Mattias' Baba & Didi

I was doing some organizing and found some old photos of my parents long before I was born. Some pretty neat photos.

A pee and a poo-poo

Today we picked up a little potty for Mattias thinking it is about time to start potty training. To our surprise when we were getting him ready for his bath, he had his diaper off and he went pee in the potty. We of course clapped and made a big deal of it. As an encore he went back and pinched a rabbit turd for us. Awww, they grow up so fast.

Blackberries and a lot of rain

Today turned out to be a very wet dreary day. Not a typical August day but more like December. Anyways, the rugrat was full of energy so we went out anyways. We got dressed in our best wet gear and went out splashing out in the puddles and picked blackberries. Oh my, did Mattias love the blackberries, I couldn't pick them fast enough for him. Did I mention it was a wet day...

Woodlands Park Zoo in Seattle

We just got back from a 3 day trip to Seattle. We had a great time. The main reason for the trip was to visit the Woodlands Park Zoo and it was a lot of fun. Mattias had a great time, he was so excited. He really liked the gorillas and the otters.

We stayed at a really great apartment that Justine found. They are called the Maple apartments and I highly recommend them. We stayed in the Capital Hill area which was really enjoyable and had some great Thai food at the Siam on Broadway. We got some shopping done (clothes for my new job) and of course duty free wine!

Here are a few photos and more can be found here.

Memorial for Grandpa

Today we went to the Memorial for Justine's father (Sean) who passed away earlier this month. Mattias was so well behaved it was hard to believe it was him ;-)

When Justine was pregnant Sean was diagnosed with cancer and we were worried he would not live to meet Mattias. He beat the odds and stuck around so he could get to know Mattias. Here are a few photos of Sean from the last few years.

I'll always remember Sean for his wild eyebrows ;-).

PNE

Yesterday we went to the PNE and Mattias had a great time. He loved the animals in the Agridome and you had to pry Justine away from the baby goats (as usual). We did a mistake of giving Mattias a mini-donut, oh my did he wail for more. We just had asked for a sample (we did not want to buy donuts as we don't need them) so we walked down to their second location and got another sample for Mattias. He was in donut heaven.

The had some "art cars" there for kids to paint. Needless to say both Mattias and I were covered in paint when we left. Justine was not too impressed. ;-)

We saw some Chinese acrobats which was fun, Mattias actually made it through the show. He did not want to leave but within minutes of getting out of the PNE he was fast asleep.

Coffee & a visit

Mattias and I had a good visit with Al and his girlfriend Manyi. I used to work with Al and played a fair bit of golf with Al before he moved to Hong Kong. Mattias liked Manyi and had fun bonking heads with her.

We met at the latest coffee shop in our neighborhood, Cafe Artigiano, they sure make a good latte. The owner of this location is a Canadian champion and has come second in the world barista championships.

Scrabble

My sister really enjoys her scrabble game and usually wins but not this visit.  Greg 353 vs Cynthia 332.  Ha!  You got to be real careful with her and not open any big tiles, she always seems to capitalize on those, it is so frustrating.  Thank god I got a bingo (birdies) on my first turn.

Happy Birthday Mattias!

Mattias is two!!! He had a busy birthday. For lunch we went to Baby Eats which was fun. For his birthday dinner we had both Grandma and Baba there with Cynthia, Randy, Lucas and Bean. Mattias LOVED playing with Bean.

The horse cookies were made again, the tradition continues as they were made for my birthday when I was growing up.

More photos can been seen here.

After Mattias went to bed Cynthia and I had a scrabble game. First turn I had a bingo and ended up winning the game. ha ha, bragging rights until the next visit.

No more lazy days (if you call chasing Mattias being lazy)

This last 2 weeks have been busy on the job hunt front. I had a bunch of second interviews and got two formal offers. It was real good for my ego as the company I turned down countered with an offer to sweeten the pot, how cool is that. Anyways, that did not change my decision but it sure was nice.

I now have to get my Professional Engineering status, I see many forms in my future. Anyone need their passport application signed? ;-)

Here are a few photos from the last week:

Someone looks relaxed (this is a rare moment, I needed to capture it on film!)

Look a rainbow!

Someone can't wait to drive

Trip to Sunshine Coast

Yesterday we took a day trip to the Sunshine Coast for a wedding. It turned out to be a beautifual day and we spent some time at one of the beaches at Robert's Creek. Mattias had a lot of fun playing with the kids at the wedding and had a ball at the beach, especialy when he was throwing things (at Jenny).

Mattias, mama and Jenny

"Whatcha talking about Willis!"