Brampton report
Slowly working my way up to the present. At the end of August, Theodore and I took a 5 day trip to Brampton on our own, while Billy stayed home to work. The flights were definitely challenging - Theodore didn't nap on the way there, and threw several epic tantrums going both ways - but it was worth the trouble in the end, as it was great to see all of my family.
Theodore had a really good time, though unfortunately he was battling a cold and a cough. In particular, he loved spending time with his cousins Austin (age 5) and Alex (age 3). He wanted to do everything Austin did and looked up to him a lot. We were able to spend three of the four full days we were there with his cousins and Auntie Debbie, which was wonderful. They came to Brampton twice, and one day we went down to their house in Toronto to visit with them. Auntie Suzie also visited each of those days, so I got lots of sister-time and Theodore got spoiled by his aunties!
A highlight of the trip for me was taking Theodore to visit his Great-Grandma Peggy, who is his only living great-grandparent. She just turned 97 years old, and is living in a facility in Shelburne, 45 minutes north of Brampton. She is suffering from advanced Alzheimer's, but still really enjoyed our visit while we were there. I know Theodore won't remember the visit, but I'm glad to have photos to remind him of it in the future. While she is in great physical health you can never count on more time at her age.
In general, it was a nice, low-key trip. We didn't travel to see friends, and while there were many people I would have liked to see, it was much easier this way. We hadn't seen Debbie or Theodore's cousins since last Christmas, and will not be travelling this Christmas, so it was good to just spend lots of quality time with them. Though next time, I think I would think twice about flying alone!
That catches me up on our two trips of the summer. I'll end with one video and photos, as always. On another note, I'm sure this isn't a surprise to anyone reading this blog, but just in case it is, I forgot to mention here that I'm pregnant again and we're expecting baby #2, another boy, at the end of January. It's fairly obvious in the photo above, so thought I should make it explicit! We're very excited and Theodore likes the idea of his baby brother being in my tummy. Everything is going very smoothly this time around; I'm being closely monitored but so far we seem to be in the clear as regards complications. Fingers crossed for the rest of the pregnancy!
Theodore enthusiastically copying his cousin Austin:
Photos: