Island Bound

Time is flying by. It really seems that the older I get the faster the days, weeks and months go.

Henry is 15 months old. He has a great sense of humour and a lot of energy!! I am really enjoying his developing language skills. His vocabulary has expanded to include about 20 words, and his expressive nature means that we are rarely left guessing at what he means. I loved the baby stage, but toddlerhood thus far has proven to be even more enjoyable.

My weight loss challenge has been a success thus far. At our official measurement and weigh-in April 15th I had lost 6 lbs, an inch off of my waist and half an inch from my bust and hips. If I can do the same again by May 15th I will have met my goal to reach my pre-pregnancy size.

The weather has been gorgeous this month. Henry and I are playing outside more and more. He loves the great outdoors! Being the clever little lad that he is, Henry has finally decided that it's a good idea to keep hats and sunglasses on outside too!

Our friend Kim invited us out for an afternoon at Riverdale Park and Zoo with her three month old daughter Sarah. What a great day!! I had no idea this little treasure was buried in the concrete jungle. We had a wonderful time, Henry loved the freedom to run and got a real kick out of the animals that we'd only read about until now. Thanks Kim!

We have officially moved back to the island for the summer. We came over on Friday and enjoyed the weekend at the much more enjoyable island pace. I will miss the convenience of living cityside, but the tranquility of island life makes up for it ten-fold.

Moving Forward

Spring has been great fun! Since I last wrote we have had many memorable outings.

Henry and I went swimming with our friends Caroline and Jacob at their condo. I think Henry will come to love swimming, he has always enjoyed his bath, and after a little coaxing he was kicking his feet like a champ in the big pool!

We have spent a lot of time in Peterborough, and spent one lovely afternoon at the Peterborough Zoo with Uncle Dave, Aunt Crystal and cousin Nathan. Henry loved seeing the animals, and the grand finale was an hour or so spent playing on all of the jungle gyms. It's such a great zoo, and it's so amazing that they have managed to keep admission free for all of these years!

Easter was spent in Kitchener with the Oakes'. Henry loved playing outside in the backyard with the ride on tractor, the sandbox and all of the kids' toys. I think we'll have a great summer playing on the island.

We have been busy, busy, busy preparing for summer. We have had the usual spring cleaning that people in homes have, cleaning out closets, cupboards, deep cleaning all of the nooks and crannies, but after living aboard for the winter we have the outside stuff to contend with too. After much work we have turned our deck back from a mudroom to a functional sailboat again! All of the winter wear is packed and stored, the decks are scrubbed, and the plastic cover is gone! I'd almost forgotten what our boat looked like under the 'covered wagon' getup.

Soon we will be moving back to Queen City Yacht Club on the island for the summer. While I'll miss the convenience of living city side, I will not miss all of the tourists!!!! Since spring has sprung the tourists have come out of the woodwork. They come in droves and stare at us from the overhead bridge like we're part of the attraction! Hey people, we don't stand in your backyard and stare into your homes! Sheesh. So, the island will be a welcome, calm, peaceful existence for the summer.

Henry is cutting teeth again. He just got his 13th and 14th, and is working on his 15th and 16th!! That's a lot of teeth for a 15 month old! Oh well, just the two year molars to go and he's done until they start to fall out and make room for the permanent teeth.

Our sleep issues continue, although we've found that he sleeps better with Daddy than Mommy, so I have had two nights straight of full sleep! Thanks Daddy!!

In other news, we have sold our condo! Hooray! The deal closes in late May, and the buyer is going to keep our tenant, so it has worked out beautifully! I am very excited. The next step will be a huge garage sale to get rid of our three lockers full of stuff! It is all of the stuff that we thought we would like to keep when we moved out of the condo in the first place. Having lived aboard and adopted a simpler lifestyle we have come to realize that we don't need all of that stuff after all. It will be nice to be free of it.

There is a lot of work ahead, but this past week has found us moving forward quite nicely.