Cantankerous Clara

Clara is 10 months old now, and she has grown up so much. She is now babbling, crawling, waving, and reaching up for "up". She continues to be calm and happy, and a bit cautious around new people. Over the past week, she has had a fever and a bad cough, so we've delayed the start of our big trip to make sure she's OK (we're heading out tomorrow). There were lots of big coughs coming out of her tiny body. 



Ben has also changed a lot over the past little while- growing from a toddler into a little boy.  He is using his imagination more and more. He used to love to pretend it was a birthday party (see the shakily filmed video below, if it works- possibly viewable at flanaganadventures.blogspot.ca ). Now, he likes to pretend that he's a firefighter, or that he's going to space.  He is also asking some tricky questions- today's was "what makes machines work?" I'm going to have to do some research to answer that one properly. He is as active as ever, but also as lovable. Will continues to be his "best buddy" and his favourite activity is playing Minecraft with his daddy (like Lego on the computer, but with chickens and mine carts). 

                          


This winter was very snowy, especially for Halifax. We had some nice wintery hikes, and took the kids to some indoor activities (baby songs, swimming for Ben). Will and I have enjoyed the chance to just about finish our DIY projects.




 

One very nice winter memory this year was my birthday. Mom and I went to a play the night before, and Will and I went out for a meal at a wine bar that just opened at the end of our street the day afterwards. We also had a family meal at home, with the richest chocolate cake imaginable (thanks mom!), and some sleepy children. Another very nice part of this winter was a week-long visit from Aimee. We went skating, went out for lots of meals, and had a good chance to catch up. She knitted the little headband that Clara is wearing below (so cute!)




















Will has had a busy term at work, working on a mapping project about Sable Island and helping students in the cartography course. Right now, we're now gearing up for our big trip overseas. We are looking forward to seeing family and friends and spending more time together as a family. I'm a bit sad that my maternity leave is coming to an end. It's been a good chance to feel relaxed and organized, and to get to know my Halifax friends and neighbours better. I'm not sure how we'll manage with 2 full time jobs and 2 little people, but we've got a lot of great support from family near and far, and that makes it feel doable. Between now and then, I hope that these two little ones are ready for some adventuring! 


I'll end this post with a self-portrait of my aunt Chris, who passed away last week. I've been thinking of her a lot. Her kindness, her sense of humour, her talent, how much she loved the things she loved...





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