Ty's Bathtime

We left the snow and cold in Ottawa on Friday and arrived in Toronto to find green grass and mild temperatures--hardly a flake of snow to be seen. It's been much milder in Ottawa this year; the temperature hasn't been in the minus 20s very often, and the proof is that the canal has been closed to skaters more often than open. There is still lots of snow but certainly not the huge piles of my childhood memories.

It's only been a month since we've seen our little man, Ty, but he's grown and changed as only babies can in such a short time. He's just about 3 months old and is a big bundle of smiles and giggles. He's clearly developing a personality and has destinct sounds to indicate how he's feeling or what he wants and his Mommy & Daddy are really tuned in to the differences between those sounds. He crys when he's hungry (don't we all), he gives a quick, high pitched screech when he's mad or impatient (and that's not very often) and has another level of cry to let them know he's tired. He's an angel and although we knew he had started smiling and had found his voice, we weren't prepared for the endless, big, gummy grins he lavished on us with only a tiny bit of coaxing. Ty is a happy and contented baby--I'm sure it's because he has happy and contented parents. We watched him have his bath this morning and it's difficult to describe the absolute beauty of a slippery, fragrant, happy baby in the bath. It brought back memories of other baths, a long, long time ago and other baby boys smelling of Johnson's shampoo. It was often the best part of an otherwise hectic day. I still cherish those memories.

We headed back home today and made a spontaneous stop in Oxford Mills (near Kemptville) to have lunch. We found a wonderful restaurant--The Brigadoon--which has fantastic food, an historic atmosphere and even a resident ghost! It was built in approximately 1852 and was originally a general store and went on to be used as a post office and antique shop. The restaurant has an extensive wine list and the entire upper floor has been reburbished and is used for weddings, anniversaries or other special occasions. Afternoon tea is also served there so I expect we'll make the 1/2 hr drive back regularly to try some of their many specialties.

This is a busy, busy week as we leave for Puerto Vallarta on Friday and lots of things to do before we go. We've never been to Mexico and look forward to seeing the sun..but no boots or coats. I'm looking forward to taking lots of photos and experiencing another new culture.