Spring is Here....Kinda

We are finally enjoying a few smatterings of spring up here. We have had a few days with temperatures in the positives, even up to +9 C!!! Unfortunately they are intermingled with days that are -12C (which are a bit soul destroying) But on the nice days we get out and enjoy the warmth. The snow is disappearing and leaving behind lovely piles of black gravel, garbage, dog poop and brown grass... don't you just love spring!!!

We are all doing quite well here. Byron is enjoying his new job, finding it both challenging and interesting. He is happy he made the change. Caleb and I are enjoying spending our days together and with the warmer weather we are getting out a lot more. I have also signed up for a community garden plot this year, which should keep us busy a lot this summer. You may be wondering what can possibly grow up here (for the gardeners out there, Yellowknife is a zone 0a - yes a zero!!) Well, by sheer will power you can grow potatoes, carrots, lettuce, snow peas, rhubarb, and some early maturing varieties of beans, broccoli and zucchini. The community garden is easy walking distance from our apartment so it will be a nice excuse to go for lots of walks this summer.

Caleb is growing lots and it is fascinating to watch as he learns more and more each day. He is now 13 lbs 4 oz and 25 inches tall. Which means he has gained 5lbs and grown 4 inches in 10 weeks... not bad, it's no wonder he eats all the time. He can hold his head up now and loves to sit on our laps and just look around at the world. He also loves to stare at faces and play ' head and shoulders' with his dad. He is starting to slowly reach for toys and try to grab them although he hasn't quite mastered this skill. Also, once he grabs something, he isn't really sure what to do with it. Overall, he is quite a delight to have around.

Caleb had his 2 months shots last week (3 needles), as you can see he was very stoic about it and barely complained :)

Here is Caleb enjoying some tummy time. He is getting really strong and can hold his head up for long amounts of time. He seems to enjoy it more when he is propped up on the pillow so that he can properly look at his toy caterpillar Abner.



This is Caleb's new friend Winnifred Mae. She was born April 11th to our good friends Nikki and Curtis. We are looking forward to lots of play dates with baby Winnie.

And finally, here is Caleb napping independently... a major step for us. Caleb slept on his own for three hours this morning. Previously he would only sleep for twenty minute chunks unless he was being held. Although I love holding him it really limited my ability to get anything done during the day. We shall see if this amazing feat can be repeated tomorrow.

Last but not least, here is the little guy relaxing in the bath.

Hello everyone,
Sorry for the delay with this post. It's been a little busy here. Some of you may already know that Byron is changing jobs, he starts his new job at Diavik (one of the diamond mines up here) on Monday. So it has been a bit of a hectic week wrapping up everything at his old job. He is looking forward to getting some different accounting experience in a private corporation (as opposed to his old job which was public practice).

Caleb and I have been keeping busy. He continues to be a very charming little boy and is bringing a lot of joy to our lives. He is smiling and cooing a lot now. He has also just discovered that he is able to control his hands (somewhat)!!! He will sit in his little bouncy chair and just wave them in front of his face for ~10 minutes in awe of his new ability. He now enjoys waving them in the general vicinity of his toys to make them bounce around. (see the video... it's just too cute).

Well, I hope you all are having better weather than us. We have finally had a day where it was about zero for the first time since November!!! Hopefully it will continue to be nice out and the snow will soon be melted - because until the snow is all gone, whenever it is warm, Yellowknife turns into a big slush factory... yuck.

Here are some pictures (and a video). Hope you enjoy them.







Caleb playing with his best friend Buttercup (the cow). He loves to wave her around and watch her move.
















Last weekend Caleb and I went to see the start of the Yellowknife Dog Derby... it is 15 minutes of waiting around for 30 seconds of excitement. You wait at the starting gate for the beginning of the race... the gun goes off... the dogs run... and then they are out of sight for the next 50 km. But it was still fun... Caleb stayed nice and warm inside my jacket. For those of you who are wondering we are out on Frame lake for the start of the race and then it goes overland out onto Great Slave Lake for the rest. It's a lot easier to make a track for the race when you don't have to worry about trees or underbrush.








Here is a typical Caleb smile... we finally managed to capture it on film.


















Just in case you doubted that he ever cries... here is the evidence. Caleb can pitch a wonderful fit when he is in the mood. He also hates getting his face washed... which is what prompted this outburst :)

While we may still be fighting winter here, does anyone else have tomatoes growing in their garden??!?! I do!!! Nevermind that they were grown in a hydroponic setup that could grow tomatoes in the bottom of a mine shaft... I will still have some of the first
tomatoes of the season!!!

And finally, here is Caleb in his full set up to go for a walk. This was on one of our warmest days so far... he has on pants and sweaters and two pairs of socks and mittens and a hoodie and a toque and two quilts. The poor guy can really only wave his hands in there and look around. But luckily he slept most of the walk.

And finally, here is the little guy showing off his new moves. He sure has changed since the first video eh!!