A Summer Full of Firsts

I realize that the title may sound a little redundant given that it is Finn's first summer, but it felt like he had a LOT of firsts.  To name just a few:

First plane ride (and first trip to Vancouver)

First time meeting his cousins Charlotte 

and Mia (and Uncle Jon...but we don't seem to have a picture of Finn and Uncle Jon together...oops!)

First two teeth!

(this is one of the only pictures we have where you can see just one tooth)

First time swimming in a pool

First time at the top of a mountain

First time on the Capilano Suspension Bridge

(okay, so this pic isn't actually us on the suspension bridge because that would be crazy to try to get a picture of, but it is on the 'Treetop Adventure' which is on the other side of the bridge)

First time with all of his Konrad cousins in one place

First boat ride (and trip to the cottage)

(surprisingly happy after a 10 hour trip in the van!)

First time swimming in a lake (and not just any lake...THE lake!)

First time meeting Uncle Donnie

First time dressing up as a pirate 

First time meeting Great Grandma...

....and her dolls!

(just a few of the 400+ dolls in this room at Great Grandma's house!)

I know there are probably more firsts that I haven't captured here....but you can't always be behind the camera!

I have to say that once again Finn was a super trooper through everything.  Two plane rides, being dragged all over Vancouver/Whistler/Vancouver, two 10 hour van rides (to the cottage and back), sleeping in numerous beds and houses that were unfamiliar, constantly getting in and out of a life jacket (there is no road access on our lake which means that any time you leave the cottage you are in a boat), swimming in the Lake (and actually seeming to enjoy it!)....he did amazingly well.  Every time we were ready to leave on another trek I would start to wonder how long we would be able to push our luck.  I figured that at some point Finn would give us a bit of a freak out after being toted around from province to province (Ontario-British Columbia-Ontario-Quebec-Ontario), especially considering that we weren't even home from Vancouver for a full week by the time we packed up and headed to the cottage.  But we never did get the major freak out.  Granted, he wasn't terribly impressed about the lengthy van ride home from the cottage...mostly he was hungry every two hours so we needed to stop so that I could feed him.  I had forgotten to pack him solid food (other than Baby Mum-Mums) as I am still getting used to the fact that he is eating solids on a regular basis.  After six hours of driving, Oscar and I traded places.  This meant that I could entertain Finn (and hopefully stretch out the time in between stops) and Oscar got (a) a bird's eye view of the highway and (b) some pets from James. I think everyone was happier!

And now we are home.  It was lovely to spend a month at the cottage.  We've never been able to do it (well, together that is...James did it all the time as a kid!) and it was incredibly relaxing to be there and not really have to think about when we were leaving.  At the same time, it is also wonderful to be home.  I walked in the door and thought, "I really love our house!".  It's nice to be in our own space and to be getting caught up on things that need doing.  We're pretty sure that Finn didn't even remember our house which is a little bit crazy (a month is a long time in an 8 month old's life!).  We would take him around and he kept looking at everything as though he had never seen it before....which was actually really interesting to watch.  It was fun to watch him rediscover his home - the family room, the playroom, HIS room.  And fun to see that the things he loved before are the things he loves now - the lamps in our bedroom (black & white with a fun pattern, perfect for babies!), the decals on his bedroom walls (animals), the mirrors...to name a few.  

So we're back, unpacked and pretty much settled back into life here at home.  Now Finn and I are looking into the fall to see what we will do to keep busy over the next couple of months - a membership at Vesta, getting together with the great group of moms and babes we met through our Just Beginnings 'class' and oh yes, getting a move on with the 30 day shred with Jillian!