Austin after petting a baby alligator.
My sister Karen and her three kids, Tyler, Kaliv, and Galun were visiting this week. It was a wonderful visit filled with lots of activity as we tried to fit in as much fun as possible in our short time together.
Monday we decided to go to the Brantford Zoo. It sounds like a reasonable thing to do but turned into a bad situation when we realized after driving for two hours and stopping for directions multiple times that our Google Map sucked ass! We finally arrived and did manage to enjoy the day but I doubt I will ever try that trip again! The zoo itself was great – lots of the expected animals (zebras, camels, bears, wolves, big cats, etc.) and a great interactive show where we got to pet lizards, a snake, an alligator, a baby mountain lion, and a baby tiger. The kids got souvenirs from the gift shop on our way out and we started back home. The return trip was MUCH easier. We stopped on the way at the Cambridge Center mall for food and shopping. Karen got a couple of great tops at Reitman’s and Jacob and some cool jewelry at Ardene.
Tuesday was a totally different set of experiences. Jeff had to work so we were down one participant. We went to the Farmer’s Market in St. Jacobs, visited the outlet mall where Kaliv and Galun spent all their time building Lego cars and racing them in the Lego factory. Karen and Tyler found some shoes at Tender Tootsies. We stopped at the Wal-Mart on our way back to Waterloo and grabbed lunch at McDonalds before picking up a few things. I had to take Austin to a developmental assessment at Social Services so Karen, Tyler, Kaliv and Galun explored the Waterloo uptown area. We all went to the Blood Donor clinic where I donated blood. Karen took the baby shopping at the Dollar Store and Fashion Max while I was tied up. Karen got a beautiful grey suit, and five shirts. She called an end to all her shopping then and there.
Wednesday was Austin’s 10 month anniversary! It was another work day for Jeff and the kids were tired of all the running around so we stayed close to home for the morning only venturing out in the afternoon for a quick trip to Costco to pick up pictures and a couple of things for the kids for “back to school”. Galun got shorts and a couple of hooded long sleeve t-shirts. Kaliv and Tyler each got a pair of pants. We had a quiet evening at home playing Guitar Hero in the basement.
Thursday was an all day trip to Niagara Falls. We visited Marineland where we watched a show with dolphins, seals, a sea lion, and a walrus. We saw a separate show with Killer Whales. We pet and fed the Beluga Whales. We tried one of the rides – the swings. We finished up with a trip to the gift shop on our way out. We then visited with Nan (Jeff’s grandmother) showing off Austin to the neighbors and other family members. We took Nan and Janice out to dinner at Falls Manor for broasted chicken. On our way out of town, we stopped at Table Rock so the kids could visit Niagara Falls before the drive home. It was a wonderful day.
Friday was a sad day as this was the day everyone left for Ottawa. Karen and her family are meeting up with my other sister Holly and her family in Ottawa today. They are driving back to PEI tomorrow. We will miss them very much!
Saturday I had to travel to London for emergency eye surgery. All went well but there were no beds in the hospital so Jeff and I returned home for a short sleep before…
…returning for a follow-up exam on Sunday! My surgery was very successful. I may have to wear glasses again as it is likely that I will be nearsighted in my right eye. The surgery to correct the detached retina actually changes the shape of the back of my eye. We’ll know more once my healing is complete in a couple of weeks.
This week Austin is crawling and pulling himself up on furniture and people. He is babbling using many more sounds than last week. He is pointing now although not necessarily at anything specifically. Our little boy continues to grow and change. He is missing the excitement of having his older cousins around. They inspired him to try new things. He was a real trouper when we had to leave him with neighbors as we dealt with my eye issues. What a perfect little boy!
