A visit with my dad and some sad news

Hi all. FYI on the jinx stuff, Leo has gone back to feeding heavily in an early-morning burst, but still sleeping relatively well (with a little help from our friend the swaddling blanket), so I guess it's so far, so good.

I wanted to blog briefly about a quick visit I had with my dad earlier this month. Two years ago, my dad was able to chain a trip to Winnipeg for a family reunion together with a visit out here to see Max, who had conveniently arrived early enough to allow this to happen. Earlier this month, through a much sadder coincidence, he was again able to visit during the first week of his grandson's life.

On the 2nd of July, my cousin Joe died in a motorcycle accident in Manitoba, north of Winnipeg, at the age of 49. My family was shocked and devastated - Joe was a wonderful person, a great mix of mature and fun-loving, and I always looked up to him. I found out about the accident on the day Leo was born so July 3 was certainly a bittersweet day for me. Obviously, Holly and I were unable to go to pay our respects in person, but my dad was able to fly out from BC to pass on our condolences. Sudden losses like this are the worst to take and I can't imagine the impact this has had on my cousin's wife and kids. Here's a picture of him with Max from this past Christmas.


Joe leaves his wife of 25 years, Wendy, his two kids Terri and Jason, his extended family and a huge group of friends. Rest in peace, Joey.

Possibly the only positive to come out of this tragedy was that after attending the wake, my dad was able to take some time to pop out here and visit with us. After arriving on a Saturday night, we spent two days wandering around town, eating good food (dim sum and The Works! Awesome!), checking out the local farmer's market and catching up. Given how tough it is for my dad to get out here, it was wonderful to be able to get the opportunity to acquaint him with our new life - Leo, the new house and the new neighbourhood.

Here are some pictures from my dad's visit:


Max and his grandpa at dim sum. Max ate like a horse, as it was his first full-appetite day after being sick.

Max and his grandpa with Max and Winston (the horses) at the Lansdowne Farmer's Market. Oddly enough, Max wanted to get on Winston, but not his namesake.

Grandpa, enjoying a little Leo time.

Grandpa, getting his storyteller on. I bet it was a truck book.