Noel St.Lazare

Nous avons passé Noel à St.Lazare avec Grandmama sur la ferme. Luc a beaucoup aimé (malgré un petit crise au début). Il a rencontré ses cousines Stéphanie et Cynthia et il a été beaucoup bercé par sa Grandmama qui lui aime beaucoup!

ENGLISH: We spent Christmas at Gilbert's family farm where Luc met his cousins and spent a lot of time with his Grandmama (who is crazy about Luc!) despite the drafts of air, Luc survived and had a great time!



Photos:

- Grandmama avec Luc

- Genevieve avec Luc chez Françoise et Laval

- Stéphanie avec Luc

- Cynthia avec Luc







Video:
1. Grandmama berce Luc
2. Luc parle a Grandmama

The ERPI Ladies!

Hi all,

Tanja, my co-author at ERPI sent me these pictures today of the last time we all met together - for those of you who don't know my lovely coworkers from left to right is Cara; (who is replacing me while I am off with Luc and will *hopefully* be writing the next book with me while Tanja is off on maternity leave!!!) Sharnee, our fabulous boss,(practicing for when she becomes a grandmother this spring!) Tanja, holding Luc (practicing for becoming a mum this May!!!) and me!

Thanks for the pics Tanja!!!

Snowbound

Hi all!

For those of you who don't live in Montreal/Quebec/Canada you may not know what winters can be like - well this one so far has been a spectacular one! There has been record snowfall for the month of December (two major snowstorms dumping 30+ cm at a time). There is so much snow that the city is having a hard time finding where to put it!

All this means that Luc & I are a bit snow-bound (i.e. stuck inside) I have vowed to get out at least once a day but the last storm foiled us - we stayed in. In the meantime I am developing Popeye muscles lifting the stroller OVER snowdrifts and unplowed sidewalk corners. I have also begun using the ERGO backpack - which Luc loves, but his papa doesn't like the fact that I could slip on the ice and/or compacted snow.

Here are two pics of Luc in the snowsuit (makes him into a starfish) and of the snow on a (plowed) sidewalk: 3-5 feet high in most places!

This is just the beginning - 4 more months of this to go!

Happy Christmas all!

P,G&L

Couch potato

Just a quick pic of Luc and his papa watching (what else!) the sports on t.v. together...

(sigh)

Sunday Brunch

Last Sunday several of our friends (and their offspring!) braved the second huge snowstorm we've had this winter to come over and visit. There were nine adults and six kids - but somehow it felt like more! It was all lots of fun and great to see everyone again. Thanks Maria & Martin; Renaud, Genevieve, Xavier & Mathias; Nicolas, Annabelle & Charlotte; Alain, Anik and Gabrielle for coming over!

One little anecdote: Luc is a bit shy and tends to find ways to avoid the hustle & bustle - on Sunday that meant taking a nap every 45 minutes or so. Annabelle (Nico's 3 year old daughter) couldn't wait for the baby to wake up and waited patiently on the stairs for a sound. When he finally woke up, Gilbert went into the baby's room only to find Annabelle there explaining patiently to Gilbert that he was not needed, she would sing the baby a lullaby!

Burbles and babbles

Luc started cooing last week - this may not be terribly exciting for you all, but for us it is thrilling! He smiles and coos (spelling?) when he looks at us - makes up for a lot of the screaming at other times!

We tried to capture this on video (dopey first-time parents that we are) but of course, Luc prefers to cooperate off-camera. This video is the best that we have (so far!) if you listen carefully, you can hear the cooing - but we don't blame you if you want to skip this one - it is for avid Luc-philes only!

p.s. Gilbert is talking to him in French (of course) asking Luc what he did with his day, if he enjoyed the car trip, if mummy drove too fast etc. Sigh.

Thanks for keeping up with us!

P,G & L!

Leo and Luc - Playdate!

Luc has a new friend, Leo. Leo is Cara's ("Care-ah")son who was born a few weeks before Luc. Cara and I met in prenatal yoga and hit it off immediately - she is great fun and we both enjoy talking about poop, breastfeeding etc. :)

Playdate was great as both boys shared their toys and even communed on the playmat for a while! Their mums had a good time chatting too.


The video is L&L "playing" together ;)

7 weeks - Pictures

Hi all!

I have been behind in posting on the blog, but we have still been taking lots of pictures so here is the latest batch! This week Luc has decided that bedtime is 6 pm and the day starts anywhere between 4 and 5.30 a.m. Great for him, but by the time he goes down for his mid-morning nap I'm shattered!!!

