Welcome Cameron André Sauvé

Well, just over two years ago we welcomed Kayla into this world. This week we’re welcoming our new baby boy: Cameron!

Cameron came into this world on June 2nd at 8:27am, healthy, awake, and much bigger than we expected… Over 9lbs 8oz, and 22”! We thought Kayla was pretty big at 7lbs 15oz, but looks like we’ve got a big boy on our hands. He’s tough too, already pulling his head up and looking all over the place.

Here are a few shots from the delivery room:

Later in the day Kayla and Grandma Frey came to visit. Kayla gave Cameron a green fuzzy blanket, and Cameron bought Kayla two puzzles, and a new drinking cup!

And it wasn’t too long before we were able to come home. Kayla and Grandma even made a sign welcoming Cameron

And since we’ve been home I’ve been snapping a bunch of pics of Cameron whenever possible.

And for one last set of pictures I wanted to put up a comparison of Kayla and Cameron on their first day to see if anyone notices a resemblance…

Here’s Kayla on her birthday:

Here’s Cameron on his birthday.

Anyhow, Cameron and Kayla have both been getting along very well since Cameron came home. Grandma Frey is here to help out until next Tuesday, and we’re just very happy we have two beautiful and healthy kids. We are so lucky.

Christmas 2011 in Ontario

Well, I know this post is a bit overdue, but so is our new baby, and I’m thinking if I post this it might make him come a bit sooner

Cheryl posted a great summary of our Christmas in Seattle, but Kayla got 3 Christmas’s this year, the other two were Kitchener, and Sault Ste. Marie.

Anyhow, it all begins with a flight… By now since Kayla has flown all over the place she’s pretty used to the airport. Hawaii, Florida, and a bunch of Ontario flights… She’s travelled more distance than I had well into University.

Here she is excited to reach the Toronto Airport:

 

We were to stop in Kitchener first and visit with Amy and RJ, Lindsay and Ryan. We had a great time. Kayla of course loved opening presents again

Racing games? Yeah, Kayla can play ‘em:

Cheryl and I managed to sneak out while Kayla was hanging out back at the house. We played some indoor mini-putt. I’m not sure who won, but it probably wasn’t either Cheryl or I  

One of the great things about Southern Ontario is being able to visit other folks we know. In this case we were able to go and visit with Amanda (and Marcus), and Cheryl went over to visit Becky and Haley as well. As you can see sledding was the activity-du-jour. (That means activity of the jour for those who don’t speak the language.)

  

After not too much time it was again time to get on a plane…

This time to Sault Ste. Marie where Grandma and Grandpa Sauvé are now living in a new house on Saint Joe’s Island… Kayla was pretty impressed, but then again, she seems excited as long as we’re going somewhere new

This was my first time visiting the new house, and my parents had very recently moved in. Right on the lake this is a great location to hang out, it even has a sledding hill!

Kayla was right at home… Grandma and Grandpa had bought some nice toys to make sure their Granddaughters (and potential future grandsons) would have a great time while visiting, and I think Kayla had a good time with all the new toys…

The dinner setup… Nice:

Bah Humbug!

In Seattle, Kayla has limited ability to just step out into the snow. In Northern Ontario, there is unlimited ability to do so in the Winter  

 

And then there was gift giving… Kayla loves gift giving… Here is Kayla, Kayla hugging Grandma, Kayla playing with Uncle Mike, and Uncle Steve reading to Kayla..

What Christmas visit would be complete without the traditional spaghetti dinner at Auntie Nina’s house? This is where we’re able to catch up with our cousins Vince and Bryan, Auntie Nina and Uncle Bill…

.

Kayla looked pretty ready to head home though by the end of our visit

Back at the cottage Auntie Mary, and Katherine had come to visit:

Kayla playing with more toys courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Sauvé:

And Kayla gets her first haircut from Grandma Sauvé:

Now, we had time to play outside too, Kayla particularly liked sledding on the GT’s where she was also pumped up about getting pulled to the top of the hill..

 

And this snowman (which lived well into the spring) got a lot of attention from Kayla. It’s not as big as the one we made in Seattle, but it definitely broke my back less

At the end of the trip Kayla had a great time playing in the toy helicopter in the Sault Ste Marie airport… No coins required for her to have fun!

Hawaii for a wedding and some sun

Cheryl has been keeping everyone up to date the past few posts, but I’ll throw one in there to keep the ball rolling. Evan and Stephanie decided to get married in Hawaii, on the Big Island in early December, and Cheryl’s always wanted to go to Hawaii, so this was our chance. We even got a sweet deal when Cheryl signed us up for one of those timeshare presentations… Free rental car, cheaper lodging, seemed like all the stars were lining up!

