Congratulations!

Jake being promoted to Able Seaman - congratulations, Love, we're so proud of you!

Our Baby-Girl

Who can that little girl be on the floor?
I think I remember her somewhere before.

Ten little fingers and ten little toes,
Two round eyes and a little snub nose,
Two dimpled cheeks so fat and so red,
And a big paper cap on the top of her head;
Two curly earls like shells on each side,
A round little chin and mouth open wide;

Four little teeth just able to bite,
Two rosy lips one could kiss day and night;
Two sturdy legs just beginning to walk,
A sweet saucy tongue just beginning to talk.

Oh! who could she be? I wish I could tell;
She looks as though she knew me very well.

Why, it’s our little Baby, I really declare!
No greater rascal you’ll find anywhere.
Come, kiss me, my baby, and let me kiss you,
That’s the best thing for a baby to do.

Adapted from "Our Baby-Boy," in Happy Child Life: In Pictures, by Mrs Charles Heaton (1875).

I found this great book, and many other old children's books, in the Internet Archive's Children's Library: and incredible resource.

Too funny

From Engrish.com, one of my favourite websites
(anyone remember that cell phone ad from a couple of years ago with the little pink pig where they edited out its bum-hole?)

Lots o' pics of the Jeannie baby!

Hey, I'm not laundry!

I've been so busy lately (soooo busy!), that these pics have just been accumulating on the camera, but now I'm sharing them with you all. I just can't believe how many new things Jeanne has learned lately, and it's just so sad Jake isn't here right now to see them (god, I make it sound like he's died or something!) She's just so bright and strong and energetic and sweet that everyone she meets seems to just fall in love with her. She's just learned to clap her hands, and she's been trying all week to blow raspberries without me even showing her how. She can hold up her own weight standing now, holding onto a table or something, though I'm glad she can't get up by herself yet (the place is so chaotic with the move and everything that it's just a little unsafe at the moment). She's not quite crawling, but she still manages to get around the living room somehow (mostly by rolling and rotating herself - it's actually quite impressive). Anyhow, on to the pics:

"There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza..."

"Cha cha cha!" at Parent 'n Tot

"What a cute little boy you have!" (I get this all the time)

If she looks crazy here, you should have seen it before I removed the red eye

"No, Mommy, I don't know how I got under here either"

My beach bum is often a little smelly

I promised Sarah some pics of the magnolia tree out in front of the building. I am so going to miss this tree; it's beautiful in bloom or in leaf, and it smells so lovely right now.

More magnolia blossoms. The weather here in Halifax has been just beautiful this past week or so.

Pure 'cattitude' (he's going to miss the tree too)

Finally, here's Wendy doing her best meerkat impression, sitting up on her hind legs. I just wish the pics showed it more clearly. She doesn't just pop up like this for a second, she'll hold this pose for long periods of time while she takes a look around or washes her face. She'll even do it up on the arm of the couch, never losing her balance. She's done it ever since we got her at the humane society in Toronto years ago and it never ceases to amaze and impress me.

Wendy has been very sick lately, so please keep her in your hearts. She's got an overactive thyroid which is causing her to lose a lot of weight (though the medication has her stabilized at the moment), plus she's got a tumour in her mouth which is growing (though slowly, thankfully). They can't operate because of her frailty. She's 14 years old, thereabouts , which is aprox. 72 years old, and though she's going through some rough times she's still very happy and active - hopefully she'll keep on like that for a long time yet.

Look what we saw coming up the river today

Worst headline ever

Look what we saw coming up the river today

By Pete Vere
SooToday.com
Thursday, May 10, 2007

The HMCS Halifax passed through the twin Saults today on its way to Lake Superior.

The Canadian Forces warship, which was officially comissioned in 1992, is the first of the Halifax-class line of frigates.

The ship was built by Saint John Shipbuilding Limited as an all-Canadian shipbuilding project.

The Halifax has seen service in the Persian Gulf, was part of the Swissair Flight 111 recovery operation off the coast of Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia, and has participated in various NATO operations.

The frigate is identifiable by the number 330 on the side of its hull.

See more pictures in the photo gallery here.

Unlikely Baby Products

Check out this Fark photoshop contest
Caution: some jokes in very poor taste

Navy Tells its Story on Great Lakes Tour

Navy tells its story on Great Lakes tour
Visit the ship starting today
By John Burman
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 4, 2007)

It's about who sailors are, what they do and what they do it with.

By the time HMCS Halifax glided through the ship canal and beneath the Burlington Bay Skyway into Hamilton, everyone aboard had a good idea what she and her people are capable of.

