Having my parents in town this week was amazing. Gabriel was so excited to see them and jumped into their arms, plunking himself in their laps and endearing himself to them right away. Of course, my dad had all sorts of foolish things to teach him like how to chew his food by manually moving him jaw and top of his head up and down. They seem to share a similar type of humour. Yes, Bumpa we can blame for all sorts of general foolish tricks. I am sure his teachers will be delighted when he starts making paper airplanes out of his worksheets and tossing them across the classroom..... And he made cookies with Nanna a couple of times, snowmen Inukshuks in the park, played playdoh etc.
Maggie was a different story. You see, she is much more shy I have to say and pretty much took an entire week to warm up to Bumpa, although Nanna was definitely a favorite go-to person right away. I think the necklace and the hair helped, of which Bumpa has neither. Maggie mostly gave Bumpa strange looks and finally cracked a smile the past couple of days. And then even let him hold her for a couple of minutes, which I captured in a photo here. (Admittedly, she might not have known who was holding her at the time until this moment, but we can pretend she was cool with it, ok?).
The timing of my parents' arrival couldn't have been better. I think both Jordan and I felt like we were drowning in our house of clutter and disorganization (something that has only continually gotten worse since I started my business back in November and Jordan started his new job too). But leave it to my mother to organize our entire lives and get us back on track. I think Jordan was impressed when he opened up Gabriel's drawers and found all the pants rolled up so you could see each pair. Most nooks and crannies have been all cleared out too and we finally got around to putting up a rack for the kids' coats, backpacks, mitts & hats. We've been living here for over a year now and it feels like we are just getting things settled into places they should be instead of wading through piles of random bric-a-brac I have no idea where to put. And well, Bumpa had his usual list of fix-its that we never seem to get to or just don't know how to do.
And that's not all, Jordan and I were able to go on a mini hot chocolate date and a shopping date to find him some new shirts and ties and even a suit for his new job (more on that later). It was fun to go shopping together just us and amazing what we are now able to accomplish in an hour without the children in tow. I also got some time to myself this week to take some photos for my friend Marta, finish off a present for Gabriel (more on that later), etc. I am ever so thankful. I think my parents also enjoyed spending time with just the kiddies. They are different when we aren't around of course.
Needless to say, we didn't do that much exploring in Toronto, what with a party and snow and various must-dos on the list but it was really nice to spend good time together--some skating on the rink, shopping, kicking around the house fixing and organizing things. So great having my parents here! Thanks for fixing us up for another little bit!! Hoping I can somehow maintain the order from here on out....
Got these shots at Centennial Park Conservatory minutes before they closed. It is so beautiful and warm in there in the winter. A must-do this time of year!
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