Roots

Having a new lil baby is such an undescribable joy.  Being so far away from the family we want him to know is not so hot!  We knew this sojourn in Quebec (which of course started as two separate adventures) would be a finite one.  But the arrival of Cedar has made us crave 'home' more than ever....

Now that baby is through his "fourth trimester" I could actually stomach the idea of moving.  So all that spring cleaning gave us a jump start, and just sorta morphed into prep for selling the house.  A bit ahead of what we'd (well, make that I'd... heh heh - Rob is raring to go) originally envisioned, but we realized that now's a good time.  With me on mat leave and him working on the house, we've got lots of flexibility.  Suddenly we thought, why spend the summer puttering in our yard here, when we could be mobile and let our loved ones get to know the newest member of the family?!  He hasn't even met his grandparents, aunts and uncles on my side. No, this just won't do.

We want to live in a place where we can continue this outdoorsy lifestyle, where he can build with wood and I can continue my ecology work, but where it's possible to see family on a regular basis. Fast forward past many excited, middle-of-the-night, post-feeding discussions — during which we ruled out living in cities — and here's the plan: sell the house, spend the summer on Manitoulin, and use that time to explore the island and find a place of our own there.

 This scenario came out of similar, day-dreaming conversations over the past two years... where is the ideal place for us to live?  We are pretty excited about the plan we've come up with.  Cedar's grandparents are all thrilled that we'll be closer.  So far we've lined up a cottage for the summer near Kagawong on the North Channel, thanks to Mom spreading the word to local friends.  Awesome because we'll be on the big water and close to Mom and Ken's place (pictures above).

In the mean time we've been continuing to improve the inside and outside of the house, showing it, and taking the time for daily walks to enjoy the spring flowers.

 5 k hike on Ligne d'Horizon, Lac-Beauport

kitty hat was knit by our friend Christie

Although our time in Quebec won't last much longer, there is so much to appreciate here and I intend to savour every moment.  I'm especially going to miss the dear friends we've made here, but thankfully, being that they are all adventurers, I'm pretty sure we'll be able to tempt them west for visits!  Hiking, swimming, kayaking... yep, it's gonna continue to be a sweet life.

hiking the Cup and Saucer trail back in 2008

Our 3 & 1/2 month old is changing every day, getting stronger, puttin' on chub, and learning to make all kinds of cooing and letter sounds.  It's going to be fun to tell him the story of how his parents met while exploring Canada's oldest city, and then brought him to grow on the world's largest freshwater island plunk in the middle of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.  Yes, I am one truly blessed and happy mama :)

jolly at 3 months

3 months and a week

3.5 months