weekend. Our 8 year anniversary was on Saturday and we celebrated with a dinner at Wild Oats with the kids and we couldn’t imagine a better way to mark the day. (Okay well we can and it is Tuscany but maybe someday we’ll get there again the future!!).

Catching up...March 2

Hia ll,

Someday I will get back on our blog. In the meantime...

We are having our first (and hopefully last) snowstorm (with ice pellets of course) here in Ottawa and the children are peacefully sleeping (!) so I thought I would throw together an update.

We continue to move through different illnesses. I dare say Keira is healthy now but Jason has what she had last week - a fever without any side infections. When he was doing better this week, he was doing well - quite a bit happier and easier to manage. Of course he is still saying lots of cute things - way more than I can capture but here are afew. We went walking int he woods on Sunday afternoon and on the way back Heather and I decided that we really wanted Wendy's takeout so we told Jason we were going to a hamburger restaurant and would pick up food and take it home. We asked him what he wanted and he said, "SPINACH!!". We really should have stopped right there for all of our sakes but we came home, he asked french fries, spinach and sweet potato and left his burger. He and I went skating the other night and on the way back (it was wonderful clear night with an almost full moon), he said"Mama I am going to ask you to get the moon for me....okay Mama get it..bring it down Mama I want it." His skating was really good although unfortunately he didn't think so. Maybe next year will be a better skating year. He was also "disappointed in those guys" at the rink who weren't wearing helmets while playing hockey.


Keira is feeling good and is on the move. She is very fast these days on all fours. I think my favorite sound these days is that slap of her hands on the floor as she speeds up coming down the hall to follow me. She is revealing exactly how indecent and stubborn she is. She wants to feed herself from a bowl with a spoon. She gets upset if you empty a bowl of things like peas to whatever on her tray and puts them back in the bowl (and then throws the bowl around). It is "that stage again" as HG and I say where we contemplate putting her chairs inside some kind of washable basin. She uses a few words quite consistently (Mama, Mom, ball, Jason, brother) and sometimes signs. Often she signs "more" and "where" but without accompanying signs it is hard to respond. The other night at Minwashin Lodge, she asked where Mom was so we set off and someone said "of Heather is Mom then you are..." and Keira chimed in with "Mama!". She is also advancing on her small motor skills and is starting to pile blocks much to HG's delight (everyone has their favorite milestones).

We are hanging in there. I am getting a little sick of well, sicknesses and cold and reveled in our few mild days. We seem to be getting more sleep on average. We are trying to get a few things done in the house like interior painting, renos etc so that keeps me busy in a Westboro kind of way.

Hope you are all well, Lisa

Catching up...from Feb 13

Hi all,

I haven't been able to face the task of figuring out how to get back on my blog so I thought I would send out a little "Lucky Gass Ranch" update (and perhaps be so inspired to tackle the techno demons which have taken over my site!).

The kids are really doing great. We had a wonderful visit with Nana Lou. As her taxi pulled away on Monday morning, Jason sighed and said "that Nana is so beautiful". He was all over her the whole visit with lots of "Nana, come, I need you!". We went to see the ice sculptures and Jason got his first taste of a Beaver tail which he assured us he really liked until he threw it up all over Heather's back. He has on and off been trying the big bed although I think he is just happy in his crib. Jason and Keira have been playing a lot together. Yesterday he told her that she was "my best friend and my little sister too!". He used to say this to his teddy bears so we are excited he has a real human being to fill this role. Jason has had an Inuktitut explosion lately, inserting Inuktitut words into "Baa Baa Black Sheep", and asking for translations. He also "writes" in Inuktitut syllabics. He and I had a great day at Headtsart yesterday followed by a Cosmic adventures visit. He met a girl with pig tails and was off playing tag. Last night, we went to Minwaashin Lodge family night, and he came home and said he wanted to be a pow wow dancer when he grows up!

Keira is also doing well (although seems to have a fever at this moment). She has a definitive forward crawl now. She is going to give us a run for a money once she can really go!! She is doing lots of talking. She has figured out that she can make funny faces and get everyone to laugh. I really can't do justice for his looks, although one of her faces is this intense frown with furrowed brow. For those of you who haven't met her, she has the most intense eyes. I dread being on the other end of that frown when it is real! Most of all, she is enjoying time with her big brother. She is doing lots of chewing now and can feed herself with her fingers off her tray. It was amazing to see this start in the matter of a couple of days.

Finally, the boring adults. We are fine. We talk, walk and sleep (and play!). We even had a date when Nana Lou was here and got on the canal.

Hope you are all well, Lisa

We're back... stay tuned for an update.