Long Time

It has been a long time since either of us posted last. I don't know if I can remember all that has happened in the last few months but I'll give it a shot.

Chris has been getting lots of fieldwork locally which has been nice. I started work just a few days a week. I technically started at the beginning of July but am only starting a bit more regularly this month.
In the past few months we started a weekly game night with a couple of our friends and are enjoying that. One of our friends, Rich, introduced us to a game called Zug Um Zug (or Ticket to Ride). It's Railroad game and quite fun.
Chris went camping on the Island this past week with some friends and had himself an adventure. I went with the girls and my mom camping at a friends place, and another friend also camped with us which was hectic but fun...more about that later.
I can't think of anything else new with us.

The girls have been growing, Kate has 5 teeth now with 3 coming in, Lucy has 8. Lucy is still only 17.5 lbs and Kate is up to 19. It's kind of funny because cousin Soleil is now heavier than Lucy (by a hair) but only 7 months old!
They have also been learning lots of new things. By mid June the girls were both pulling up to standing and Lucy was pulling herself around on her stomach, by the end of the month both were crawling. Lucy started around mid-June and Kate a week or so later. Since learning to crawl the girls have been getting into everything and trying to walk holding onto everything they can. On July 24th they were introduced to walking with one of those little push toys on wheels. Their friend Reece who is 2 months older came over for a play date and ran the toy all over so that evening the girls tried it out for themselves. We got a cute video of them pushing one another around on it (it has a seat in front). Kate's little screeches were quite funny...when she gets excited she has short bursts of screech...reminds me a bit of mom's and my screeches when we are startled. haha. The girls are both waving at people and learning to play peek-a-boo, or holding their heads in their hands. They seem to do that more when stressed or frustrated which is amusing. Lucy also throws her head back and howls when she doesn't get her way...too bad for her I think it's funny...she's not going to get her way that way!

Near the end of June my friend Shannon and I had the girls out on the patio playing and Kate somehow managed to sneak a snail into her mouth. I discovered it some time after we'd come inside...half chewed but still alive. Kate managed to swallow a bit of shell but also some grass which made her gag and spit it all out. Ugh, it was so gross. I felt bad for the poor snail...but Kate made me worry because I didn't know how much she'd eaten. She was fine though. :)

The girls both had trouble with ear aches through June and July but fingers crossed they seem to have cleared up now. Kate got a Urinary Tract Infection and we had to take her in to emergency because she got a high fever and was shaking and vomiting...they did many tests and found the infection. We had to take her in for IV antibiotics for 3 nights, then had to do an Ultrasound and DMSA scan (don't know what it stands for but it is like an MRI of her kidneys). I guess babies get Kidney infections 80% of the time when they have UTI's. She was fine after the first dose of antibiotic though.

My mom arrived for a month visit on July 31st and we took the girls to Iona Beach the same day. They loved the sand. I will post some pictures. Then this past weekend we went to my friend Sue's house to camp out in her backyard and see how the girls handle tenting. They had trouble going to sleep but otherwise did okay. They loved being outside the whole time. Lucy discovered the Adirondack chairs and a love of climbing. That girl is determined and no matter how much she falls and how many scratches and bumps she gets she is going to climb. Kate is not convinced that Lucy's way is the best...a bit more tentative that one. :) We also went to the Lake and they enjoyed that as well. Kate decided she likes the way sand feels between her teeth. Ugh. She will get lots more of that though as when Dad arrives for his visit next week we are going to take the following weekend and go family camping in the interior. Looking forward to that...it will be tiring, but fun.

Rusty is the same as always...getting older but still lots of energy! Sadly he lost his friend Cedar to Wisconsin...she moved to help Meridith with her PhD. She will be coming back for visits but he will miss the days at Trout Lake.

Well, I can't think of anything else at the moment. I will attempt to be more regular with this...but I seem to be spending less time at the computer...not more. I can't believe the girls will be 1 on the 26th!!!!