So, we took a week off and off we went. Luckily Grandma Frey was able to come along with us, she was very helpful with Kayla, and I think she had some fun too 🙂

We were staying at the Hilton Waikaloa Village. Not walking distance to the beach, but much closer to the beach than Seattle, and we did have a pretty nice pool with waterslides and all within close proximity to our place.

And even when we had to venture further out it was ok because Kayla has a ton of fun just going new places anyhow. I think one of the highlights of her trip was riding the short train from the main Hilton entrance to the poolside…

Kayla, Cheryl, and Grandma Frey had a great time by the Hilton’s pool:

Watching the dolphins:

 

Kayla also had fun just playing around:

 

Kayla spent most mornings eating breakfast on the patio with Grandma and Mommy:

 

 

Evan and Stephanie had rented a plantation out south of Kona. I went over to their place to check it out. Evan, his brother, a few of his relatives, and I rented snorkeling gear, and took a 45 minute hike down to nearby Kealakekua Bay, where the snorkeling was fantastic. The highlight was when a pod of dolphins came within 50 feet of us, and started jumping around. Evan, his brother and I swam around to see if they’d come near us, but when we circled around they moved another 50 feet away, so it wasn’t meant to be. But it was still really fun to try 🙂

When we got back to the top of the hike I went to open the car, and realized I’d taken a swim with the car keys, so the key fob was broken… I opened the car with the physical key instead and then realized a new security feature whereby the car will not start if the fob is broken, and instead gives you a 12 second countdown, and then alarms… Great feature. I called up the rental car company, and for $120 and after Stephanie’s sister was nice enough to give me a ride to the airport to pick up the replacement key I was back in business. Most expensive snorkel I’ve been on as a result 🙂

Anyhow, here’s a pic of the view from the plantation that Evan and Stephanie had rented out:

  

Kayla also managed to make it to a few beaches… Here she is scoping out the surf:

We were also able to walk around a bit, find a ton of crabs, and even some sea turtles hanging out off the beach:

Grandma Frey offered to watch Kayla while Cheryl and I took a heli tour around the island with Blue Hawaii… It was Cheryl’s first time in a helicopter, and we really had the chance to see a lot of the island this way. Since we didn’t have time to drive up to the volcano this was the best way to go! We got the ‘eco tour’ helicopter which cost a bit more, but it has more window, and we were fortunate enough to get to sit right beside the pilot… No back seat flying for us 🙂

 

The wedding itself was really beautiful, I will refrain from posting many photos, but I’ll throw a few up here. They were right on the beach, and the attire was my style of wedding attire: No suits, no ties, no fancy shoes 🙂

 

 

The reception:

 

One of the funny things about our Hawaii trip is I think it’s where Kayla learnt about ‘miss-miss twees’… Somewhat odd to have your first introduction to Christmas trees in Hawaii, but I’ll take it 🙂

And to close it off, here’s a quick group shot by one of Kayla’s miss-miss twees:

Until next time!

July and August

Cheryl’s been doing a great job posting about what’s been going on this summer. From Grandma/Grandpa Sauvé’s visit, to SeaFair, to Trang’s Baby Shower, to our time hanging out in Whistler/Vancouver with Stacey/Steven, and Taleen/Stephen. So, in general I’ve not felt the need to come in and post all that much. But, Cheryl and Kayla are out of town in Ontario visiting family and friends, so I figured I’d throw up a few of my favorite pictures from the last month or so for the heck of it.

Kinda liked this one since it felt ‘timeless’ to me:

And here’s one of the Seattle Sauvé’s, and then Kayla with Grandma/Grandpa Sauvé:

Here’s a whole set from either Whistler, Vancouver, or Seattle over the past month or two:

 

  

And finally Kayla running, and saying good bye:

 

Oregon Coast for July 4th Weekend

Cheryl, Kayla, and I spent last weekend down on the Oregon coast near Canon Beach. We drove down Friday night, and stayed until Tuesday morning. Shawn, Megan, Henry, and Trang were all represented. Special thanks to Trang for organizing the place, and everything else.

Pretty sure Kayla had a good time:

Anyhow, once we were there we had a chance to bike on the beach with Kayla:

Kayla had her first step into the Pacific Ocean (I don’t count the Peugeot Sound).

Kayla had some fun both indoors and outdoors. Indoors she “played” in the arcade, and had a chance to go on a merry-go-round…

Outdoors Kayla spent most of her time on the beach:

While Kayla napped, Henry, Trang, and I went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and the Air Museum:

The sunset on the west coast was pretty spectacular. We went over to the beach to see the July 4th fireworks, but then realized the sunset was actually better than the Seaside show…

Kayla helped Cheryl bake brownies:

We brought out bikes, so on the way out we rode some trail to check out the view:

Thanks to Trang and Henry, Cheryl and I had a chance to go surfing, and boogie boarding for hours. I forgot how much fun boogie boarding is.

