Our walk yesterday was such a good one that Karley and Monet joined us this morning. Using a pedometer (which was not the most accurate) the walk is just under 4 kilometers and entails climbing some hills which certainly helps to get our heart rates going. Today we brought along a container so that some of the blackberries we picked would make it home for dessert (see the Blog ). And with the quantity of berries out there, we’ll be eating them for weeks.

I mentioned the other day that Monet is a little colicky and while it takes some adjusting to, Karley is managing her expanded motherhood duties quite well with a little help. On our walk Monet was awake for much of it and as long as she was being bounced or patted she was relatively content but periodically, her knees would come up and she would grimace and holler. According to research colicky babies gain weight at the same rate as their non-colicky counterparts and it’s the parents who do most of the suffering which seems to ring true.

Even though much of his time is occupied with Makai (they share a mutual adoration), Grandpa seems to have found the knack that calms Monet the most. He puts her over his shoulder and either dances to some music or bounces to whatever is going through his head at the time and she is content like that forever. The end result is that she drifts off to sleep quite happy to resemble a sack of potatoes!