Kiku meets Ella

You could say that the 2011 season was Boreal Birch Syrup's best yet. Not only did they produce a lot of syrup, they came out of it with a beautiful daughter born May 9th.

Here, Paul and Kikue say "hi" to baby Luella.

This is my almost failed attempt at a group shot. Ella was happy to stay put. Kiku...not so much. She's too busy trying to "play" with Ella.

Here are some funny pictures of Kiku eating a rice rusk. Food still equals fun.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a round baby!

Yup! At our recent doctor's appointment we learned our little girl is following the same path as her father: she's in the 90th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height, just like Paul when he was a little one.

Here are some pictures I took of her yesterday after her bath.

Kikue visits the sugar bush

Welcome!

I'm hoping that this newly created blog will help me keep in touch with family and friends who are not close enough. My last 10 months and 9 days of motherhood have been filled with some of the most memorable moments and it is my hope that through Up West I'll more easily be able to share these moments with you. So, for all of you folks "down east" and the rest, thanks for visiting and happy viewing!

I thought I'd start things off by sharing with you our visit to the sugar bush last evening. Every spring Paul helps our friends Dave and Beth, owners of Boreal Birch Syrup, make the sweet stuff. You can see Beth on the right doing some dishes (rumour has it she's in labour at this moment!
Mary, Dave's mother, and Kikue share a laugh. Kikue battles mosquitos and the cold with a bandana and my mitts.