Manitoba Dreamin'

Warren is in the middle of 'his' 2 week holiday. When I try to correct him and say 'it's OUR holiday', he replies with "No, YOU'VE been on holiday for the past 11 months!". Sheesh. (But it's kinda true...).

Rhys' Great Grandpa lives in Winnipeg Manitoba and since he doesn't travel we knew if we wanted Rhys to meet him we'd be makin' the trip soon. They'll be many more trips to The Peg, but we wanted to make sure they met while Rhys was still 'a baby'.

Almost packed the baby in the luggage:

And since you all know I loves me my comparison photos...

Me and MY Great Grandpa (my Grandma's Dad), probably around Easter in 1980:

Rhys and HIS Great Grandpa, June 2010:

Me and my Grandma:

Rhys and his Great Grandma (My Grandma who hasn't aged one bit!):

I LOVE this next photo of Rhys at the bottom of the stairs. That staircase at my Grandma & Grandpa's brings back so many memories for me:

While we were visiting, it RAINED. A LOT. But we still managed to have breakfast at 'Sal's On The Bridge' by The Forks. Rhys was loving the rain:

(The construction in the background is the new 'Human Rights Museum' being built in Winnipeg).

We also had a perogy feast, drinks in the gazebo, taught my Grandparents how to play Texas Hold 'Em, enjoyed a Father's Day pancake breakfast at the Senior's Center, and my Grandma watched Rhys while we checked out The Old House Revival Company (thanks for the tip Nicole!).

On our last full day, the sun came out and we went to my Aunt & Uncle's cabin by the lake. Rhys got to sit in the wet sand for the first time and squish it in his fingers. He screamed when it was time to take him away:

My cousin Kristy & I, her daughter and my Aunt & Uncle and Rhys:

Arrived back home mid-afternoon on Father's Day, so a quick family nap, then off to a BBQ with Warren's side of the family:

Rhys' cousin Bridget LUVS holding him:

Warren with his Mum & Dad (Rhys' Nana & GranDan):

Yesterday we were having the carpets professionally cleaned, so we drove up to Kananaskis for a picnic by the water:

Blackberries & watermelon are M-E-S-S-Y! :

11 Months Old

Rhys at 11 months, you...

Can take 3 steps before falling on your bum.

Crawl REALLY fast.

Still have two bottom front teeth, and that's it.

Have abruptly decided that eating is boring and screaming in a high pitched tone is a super fun replacement activity.

Purposefully toss your food onto the floor and watch the dogs eat it.

Have discovered the toilet paper roll.

Take long, glorious afternoon naps.

Need a haircut really bad.

Can stand freely and drink from your sippy cup.

Become entranced by TV commercials with catchy music.

Pick up a remote and instantly point it at the TV (we're not proud of this one).

Enjoy opening drawers and pulling out all the contents.

Drink bath water.

Are one month away from turning ONE.

OMG.

Because my blogging record sucks...

Ack. I'm falling off the blogging bandwagon lately. (I think I know what my July resolution will be...).

So, some pics for the Grandparents & Friends-Who-Are-Expectant-Mothers-And-Like-Baby-Photos...

Sweet naked baby cuteness:

"Ya, so my mom lets me chew on cheese graters...you gotta a problem with that?":

Picture Perfect:

"I see dead people people with short haircuts" :

Gonna be walking soon:

"I think I made a poopy":

Peek-A-Boo:

Experimenting

Oh Boy. This morning when I woke up, my hair was even shorter than I remembered. But I am TRYING to embrace it. I don't really have a choice.

So, I tried doing a 'flip' look. Hopefully it doesn't look too 90's (you'd tell me, right Nicole?). Added some red lips.

I think it looks 'nice' - on someone else! Still getting used to this...

I'd like the Jury to note how FAR AWAY from my collar bone the bottom of my hair is. Would this stand up in court?

O.M.G.

This post is a hair update.

Remember the poll I set up a while back? Well, after all that hullabaloo, I decided that I wasn't quite ready for a drastic change. I realised my long, wavy hair (that has become my trademark look, since I've had it for at least the last 15 years) was still a security blanket for me. A couple years back I got side-swipe bangs, and that was HUGE for me. So when I went to the hair dresser today, I thought to myself , "Self. Let's be CRAZY and get straight, chunky bangs! Ya, let's be wild!". I made the suggestion to my hair dresser and she said in her uber Greek accent, "Yes, dear! Why not!", followed by "How short do you want to go?". Um...wasn't really planning on cutting much off. Just a trim. "Honey, telly me how much". Feeling adventurous I gave her permission to cut up to my collar bone. Probably a good 4 inches. Then she grabbed my hair back into a pony tail and SNIPPED IT OFF. But I didn't panic. In the mirror my hair still looked 'long'. But by the time she had snipped more, finessed, added layers and thinned it out...Oh My God. I did not recognise the woman in the mirror. I didn't feel like myself. A haircut had never done that to me before.

As soon as I left the salon I called Warren. "It's SO SHOOOOOORT! I look like Pat Benatar! I'm not sure you'll like it! I'm FREAKING OUT here!".

People, my security blanket is gone. I feel naked. Exposed. My hair is thin. Straight. Short.

I feel like I need to buy funky new glasses and an all black wardrobe and wear lots of scarves. I need to figure out how to feel 'sexy' without my long, curly hair. I feel frumpy. And old. OMG.

Before (taken about 3 months ago...so my hair was actually LONGER than this before the haircut...)

After:

(I'm only smiling on the outside).

Oddly, I look nothing like Jessica Simpson here. I look more like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction.

June Resolution

I have so many things I want to get done this month, but I don't want my resolution to simply be a long TO DO list. So I've narrowed it down.


In June I want to get caught up on Rhys' memory keeping, which means my resolution is 3-fold.


1. Get up to date in filling out his awesome 'Baby Book'.
2. Get his 'Year In Review' video up to date.
3. Print a schwack of photos and hang some on the walls. We have so many amazing pictures of Rhys, but they are only ever displayed here, on the blog. I want some real, old fashion, framed photos, damn it!


And for anyone who may be curious, my May resolution was a success. My car is, and will remain forevermore, a NO PHONE ZONE. It's easier than you think. Give it a try! Then, like myself, you can develop a healthy superiority complex, and glare at all the drivers you see who are driving distracted.