Our Busy Little Bee!

Time flies. I hate it. The countdown is on for going back to work. Only 4 1/2 weeks and I hope they're the slowest 4 1/2 weeks of my life. I have a lot of photos and videos to share this time.... so please bear with me! I'm posting them a bit smaller than usual, but hope they will still go large when clicked on. If it doesn't work and you've been using that method to save the pictures, please email me about the photos you'd like and I'll send them along that way. Austin had his 5 month check last week. He continues to grow and is now a whopping 17lb and 8oz. I haven't had the chance to measure his length, but have no doubt he's getting taller (we don't have to roll his pants up quite as much!). He's so much fun to be around and seems to go the extra mile to make sure you know he loves and appreciates you being there. We've been going to Parent Child Mother Goose classes each week and he really enjoys seeing the other babies. I sing my heart out for an hour and never once does he take his eyes off the babies around us! He continues to love his books, but is really getting into toys. He loves to push the ones on wheels (and watch them zoom across the hardwood) and beat the living daylights out of anything stuffed or with buttons (especially the ones that make music!). He latest favourite is definitely his exersaucer. So many things to keep him so busy! Makes me wonder if exersaucers just feed ADHD?!

Since our last post we took in the Atlantic Nationals Car Show. We tried to get pictures of cars that were 'born' in significant years to share with you. This was the most busy street show I think I've ever been to. It was literally wall to wall people for as far as we could see... and certainly tough to maneuver a stroller through!

A 1932 Plymouth Coupe. Any guesses who's care this is? A 1955 Morris. We thought this was sorta similar to your current car! A 1958 Plymouth... I forget what! A 1923 Model T. Shouldn't be too hard to think of who's car this one is! A 1951 GMC... not a particularly significant year, but a significant truck! I still remember riding in this truck to fill the water tank! It was much better green though...



Just an idea of the crowds!
We also took Austin to the beach to see and touch the ocean for the first time. We bought a beach tent and took it with us. Definitely a handy gadget to have! It was nice to know we had a place with shade no matter where we were on the beach. We went after supper when it was cooler. Austin was so taken by the other people on the beach that he really didn't care about the sand or the water! We went the next week with my parents during a hotter time of day. The tent was scorching hot in the sun, but the small puddles left by the tide were warmer than bath water and Austin had a blast splashing around!

Goofing off in the beach tent...

Touching sand
Touching water
And showing off his Australian swim suit!
We've been very impatiently waiting for Austin to turn 6 months to start solids. Although he seems to be impatiently waiting for us to let him start. He loves to watch us eat and finds it utterly hilarious when we put food in our mouths. Yesterday at supper he grabbed the food off Trevor's fork in mid air and tried to eat it. We took that as our sign and although he's only just past 5 months, gave him his first taste of cereal after we were done our supper. He's a pro! He seemed to know exactly what to do and had his mouth open and gulped down every spoon full! We tried again today and he screamed as we reached the end of the bowl and it took a little longer to scrape the cereal up. A hungry monster, and another sign my little man is growing up. I really wish he'd slow down!

A glimpse of our Sunday walk down by the causeway.

Try finding a better spot than this Mom F! (from Trevor)
Ah the exersaucer... the birthplace of ADHD!
Mirror, mirror on the wall... who's the handsomest of them all?!



We've had a busy week this past week with our first round of visitors for the summer. Mom and Dad F were out for a week and we had a blast. Austin was just thrilled to have the extra audience and perform he did! What a little star he's becoming! Our big event for the week was a trip to see the Tall Ships in Halifax. Of course while we were there we took in some of the historical sites as well. Halifax is most certainly my favorite city. It has such a rich history and although this wasn't my first time visiting some of the sites, I was still amazed and loved every minute of it. The highlight of my trip was seeing the actual set and ships from Theodore the Tugboat (go ahead... call me a geek!) and Trevor's favorite was seeing the Bluenose II. Austin most certainly loved the crowds and all the attention he received! We took in the beach as I said, but Austin wasn't the only one having fun. Mom, Dad and I took turns wading into the ocean and chased crabs (one even attacked dad's sandal!), hermit crabs, a small halibut, and avoided the jelly fish. It was a blast!


A clown making balloon animals at the Tall Ships... ever seen something like it?!
Austin learned how to make motor boat noises and never missed a chance to show them off!
Hiding out from the rain! We decided that if you can't beat it, join it! We bought a bunch of umbrellas and went touring in the rain. Trevor and Austin found a hiding spot for a bit while the rest of us climbed up to the top of the Citadel to look down on the city.
Having fun at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
Peeking through a port hole...
And steering the ship (That's it... I'm outta here!)

The real Theodore the Tugboat!!!
And some of the rest of the gang!

And the lifesize Theodore (and we learned that not only does he give harbour tours, he actually works as a tug and goes out to greet the cruise ships! How fun would that be?!)
There was a pirate ship taking over the harbour.... it kept firing off canons too!
The Bluenose II, a remake of the Bluenose I, Canada's prize Tall Ship.
A Canadian Naval gun ship.
Pirates!





Huge crowds! There were ships in from all over the world, including Belgium, Bermuda, Spain, Uruguay...
The US Coast Guard ship.... absolutely huge. There's just no way to get an idea of how big this was unless you were beside it. The pillars on the building it's docked next to are at least 8 feel tall... just to get an idea. The ship beside it is a full size tug (much bigger than Theodore!)
At the beach with Grandma and Grandpa... way too hot for a swim suit this time!
Chasing waves.
Some long overdue pictures of the patio. We were near finished the walkway and ready for a final presentation tonight, but were a bit delayed. If the rain holds off we hope to have it done before this next weekend.

Here's the bricks....
Sweeping all the sand took a long time... ....and it never seemed to end!

The beach tent really came in handy at home too!
Grandma and Grandpa F brought Austin his first car... and he loves to sit and play in it!
We're expecting our second round of visitors this next week. Mom and Dad A will be joining us for another week of fun and adventures. There's so much to see, especially for a first visit.... I don't even know where to start! We were so glad to hear that Trent and Jane will be coming as well near the end of August and look forward to having a good visit with them.

We hope this finds you all well and enjoying the sunshine. We had a nice day today and got a bit of yard work done. Here's hoping for a nice week while Mom and Dad A are in town!


Love and miss you all!
Allison, Trevor, and Austin