The Junction & Family.

Ok, first off, YAY!! to being closer to family!  And double yay to having aunts, uncles and cousins who live in Toronto.  You know, the kind that you have over for dinner, who you can meet up for coffee or a playdate, who offer to babysit and ones you click with (my fellow creative blogger cousins, I love you!)  Amazing!  I am thrilled. 

Just got back from a pretty full day with cousin, Rebecca in "The Junction"--a hip, up-and-coming neighborhood on Dundas West.  The neighborhood has a lot going on--vintage markets, Saturday markets, unique and trendy men/women and children's clothing boutiques, refurbished, antique and new furniture places, organic grocers, restaurants and coffee shops.  I mean, what else could you ask from a neighborhood??  It has a pretty cool vibe going on too, you know, sort of an eclectic feel.  The side streets are lined with old duplexes with original trim and mouldings, cute little front yards and porches, brick buildings--definitely the kind of place I could see us living, if they had yards for dogs, that is.    

We strolled around for a little bit with my cousin Rebecca and her little one before she was whisked away to an audition.  Then we explored the neighborhood for ourselves.  (Only to reconnect later!)

Annnnnddd... Gabriel feel asleep while I checked out refurbished furniture places and antique shops, so we ended up staying longer than expected. I love how he will still do this!  I feel so lucky!

And then we stayed a little longer to "help" my cousin (Natalie)'s husband Clifford babysit Rebecca's wee one.  I'm not sure who helped who!  He's a natural.  It was clear from his calm, cool, collected demeanor that he could handle anything, including a 7 week old AND a toddler.  Meanwhile I stumbled around on uneven pavement in high heels wondering how I am ever going to manage two children under two!  (Maybe it's more about the heels).  I only wish I had gotten a picture of Gabriel holding the bottle of milk in one hand and my hand in the other while I pushed little Violet in the stroller.  He was very concerned that she needed her milk.  He's going to be such a great older brother!

Clifford took us to the most AMAZING ice cream from Delight on Dundas West (can you see the real chunks of apricot from Niagara in the icecream!?!?  And the chocolate was actually made with chocolate.... I cannot even begin to explain......) and then hit the park to burn off some steam and the ice cream.  

I just love this city.  I love the Junction and we are loving being so close to family.  Feeling sort of like it was meant-to-be that we be in Toronto right now.  And that makes me feel pretty blessed.

You might also like:

• Life in Toronto.

Vintage Boat Boy Room

Over the past two years, my husband and I have lost four of our grandparents who meant a lot to us.  Most recently, both of my grandfathers.  With moving across the country (after having just moved from DC), my husband traveling back and forth from Houston for work, my pregnancy and juggling a toddler, the stress was just too much to be able to make it home.  In notes I sent back to my family, I relayed my feelings as being "infinitely sad" about each of their deaths and have struggled to find closure since not being able to attend their funerals.

But, in our own way, we are finding ways of remembering them and building pieces of their legacies into our lives.  Both of us have inherited a number of old pieces from our grandparents that we have decided to incorporate into our children's rooms--paintings, boats, lamps, chairs, etc.  Here are just a few snapshots of our little guy's room, now complete!

We still have a lot to do on baby girl's room, but the vision is clear (pictures to come after Christmas).  And I looking forward to incorporating pieces from our grandmothers.  I like the idea of passing down legacies to the fourth generation.  Sort of makes you feel like they are watching down on our little ones.

You might also like:

• Grandpa D: Photos from the past. 
• Four Generations. 
• Home, Part 1. 
• Fostering a Love for Cooking: Baking with my One Year Old.

Life in Toronto

It's been over two weeks since we left our quiet little semi-secluded home in BC for busy high-octane Toronto.  And amazingly we are feeling quite settled.  Life here together as a family in a permanent way is definitely a great thing.  So far I am loving this city and while we complain about traffic, I think Jordan loves it here too.  Over the years, we've come and gone from the big T-dot, spending a week to a year at different times in our lives, always knowing we'd come back but never quite sure when.  Well, here we are! 

Despite a few hiccups here and there, we've unpacked, gotten to know the neighborhood, seen quite a bit of "the cousins" and even made a few new friends.  We've even been able to do a little bit of exploring like visiting the Lakeshore, the Junction, the Danforth and the St. Lawrence Market--the BEST place to get local fruit and thick cut bacon and Kassler (German smoked pork chops--if you haven't had, you simply must!) 

We love our new house, although, admittedly it's a little too big for us! :)  Gabriel does circuit laps of the main floor of the house chasing after the dog and driving his little truck.  I think it might be a good indoor playground when the snow comes!  I shake my head and wonder how it will ever get clean, especially now that I am navigating the world with a big bump that keeps getting in the way.

The neighborhood is fantastic!  Lots of green space and quiet trails where Gabriel is learning to wrangle the dog for a walk. 

Lately, our little family has been hitting the trails on our bikes in evening after supper and occasionally park ourselves under a tree to watch a little bit of "baw-baw" (baseball) under the huge floodlights.  We might just have to take Gabriel to a real game here in the city.  He's fascinated! 

