Easter this year saw us packing up the kidlets for our longest road trip to date. Aaron's brother Jeff was getting married and so we packed up the SUV and drove to Prince George, BC for Easter weekend - a 10 hour or longer (with kids) drive. We were lucky enough to only have to go as far as Exshaw the first night, allowing the kids a chance to visit with their cousin Benjamin, and giving us the opportunity to leave a bit later in the morning, which meant that William was asleep - and not complaining about still being rear-facing - for the beginning of the trip. As things go, the kids did amazingly well and the drive was - for the most part - quite pleasant. We even discovered that Maria can now spell the following words: mommy, daddy, William and Lucky.
It was great to spend the weekend with family, and we were lucky to be able to see both immediate and extended family during our time there. The kids got some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa B (although I feel bad that you did not get to see the Maria and William that we know and love - FYI they are no longer sick and William finally cut those two top teeth and is eating again). It was also nice for the kids to spend some time with Uncle Jeff and Auntie Marquita - who we, unfortunately, do not get to see very often. This was the first time that Uncle Jeff and Auntie Marquita got to meet William in person, and the plans for further corruption by said Uncle are now firmly in place. (I say this with much love and humour Jeff - but I think you already know that). Before long, I am sure, our little man will be an armor wearing, sword weilding, heavy metal listening (a double whammy from both Dad and Uncle(s) - yes Jeff, you are not the only one) rebel. My only question is to you is: how come Maria can't get a set of armor too? Or are there plans to send her some "princess" garb...she is a bit of a girly-girl you know.
Anyway, moving on....we were also able to see some extended family and allow the kids time to get to know their cousins Travis and Brandon, as well as second cousins Samantha and Alexander. William, lucky boy that he is, also got to have a birthday party two weeks early. He was unsure about the cake at first, but once he got a taste he was all over it. In fact, between the cold and teething, the cake may have been one of the only things he ate while we were there!
Then it was time to pack the kids up - colds and all - and head back home. This time we split things up a bit and stayed in Jasper on the way back. This made the drive a lot better on both parents and kids. And we couldn't have timed things better as we arrived home on Wednesday only to have a blizzard hit Strathmore and area on Thursday. Of course, the snow disappeared as quickly as it came - that was until the following Wednesday. Wednesday morning we awoke to 2 ft. of heavy, wet accumulation that downed powerlines, had people stuck in their houses and driveways and closed some area schools for 2 days. We needed moisture, but we would have prefered rain. The best part was - Calgary, a mere 30 minutes west, was a sunny, 6 degrees that day. In fact just 15km west of town the snow abruptly stopped. Oh well, I guess that's spring in southern Alberta. Things are much more seasonal now - although we could still use some rain.
The return from PG also marked a change for Aaron at work. He has moved to the shop and is now home around 3:30pm everyday. This is a change we could all get very used to very quickly and it has been such a joy to have him be home and actively involved in parenting once again. I also love how he has been prepping and cooking supper too - I mean, really, a girl could get used to this.
Guess another update is due...to follow up the last two. This time it's about our little man. Seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital and already he is a year old. He is now 23lbs, 13 oz and has managed a height of 30 1/4". He now has a handful of words: "mama, boo" and what sounds like "all done". Recently he has also been imitating "daddy" and "more". He has also started to stand unassisted...although only when caught unawares. For example, I caught him standing in the office opening and closing his toy cellphone yesterday, but as soon as he looked around and realized he wasn't touching anything he immediately sat down on the floor. I think it is safe to assume that standing and walking are coming down the line in the not too distant future. He now has a grand total of 4 teeth...and the more exciting news...has finally decided he a) doesn't need a bottle at night anymore, and b) he can sleep through the night without visits from mom or dad! I have not had this much energy in a very long time.
We celebrated his first birthday (for the second time) on the 17th. He was very into the presents (although Maria insisted on opening most of them for him) and he LOVED his cake. This may have come from having already had a practice run, and therefore knowing what was expected of him this time. In fact, Aaron barely rescued the cake from William's grubby little paws, pulling it out of reach just in time. It was a great day spent with family and it was nice to keep things a little bit low key this year. 
