Green Wellies

Sweetness...

I had three wonderful days with Em and Aethan.  What can I say about my incredible grandson?  He's full of love and an insatiable curiosity, he's funny, clever and makes us laugh, he's polite and caring and he's a joy to be around...all this and just three years old.  We walked the beach and Aethan braved the ocean, running along the water's edge and wading right in to help Casper get the sticks we threw (with my camera telling me to replace batteries).  My favourite times are ones in the garden with him...watering the plants and talking about bugs.  Over and over, the conversation went like this as I filled his watering can...

A: More water please, nanny.

Me: Set it on the grass and I'll fill it.

A: Thank you very much, nanny.

Me: You're welcome and thank you for watering for me.

A: You're welcome, nanny.

Several times he said, "This is a very good idea, working together, isn't it nanny."

Nanny thought it was a very good idea, indeed!

To a dear grandson...

Happy Birthday to Aethan, a most precious grandson, who turned three in the blink of an eye.  You have a very special place in your nanny's heart...

* with many thanks to Leslie for the blatant use of her fabulous photo of Aethan taken at Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island.  She takes such wonderful photographs of all things nature, dogs and street life!

Home again, home again, jiggidy jig...

For a nanny and a Jack Russell who are terrified of heights, it was worth climbing into this small float plane, very early in the morning...

...so we could spend a couple of days on the Island with Em and my incredible grandson...

We had a whirlwind two days and didn't stop from morning until night, shopping, making a batch of rhubarb nectar, going to the park and taking in thrift stores with the likes of this, a homemade bear used for archery practice (not by us)...

We walked by this sweet place that sits almost directly on the railway tracks, quaint, but rather noisy twice a day, I would think...

 

But for Aethan, the highlight of nanny's visit was finding him a new thrift store bed, which impressed him a great deal more than the bear and as Goldilocks said, was just right even if you want to flop sideways on it with your feet dangling over...

Before we knew it, it was home again on the float plane in time to water the garden and fill the hummingbird feeder...then Casper and I flopped dog-tired into our own beds...

 

Days spent with family are never long enough for the mother hen in me, but at least we don't let the grass grow under our feet when we get together...we have 'making every second count' down to a fine art and give new meaning to the phrase 'spending quality time with each other'.

* Apparently, Aethan had a bad dream in his new bed...something about a monster with holes.  It had nothing to do with the bed, but if you take a second look at the bear, that will explain a lot.  Em and I tried our best to get Aethan to stand next to the bear for a photo shoot, but he noticed spiders in its mouth and that put an end to that...for all of us!  Sweet dreams from here on in.

Winging it...

Bright and early at 7:45 Wednesday morning, Casper and I will be climbing aboard the float plane for a twenty-minute flight...

...across the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver Island to visit Em and Aethan, who will probably be wearing his favourite red wellies...

..for a couple of fun days with his nanny, who looks a lot like this drawing he did of me and Casper...

 

I've got bees knees just thinking about it.  Have some strong coffee brewing, Em.

* I'll catch up with everyone when I get back.

Land Ho!

As the captain steers his ship through the Sea of Toys, he spies an enormous Casper creature just off to the starboard side and it looks as though he's lost his paddle in the drink to boot!  Sail on Captain A...there's a grilled cheese sandwich waiting for you in the galley.

Two Years Old...In The Blink Of An Eye!

It hardly seems possible it was two years ago today that Aethan was born.  From the very first second, he became part of a loving family who celebrated his arrival with joy and stood in awe at the sight of this wee baby boy.  A mere twenty-four months later, he sings songs, he has a wonderful sense of humour, he chats away about everything and he has such a curiosity about the planet he walks on.  He brings so much laughter to all of us, his tight little hugs are worth their weight in gold and we are the richer for it.  There's times when I just stand and watch him at play and marvel at the independent person he's become in such a short time.   And while we take delight in every little thing he does...each new milestone, every gesture, every new word, he goes about his merry way and takes it all in stride!  Happy Birthday, baby!  Your nanny loves you from the bottom of her heart...

   

Our Sweet Little Bath Baby

Talk about bringing back memories of the times when the kids were young, had spent the days playing outside and the next stop was the bath.  Aethan has been going full-tilt from morning to night since he moved here...playing in his wading pool, digging in the sand at the beach and finding crabs under rocks, running back and forth to nanny's house and romping about with Casper.  Next stop...the bath, looking for all the world like his mom, his Uncle Robb and his Auntie Gwen at this age.  I love, love, love it!

 

Running To Nanny's House

In the blink of an eye, Aethan discovered that my house was just a quick run down the grassy laneway from his new home...only three doors away.  At twenty-three months, he keeps us laughing and we stand in awe of the words that are added daily to his ever-expanding vocabulary.  He has no qualms in picking up crabs and starfish on the beach and gathering wood bugs and worms in the garden.  He lugs rocks on the beach and he lugs rocks in my yard...must take after his nanny!  Casper thinks he's the cat's meow and follows him around constantly...his new best friend!  Gwen came from Vancouver for two days to visit her sister's new home and to spend time with her nephew and me.  She took some wonderful photographs of all of us sitting about on deck chairs in the garden, some close-up shots of things my camera won't touch with a ten-foot pole (I've been posting them on flickr) and this favourite of mine...Aethan making a beeline for nanny's!  Thanks for the good times, girls...your mom is grateful for your love, laughter and memories of days well spent together...and the pictures to prove it!

Egg Hunt With A Twist

Some celebrate Easter and some don't, so I'm playing it safe with this little grandson tale.  Aethan's playgroup went to the petting farm for an Easter egg hunt yesterday and Em said it was so cold and windy...note his blowing hair and pink fingers.  Usually April is warm and sunny, real t-shirt and shorts kind of weather here on the west coast, but this spring has been anything but.  Aethan had his special egg collecting bag taken by an older bossy girl (Em's words) and so he had to make do with a plastic bag with a hole in the bottom.  At the end of the hunt, the children were to hand in their eggs in exchange for candy, but Aethan didn't want to give his up for anything.  When you think about it, it's rather a bizarre concept to a twenty-two month old who'd just spent an hour hunting down wonderful coloured eggs only to have them keep falling out of the hole, freezing his fingers to the bone and then what happens...he's supposed to give them up!  Not our boy...he got to keep the eggs AND get Easter goodies.  Clever Aethan...the Easter bunny was on your side!

ZZZZZZZ!

Em posted this incredible picture of Aethan sleeping and I just had to put it on my blog...he looks so content in his striped pyjamas, resting on his wee head on Thomas The Tank Engine.  How have the last twenty months gone by so quickly?  He talks, he sings, he has a sense of humour and he's such a delight to be around.  I can't wait until they fly over from the Island in the float plane for another visit.  His nah-nee misses him every day.  Sweet dreams, dear grandson!

...and smiling for the camera!