Visitors for Brooks

Sue and Ralph made it to Penticton with a flight to Calgary (where they visited Ralph's younger sister) and used a rental car for a drive through the Rockies (they will visit Victoria afterwards and then take the Via Rail train back to Toronto - the very nice "slow travel" way to cross this huge country). Sue was there within 24 hours when Hilary was born in 1992, and now she had to cover a lot more distance so 5 days after Brooks' birth was not bad. Of course Brooks has no idea about all the commotion yet, but the Vandenboom clan is very excited to welcome a next generation in the family.

Together with Mary they went cycling along the lake and celebrated the family extension with a drink at a local micro brewery. It was too bad to miss that bike ride together with Sue and Ralph, but together with Mary I expect to make that ride several times during the coming weeks. 

It always amazes me how close these two sisters are. Their growing up together on the hobby farm near St Thomas certainly contributed to that. They share experiences every day together and we live right around the corner from each other in Fonthill. When we looked for a place to buy in 1995 after I had started working at Niagara College, Mary dropped off flyers of our interest to buy a house in mailboxes of houses in the streets around the corner of the place of Sue & Ralph. More than 30 years later we all still live in the same houses. Last week the sisters took Brooks for a few walks and shared their joy.

Hilary and her little peanut. I will be there in a couple of days for a few weeks....

Brooks' first few days

Brooks spends most of his time napping in between regular breastfeed sessions with his Mom. He looks pretty comfortable and chill with all that love around him, as much as he is not aware of it that much yet of course. He cuddles with Hilary, Shayd and Mary. Tomorrow Aunt Susan will visit....

The three of them took Brooks for a first ride on the track in front of their place. For Hilary a reality check that her recovery after the delivery will take a few days. In Holland my sister Ger went shopping with her daughter Sascha and her grand-daughter Maud for clothes to wear during Maud's wedding which will take place in July (Ger 81, Sascha 53 and Maud 24). The age difference with my sister (11 years) and the fact that I became a parent much later in life (at 37), means that Ger will witness her oldest grandkid getting married this summer, while I only now witness the birth of a grandkid.

Continuing my volunteer activities at the tennis club. Yesterday I spent three hours cutting the grass around the 8 courts. It was tough going because the grass had grown already so much. Good feeling once it was done, but pretty sore leg muscles afterwards. Today completed the levelling of the ugly mound of old clay. The remaining task is the cleaning and repainting of the practice wall...

Brooks meets Poncho

What a fun photo: Brooks meets Poncho. Hopefully they will develop a good friendship. Poncho's tail was wagging wildly on one of the short video clips Hilary send me of Poncho further checking out this little human being. The homecoming was fancied up by Mary with a few signs I had made a few weeks ago plus balloons and happy birthday signs.

I made one sign in Dutch 😀. It says: Hurrah for our little man. And as long as Poncho can also still cuddle with Hilary, it is all good with him. Getting used to a new ritme in this household....

Brooks is born (April 23)

A few days before Brooks was born (due date April 20), Hilary was very much done with the pregnancy and pleaded with the little guy to come out. She had to wait till the early hours of April 23 before he did so and all went well. Here is the beautiful munchkin a few hours after being born with his mother...

Mary stayed with Hilary and Shayd since April 10 to keep them company. Shayd - according to Hilary - was there the whole way during the delivery from the early evening of April 23 to the afternoon of April 24 when he was sent home to get some sleep. Hilary stayed in the hospital another night during the several tests on the baby. Mama Bear Mary made sure the hospital staff knew what they were doing...

Brooks seems to be an alert and content little fellow. We now have to see how spoiled little Poncho is going to welcome this new family member. More to follow...

In the meantime Parker returned to Sarnia after seven months of travelling through Australia and South East Asia. Soon his big brother Spencer will return as well.

I am keeping busy these weeks with cleaning up activities at the Welland Tennis Club. In November the clay courts underwent a big renovation and the pile with old clay had to be removed. Almost done. This was a good work-out for me during the past few days. Next is the practice wall which needs a new coat of paint. Scraping off the old coat is a nasty job, but somebody gotta do it. I will try to get that completed before I fly to Penticton on May 5. Can't wait to hold little Brooksy...

Another baby in the making

Carly and Mark surprised us with the news that Carly is three months pregnant. Due date for baby number two in our Canadian Nolle family is October 17. What a year this is! They had a fun way of letting us know by decorating their puppy doc Macy with a "big sister" scarf....

Easter weekend was spent in Sarnia at the house of Marcy & Joe. Four were missing from this family get together: Hilary & Shayd in Penticton, Parker who is exploring the Philippines and Spencer who is having a good time in Bali, Indonesia, before planning to travel back home in May. Parker does not seem to have plans to go homebound yet. And then Joe goes on a business trip to China and Korea, so Marcy's Friend Finder showed the picture below a few days ago:

Marcy did not want to be left behind in Sarnia, so she is a few days in Phoenix, Arizona, with friends (leaving Wil alone with big Rufus). What a travelling bunch. Mary flew to Penticton on Friday to keep Hilary and Shayd company. Their countdown for the baby is on: anytime now (due date is April 20)....

Hilary's 34th

Today is Hilary's birthday. It is hard to believe for any parent when their kids are in their thirties. It seems that they always stay your "little ones". But Hilary turns 34 and will be a parent herself in a couple of weeks. This is a photo of her after a few months in 1992....

And Hilary at 2 when we lived in Haarlem (The Netherlands) just after Mark was born in 1994. Also a photo with her grandparents Nolle during that period.

And with Oma Vandenboom just before her teens. She was a delightful child to raise, had her moods as a teenager (who does not?) and developed into a pretty well balanced adult and professional. Fingers crossed for her time as parent, but all indications look good in that respect. So far Shayd and Hilary have poured a lot of love in their dog Poncho, who will have to learn to share that love with the baby boy. Below is a funny photo of Poncho because he fits into the side basket of a bike and seems perfectly happy in that position...

Earlier this week I attended a seminar on tennis court maintenance, my new volunteer hobby at the Welland Tennis Club. On the way back it took me over three hours to get home. Crazy traffic around the Greater Toronto Area, even at 3:00 PM. At one moment the traffic was steered off the highway, probably because of a big accident. Glad that I don't have to do that drive regularly anymore, as I did during my five years working at Seneca. I feel for the folks who still have to do this every day. During the past few weeks Ralph has been chopping away at the fallen tree of our neighbor. Impressed about his stamina and skills with a chainsaw. A man who grew up on a fruit farm... 

More of Macy

Macy is a gentle dog and easy to have as our guest. She does like sticks and wants to bring them in the house, which is a hard no. She is shedding at the moment, so that is enough cleaning up after her stay. She was very happy to see Mark again....

Mary and I are done with the winter. Mary sometimes wears her hat in the house. Wonder who she got that habit from..... I try to do once or twice a week stretches and exercises in our basement. Never feel like doing it, but afterwards always feels good....

Monique send me this photo of her parents Ger and Bert together with her sister Sasha and brother Berry. The parents now in the 80ies and the kids all in their 50ies. Time flies....