Our trip back was pretty uneventful, we did end up stuck in traffic near Tacoma for a while, but things eventually cleared up, and we made it home safe and sound.

Cheryl is awesome

Ok, so last weekend was mother’s day, and as you can see from Cheryl’s post she got much of the usual mother’s day treatment – cake, day off to do whatever she wanted, balloons, chocolate, cards, etc… Well, in that same weekend she got me my belated birthday present… A new Demo 8ii.

That’s right, the bike that won the UCI Downhill World Championships, 5-time world champion Sam Hill’s bike. That one.

Now, a new bike like this isn’t something you just buy, it took her about a month of back-and-forth with folks in Vancouver, local shops, and riders, and a lot of preparation for the official unveiling.

On the day of, she blindfolded me while she drove to the local bike shop, where the bike was waiting with bows on, and a sign that read (among other things) “Ride it like you stole it” – one of Glade’s oft cited quotes.

I was completely surprised by this (as you might imagine) since it wasn’t my birthday. She had mentioned a couple years ago that she wanted to buy me a new DH ride because the one I had was out of commission.

Kayla came out to the shop with us as well, so here are a few pics of her:

Anyhow, needless to say, when I went out on a ride on the local trails later that afternoon it was very obvious that none of my riding compadres had gotten such a great bike as a surprise gift. Cheryl is their new hero 🙂

Anyhow, I just wanted to point out that Cheryl is awesome.

For the heck of it I’ll throw in another photo of Kayla from that day:

 

Anyhow, Cheryl and Kayla are in Ontario for the weekend, so I’m at home alone. I had a chance to do a great bike ride up at Duthie hill with Evan yesterday, but today the weather isn’t co-operating much.

Have fun!

PEPS, Alki, and the Seattle Aquarium

Cheryl has been keeping everyone up to date on Kayla’s adventures in April. This included Kayla’s first Easter Egg hunt, some biking, and a Whistler trip.

This weekend we stayed in town, but managed to take in a few sights.

On Saturday morning we went to our monthly PEPS meeting. Kayla had a chance to hang out with her friends who are now all very mobile. Kayla had fun playing with other people’s toys, and we had just as much fun watching her. It was a great day, so we also had a chance to get Kayla back on the bike, and down to Seward Park.

Sunday was a beautiful day. We managed to go down to Alki Beach. Kayla had a great time playing in the sand, and soaking in the sun.

We also invited Henry and Trang over for dinner. BBQ burgers! Nice.

On Monday Cheryl took Kayla to the Seattle Aquarium. This time she could run around all over the place. Last time she was there she wasn’t quite as mobile as she is today 🙂

I’m told that Kayla had a lot of fun, but that people in SCUBA suits waving at her kinda scared her a bit 🙂

And, now for some videos!

See these higher res here, here, here, and here.

Anyhow, until next time!

Sunny Florida with Kayla and Family

Note: Cheryl posted all the photos from our trip here.

Lucky for us, Jamie took his paternity leave the Month of March. He and Michelle booked a place in Ft Myers Florida big enough to also house my parents, and us, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to get out of rainy Seattle to catch some sun, and visit. Out of March Break co-incidence Amy, RJ, Lindsay and Ryan were also nearby in Clearwater, so we also planned to meet up with them.

The flight down was pretty uneventful (as you probably know by now that’s exactly how I like my flights)… Kayla behaved really well on the flight, and had a great time on the way down. There was no direct flight to Ft Myers, so we stopped for a short layover in Atlanta.

Have monkey, will travel:

The house
Our accommodations were really nice, enough room for all of us (Kayla slept in the closet, but she didn’t mind), air conditioning, a pool, a covered outdoor area, and plenty of stones for Kayla to play with. Thanks Michelle!

Front yard:

Covered area by the pool:

Kayla playing in the pool with Cheryl, Michelle, and Kenzie:

The beach

Since we were only a block from the beach we spent a lot of time there. Ft Myers is an island with a ton of beach, and we were far enough away from the crowds that we basically had the beach to ourselves. This was Kayla’s first trip to a real beach, with real sand, and salt water, so it was really fun watching her play and just run around everywhere.

Here’s a shot Cheryl took of everyone… As you can imagine it’s hard to keep Kayla in the shot for long:

Kayla with the beach to herself running everywhere:

Kayla had a great time playing in the sand with Mom:

In the water

Grandpa Sauvé and Jamie spent some time fishing just off shore. Grandpa actually caught a small Spanish Mackerel, and we saw a small shark get washed to shore while we were there too. Lots of pelicans and other birds preying on small fish around the area.

