Week 8

On Monday morning of Week 8, I let the boys outside on their own. When I opened the door to go out myself, I saw James having the time of his life:

Our last group of cottagers arrived that afternoon, most of them visiting Waupoos for the first time. I’ve found that some weeks offer more opportunities to get to know people – last week I had the privilege of spending time one on one with several women and was moved by their stories of courage in the face of adversity. We also had a lot of really great kids here last week. There were several baby-lovers among them, so Callum spent a lot of time being passed from arm to arm, delighting everyone with his easy smile.

One of my favourite activities of the week was an outdoor Zumba class. Even Callum was grooving to the Latin beats!

Friday was Brendan’s birthday, so I invited the other farm couples over in the evening for some delicious chocolate peanut butter cheesecake. I have to admit, I was quite proud of my accomplishment when Lee-Ann said in disbelief, “You made this? You MADE this?!!!”

To extend the birthday festivities, the Baker’s, Gernon’s, and Jenkins’ came to Saturday’s open house to surprise Brendan. Our last potluck of the season was a great success and we enjoyed sharing it with our friends.

After saying goodbye to the cottagers on Sunday, we headed to the Capital Fair to see the sights and support Danny in his bbq competition (he had lured us in with the promise of ribs and chicken barbecued to perfection!). We were hoping Liam and James would enjoy the kiddie rides but they weren’t that interested. I think they were just too tired to have fun. Here’s James on the first of two rides to which we subjected him:

He liked it at first but then started to frown. The ride stopped just as he was gearing up to cry.

Danny’s barbecuing scored much higher than the rides:

It’s quiet around here now that the summer vacation season has ended. Liam keeps asking when the cottagers are coming back. He’s doing well with the transition though. Having the Garcia kids around helps, but he’s also spending more time building roads for his cars on the living room carpet. He loved the active pace of the summer, but I think he also missed his down time. He’s been playing with cars this way since he was just over a year old and it seems to be therapeutic for him. He was becoming a wild thing in the last few weeks, so it’s a relief for me to see him return to his former self!

Scrunchy Faces (The summer staff taught Liam how to take selfies.
Now he wants to take them all the time... )

James has grown up a lot this summer. His vocabulary is expanding daily, allowing us to become better acquainted with his joyful, mischievous, affectionate personality. He has also decided that it’s time to potty train, which has mommy awestruck. It took a full year and a half to potty train Liam, with tears from both trainer and trainee. I’m trying not to hold my breath, but it looks like things will be MUCH easier this time. James is taking this big boy step like a pro, with very few accidents.   

Surveying the garden stones

My sweet Callum is already seven months old, adept at crawling, eating solids, and melting hearts.  I can’t believe how quickly the months have gone…

We’re leaving for a holiday in New Brunswick next week. Looking forward to some family time after a very full summer. We have many memories to savour and much to fill our hearts with gratitude. It will be nice to have some time to let the summer sink in and recharge before the start of autumn.