Sarah, Danny & Teresa help pick Saskatoon Berries!

Day 3 and we went berry picking, and within hours the berries were converted into jam!

Sarah's first S'More!

To round off day 2 in Canada, we had a backyard fire, roasting marshmallows and Sarah was initiated into the Price family tradition of making delicious s'mores.

The English have arrived!

Teresa (Andy's mom), nephew Danny and niece Sarah arrived on Saturday...and Teresa finally got the opportunity to hold her first great Canadian grandchild.

Sunday ... their first full day in Canada was a busy one. Brynne's baby shower was today. I woke up early (6:15) to bake a banana loaf before breakfast for the baby shower. Upon rising, I noticed there was a puddle of water in the guest bathroom, a result of the the toilet overflowing! Not a great way to start the day... but the problem was soon resolved, thanks to some fine plunger action! After baking the banana bread, I whipped up a batch of homemade buttermilk pancakes (Martha Stewart's awesome recipe) for breakfast, served with home-made saskatoon berry syrup and of course, the regular standby, pancake syrup! After breakfast, it was off to church.

Above: The watermelon "baby carriage" filled with fruit salad and other goodies for the baby shower.

While the shower was happening, the boys went to the Calgary Archery Range and timed their return perfectly with the end of the shower, returning just in time to make dinner!

Andy enlisted some help from Danny and Sarah who acted as his "sous-chefs" in the kitchen, seen here, ready to whip up a huge batch of meatballs!

Nanking Cherry Jelly

Last night I picked these cherries at my friend Lori's house, with a whole lot of help from her, her daughter Amanda and 3 of Amanda's friends. After having picked 8 litres of wild saskatoon berries, picking these cherries was a breeze! These ruby red delicacies are somewhat tart and make absolutely delicious jelly. Tasting the remnants of the jelly clinging to the pot brought back many happy memories of jelly making from the Nanking Cherry trees in our yard of our Mountview home ... 13 years ago! Thanks Lori!

Morning Play Time with Nana

photo taken this morning.

The big day will soon be here!!

just two weeks to the big event!

a little iphoto booth fun!

Rachel reading to Brynne

Just a short snippet of Rachel reading some of the books Brynne has received as gifts, to her. Andy and I believe reading to your children is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. Growing up, our children will tell you that one of our favourite family pastimes were trips to the local library. As a result, both of our children love reading and we know this tradition will be passed onto our grandchildren.

It's amazing to think just how much babies and children learn from the simple act of reading to them. They hear new words, hear different expressions and emotions and soon they will learn words ... and eventually imitate the sounds they hear, even the inflection of your voice, when they "read" back the story you've read to them a hundred times. Language development is rather amazing, when you think about it! Brynne will certainly learn that reading is a valuable skill, worth learning.

Saskatoon Berry Picking!!

Yes, believe it or not, there is more going on in my life than taking adorable photos of Brynne ... this morning I made 4 batches of peach jam using most of the 20 lb case of peaches my mom brought back with her from BC last week (yummm) and then headed out this afternoon with Andy to pick Saskatoon berries - they are deliciously ripe and a little messy to pick, but well worth the effort!!

Brynne Mosaic - Weeks 2 & 3 in Calgary

Happy Birthday Rachel!

July 27 - We celebrated Rachel's birthday in Banff on Tuesday, meeting up with Tyler who was working in Banff. Lyden and Erin met us for supper, stopping for a brief photo outside the restaurant. Lyden totally looks as though he's giving his best "Robert Pattinson" imitation!

loving moments like this

over the past 2.5 weeks

Brynne Mosaic - Week 1 in Calgary

Two of my most favourite people in the whole world!

love, love, love this photo of Brynne and her Poppie taken today!

Brynne has feet like her Poppie!

When Brynne was first born and we saw the photo of her foot (below), we couldn't help but see the the similarity to Andy's feet! It's been said that individuals whose 2nd toe is longer than their big toe are known to have a strong personality ... certainly true of Andy .... guess we'll have to wait and see if that is true of Brynne!

Poppie has the knack!

Brynne was fussing a bit during dinner Thursday evening so Andy asked for Brynne to be passed to him so he could demonstrate (to all present at the table) the best position to calm a fussy baby. She immediately settled down and quite happily fell asleep and stayed in this position for a good 15 minutes until dinner was done!

Uncle Lyden holds Brynne for the 1st time

The kids arrived from Vancouver around 5:45 pm last night and Rachel's first order of business: Promptly place Brynne into her brother's arms!

Wall Banner for Brynne

Today I created this banner intended to hang above Brynne's crib in her room but in the meantime, I have fastened it to the outside of her playpen in our spare bedroom!

Whoa! Hello Wallace!

Rachel took this photo of Brynne last week ... while not her first photo shoot with Wallace, it does appear from her expression that she has only just become aware of his existence!

My special girls!!

Got some great news last week! Rachel, Tyler and Baby Brynne are coming to Calgary this week!! Can't wait to see them!

Such expressive eyes!

Oh my sweet grand-baby Brynne, seeing you brightens my every day!

Wide eyed wonder

This sweet photo of Brynne, alert and curious, epitomizes the journey every child takes, learning about the world around her. It's truly amazing to think how she will quickly she will develop in the next twelve months!

Brynne's Tummy Time

I couldn't resist recording this short little clip of Brynne taken on June 16, sadly, the last day of my visit in Vancouver. (just press the play button to view the clip) I miss snuggling with Brynne, hearing her hiccup, kissing her neck, her hands, the crook of her neck, her face, and drinking in the aroma of her sweet little head. I am sure you all know what I mean, that warm, sweet, milky, furry, perfumy baby smell. It typically takes a couple of days after birth for the smell to start, but once it does, you can't get enough of it. It's oh so addicting! *sigh* I'm already suffering the effects of Baby Brynne withdrawal and counting down the weeks until Baby Brynne comes to visit Nana and Poppie in mid August.

Brynne Mosaic

Images of Brynne from June 1 - 11, 2010, her proud mommy & daddy and Nana & Poppie.

Just so sweet ....

When we were out and about this past Saturday, it seemed almost everywhere we went, baby Brynne's presence brought approving glances and smiles. While she peacefully slept in her car seat, one elderly gentleman stopped to chat, wanting to know her name. Newborn babies have such a wonderful, softening effect on humanity!

Proud Poppie with Baby Brynne

Andy arrived early Saturday morning, June 5th for a quick (much too quick) visit with baby Brynne. We spent the day all together, did a little shopping and went for a long walk along the beach!

Proud Nana with Baby Brynne

Rachel, Tyler and Brynne greeted me early (6:45 am) this morning at the airport. As soon as we got home, Rachel took a nap, affording me some hard core snuggle time with Brynne, who as you can see from this photo, is quite content in her Nana's arms!

Isn't she lovely?

Welcome to this world, sweet baby Brynne Elizabeth, born 6:49 am today, (3 weeks ahead of schedule) weighing 6 pounds, 4 oz and 18 and 3/4" long ... isn't she lovely?!