Dad and Jamie fishing just off shore (dad with a fish on the line):

Three stingrays swam right beside Grandpa Sauvé and Jamie. Here is one of them:

A visit from Amy, RJ, Lindsay, and Ryan

Since Amy and RJ were staying in Clearwater they decided to come down to visit us. Turns out they ran into some pretty rough traffic, so it took a bit longer than we had hoped to get down, but once they were here I think they had a good time. Cheryl played on the beach with Lindsay and Ryan, went swimming in the ocean, and also in the pool back at the house. Since the drive was longer than anticipated they decided not to stay for dinner, but it was really good to meet up with them, and get another chance for Kayla to play with her family.

Amy holding Kayla with her “monitor phone”:

Ryan playing with Kayla in the sand:
 

Lindsay and Ryan playing with Kayla in the pool:

Kayla’s first boat ride

Kayla has been on a ferry, but this was her first time in a smaller boat. Jamie, Grandpa Sauvé, and I were originally going to go fishing for tarpon, but our guide had a mechanical breakdown on his boat, so that plan was cut short. We instead booked a family trip on a dolphin watching tour. While we really only saw two dolphins, and only for about a minute or so, it was still really fun to watch Kayla get excited about everything there was on the boat, and around her.

Kayla gives the thumbs up to go after getting her life jacket on:

Kayla pointing at pretty much everything:

Grandpa Sauvé and Kayla:

Kayla poses with Mom on her first boat ride:

Inside
We weren’t outside the whole time. We had a lot of fun inside too when we needed to escape the sun for a bit. Jamie, Michelle, Cheryl and I also had a chance to go mini-putting, and also feed gators as well, but I don’t have any pictures from that, we were too busy mini-golfing.

Kayla playing with Kenzie:

Kayla playing with Grandma Sauvé:
 

Grandpa Sauvé reading to Kayla at dinner:

Kayla offering me her shades at dinner:

Jamie and Kenzie at dinner:
 

And the sunset to end our trip
On the last night of the trip we decided to swing by and check out the sunset. Which of course was beautiful.

 

The flight home was long, and Kayla didn’t get much sleep unfortunately, but that’s ok, it was a great trip, and we all had a great time!

Special thanks to Michelle, and Jamie for getting the great house, and planning our vacation for us 🙂

Cheryl posted a much larger set of photos from this trip here.

Until next time!

A year of Kayla

What a year!

Looking back at the post I wrote this time last year, it’s amazing how much has changed with Kayla, and overall. I mean, in my post just a week before that we hadn’t even met Kayla.

Here are a few posts from the year to help us remember what she’s already done:

• Kayla’s first days
• Grandpa and Grandma Sauvé’s first Kayla visit
• Kayla tours Southern Ontario for the first time for Vince’s wedding
• Kayla learns how to pull up
• Kayla’s first trek to Whistler
• Kayla’s first trip to the Zoo
• Kayla’s Frey Family visit
• Kayla visits pumpkin patch with Grandma Frey
• Kayla’s first Halloween
• Kayla visits her cousins in Southern Ontario
• Kayla’s first steps on video
• Kayla’s first Christmas

There’s even been a lot since my December post… Cheryl has been keeping everyone up-to-date.  Her recent adventures include our PEPS group celebrating a collective set of birthdays (including some good videos of Kayla walking),  Kayla visiting her friends in Vancouver, and also our action-packed trip to Kitchener, and Sault Ste. Marie for the holidays! Click here if you missed the 420 photos she posted 🙂 She even made a video post on our Christmas present opening in Seattle.

We managed to take a few pictures and videos of Kayla’s first birthday. Kayla is now running around all over the place, so it’s getting even harder to get a photo of her these days.

The cake: Cheryl decided to innovate on the cake with a fancy moon-theme after an incident with the cake pans left us with many more cake pieces than expected. I think it worked out pretty well. Cake tasted great to me!

We put one single candle on the cake, Kayla waited in anticipation, and Cheryl helped her blow it out:

 

Large here: Kayla blowing out her candle.

Not sure that Kayla really understood the whole ‘cake’ concept… But she loved the fancy plates!

We eventually decided to give her some help in getting the cake in, then she was a bit more interested in picking up the fork:

Then it was time to open presents!

And, for some video:

Large here: Kayla playing with her birthday legos

Large here: Kayla opening more birthday presents

Large here: Kayla walking, and getting excited about her green coat

Large here: Kayla sitting in a grownup chair

And, this morning we found out she has another two teeth! 8 total now… Always something new 🙂

Until next time!

Spaces blog migrated!

Spaces shut down their blogging service, and worked with wordpress.com to help migrate current users.

So, both Cheryl and I made the switch over. None of our posts, or photos were lost in this transition – nice!

Cheryl’s blog can be found here, you can subscribe to mine here. Now all we need to do is find a theme we like 🙂

Have fun!