Our Family & Our Life

Dear Diary, Today I went to visit my friend Karen and her daughter Maiya. Isla already met Maiya back in May but they haven't seen each other since. They've both grown loads! Isla was rolling all over the place and couldn't go any further than the chair but decided not to go back because Maiya was so much fun to watch... If Isla is going to be as active as Maiya is when she starts to crawl, I think I better get myself a new pair of Reeboks just to keep up. She isn't crawling yet but has gotten as far as putting her knees under her body and rocking. Soon she'll figure out how to co-ordinate all the movements together and then she'll be off. Right now I'm happy enough with the rolling on the floor... While Karen and I ate lunch, we put Isla in a excersaucer and Maiya went in a second one, faced them together and they just laughed and played together. It was soooo cute! Isla hasn't spent much time with babies her age and she thoroughly enjoyed her new fr

Dear Diary, I walked into the laundry room which is where the majority of our stuff is kept in boxes. The cats love to sit on the higher stacked boxes.... I wonder what is in the box? Shocking, it's Pearl!

Dear Diary, I came across this blog ... too cute... Oh come on, admit it, you laughed...

Dear Diary, Our poor dear Dixie has contracted "cat plaque" as I call it due to stress (aka Tasha, my parents dog!!!?). The fancy name for it is eosinophilic granuloma complex but don't worry fellow cat lovers, she is doing well. I was fearing the worst so I really did not want to take her to the vet but after a week of looking at her "wound" that wouldn't go away, I noticed it was raised and thought it best to make an appointment. A look under the microscope and a few tense moments later, the vet told me she would be fine after an anti-inflammatory and a steroid injection. A week on her "wound" has almost disappeared... sighh (of relief)... So tonight I was looking it up again (to prevent future outbreaks) and came across this artists' blog which I thought was interesting. I'm sure my beloved will tell me the day we have too much money, he will entertain the thought. Just an idea, just an idea...

Dear Diary, There was no swearing in ceremony but our little girl is now officially Canadian! She now has the documentation to prove it and it was issued in record time for which we are thankful. The only thing is it was issued to ILSA Jennifer Black and not ISLA Jennifer Black. As the lady at Immigration and Citizenship said to me, "morons"! Oh well, I will still try to get her Canadian passport and OHIP using this card before sending it back to have the correction made. A few photos for those who miss her dearly (you know who you are ;-) ) Hi Daddy, I miss you too! 'til next time, Heather, Colin & Isla

Dear Diary, My beloved flew back to us last Friday for a quick visit before blowing out to the UK for a month or so. The poor boy flew out of Denver at 8 a.m. and didn't arrive in Toronto via Charlotte N.C. until 6:30 p.m. What a long, tiring day but he still had enough strength to give his Isla all the hugs she needed! On Saturday we organized a Vandenberg family outing to Rockwood Conservation Area just outside of Guelph for a bit of canoeing and bbq'ing in the afternoon and evening. We couldn't all be there for various reasons but for those who were there, we had a good time, I think. Colin and I rented a canoe and so did the "orphans', namely, Emily, Benjamin and Matthew. Their dad was in Ohio for business and their poor mother was at home very sick with a bad chest cold. Hope you're feeling better soon, Loretta, we missed you! The orphans with Matthew in charge (scary!) Me, sittin pretty but I did paddle abit when ordered by you-know-who... Yup, him, my be

Dear Diary, Thank you dear for the message of love.. I am sad that I am not with you on our anniversary but knowing that you and our beautiful daughter are well makes me happier. I love you more today than yesterday, I see your love for me in Isla's happy eyes and I can't wait to be with you again soon. Love you always, Your husband... xoxoxoxo

Dear Diary, Two years ago it was just the two of us... ... and now we are three I love you for your thoughtfulness Your understanding way And for the countless little things you do for me each day I love you for the hopes and dreams You've helped to make come true But most of all I love you, Just for being you Happy Wedding Anniversary to my Groom ! Happiness and Love Always Your Bride

Dear Diary, Isla celebrated her 6 month birthday yesterday! Born on a Sunday and now she celebrated her "birthday" on a Sunday! How times flies as they say. This is the one time in her life when she is allowed to triple her weight but then if you start life at just over five pounds it doesn't take long to triple! She stills has just the one tooth. Her little cheeks are really pink but when we check it's still just the one. It's good thing she has at least one tooth 'cause she's been getting solid food now for four days! Rice cereal isn't her favourite - I give her the bottle to wash it down but she's doing OK. I'll try pureed vege in a couple of days. This is her first taste of solid food - she did really well and even opened her mouth for another bite - but after that it's become a bit of struggle. And her birthday lunch on Sunday of rice cereal. Still not that tasty but thankfully her bottle was around to wash it down. Mom found

Dear Diary, Well, I finally got the camera to upload the photos: These are the cats: Pearl found use for sofas even though they haven't been unwrapped yet. Glad she finds them comfortable. And here is Ziggy for his closeup waiting for his treats. Isn't he cute!!? He gets his treats on the table because if he ate them off the floor the dog would push him aside and eat them. And Dixie hamming it up for the camera. Does this look like a stressed cat? Do you see what I mean when I say they are well taken care of and didn't miss me at all? Last Sunday my sister and b-i-l and two nephews came by to say hello. This is my nephew Peter with his littel cuz. She was quite comfortable sitting there but she was handed back to me when she cried. Oh well, I'm going to try to make a babysitter out of him yet! Unfortunately I can't get a pic of her new tooth but here is our darling, a photo for her Daddy in Denver! (sorry a bit fuzzy) She misses you dear and we can'