Bump or Bumpette?

When we arrived at the docks in Vancouver, the very first people we saw were Aunt Callie and Uncle Adam.  Gorgeous as always, Callie was looking, well, a touch rounder.

So cute!  Even Annika noticed.

We would have blamed the portion sizes, but we hadn't even reached the dining room yet.

Tuck in!

In the end, the kids were just as enchanted by their auntie and uncle as ever.


Even so, as we left the port, we knew we wanted to throw Callie a baby shower.

Fortunately we came prepared.  With a lot of help from my cousin Alesia, a bag of diapers was transformed into an attractive (but inedible) cake.

Usually the baby-to-be gets to keep the diapers.  Since we were traveling light however, Annika borrowed them first.  Rumor is that Baby Bump doesn't want them back.

Some of the guests:

My Aunt Janet and her gorgeous daughters: Jeanette, Alesia, and Katelyn (from left to right).  Jeanette survived her freshman year, Alesia recently landed her first teaching job after finishing her Masters at Columbia, and Katelyn just graduated high school.

Grandpa's wife Elaine was kind enough to share her stateroom for the party.  Here she is (right) pictured with her sister-in-law Beverly.

Brooklyn with my cousin Kathryn LaFroscia.  Kate will be a high school Senior this year.

Sisters: Alison LaFroscia and Cathy Ann Andrus. 

NomiAnn gets the most credit for making the party fun and beautiful.

Party games and favors all ready to go. 

Only thing missing is the Mom-to-be!

So the party was almost a surprise.  Papa K accidentally let something slip at the last moment, resulting in a comment on how he ought to pitch himself overboard.  We're glad he didn't.

All of the lovely ladies:

We originally talked about breaking tradition by inviting the boys as well, but there are only so many people you can fit in a single stateroom.

Time to open presents.

Teeny tiny baby clothes!

And who can resist the eensy weensy shoes?

Alright, alright, I'm pretty mean for posting this pic, but Callie has the most amazing facial expressions ever.  I just couldn't resist.

I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure this picture was taken after someone said something that hinted towards how Bump came to exist.  Sorry little sis, secret's out!

The younger generation was far too busy reading all of the great kid books to care about the conversation.

And now for the best present of all.

A pug in a box.  Does it get any cuter than that?

Check out the curly tail!

And a belly button too.  Bee bo!

Aw, there's even a hoodie to keep Puggy dry in the Washington rain.

Do you think she likes it?

Pug hugs!

We all know who this present really belongs to.  Sorry Bump.

And now a photo of the puppy with the creator, Alesia.  This lovely gal actually taught herself to knit and made the whole thing.  AMAZING.

Wish my photo were as great as your talent, Alesia!

Wonderful as the baby shower was, an even better surprise awaited us that evening.  A few days before the cruise, Callie and Adam had a twenty-week ultrasound.  Instead of finding out the gender right then, they asked the ultrasound technician to fax the results to their favorite bakery. 

Formal night seemed the perfect occasion for the big revelation.  Before opening the pink and blue cookie boxes, everybody had to choose either a blue mustache or pink hairbow, depending on their prediction of a boy or a girl.  Here we are explaining the process to Grandpa:

We asked Annie to pick a hairbow or a mustache, but she just picked her nose instead.

Predictions, please.

Team Pink: Adam, Alison, Janet, Elaine, Gregory, Katelyn, NomiAnn, Brooklyn, and Alesia
Team Blue:  Callie, Kara, Annika, Talia, Papa K, Uncle Jay, Katelyn, Jeanette, Uncle Bob, Alex, and Jason (who is behind the camera, of course)
Waffling Pink Bowtie:  Grampa Grampa.

Oh, the anticipation...

Pink for the victory!

Callie, you may have worn blue, but Adam was right.  Bump's a girl!

Make way for the newest princess.  :)

Ready or not, Momma, here she comes!

Tasty treats to celebrate.

So Callie and Adam served these tasty "Bite Me" sugar cookies at their wedding and PLU graduation parties.  When Callie contacted the company about this special announcement request, they baked the cookies for free as a baby gift.  So not only are the cookies all-natural and locally-produced, but the people are super nice as well.  Pretty much the best cookies ever.  Just right for the best sister ever.

Congrats again to the growing Wilhoit clan.  You've got this whole parenting thing in the box.

Vancouver Vignette

Passport pictures! Clue number one that your summer vacation is gonna be pretty spiffy.

It's been more than a decade since our European honeymoon, so Jason needed a new passport, as did the big girls since it's been five years since we lived in France.  Eli and Annika got their first mugshots, so only I missed out on the passport fun.

So where did we go with our uber-pricey international ID?  Vancouver!  Thanks to the generosity of my great-grandpa John Wells, our "family reunion" was a cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage in celebration of his eightieth birthday.  The kids wouldn't have needed passports if we had chosen to drive instead of fly, but some road trips are just too long.

Oh, Canada!  It just so happens that we visited our friendly northern neighbors on the Fourth of July.  Kind of ironic since it will probably be the only day our family spends on foreign soil this year.  Funny, eh?

Even though there weren't any fireworks on the cruise ship, we still pulled out the red, white, and blue to show our patriotism. 

Before embarking on our Celebrity cruise, we enjoyed a gorgeous morning in Canada.  Despite few hours of sleep, the kids were all smiles in the morning.  Perhaps it was the limousine they got to take from the airport to the hotel, or maybe it was the fun aquabus we rode to Granville island.

Brooklyn's prepared for a splendid day.

Talia Lily--all smiles as well.

First stop--breakfast!  Jason found French Canadian meat pie at the market.  Super tasty!  Only thing missing was the cranberry sauce.

Annie Mae greets Canada with a wave "hi" as Brooklyn watches over.

Look closely and you'll see Annika adding an extra drop of drool to the Pacific.

Just love these girls.

This one too!

And let's not forget the pigeon-chasing boy.

Granville Island (which happens to be a peninsula) had an amazing public park where the kids could have splashed for free had we brought their swimsuits. 

Don't worry, we still had fun.

Brooklyn really wants to cut her hair, but I'm just not sure I can let those gorgeous locks go.

Of course, Talia's new bob is pretty dang adorable.  (There's a bit of a story behind that.  Apparently the word "trim" means something slightly different to Jason and I.  I hope he's forgiven me for flipping out when I first saw.)

Handsome Eli with his vacation cut.

Everybody swing.

Higher!

HIGHER!

All right, Papa Kay says that's enough.  Time to head back and catch our boat.

But first Annika wants one more turn down the slide.  (This babe will pitch herself off nearly anything.)

NomiAnn with our pipsqueak.

Vancouver tried to scare us off, but we weren't deceived.  Coyotes or no, this would be an absolutely lovely place to settle.  (And yes, we felt the slightest twinge of regret that UBC didn't accept our application to architecture school years ago.)

Talia admires the beautiful woodwork at one of the shops on the way out. 

Just enough time for some shaved ice before catching the ferry.

To quote Annika: Nummm.

Tuckered out, but totally content.

Delightful Vancouver, farewell!

Despite spending only a few hours in Vancouver, the city quickly weaseled its way into my heart.  My morning run along the Stanley Park Seawall was so magnificent that it was painful to turn around and go back.  I don't know if we could ever afford to live there, but I'm certainly eager to return and explore more.