We're back from Whistler.

It was four cold and rainy days at future site of the 2010 Winter Olympics I tell you. Although we were lucky to have been able to reschedule our vacation to Whistler the weather sure didn't cooperate. We were hoping for some warm and sunny weather, oh well. There was a rather exciting moment though, I MET MY HALF SISTER! Can you believe it, we ran into a dog that looked very similar to me and low and behold she was also a Havanese. After some further discussion, we found out that she was also born in Victoria, to the same Dam (Mother). Here are some pictures from the past week.

Here's a picture of my half sister, Livie. See the resemblance, she's only 9 months old.
Cute lil' pup.
Future medal ceremony, we hope. Malcolm was surprised to be awarded the gold medal.
Malcolm at the Whistler Village playground.
Me relaxing with the folks.
In other news, Malcolm's mural is finally finished, here's a picture Roger took last week during its progress.
Over 20 hours invested and this is the final product. Some finishing touches left, but pretty much done. It was a labour of love and hopefully Malcolm will enjoy it for many years to come.

Fun in the August sun.

The family has been having a great summer so far, although I've heard Tracey complaining that it's going too fast (as usual). August has brought heatwaves and rainstorms and even some sunshine. One of Malcolm' s favourite things this summer has been playing with his water table and the garden hose. He really loves water and doesn't even care if it's cold. Sometimes I enjoy a drink from the water table myself; he always encourages me to have "more". Here are a couple of pictures of Malcolm wielding the hose.



Malcolm chillaxing with some tunes.


The family recently spent the day at the PNE. I didn't get to go even though I do consider myself a "super dog". Malcolm especially loved the giant slide. He went on it four times. Melan wasn't so sure about the slide, especially when she almost lost her favourite hat!







Next thing on the family's agenda is a getaway to Whistler. Even Malcolm's favourite cousins are going to be there. Paws crossed that there are no road problems this time and that Malcolm enjoys the long drive. I hope I get to stick my head out the window!

Visit to the Burnaby Miniature Railway.

Malcolm is very much interested in trains these days. He often sits in the car looking at his Thomas the Tank book for quite long stretches of time. He also loves when the skytrain passes by and repeatedly asks for "More." The trip to the Burnaby Central Railway was a treat. Although you may not tell from the pictures, he was seriously frozen with excitement. Here are some pics from the past weekend.

Conductor driving the train, it's a real steam engine.

Malcolm and Tracey, all aboard!

Hey wait a minute, who's having more fun here anyway?

Now it's Roger's turn.

Let's head down to the playground. Whoo hoo, the slide.

"La la la, I'm a happy boy, la la la..."

Blowin bubbles...

Team effort.

BC Day long weekend.

It was a busy long weekend for the family. There were trips to Science World, rides on the Skytrain, a dip in the Toddler Pool, all topped off by a trip to the beach. Malcolm seems to have outgrown his aversion to the sand, cause as we all remember Hawaii was no walk in the park. A lot of fun things happened this past weekend despite our cancellation of the Whistler trip (crazy freak rockslide). Instead, we'll be heading to Whistler at the end of the month. Here are some pictures from this past week.

Walk on the beach at Jericho.

"Hey Uncle Bill, Choo, Choo!"
The next best thing to riding a real train, Skytrain. Malcolm enjoyed himself very much.
"I love this crazy place called Science World."
More Choo, Choos.
Malcolm can say many words now, about 75 and counting. Here's one he knows in two languages, Airplane and 비행기 .

Malcolm's recent videos.

Malcolm loves clicking the clips together.

Bubbles... whoo hoo!

Malcolm's class and Roger's trip to Winnipeg.

Roger just got back from a meeting in Winnipeg the other day. It has been the three of us fending for ourselves since Sunday afternoon. I'm not sure if it was because Roger was away, but Malcolm had an unsettling experience on Sunday night when trying to go to bed. Tracey managed to calm him down by reading his favorite Thomas the Tank book. In fact, he was so attached to the book he took it in his crib with him to sleep with. Tracey was worried that he'd give himself a papercut as he's been known to thrash around quite a bit through the night. I'm glad to report that he came out unscathed. The funniest thing was that he took the book in the morning and started looking at the pages as soon as he woke up. Tracey and Roger are very happy that Malcolm has taken a keen interest in books, hopefully that will continue always.

Malcolm has been attending his activity class twice a week for two weeks now. Here are some pictures from his class and some pictures of Winnipeg.

Singing songs and playing some musical instruments in class.

Malcolm and the rest of the boys making music.Here's Malcolm's snack time buddy, Quentin. "What are you eating? Tofu, for real?
I love water, let's water Daddy's feet.
"I know I'm wet, but who cares?"
"Hee, hee."
Downtown Winnipeg.
Manitoba Legislature.
View from above, wheat and canola mostly.

Budding artist in our midst.

Malcolm has been attending a toddler activity class at the community centre. He gets to play and do art projects. His latest creation was a fingerpainting that ended up being a puddle of paint. For the time being he's just fascinated with squishing the paint between his fingers. Here is his latest work of art below, kinda looks like a rorschach ink blot. He had a little help from Tracey. I think I see a dragonfly, what do you see?


Here's a little girl that we met at the park. She took a liking to Malcolm's spoons. Malcolm had the deathgrip on them, nice try girly, maybe next time.

He sure did enjoy Roger's ice cream. He practically chased Roger all over the park to get another bite.

Roger and Tracey snuck out on Saturday to the horseraces. They went to help Janey celebrate her birthday. Unfortunately no big winnings, maybe next time. Boy those horses can sure run fast, such powerful animals.

Public swim.

Dare I say it, summer is finally here. With warm temperatures and sunny skies it's a common occurance to see the family playing outside. Malcolm particularly enjoys playing with the hose, watering can, bubbles and whatever else he can get his hands on. He's been concentrating on piling rocks and moving them from one location to another. I have to say the kid's got some good dexterity.

It's nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the backyard. Summers are short in Vancouver and we really do have to take advantage of the good weather while it's here. I like chasing after all the squirrels and birds, keeps me active. Here are some pictures from that last few days:

Malcolm playing with his wooden cars in the backyard. Tracey and Roger have tried to make choices that have less impact on the environment, namely reducing the amount of plastic they purchase. These were two wooden cars bought at the local kids store for $1.70.

Here's Malcolm's first dip in the pool since Hawaii. He did pretty well, too bad the kiddie pool was closed. Apparently there were issues with the chlorine balance. They'll try again soon.

Maybe Malcolm will be able to go down the slide next year.

3 years since I joined the family.... Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day folks, we'll it's been 3 years since I've joined the family and during that time I've seen a lot of changes. We've moved once, saw Tracey's cat say good -bye, and said hello to my baby brother Malcolm. I think I've gotten used to things quite well. There's a pretty good routine here, with regular walks, treats and lots of love and attention from the whole family (especially since grandma and grandpa live downstairs). Here are some pictures from this past week.
Malcolm the bubble destroyer at Jalyn's 1st birthday party over the weekend. Roger and Tracey ended up buying him the same bubble maker the very next day. That boy sure loves bubbles. Just look at the intense focus.

Here's Malcolm enjoying a frozen fruit bar treat at the Vancouver Aquarium.

This trip to the Aquarium was much better than last year. Roger said that Malcolm enjoyed looking at all the different kinds of fish.

Here's a picture of the newest edition at the Aquarium, the baby Beluga.