SuMMeR TiMe

June:
Can't believe it's almost been 2 months since my last post!! Whoops! Let me get started....Darin's permit is up in September and since we're still here and haven't heard anything about leaving, we're assuming another year or so here in Barbados. Our landlords at our home here have given us a time frame and need us gone soon (not because we are bad tenants but for other reasons haha)....so now we're eagerly on the hunt for a new home.....and it's madness! Between Gem, a new business, visitors coming soon, vacation coming up, Darin's traveling....this blog has been sadly last on my list of things to do.

Did "a new business" catch your eye? Let me elaborate for ya. For the last few months i've started working on opening a business with a friend and it's become something more than I dreamed it would be. We haven't had any business yet but that's because we're focusing on making it so amazing and don't want to offer anything to the world until we're ready (prob another 6 or so months). Doing this has kept me busier than ever before, I wake up thinking about it and go to sleep thinking about it, thinking about what to change, ways to make it better, adding things as I learn more and more.....it's become my second baby pretty much and seems like it will also take some time before it's out for the world. This has kept my days busy and full, every min i'm not doing something with Gem, i'm working on the business stuff. We have a mentor who's amazing and helping us every step of the way as well, glad we have someone to keep us on the right track and encourage us.

July:
We just got back from a week in Abaco with 16 other friends! 2 houses, 1 boat, 3 golf carts and 1 pair of missing flip flops later, we're home safe! Gem was dropped off in Miami and taken to Orlando for the week while we were in Abaco. She stayed with our parents and i'm pretty sure she had just as fun of a week as Darin and I did. She went on play dates, went to parks, splash pads, shopping, played with her aunts and uncle, grandparents, dogs, cats and had her 18 month dr appointment. 

Gem is 29" tall and weighs 25lbs! Guess we should drop the "peanut" nickname since she's no peanut anymore :( Her eyes are turning more green these days then staying blue, which is ok with me. She's smart and funny and we love her personality! She love kids and people and still loves the beach! Her hair is getting so long but it's so curly you'd never know it. We can't wait until our visit in October, Gem will be in swim lessons and then we'll follow up here once a week. I want her to continue to swim so i'm doing my best to find a new home with a pool and it's not so easy, but there are options so we'll see. 


Here's a few pics from June and July....
*we had our 5 year anniversary 
*yes, I went blonde :) 
*bum pics are from July 4th in Abaco :)

15 MonTHs!

Things have been quite busy around here. Darin's been traveling a lot, i've been helping a friend with her business, all the launch parties for kadooment are happening and costumes are coming out......it's just been a crazy month needless to say. We're jumping Kadooment this year again! Our costumes ordered and all!! Laura will be here and we got her costume ordered as well! This year Kadooment season has been a lot of fun and only going to get better as July comes around! 

Gemma has been keeping us on our toes....she's figured out to open the pantry when she wants something, or if I ask if she's tired she goes to the stairs, if she wants something on like her shades she brings them to us, we can always tell when a cat or dog is on tv because she freaks out, it's always the little things she does that i'm so impressed by, like how she knows to hold onto me when she's putting shorts or pants on and stands on one leg lol I don't know why it's so neat, it just is, trust me! We've moved from baby snacks to big kid snacks....no more bottles either, and she's almost mastered the stairs. She's into everything that's NOT a toy, like boxes I bring home from a store similar to Costco, those are her favorite!! I'm pretty sure her favorite part of the day is eating breakfast and seeing Darin come home after work (she does this crazy dance)....we still play with the neighborhood kids a few nights a week and she loves that as well, the big kids don't seem to mind either. Her new favorite show is Bubble Guppies, she says bubble bubble bubble over and over when it comes on, it's pretty funny watching her. She continues to chat and go on about stuff so much, that I wish I had earplugs sometimes lol.

