Happy Birthday Brandon

Today is Brandon's first Birthday and it is hard to believe that this amazing little guy who has changed our world is already ONE year old. On the one hand it seems like we've had him forever (we find it difficult to remember our lives before him), but on the other hand he seems to be growing up so fast and so quickly, we can hardly believe it. We get so excited and encourage him as he tries to walk and then when he finally does, it's a little sad that another milestone is behind him. There is always another one just around the corner and we are in constant amazement at how much he has learnt in just a year. Cam and I both agree that we have learnt a lot in this year as well. We remember the panic and stress of bringing him home before we knew how to feed him (or do anything with him), we remember the sleepless nights in the early weeks but most of all we both remember never having smiled, laughed or loved as much as we have in the last 12 months. We have Brandon to thank for that.

Happy Birthday Buckaroo. We love you. xx

This is a photo of Brandon on the day he was born: August 12th, 2008

This is a photo taken of Brandon today on his 1st Birthday: August 12th, 2009.

Isn't life amazing!

My 1st Birthday Party

Brandon celebrated his 1st Birthday this weekend and what a bash it was! With 25 adults and 14 children, it was more like a circus than a birthday party but everyone seemed to have a good time and most importantly the Birthday Boy had a blast!!

After 20 days of no rain it decided to rain on the day of the party so we had to transfer the party from a park, complete with train rides and playground, to our house. As you can see there were people, children and toys everywhere.

Brandon's Grandpa was there.

And so was Abby, who was a fantastic help and worked tirelessly along with Cam and I to make sure everyone had plenty to eat and drink. Thanks Mom!!

Brandon got to wear his special Birthday Boy T-shirt.

He even found time how to learn to use a pair of scissors....thanks Owen.

Our house has been renamed Toys 'R Us! ;-)

In between all of the entertaining we even found time for a quick family photo.

Finally it came time to sing Happy Birthday.

Sadly, all the partying had to come to an end and Brandon's guest started to leave. Brandon was convinced all the hard work was worth it after he got a nice big kiss from Ella who had come up all the way from Seattle just for his party

Present Time!!

All this just for me!!?

One of the gifts was his first backpack, in readiness for his first day of school next week.........it's a turtle backpack and I think he's pretty proud of it.

We would like to say a really big thank you to everyone who was able to celebrate Brandon's first birthday with us. We had a fantastic day and really appreciate all of your very generous gifts.

Brandon the Biker!!

Watch out everyone......someone got themselves a nice set of wheels for their 1st Birthday!!

Brandon's Australian Grandma bought him a beautiful looking "Hog" and because she was over visiting she decided to give it to him early, before his first birthday..........so my warning to you all is if you see this license plate around your neighbourhood.....WATCH OUT this is one bad dude looking to recruit people into his new Biker Gang!!!

Brandon hanging out at the pond on his new Hog.....he absolutely loves it!!

Brandon has his first run in with a rival gang known only as 'The Ducks'!

They are one of the meanest gangs around but Brandon wouldn't back down, eventually winning the standoff as 'The Ducks' retreated to their Waterhole.

He was pretty fired up though and looking for the next confrontation........

"You want a piece of me too?!!"

"Yeah you...you want to join my Gang?"

" If you want to join my gang, you gotta be tough.....and you gotta have a cool pair of shades".

On a more serious note I think that a boy getting his first bike is a pretty memorable and defining moment. I couldn't have been prouder of my Buckaroo as he took off for his first spin on his new set of wheels. We have been out cruising every morning on the weekend and he just loves it.

Thanks so much Grandma for giving me my first bike, Daddy and I will remember it forever!!

Look who's Walking!

Starting several weeks ago Brandon decided to take his first step! That is, without holding onto his Mum or Dad or a piece of furniture around the house! Since then he's gone from strength to strength........he's even started running!!

We thought it might be fun to share his progress with you all.......

Starting with a few wobbly steps and a fall...

Then a few more on the safety of this playroom floor.

As the confidence grew he decided to take his practise to the outdoors.

I have a feeling we are going to see this kid in the 2028 Olympic Games 100m sprint.

You heard it and saw him here first!! ;-)

Hello Cousin Sophie and Kate!

We were visited this last week by our family in the UK. My brother Matt, along with his wife Anna and their twin girls Sophie and Kate all made the long trek from London to Vancouver to come and see us. We haven't seen them in almost 16 months so not only was this the first time they were meeting Brandon but last time Cam and I saw Sophie and Kate they were just babies.....how things change!!

