a new job?

now that I'm four weeks old, dad thinks it's about time I earn my keep. since he's decided to become a fulltime youth pastor, I thought I'd check out his old job at HSBC and see whether I might like it.

we all went downtown and I got to ride in an elevator in one of the tall shiny office blocks. I reckon that was one of the best bits about going to work. his old office was OK. I could see the mountains and the water, and there were lots of nice girls who were suitably admiring. we got to go out to lunch too, and the butter chicken did look good, but overall I don't think I'd want to go to work everyday.

more presents

I really don't want to side with one of my parents over the other, but there ARE times when mom's right. dad says you only get junk and bills in the mail and can't understand why mom gets excited about checking whether the mail has arrived. I know I haven't been around all that long, but in my short experience the nice mail lady brings nothing but cards and presents. What's more, she does that every day. Cool!

For example, today I got a hand knitted blue and yellow blanket from Granny Tilford, yesterday I got a winter outfit, the day before I got a soft toy - and every day I get more cards congratulating me on my arrival. Anyone would think i'd done something difficult, but there was really only one way out actually, so it would have been very hard to get lost.

What made today special was getting my very first brown envelope. Even mom thought this was a bill, but it turned out to be my birth certificate. now I officially exist. that's great. I feel so much better about myself now.

alexander the movie

so alexander the movie has opened, and dad really wants to see it. rated R (17 and up in Canada). this is not good for youth group or for me really. boo. great name, great guy, should be a great movie - oliver stone's pretty cool. dad's trying to make it out that I'm going to be as cool as alexander the great, but a bit more godly. we'll see.

just had a diaper change, so now's a good time to type. I've had a variable few days. church was awesome on sunday morning, as usual. my friend madison (6 weeks older than me) had her family dedication which was fun. I behaved really well. and on monday I was "angelic" according to mom. then for monday night and tuesday night I have taken to delaying sleep after feed/activity, and then waking early for the next one. mom and dad are getting nearly no sleep and wander round with strange looks on their faces.

however, forced dad to take me to a prayer meeting at church last night (at last!) mom tried to get some sleep, but I've stressed her out a bit. it was raining, but dad and I went down to one of his favourite viewpoints of the city. went round the neighbourhood a bit including past my school (in 4 years time!). popped upstairs to visit uncle greg and auntie andrea at 9:30. they're so nice, and alicia's a cool girl (nearly 2 yrs... trying to finish her dinner at 10pm!).

suddenly dad realised that late evening feeding doesn't have to be nearly such a chore ... he can watch the late show .. will it float? .. hurrah, relief. maybe he won't sigh quite so much. feeding is still really difficult, so we're seeing the special person againg tomorrow.

must dash, sleeping to do. I'd hate to be so tired tonight that I sleep through and give the parents time to relax eh?

lola - day 23

hi all, I've just returned from another big adventure, walking on Kits beach with beautiful views of city and freshly dusted mountains. dad says snow is cold, but a load of fun. vancouver is a very funky city, but I’m not quite sure about some of the people. we walked past a guy today, and as I describe him, my fellow vancouverites will recognise something of our culture!

6 ft fashionable gay 20-something with designer trimmed facial hair, perfectly faded jeans and a “parker” complete with fur hood. wearing shades even though it’s a grey november day. he has a small white poodle-like dog called “Lola”, and was heard to say this to some friends he met …

“she’s doing well. I took her to the homeopath the other day and she was given a remedy to help with her jealousy”

yes, he was talking about the dog. ah. ok. yes. hmm. erm. well.

Europe? are you sure?

mom and dad came home: apparently they'd been out for coffee and were planning my first trip to Europe, a place I've only heard about up until now. I like the sound of Greece and Italy, and France may be OK when I'm old enough to appreciate the food and drink, but I think we'll be spending most of our time in England meeting grannies and great grannies. I'm not sure why all my grannies aren't great. families can be quite confusing sometimes.

parents out to lunch

I had a really nice morning playing with dad while mom caught up on a bit of sleep, but then something really strange happened. dad changed my diaper and put my milk in a bottle, and then he and mom both went out and left me with two girls I didn't know. after they'd given me my lunch (they didn't seem to realise I prefer chocolate milk when mom and dad aren't looking) Sandie and Lindsay didn't seem to appreciate my crying, so I tried out my cute sleeping routine on them and they just loved me.

our food angels

the Sopwith family have to pay huge tribute to the wonderful people who have provided us with many meals over the past 3 weeks. we have been treated to roast dinners and shepherds pie and curries and casseroles. we have quite seriously not eaten this well since arriving in canada, and it's going to be hard to keep up the standard!

special thanks to: anne, dawn, andrea, theresa, terri, monica, lisa, jules, lissa. without you, cereal and yoghurt would now have been overdone.

thanks also to the MANY gifts and hand-me-downs that have come our way. we feel like some of the most kitted out new families ever, through some incredible generosity of friends. we are pretty much speechless.

it's ok, it was a haircut

mom was kind enough to take me out in the stroller today so I could choose my own diapers. I didn't think much of her choice last time. I had no idea there would be so many to choose from when we got to the drugstore. I can see why she got confused. I settled on some Pampers with koalas on them. Maybe my cousin Charlotte in Australia has them too?

afterwards mom went into another store where there seemed to be a very nice lady in charge. mom sat down in a big black chair, and I wanted a better view. so I made a few "oi, are you ignoring me?" noises, and mom took me out of the stroller and put me on her knee. everything was going well until the nice lady turned nasty: got a pair of scissors and started cutting bits off mom. mom didn't seem to mind, but I was so traumatised by the experience I cried for the rest of the day......no one's ever going to do that to me.