She had her first "sick" experience 2 weeks ago, while Darin was gone, of course it happens then. She ran a super high fever and slept in my bed so I could keep an eye on her temp. I sent the dr a text (yes, you can do that here) and she let me know what to do and if I needed to come in and to text her if it got any higher or it lingered. Her temp did go down but stayed a low grade so we had a few good naps in the a/c the next day and then later I wrote the dr and we were told to come in the following day. Gem had a bacterial throat infection!! Some puss in her throat even! So, off to get some antibiotics we went....her temp broke within an hour of her new meds and she was well on her way to recovery. Seeing an uncomfortable sick miserable baby is no fun, you only know worry and exhaustion at that point. Gem is no snugger so I was sure the few snugs she offered that day, I made plenty of room on the couch for. 

BuNNy EarS

Easter was a few weeks ago but there's been tons going on since then. Over the Easter weekend we stayed up in Bathsheba, we've stayed there the last 3 Easters (since we've lived in Barbados). It's always so nice to get away to that side of the island and relax in the hammock on the deck overlooking the ocean and surf break. Last year gem was so little still and to have her walking around this year was SO WEIRD! We had a nice 4 days with good friends, food and memories that we'll keep forever. 

A weDDiNG aNd CanAdA

I was supposed to be in Orlando for 2 weeks, it turned into 5! I love how that happens but I also loathe it. I love it because I get to see my family and friends longer but that just means I have to spend more money and that part I loathe. There were a few reasons for me staying longer than I did. My parents closed on their new house so I wanted to be there and help move in, I also hadn't seen the property since it was just dirt. Darin had to leave but was coming back a week after I was supposed to leave so I just decided to stay and go back with him, plus Gemma is at a really cool age, her walking is getting really good (oh yea, she's walking....since 11 months but it wasn't all that great, i'd say 50/50, she'd walk or crawl, decisions decisions) and she's a lot of fun, so I wanted our family to enjoy her as much as possible. 

My brother got married the end of January, and we couldn't miss that for the world. It was a very sweet ceremony and you could see the love between Craig and Kait the whole time. What a cool experience sitting in the front row watching my brother get married. For sure I thought i'd cry but I held it together pretty well. Kait's dress was so incredibly pretty, it was perfect on her.....when she was getting ready you could see the excitement on her face just being in her dress, she loved it! The reception was a fun one with lots of dancing and having a photo booth was a bonus! We had a lot of our family come and it was so great to see all of them and spend sometime with them during their visit. Kait seems to fit in great with our oh so large family....you'd think it would scare some (i'm pretty sure it scared Darin lol), but Kait doesn't seem to mind, I think she likes it :) I'm so happy for my brother, that he found someone like Kait to share his life with and make great memories with in the future, i'm glad I get to make memories as well with our new sister! Congrats to Kait and Craig, love you both! xx

The week after the wedding I ventured up to CANADA!! I have a friend who lives up in Vancouver and since I haven't been to Canada before, I figured it was the perfect time to get a trip in! Gem stayed with her grandparents so I could go enjoy time with Jen. Vancouver is a great city, lots to see and lots to do and only an hour drive from Whistler!! I'll be going back to ski for sure and go to the tube park! They had a weird winter so there wasn't much snow except for what was on the mountain. We sat and ate lunch out on a patio of a cool restaurant at the bottom and watched people wipe out coming down the mountain.....something the nice heaters and a few cold beers made super funny! It was cold in Vancouver but nothing like I thought it would be....you could get away with a long sleeve shirt and a jacket and be just fine, I was expecting layers and layers but that didn't happen lol. I got to go to my first hockey game which was so fun, but they lost :( Got to visit a few of Jen's usual spots, a few lounges, fun bars and restaurants. I was really excited to have a Tim's coffee everyday and also poutine (which is fries with chunks of cheese curds and gravy, sounds super gross, but it's super awesome). It was a great 5 days and so nice to spend time with Jen, hope to make it back soon!!

Upon my arrival home, it was time to help my parents move, so every day after my mom got off work (11:30am), we'd load up the car while Gem was napping and when she woke up we'd take the 30 min journey out to the new house and unload the car, do something at the house, wait for furniture, alarm people or someone and make it back in time for dinner either at their old place or at my grandma's house. So....that was a fun week. Darin came in again that Friday afternoon and had the weekend to spend with us before he had to go to meetings starting the next week, every day for work. 