We are pretty darn happy here.  And although we miss friends, we are keeping in touch and always love to hear from you!!  It's amazing how many friends/family are or will be passing through or are planning visits in the near future to Toronto these days, so we are looking forward to visits when you do.

From Toronto,

xo

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day.

A-hoy matey!  Ok, so anyone with kids needs to know about "Talk Like A Pirate Day," especially if you are into pirates or have a little one that is.  Somehow very early on, pirates became a theme on our house (there may be some grandparent influence here).  Maybe you remember the "Baby Pirate" themed 1st birthday party we had for Gabriel? 

Anyway, apparently "Talk like a Pirate Day" is a real thing.  You can read more about it here or watch a silly out of tune song video here.

This year, despite having a heads up, we were a little slow on the ball getting things organized.  But we still celebrated!!  Gabriel wore his little striped shirt, his pirate hat and sword and sailed in his rocking boat.  And we got a little card in the mail in celebration of the day which I read aloud in my best pirate voice.  We even have a pirate song for Gabriel, written by Fizey which we sing almost every night before bed and a book called "Pirate Gran" by Geraldine Durrant.  So you can see we are pretty serious!

Hoping to keep the tradition alive and celebrate each year on Sept 19th (yesterday). And I guess if were are going to make this legit.... I'll have to find myself a cutlass and learn how to make a crocodile Dundee cake.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day to ya!

“Potter-Davey’s Privateers”

By Stephen Strople

With thanks from: Stan Rogers, “Barrett’s Privateers”

The year was two thousand and twelve,

I think I was in Squamish then.

When a letter of marque

Came from the stork

And the first little pirate did spring forth.

Ahoy-matey! I am told,

We’ll cruise the seas for American gold.

We’ll fire no guns, shed no tears.

Now, I’m a baby pirate, tender in years—

The first of Potter-Davey’s privateers.

Now here I sit in my very first year.

I think I am in Washington.

But what it won’t be long ‘fore I sail away

In my blue rocking dory from Maine, olay!

Ahoy-matey! I am told,

We’ll cruise the seas for American gold.

We’ll fire no guns, shed no tears.

Now, I’m a baby pirate, tender in years—

The first of Potter-Davey’s privateers.

You might also like:

• A Rocking Dory from Maine, O-lay!
• Oh I'm a baby Pirate of Tender Years.

More favorite cottage moments.

We have a ton of photos from our week at the various cottages in the Kawarthas.  It was hard narrowing them down, but I have a few more from our weekend spent with good friends, Annie and Ashleigh and their two little girls.  Here are a few more photos capturing some favorite moments.

While at the cottage, we took a trip up to a park with waterfalls.  It was a bit of a drive and a hike in with three kids, a cooler of food, the dog and my preggo belly, but the scenery was worth it, as always.  This was the epitome of our weekend with friends.  Look at Gabriel in the background watching Fiona while she stands on the rock.  Wheels turning, wheels turning...  No word of a lie, Gabriel stood on that same rock for five minutes.  There was nothing I could do to make him move. 

And we'll call these our portrait sessions....  And isn't it fun getting them coordinated with kids?!?  I had to laugh when I saw the one above.  Fiona has soooo much curly hair and Annie said they forgot her barrettes, so her curls were in her face all weekend.  Not that she seemed to mind.

This kid cracks me up.  He's just like his father--impossible to get a smile out of on camera.  Oh, yes, Gabriel, we know you are so serious. But he's got the pose all ready.

Cheeks!!!

Daddies know how to find all the cool stuff--like crayfish.  

Gabriel is OBSESSED with babies right now.  He wants to hold them, hug them, touch them, poke their eyes, kiss them.  He even was quite taken by Fiona's dolls.  And infatuated with baby Eleanor.  We told him he could kiss her and touch her toes so as keep safety our top concern.  Here he is doing both.  (We were at the market the other day and went up to a little girl--maybe still a baby and touched her toes and tried to kiss her).  Oh Gabriel!  You are just the sweetest!

The morning routine at the cottage was that after breakfast, the daddies took the kids and Abe for a nice looooooonnnng walk.  The kids got to share holding the leash.  This allowed us to clean-up, put our feet up and talk without breaking up a squabble, a tantrum or stop someone from getting hurt.  Oh, the bliss of being able to have a conversation longer than 30 seconds. :) 

And storytime altogether in mama and daddy's bed.  One night there was a thunderstorm and Abe was scared, so even he got to join us on the bed (not something we typically allow).  Poor Abe!  It was a loud one too.  Poor Abe!

Annie's s'mores!  No campfire needed--for the tired parents and the wet weather.  AND you can optimize your time by doing many at the same time.  She's brilliant, this woman!

We are so thankful for our friends Annie and Ashleigh, and their little ones for taking off the weekend to have us up to their cottage while we waited for our place to be ready for us.  And looking forward to many more summers up there with them on the lake--boating, eating ice-cream, going for walks, sharing meals and just having a good time!

So long cottage country!!  See you next year!

You might also enjoy:

• Cottage Life Part 2 :) 
• Cottage Life Part 1 :) 
• Cottage Life: Denman Island.