Aleta is making movies now

Mommy got a new camera so family and friends far away can get to know me a little better... I turn 8 weeks old tomorrow!




p.s. Thanks, Maarten, for the tip on how to get the video uploaded!

7 weeks old and already getting ready to swim

Grandma came over tonight and made me feel much better by putting me on her lap like this.

As an added bonus, I can practice whipkick. I'll be ready to go swimming in no time!

 

Aleta meets Grandpa... and a whole bunch of other relatives

Last week, when I was 5 weeks old, we drove all the way from Esterhazy to High River, Alberta, so I could meet my Grandpa Hedley, see Grandma Hedley again, and meet my Uncle Duncan, Uncle Darren and Auntie Naghmeh and their kids, see Uncle David and Auntie Leslie again, and meet some other cousins.

Grandpa and I had a real nice chat. He thinks that I even look a bit like my great-grandma Aleta, his mom.



These are some of the people we hung with at the park one day, including Mommy's cousins Jill and her boyfriend Cam, Ian and his wife Annette and their three boys, Lorne and his girlfriend Marina, as well as Uncle David and Auntie Leslie, and Uncle Darren and Auntie Naghmeh.

Grandma is here too, with her brother, Great-Uncle Leonard and Great-Aunt Florence.


Would you believe that I slept through almost the entire picnic?? That warm summer breeze was just so relaxing...

 

Okay, I didn't sleep through the WHOLE picnic...

Somehow, I managed to wake up when cousin Jill took this photo! 

Meeting some cousins

I had fun meeting Uncle Darren and Auntie Naghmeh's kids. Sutherland (Suddi) is only 3 years older than me and he was SO excited to hold me and play with my toes. Amelia (Mimi) at 5 had to keep reminding him that my name was not "the baby" and that I should be addressed by my actual name.

Well, Mimi and I had a good laugh about that, as I told her how shortly after I was born, Mommy and Grandma kept calling me Amelia, HER name!


Vahid is 10 and really hoped that my mommy would cut his hair for him but she didn't get to it this visit.


Leila, in the top left corner, is 13, and was out of town hanging out with her friends Kayo and Emy, friends from Cuba, and so I didn't spend quite as much time with her, but I was SO glad I did get to meet her.

 

Visiting Atton's Lake and Mosquito Reserve

After we visited Mommy's family in High River, we went to see Keith at Atton's Lake. A place which you would be hard pressed to find on a map. I guess Atton was a farmer who left his land (including this lake) to the people of Cut Knife, Saskatchewan (Mommy always seems to want to know this kind of stuff).


So, anyway, Keith got this idea that I had to be "baptized" in the lake. Well, at 5 weeks Mommy and Daddy thought that I could take a dip, but I didn't have a bathing suit yet so complete immersion was out of the question.

Just my toe!


Visiting Glenda out at Mosquito was really relaxing too!

Other trip highlights

As we wound up our trip, we went to Auntie Bev's house in Saskatoon, where I got to meet my cousins Kimberley and her boyfriend Chad, and Liana. We only managed to get a picture of me with Kimberley...


... and Bailey, who was highly interested in my presence, and always ready to play.

Which reminded me that at the beginning of the trip, we stopped off at Uncle Glenn's house in Regina, where we also met Bruno (not shown) and Bandit. Bandit thought that I was a new toy we brought for him. You know, I think I'll have a lot of fun with Bandit and Bailey as I get older!


The last person we visited with on our trip was Garry (Mister Brown), who took good care of me while Mommy and Daddy ate dinner.

A photo essay

I think Uncle Darren got ahold of Mommy and Daddy's camera and took a bunch of photos of me with Grandma...

I had my first birthday! (one month)

Here is what I am looking like these days...

After bath time:

Auntie Bev made a great sleeping surface when she and Uncle Nestor came to visit me this past Saturday!
So, for that matter, did Auntie Leslie when she and Uncle David came a couple of weeks ago!

Deep in thought? "No wait, wait, I almost have it!" - or just real relaxed? (or in fact sound asleep on someone else's lap???)

I am in fact awake sometimes... Do you think maybe I'm getting enough to eat? Wow am I pudging up. Last week Mommy and Daddy figured out that I've been gaining almost a pound a week since I came home from the hospital.

I really like this cradle/swing! And it gives Mommy a break from time to time. She highly recommends it to new parents.

Well, with any luck, like, if I sleep a little more so Mommy can sleep too, and get to other stuff besides feeding me, you'll see more pictures of moi soon!!!