As always the weeks went by super fast but we were ready to leave and get back home to barbados. It's nice after being so busy and visiting so much with people to sit and do nothing again lol. It's nice to get back to our routine and have it be just us again. I miss our evening walks to watch the sunset on the ocean....reminds me everyday why I love living here. We have a few things coming up that we're looking forward to and the first is Easter week in Bathsheba! We've gone every year since moving here and it's a great little escape that sort of gets you rested before the crazy summer starts with all the Kadooment crazy events. This year in Bathsheba should be fun with Gemma since she's old enough to play with the kids and not have to just sit in a bouncy seat on the beach like last year, I think she'll fully enjoy it and that means a good night sleep for an exhausted 1 yr old every night, SCORE for mom and dad!!!  

About Gem:

*loves playing with the neighborhood kids and her own ride on toy

*skateboarding with daddy

*picking up and bringing you invisible things

*giving "closed mouth" kisses and says mmmmmmmuh doing it

*sometimes she says "thank you" lol, it's funny

*still really loves bathtime and sleeping

*her "pretending" is really fun to watch

*she's completely on the move, walks/runs everywhere, the beach is the best to watch    her walk around on....she looks like she's had one too many daiquiris hahaha

*says her version of kitty, dog, woof and a pig oink which is hilarious

1 YeaR! WaiT....wHAt???

It's hard to believe you're ONE!!! The last year of our lives was nothing short of absolutely amazing. The year began with you and you were a perfect start to the next chapter in our lives. It's crazy to me how fast babies grow in a year, from being completely helpless and dependent to very independent and taking on the world. It's a beautiful thing sitting back and watching your curiosity take control, I sit and wonder what you blab about when you're off in your own little world, talking to toys, putting your hands up in the air like you're preaching and why you chose things that are not toys to play with instead of your super fun toys we buy. Your personality is starting to show though and it's also another one of my favorite things about you. You love people, you love kids, your smile lights up everyone's day and it's intensely contagious. You're fun to have around and your entertainment to us is endless, you're silly, smart and loud and always so proud of yourself when you do something new. You are exactly how we pictured life would be with a kid, you're the coolest, friendliest, happiest, easy going kid ever. We can already see you'll love adventures in life and will be living it to the fullest.....I mean, how can you not with that zest for life we can see in you at just ONE year old!?

You love to get in the way of the fridge, play with shoes (eating them) and following us to the bathroom. You love the show Pocoyo, Zack & Quack, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse....or do I love all those shows....you FREAK when Zack & Quack comes on, when the intro song you comes on you come crawling or walk (whatever you feel like that day) from wherever you are to the tv and break out into dance and yell with excitement (how I probably do when I see Taylor Swift on Ellen). You also dance on command if we say "dance" or "twerk" lol, it's pretty funny. You say uh-oh when you drop things, say bye bye when someone leaves, put your hands in the air if we say how big is Gemma, so big!! If there's music on anywhere you dance, no matter what, you dance and you love every second of it, you love the stroller and going for walks (usually to watch dad surf or see the sunset on the ocean at Freights Bay). You give (open mouth) kisses and also blow kisses. You're an amazing napper and night sleeper (thank you Lord!), you love peek a boo when you're the peek a boo'er, you're smile lights up the room and your oh such gorgeous eyes get all squinty, I love it! You love the beach, oh my gosh you love the beach!! You crawl all around and the sand doesn't phase you, you eat the sand, roll in the sand and get it all up in your hair, you crawl into the water and back out to get toys, you float for hours with us and sometimes even pass-out in your float. You look completely adorable in your bikinis with your sun hat, it's hard to resist squeezing all that cuteness! You love your own space, your own crib, your blanket and Honda bear (from Opa).

You've adjusted into every stage so smooth and made all those horror stories i've heard never become real with me and i'm so glad they never did. I'd be a bad advice giver to people who have kids that don't transition well. You pick up on things so quick and changes don't seem to phase you much (hence you're super "go with the flow, easy going" personality). You do have a spark in you're easy going personality....you're LOUD and passionate when you speak and i'm pretty sure one day it won't be so cute.

I don't think we could of been more lucky, you make being a mom more fun than anything else in this insane world, daddy and I look forward to so many more amazing years with you....LYTTMAB my love! 

xoxo,
mommie & daddy