These eyes, have seen a lot of love

Time for a little game. Guess right and win a fabulous prize!

We'll zoom way in, and you have to figure out who it is. Ready? Set? Go!

Can't get it? Well okay, I'll zoom out a little.

Still need a hint? Okay, a little further back we go?

Yup it's Madeleine! Your prize? Exclusive access to the raspberry picking photos. If you got the photo quiz wrong, I must ask you to please refrain from scrolling down any further.

Last weekend the local strawberries were out and that was fantastic. This week, it was local raspberries. Madeleine thought that she might be able to pitch in a little, so she came along for the ride, so to speak. She made an amazing effort and she was able to lend Mom a hand.

But when your arms are very short, picking berries can be downright exhausting. Right Madeleine? I guess so.

Pink hat, whatcha think about that?

Here's another trio of pictures that are truly magnifique! No more contests however. I figured that we better give someone else a fighting chance. Like when Air Jordan retired from the slam dunk contest.


This morning the weather was pretty darn crummy. Not what you would expect for a July day in BC. We were lucky though, because by the late afternoon, the sun was out in full force and the family all went for a walk along the Fraser River. Odours, beautiful odours!! I stopped stiffing just long enough for a quick family portrait, then it was back to business. Sniff, sniff, sniff...

Hey Dad, what happened to your arms? Look out for the snakes.

Once we got back home, I tried to engage Madeleine in a little play time. My favourite game is called "fetch". Unfortunately, the human role is this game involves throwing a given object and as you can see, Madeleine's still a bit young for that. If you know her like I do however, you would only have to give her maybe a couple of weeks before she'll be throwing long bombs like a spry Dave Dickenson (who is badly missed round these parts.)

It is now official.

Baby Madeleine's first ever Canada Day will go down in history as a truly red letter day. As you probably know by now, if you are a regular reader of this humble dog's blog, she's pretty darn cute. Case in point is the following photo:


Well now she has officially won the contest for best ever three shot series of photos. Check out the winning entry.



Really not fair is it? With those kind of pix, it really isn't even a contest. In sadder news, Baby Madeleine's favourite pillow is going away for three whole weeks. What will she do? I'd offer up my services, but word has it that I snore.

Three Months Young!

Hard to believe but little baby Madeleine is now three months old. Every day she brings so much joy with her uncanny ability to be cute.

What a happy family!

Make a wish Madeleine (I hope that the wish was that a hungry basset gets a slice of cake.)

The next day was road trip time. My parents promised something exciting and I was pretty keen to find out where we were going, but to be completely honest, I was really into the air conditioning in the Mazda. I mean seriously, have you ever worn a heavy fur coat when it's over 30 degrees out. Ridiculous!

What, more baseball?!? It was the dog day of summer at the old Nat Bailey Stadium. I frankly don't understand my folks' obsession with this sport all of a sudden.

Or do I? Food, glorious food. It's not bacon, but I'm quite happy to accept gigantic French fries.
Yum. Now what's for dessert?

What, more posing? Shouldn't the baby be in a few of these pictures? I think that she's just as skilled as me at hamming it up for the camera.

See what I mean?

Dad with Madeleine and the Canadians' mascot. Check back soon for what is sure to be a super-duper Canada Day entry to the blog.

If you want proof, you got it.

So anyways, we were all hanging out enjoying a perfectly beautiful summer day, basking in the sun, when Baby M mentioned: "Mr Burns, did you know that there are some people out there wondering why you weren't featured in ANY of the four blog entires from our trip across Canada. I've heard that some have even gone so far as to question whether you went at all!" My reply: "Well Madeleine, you can't please everyone. As you know I'm no camera hog. But I guess I should do something to please those haters out there who question the authenticity of what I write." So here it is folks. Unedited and indisputable evidence as to my participation in the great baby trek.

This is me at the Toronto Zoo. As you can see, this was the hedgehog exhibit. This is me at the Blue Jays game. In Newfoundland with some of that famous Screech. The local band Great Big Sea said it best.

So I drank all of my money
And I slept out in the rain
Everyday is different but the nights they're all the same
You never see the sun on the old black rum
But I know I'm gonna do it again!
Today is actually baby Madeleine's 3 month birthday, so I've got to get back to the celebration. Check back soon for pictures of all the festivities. Here's a little something to whet your appetite.