Pictures here are of Luc in the bath, Teemu and Luc sharing my lap (the cat is still trying to establish his place in the pecking order) and Gilbert and Luc cuddling in the ergo baby carrier.

Puppets & sleep

Not much new to report in Luc-land, small things amuse us: Luc has started "cooing" noises when we sit and interact which amuses his papa endlessly. Also, Luc LOVES the handpuppets that my grandma knit for him.

The pics are of Luc & the handpuppets (who have intelligent conversations with Luc everyday... hahahaha) and of Luc pooped out from a long morning visiting - after snuggling in bed with Mum & the boob. (Does life get any better?)

News update...

In the flurry of visitors & excitement I forgot to mention two important milestones in our little lives

1. Luc made the transition from bassinet by our bed to the crib in his own room last week!

2. Gilbert and I had our first date since Luc was born. Last night we went to a Cajun restaurant (at the end of the road!) while Sandra (Gilbert's niece) and her boyfriend, Jerome, babysat. Luc was as good as gold and slept the whole two hours we were gone :)

Note: both events were probably much harder on Luc's parents than on Luc... we are going to have to get used to stretching the cord - if not exactly breaking it just yet ;)

[The picture is of Luc & I blogging together...]

Luc's been "ERGO'ed"

I have been trying out some wearable baby carriers (thanks Cara!) but finally fell in love with this one - the "ERGO" baby carrier which is just like a backpack. The straps are in the right places so it is easy to put on and it feels very comfortable (weight evenly distributed). It feels as though I am just cuddling Luc to me. The best part is that Luc loves it! He would scream in the others, but he falls asleep in this one (even when he is screaming!) It is my new "quick fix"! The problem now is getting him to leave it...

Sylvie, Renald and Genevieve visit

Renald (Gilbert's brother) and his wife, Sylvie, and their daughter, Genevieve, dropped by on Sunday afternoon for a quick visit! Note the fabulous "Habs" hat the future fan is wearing...

Early Christmas with Mum, Simon & Jen

We had an early Christmas last weekend with Mum, Simon & Jen. There were SO MANY PRESENTS! We (read: Luc) were absolutely spoiled! Unfortunately, Luc was too overexcited by all the visitors and spent much of the time fussing, but Mum (Grandma!) was very good at getting him settled down!

Dad & Cristina's visit

Dad & Cristina came up last Thursday / Friday for a visit (& early Christmas). Luc was on his best behaviour! We noticed many similarities between Luc & Dad:
1. They both have the same hairstyle
2. They both are sleepy / grumpy in the morning
3. Both kick in their sleep
etc.!

Francoise and Denise Visit

I am very behind on my posting!!! Each weekend we've had visitors come and admire Luc - two weekends ago it was Francoise and Denise - Gilbert's sisters. Here are some of the pics!

Dancing with my baby...

Was dancing with Luc yesterday afternoon (while he was being fussy) and decided to take a quick pic with the mac.

:)

Cards etc.

I have been meaning to say this for a while and somehow never do: Thank you so much to everyone for all the cards, e-mails, phone calls, gift parcels, comments on the blog etc. We have received so many messages since Luc was born! (As you can see from the picture our mantelpiece has no more room on it!) It is quite overwhelming. Every message you send (from near and far!) makes us feel so privileged and loved to have so many people so interested in our little world. Thank you so much everyone!

Lots of love,

Pippa, Gilbert & Luc

Mum visits.

Gilbert is off on a business trip so I called in the cavalry! Mum arrived yesterday and helped me with Luc - at the doctor's office and at home. I am supposed to be having a nap while Mum carts Luc off (in the pouring rain - what a trouper!) but I couldn't resist posting these pictures in the meantime.

(Luc getting his head measured at the doctor's; Mum changing Luc etc.)

Three Weeks Old!

Luc is three weeks old today! To celebrate, he decided to give up napping in the mornings - and to fight sleep generally during the day. Noooooo!!!! This means that nothing keeps him happy for more than 20 minutes at a time. The poor thing is actually exhausted but bravely fights sleep because things are just to darn interesting to miss out on.

This also means of course that I can kiss my peaceful mornings and mid-afternoon naps goodbye. Sigh. Hopefully this trend won't carry over into the night - for now he is still sleeping 3-6 hours at a stretch!

The pictures this week are of Veronica & Valerie visiting, Gilbert enjoying a fire (and a precious nap with Luc), and of Sandra (Gilbert's niece) with whom we spent Sunday morning with at the Jean Talon market last weekend.

Thanks to all of you for keeping up with us!

Love,

Pippa, Gilbert & Luc!