Proof of Life…not the movie.

But it is a video.  Let's see if this works; haven't tried to load a video on the blog yet.

A few favorites & firsts:

So sorry but not all of the pictures are in chronological order, so I apologize if his aging is confusing.  He is getting older and bigger every day!  He's smiling a lot and is giggling just a little.  This is just to catch you up a little bit on Levi as he turns 8 weeks old today!

First time at home!  Walking in the door on February 15th...

First bath at home

Sly little man...

First time in the Ergo carrier!

First time in his crib!

First time meeting Sophie!!!

In what we affectionately call "Lamby"…and discovering the mirror

Playing "How big is Levi?  Sooo big!" with Daddy, younger version

Playing "How big is Levi?  Sooo big!" with Daddy, older version.  And yes, Reagan always sits there…she gets stepped on a lot.

"I mustache you not to laugh…"

New position for burping…one of the most recent pictures (just so you can tell he is getting older and bigger!)

And he LOVES the space egg, or what is actually called a Mamaroo.  He's getting so big! (And thanks to the Mitchell girls for loaning it to cousin Levi!)

How could I forget? (IV et finale)

I think our favorite city to visit was Quebec, in part because it is magnificent but also because it feels a little like Europe.  You can walk almost everywhere you want to visit, and most of the streets are brick or stone and lined with shops and restaurants and older buildings.  I accidentally keep saying "when we were in France…" I have been to France, and of course it is much neater than the Canadian version, but it was still wonderful and romantic.  Sites: Citadelle of Quebec (home of the Van Doos, the Royal 22nd Regiment), Chateau Frontenac (which was unfortunately being renovated, so some scaffolding made for less-than-optimal pictures), Marche du Vieux-Port (market).  We also made our way to the symphony for a wonderful evening with an American soprano.

And I think that brings us to the end of Canada!  Well, not Canada's end, but you get what I mean.  Hope you enjoyed!

Reporting for duty at the Citadelle

Our Francophone tour guide

View of the Chateau Frontenac from the Citadelle

Remember kids, rule #1: all guns are loaded. 

The walled city!

Our only picture of the inside of the Chateau Frontenac…looks like an ordinary expensive hotel lobby.

I promise, I was pregnant during this trip.  Dressed for the symphony!

Market!

For our sweet niece Genevieve...

Everybody loves the funny signage in foreign countries.

Overlooking the St. Lawrence

Where we stayed, Chateau de la Terrassee Dufferin…what a view!  View of the Chateau Frontenac and the St. Lawrence River (to your right)…both views obscured by scaffolding and the river view by a very large cruise ship.  Still lovely though, of course.

How could I forget? (Part III)

Just pictures here.

(I think half the reason I stopped updating our blog in 2012 was because I got frustrated on the formatting and picture-displaying/loading end of things.)

We found NEMO!

St. Joseph's Oratory…I wish I had counted those steps.  Remember, pregnant.  Woof.

Inside the main sanctuary at St. Joseph's

The Organ…if only I had a size-comparison for you.  It's huge!

Bonsecours Market

St. Lawrence…and if you look really hard in the middle-to-right side of the picture, you can see Six Flags Montreal.

How you take pictures of yourselves while on vacation together.

How could I forget? (Part II)

A few funny things we learned or discovered on our trip to Canada:

1. United States Americans are not actually the highest percentage of visitors.  We went on an English-speaking tour of Parliaments and, in a group of probably 30-40 people, we were the only Americans.  Everybody else, though English speaking, was either from Canada or the UK.  That may not surprise you, but I must be so US-centric that I assume "non-accented" Anglophones are automatically Americans. My linguistically enthusiastic friends will have to pardon my ignorance.

2. There's almost no reason to be afraid of being a target as a tourist.  This is mainly because these three cities have so many tourists…we are neither the richest nor are we nearly the most obvious (we don't carry our camera around our neck, to say the least).  And Canadians, well, perhaps they really aren't that criminal minded anyhow, though they do have their homeless and gypsy bands.

3. Yes, Canada, as a country, is younger than the United States.  Many of you would already know this, but I think I was most confused because their architecture looks much older, mostly because it is all inherited from ideas of French and English building structures.  And Canadian history really is confusing; claimed, conquered, re-conquered, still under British rule, etc.

4. Similar to the United States, many of the beautiful old buildings, government and historic alike, have been rebuilt…because everything used to burn down.

5. And don't try to speak your weak French in Quebec…their English will ALWAYS be better than your French, or my Spanish for that matter.

6. Lots of good food to be had (the best of French and English cultures), our favorite being a small chain with absolutely delicious fish and chips, appropriately named Brit & Chips…I had the salmon in Guinness batter.  And being pregnant, I poured vinegar all over my chips and loved it, not something I've ever done before or since.

All the plant and flower pictures (like the turtle and piano below) are from the Botanical Gardens and Insectarium in Montreal.  We spent most of a day there…it was amazing!  We also visited St. Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal and Bonsecours Market.  See next post…I'm having trouble loading more pictures to this post.

How could I forget? (Part I)

In that whole year line-up, I forgot we went to Canada.  How could I forget that?  Jonathan called it our "baby moon".  I tried to deny it, perhaps because I like to think we did things together before Levi came and will continue to do so afterwards, so this is just a road trip like any other.  Enjoy the summary by picture…it was wonderful.  I love road trips with Jonathan, even through a few meltdowns on my part (forgive me, I was 23 weeks pregnant at the time).  We started in Scranton.  Yikes.  Just kidding, but we did spend an overnight there on our way up and the only site we visited was Sheetz.  After that, we headed up to the Thousand Islands (US side); then to Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City and back through Montreal on the way home.  Our 2012 Subaru has already had its 30,000 mile tune up…and we've only had it for just over18 months!

Of course there are TONS more pictures and things we saw that aren't included (I'm doing my best to quickly catch us up to Levi).  If you care to see more, or are planning a trip to Canada yourself and want our trip plans, just let me know.

We'll start with Thousand Islands (Alexandria Bay, NY) and Ottawa.

Alexandria Bay…Boldt Castle in the background

Boldt Castle

Start Ottawa: Chateau Laurier and the locks, huge place for cyclists

Parliament

Library of Parliament…beautiful inside and out

the only RCMP we saw in uniform…we saw their horses in training...

Parliament and Chateau Laurier from the other side (I think we're on the French side?)

On the Mackenzie King Estate (I think this is the Pink Lake?)…MacKenzie King was a Prime Minister in Canada.  Interesting man, estate was not as interesting but a beautiful escape from the city. 

Canadian Museum of History…where we learned that the US is older than Canada, and that Canadians have a slightly confusing heritage (Canada is both a Federal Parliamentary Democracy and a Constitutional Monarchy).

Leave it to the Museum of Modern Art

Notre Dame in Ottawa

Just for your amusement.