Happy Birthday Gabriel!!

Whew!!  Just finished a great party for Gabriel who just turned FOUR this week!  Sometimes when I look at him, I think of him as a little little boy, those pictures from when he was two and three.  But he's a "big" guy now with real opinions, likes/dislikes, interests and passions and real friendships.

We are so proud of our little guy in so many ways.  He is such a vibrant, fun-loving, intense guy who has a really big heart for his friends and family, especially his little sister, his shadow and forever playmate.  All his spirited-ness and energy mean we collapse into bed at night and almost completely fall asleep the second our heads hit the pillow.  But we wouldn't have it any other way, really, for that joie to vie and enthusiasm for life is one of his best and personal favorite qualities about him.

So with all of his personally chosen closest friends filling the house, we celebrated as he turned 4, incorporating his long-time (3 year) love of "Lightning McQueen" into his birthday theme.  There was plenty of shrieking and running and jumping around, balloons and toys everywhere, kids running a-muck.  But it was the happy chaos of children having fun.  And for some reason, nothing makes me happier than having a houseful of happy, rambunctious little people having a good time.

Thanks again, Sophia's Sugar Rush, you continue to amaze us all.

And thank you to our wonderful group of friends who came and my parents (who traveled all this way to be here and spend time with us and who did almost all of the behind the scenes work for this party).  Thanks for celebrating with us.  We love you dearly and cherish the friendships we have with you.  Thank you for making our day special with your presence and conversation and generosity.  Gabriel told me, "Thanks for my party, mom!!  It was the best birthday ever!!!"   

Sunshiney Thanksgiving!

This was a very quiet Thanksgiving in our house with all of our families either traveling or otherwise occupied--(selling the family home and moving).  Which, I for one, will not complain about.  Life can be hectic, so we were happy to stay put this year. 

Our weekend was filled with sunshine and warm sunny weather with a high of 22 degrees Celsius on Monday!  It practically felt like summer!  But the leaves told us otherwise.  We got out for a bike rides along the trails near our home and the leaves were stunning!  There were tons and tons of milling walking the trails with cameras in hand trying to snap photos and capture the firey orange-red beauty of the leaves skirting the waters' edge. 

Aside from all the "cliché" things that I am thankful for (a wonderful life, a supportive and happy marriage, my beautiful children and our good health) here are a few extra things I am thankful for this year:

1) The cousins who live in Toronto and descended upon our home for Thanksgiving dinner, arms laden with all sorts of delicious food, including a yummy often-made and often-favorited kale salad, homemade pies and the like.  Oh, and wine!  Lots of bottles of yummy wine.

2) Friends who live in Toronto, who had no family around and also crashed at our house!  And made the most amazing gravy I've ever had!

3) Five little ones who ran around the house adding a vibrant and lively tone to the celebrations--chanting for chocolate milk and pounded the table with their forks while calling joyfully for PUMP-KIN-PIE, PUMP-KIN-PIE!  I am always so happy to lean into the chaos that are our young excitable children.

4) Leftovers, and such lovely yummy leftovers!  (I know, it's the small things).

5) This incredible weather and vibrant leaves.  I just know it's going to be enough to get me through this long, dark winter.  

6)  The internet!  (Thanks to modern technology we got to skype and chat and see pictures of our families' thanksgivings).  So while it might seem a little frivolous and luxurious, I am very thankful for these abilities to connect with people all over the country when we can't be everywhere we want to be.

.... And thanks to the mountains of food, many family members and what felt like a million children (even if there were only five) I was way too in the moment to get ANY photographs.  Which, admittedly was a bit liberating, but now I am just a little bit sad we didn't capture any of those moment with the kids banging their forks on the table.  Or crawling all over Clifford's leg begging for chocolate milk, or Frankie covered in cranberry sauce leaving little adorable fingerprints on the white cotton tablecloth (which did come clean, btw).  Or the big beast of a 20 lb turkey....  These fond memories will just have to be written down rather than captured in a photograph. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was sunny and warm, if not outside, then in your homes!

Frolicking in Fall Leaves in James Gardens

Had a little bit of fun today in James Gardens with my kiddos.  Believe it or not, the fall leaves are very very behind here.  Here and there are some bright coloured trees.  But some of the major parks in this city still don't have many coloured leaves.  Let's hope that means an extended fall with beautiful golden light, crisp autumn air and a slow transition into a short winter! ;) 

We've never spent any time at James Gardens with my kids but it is such a beautiful spot with lots of lovely gardens and trails.  Many little bridges and ponds with ducks and geese.  The kids loved running through the trails, finding mucky puddles, climbing on the bridges, running through golden grasses, and throwing leaves around on the one small red leafed tree we found.  

We are still transitioning to life with only one toddler who naps.  This makes the days a little long and grumpy.  It seems impossible to get enough sleep to handle the hype of the day.  So these little morning adventures out are ways that we blow off some steam.  I always find my children are so much happier when they are outside running around freely.  And so am I.  Lately, I've just been turning off my phone while I am with them and just joining in all the little moments.   

Now that almost all my weekends are tied up with photoshoots, I am trying to make the most of our free weekdays to do things we might otherwise do on a weekend.  I am realizing how precious and limited my time with just them is.  My husband and I always talk about the fact that it won't be long before the kids will be off spending time with their friends--off to the park or a friend's house, or soccer practice, etc.   So as grumpy or tough as some moments, some days might be, we are trying to fill them up with lots of great memories and moments while I can.

 

Happy Fall & Mucking About.

Happy Fall!!  We are a few weeks into Autumn... and the weather is finally starting to cool and those bright pops of colour are coming out on the leaves.  We've been run headlong into the routines of fall--school, gymnastics, swimming, play dates, work.  The time for relaxation is over for a little while.... 

You may not have heard from us for a little bit.  It's been pretty hectic around here.  A lot of exciting things going on with the business and with Jordan's work.  But not a lot of time for so many adventures. We are hoping to carve out time here and there for that but for now we are just trying to keep our heads above water.  Sorry it's been so long!

In fact, I don't quite remember the last time we were down by the river with the kids, but since it was really feeling like fall today, we just had to get down there where the leaves turn into a spectacular display of variable colours.  It still has a long way to go; there is plenty of green left.  But it won't be long.  And I guess we shouldn't complain about it taking so long.  We've had such amazing summer weather up until now.  So here we are mucking about in the river, getting the kids filthy dirty.  They waded up to their knees and sat in the creek bed.  They slid down the hillside of dirt and mud and came home sopping wet and dirty and HAPPY!  What did I say.... you spend time with us, prepare to get a whole lot dirty and hopefully have a good time while doing it!

Happy Fall Everyone! :)