An action-packed cruise from Oshawa harbour to a berth at Pier 8 next to Second World War destroyer HMCS Haida -- Canada's most famous and successful warship -- featured everything from deck-tilting high-speed turns to man overboard drills and using the ship's Sea King helicopter to pluck divers from Lake Ontario.

The Great Lakes tour is a chance for the navy to connect with the majority of Canadians who never get to see much of ships or sailors because they are primarily based in Halifax and Esquimalt, says Rear Admiral Tyrone Pile, Canada's chief of military personnel, who was aboard for the trip.

"Its about visibility," says Pile, adding it is also a chance to "tell the navy's story" and promote the life and careers for recruiting.

Commander Scott Bishop, Halifax's captain, echoes Pile's comments. "We have a chance to show the Canadian people who we are, what we do and what this ship is capable of."

For Bishop, the trip to Hamilton was special. He proudly berthed his ship next to Haida, the destroyer his dad served on in the 1950s.

"Haida is to Canada what (Lord Horatio Nelson's) HMS Victory is to England.

"It is a national treasure."

Along the way, some 120 guests on this leg of the navy's Great Lakes public relations tour were treated to a barbecue and given the run of the ship.

The trip into Hamilton is a homecoming for the ship's navigation officer Lieutenant Keith Miller -- who says he joined the navy to travel and now spends his time telling people where to go.

Miller, 27, grew up in Hamilton, and got a chemical engineering degree with the navy at the Royal Military College (RMC) before joining active service.

"The opportunities for travel, responsibility and education have been unbelievable," he says.

Paul Suchy, 16, Petty Officer Second Class with 31 "Lion" Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps in Hamilton, is interested in what Miller -- a "Lion" veteran himself -- says.

Suchy and Leading Cadet Michael Sweika, 16, are both interested in attending RMC, getting an education and serving in the navy.

But education takes a back seat to plain old fun when Halifax heels over 20 degrees in a high-speed turn just outside Hamilton harbour and the deck tilts like a fun house.

"This is the best part, totally awesome," Suchy yells above the shrieks of the happy cadets, a troop of Royal Canadian Navy League cadets from Durham and military guests and victors aboard the ship. For more information, visit the Halifax website at www.navy.forces.gc.ca/halifax.

More news of the Halifax

Actually, they're in Hamilton right now, but they just left Oshawa. I wish they'd actually bothered to contact the real media in Toronto so they'd have put an article like this in the Star. It sometimes seems like Jake is the only Navy guy to have ever come out of Toronto.

P.S. Moving sucks. Packing sucks. Argh!

Military kicks recruitment drive into high gear
May 3, 2007
By Izabela Jaroszynski

DURHAM -- With the HMCS Halifax drawing in crowds by the hundreds as it docked at the Port of Oshawa, the military's chief recruiter used the opportunity to promote the benefits of a career in the military.

"We want to get the message out to the public," said Commodore Roger MacIsaac, the director of general recruiting and military careers. "Tell them what it's all about, what it has to offer and what the lifestyle is like."

Offering more than a hundred different jobs and a subsidized education program, the military can be a great opportunity to start a career, he said. As an example, he cited the Navy, which has highly advanced, state-of-the-art technology that is an added bonus to those who are looking to work in a high-tech environment.

Since many of the jobs within the military are highly specialized, young and trainable recruits are vital to sustain a proper force.

"We can't just put out an advertisement for, say, a tank driver," Cmdre MacIsaac said with a chuckle. "We have to grow our own."

But in addition to the specialized training that can take years, the military is also facing similar recruiting challenges to many big corporations: a baby boomer generation that is set to retire and a shortage of technically-skilled workers in Canada.

To combat the shrinking workforce, the military has stepped up its recruitment drive with a new national advertising campaign and a revamped website (www.forces.ca) that includes a "cool stuff" category and shows video footage to help dispel some of the myths surrounding military careers.

One of the biggest misconceptions, says Cmdre MacIsaac, is that a career in the military has to last a lifetime.

"We have many different options available," he said, adding that a lot of people who join the Reserves have careers outside of the military. "Most likely, we have an option that will suit you."

And since many of the skills taught in the military -- ethics, leadership, management, problem-solving -- are easily transferable, those who choose to leave will be able to find jobs in other places, he said.

For Captain Holly-Anne Brown, who joined the military after graduating from university, a career with the military has meant the ability to experiment with different jobs.

After 17 years in the Canadian Forces, Cpt. Brown has changed careers three times. She served in the artillery for five years, then switched to a training position and is now happily working as a public affairs officer.

"It has been a fantastic experience," she said. "If I can do this, anyone can."