Catherine is now a year old, and it is hard to remember what life was like before she came along. The evenings and weekends are now filled with laughter and playtime, and it gets better and better every day.
When the weather is nice, we try to get outside for a walk or a play in the grass. A couple weeks ago, we went to Wolfville. Jenny sat in the back and fed Bean her lunch, while Ellie kept an eye on things and tried to score some food.

It was cold when we got to Wolfville, so there wasn't a lot of walking. Good thing, too. Walking isn't quite as easy as it used to be.

We still had to get the mandatory baby-in-pumpkin-patch picture.

Once outside, one of Catherine's favourite activities is going down the slide. It gets tiresome for me much sooner than it does for her.

But with the weather turning colder, we had to beef up the clothing. She's now almost ready for her 2nd winter (and her first winter not stuffed under my coat in a straight-jacket-esque sling).

Catherine's best friend (aside from her mom) is definitely Ellie.

If Bean is not feeding Ellie at the table, then she's tugging at her collar...

...or snuggling with her in the dog bed.


October 21st was her 1st birthday, but we didn't celebrate it until the 24th (a saturday). That morning, we got up and blew some balloons. Balloons were fascinating.


Then we spread the table with goodness, and the guests started to arrive. Here's Mary Mac sampling the wares.

Birthday parties are, of course, for the little ones. Here are Ava and Nolan Baker (with Bean in the background).

Nancy and Catherine's future boyfriend, Nathan Rector.

Nathan's older sister Amelia.

Kids galore!

Catherine gets some help from the bigger girls.


Then it was cake time! The cake makes a bold statement, doesn't it? It does have the green clover on the side....

Instead of blowing out the candle,

she just gave the cake a push, instead

But she did enjoy it!

And her great-grandmother enjoyed it, too.

Doug got the biggest piece, by far. He was equal to the task.

Birthday girl!

Catherine and her grandmother.

Opening the presents was as much fun as the party itself. She got lots of great gifts from great friends. Thanks to all who attended!

Now, Catherine is a little young to really appreciate Halloween. But we're of the right age to dress her in a costume and gush over her cuteness. Our neighbor (and daycare provider) lent us this cow costume. It is awesome.

So I snuggled her.

And held her while she watched the kids come up the street.

It was a very busy day, so she crashed out in the car on the way over to grammy and grampy's house. Sleeping babies are awfully cute.

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If you're reading this, thanks for visiting! Just wanted to let you know that we'll be retiring the blog. It's become too much of a time committment when we'd rather just be playing with our daughter. If you want pictures and updates, just email us and we'll get back to you.