A heat wave hit Vancouver while they were here but that's OK we'd recently installed a pool in the backyard which the girls made great use of (Sophie on the left, Kate on the right)

Brandon taking the tie to get to know his Uncle Matt.

And his Cousin Kate, taking the time to get to know Brandon......ooh!! Sophie is in line behind her for a turn a kissing Brandon.

The Thomas Children trying to step it up outside (L-R: Kate, Brandon, Sophie)

And chillin' on the couch inside.

An added bonus........Grandma showed up from Melbourne.

Mum decided at the last minute that she simply couldn't miss the rare opportunity of all her grandchildren being together so she decided to make a last minute trip to Vancouver.

Needless to say I think she thought she had died and gone to heaven!

Grandma shows her grand kids one of the 14,678 photos she took in the week she was here.

Brandon had a great time meeting the English Chapter of the Thomas Family!!

Nobody in the house would be brave enough to say it was a relaxing visit, with 3 children under 2 years old life was never dull but we did find sometime to relax and catch up after all the troops went to bed. My cousin Steve and his wife Sherree who are based in Thailand have been spending the last 4 month in US only about 3 minutes from us also joined us one night for dinner.

Thanks for coming across Matt, Anna, Sophie, Kate and Mum.....it was fantastic to see you all.

The Calgary Stampede - The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

The Calgary Stampede is widely regarded as the biggest party in Canada. It runs for 2 weeks and basically the whole city parties for the whole time. Many people in Canada say that people in Calgary get an extra 2 weeks of holidays that the rest of the country doesn't get. The Stampede is the 2nd largest Rodeo in North America and is the self proclaimed 'Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth'.

This is the scene for the rodeo. There was bronco riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, barrel racing and so much more on offer! Rob managed to get us great seats in the Platinum section for the Semi-Finals which was fantastic.Cammie started to make friends early in the day.

The real party starts after the rodeo finishes. Cam and I are in line to get into Nashville North which is the hottest place to be and features some pretty impressive live Country Music acts.

Talking about impressive, all the girls got into the Cowboy groove and looked amazing!

Rob and Meshel tear it up on the dance floor!

The Thomas' and the Lindstrands posing for the paparazzi.

There was plenty to look at in Nashville North.........

On the stage.......

And off......!

By the time we left Nashville North, I think I had managed to convince myself I was actually a Cowboy!!

It really was a fantastic day, thanks so much to Rob and Meshel for getting us the tickets and showing us such a good time!

Calgary and The Lindstrands

After our adventure in the Rockies we returned to Calgary to spend a few days with our friends Rob, Meshel and Jack Lindstand. We met the Lindstrand's at our pre-natal classes over a year ago so Jack and Brandon are the same age. We haven't seen them since New Years Eve so it was great to catch up with them, see the boys hang out together and see how much Jack had grown since we last saw him.

They hit it off immediately, you'd hardly know they hadn't seen each other for 6 months!

Brandon introduced Jack to his beloved smoothie.

Does it look like he enjoyed it?!! ;-)

Brandon even bought his mate across a matching outfit for his birthday.

They had a great time together.

On the way home from dinner one night, Jack even shared his blanket with Brandon in the back of the car.

Brandon tried his best to get into the Cowboy groove at the lake just around the corner from the Lindstrand's house.

Once the boys went to bed, we all had a chance to catch up and relax. Rob and Meshel had a couple of other friends down for the weekend too so it was fun night!

L-R: Simon, Meshel, Rob, Cam, Tara and Craig.

The night started off quietly......

But quickly escalated when we started talking about the Calgary Stampede that we were scheduled to go to the next day. We did our best to get in the mood for it!!

Lake Louise

Next Stop was an hour further down the road at the absolutely amazing Lake Louise. We were again lucky enough to be staying at the Fairmont in one of the largest and most beautiful rooms both Cam and I have ever stayed in.

Immediately after we arrived it was time for Brandon to take a nap, so rather than hang out in the hotel room Cam and I covered him up and went for a 90 minute walk around the lake while Brandon slept the entire time.

Brandon had no idea what he was missing out on.....what an amazing view!!

He was pretty keen to make up for the time he lost sleeping......

And one with his Mum!!

Brandon figured that the view might be even more impressive from an elevated position so he climbed on my shoulders.

Some quiet time for father and son to reflect together at one of the world's natural wonders.

This was the view from the hotel bar in the lobby.

And finally, this was the view we had from our room.........not bad hey?!!