Max's Big Adventure

This past Saturday was a big day of firsts for baby Max - first meeting with one of his great-grandparents, first road trip, first time at Auntie Karen's cottage, first time in Quebec, first Oktoberfest, first attempt at euchre and first wedding reception. I'm getting tired just writing about it!

His big day started when my mum brought my Grampa Don over to the house to meet Max for the first time. Who knew that G-Don would be so into babies? Mum and Grampa were heading up to Auntie Karen's cottage in Otter Lake, Quebec (1.5 hours from Ottawa) for the day to see the leaves and stay for dinner. Max and I decided to go along for the ride while John decided to stay home to attend a friend's wedding (more on that later). While the leaves on the way up to the cottage had not quite completely changed, we still saw some nice colours along the way. Auntie Karen and Auntie Melody were quite thrilled to have two suprise guests. Although they were probably MUCH more excited about baby Max than their niece, they were nice enough to not say anything to my face.

Once we arrived at the cottage, we decided to head to Ladysmith for their annual Oktoberfest (quite the event for the region). In case you are wondering why a little cottage town in Quebec has a big Oktoberfest, wonder no more! The story is that Ladysmith was the site of a POW camp during World War II and the German people held there were treated so well that they returned after the war and settled in the community. At least that is the story that we heard. We checked out some crafts, the tractor pull and some music and dancing. We also had some German sausages and beer (none for Max and I yet!). My mum even tried to explain the differences between left and right bowers to the little guy. Max was quite the star - he stayed asleep in the car seat the whole time! I hear there comes a time when Max might excel at something other than sleeping, but for now, that's his thing.

We had a nice dinner then headed back to Ottawa. When we arrived home, John was just thinking about heading out to a wedding reception. Max was still cashed out in the car seat from the long drive and the reception was only a few blocks away so we all decided to go. I threw on some more appropriate clothes and we headed out. Max was quite the hit with John's work friends. Again, he was quite the star as he stayed asleep the whole time with really loud music playing for over an hour. He only woke up when we were putting him back in the car to head home. I enjoyed some wedding cake and cutting a rug on the dance floor for a few songs. Eventually, we got home just after 11 pm.

All in all, it was a pretty crazy day full of new adventures and time with family and friends. We look forward to many more!