Blue Jays!

So far, we have been having an amazing weekend!! It's spring, almost summer and the city is alive again!  There seems like there is so much to do!  Live music festivals, ball games, soccer games, parks to visit.  There are only so many weekends!  We are trying to fill them up with friends and fun every little bit we can.

Yesterday, we blew off naps and went to see the Blue Jays play Seattle.  Jordan told me that when he was younger and the Blue Jays were in their prime, you'd have to scrounge up every penny to buy expensive tickets just to get in the top row of seating far above the game.  The seats were full back then.  The Jays have definitely gone through a dry spell, when so many seats sat empty, but when we were there yesterday, we saw so many people decked out in Blue Jays gear and the stadium looked pretty full to us, at least on the sunny side! 

Admittedly, we felt a little unpatriotic without any Blue Jays gear, so I can see we'll have some hats and shirts in our future.  Especially because Gabriel really loved the game.  Every time I looked over he was laughing and pointing.  He definitely understood what was going on, although I am pretty sure he thought the object of the game was to hit the ball into the audience.  Like any good fan, he wanted a ball of his own.  Maggie mostly loved the hotdogs and the music and the general excitement around the stadium before she passed out in the carrier.  

The funny thing about Toronto is that even though it is so big and you think you can hide in a crowd or pretend you are anonymous, you will inevitably, and randomly run into people you know.  While walking around with Maggie, I popped out onto the sunny section only to run into my friend Alicia, there with husband and son.  I tell you, this city really isn't that big! 

 
And after the game, we lined up with all the Junior Jays for a chance to run the bases after the game was done.  Gabriel tore around the bases at top speed, leaving his shoes behind him on the field. 

And like every parent, we left the field with our squawking/crying toddlers in tow, overtired from the busy day.  We wonder, if only momentarily, why we put ourselves through the pain of taking our children.  But once everyone is settled in the car, snacking and playing happily with stickers and toys, we are always glad we get out and do these things with them because we all really do have a good time, even if it is sometimes at the sake of our sanity and pride. 

Of course, we had to hit up Tom's Dairy Freeze on the way home.  It is truly the best soft serve in the City.   Jordan discovered it when we moved here.  And let me tell you, I don't even like vanilla but their vanilla chocolate dipped cone is amazing!  Probably because it's actually made with real cream!

Hope your weekend is going splendidly and that you are getting out there doing things you love with your littles, even if it is hectic and crazy and you wonder why you do it.  It's so worth it!

Our Family Photographs: Behind the Scenes

Over the past couple of months, I have been working and collaborating with my dear (and long-lost) cousin, Ginger who recently moved to Toronto and we have since rekindled our friendship.  We have always loved spending time together, but you know, life just gets crazy and before you know it, it's been 10 years since you've seen each other! 

Now living in the same city, babies the same age and a shared passion for art and photography, it was sort of a no-brainer we would be messaging every single day and driving all the way across the city to see each other on a regular basis.  I feel so grateful to have a kindred spirit as we go through this journey of motherhood and stay-at-home-career-business-women/photographers. 

So the Saturday before Mother's Day, Ginger met us in the crowded High Park area in the early hours of the morning to beat the crowds and catch the best light of the day.  After several weeks of hunts to find the perfect Magnolia tree, we decided on High Park.  But it became obvious (with the full parking lot at 7:00am) that we'd have to find a quieter spot.  It was sort of ridiculous there with so many people and their cameras.  And the funniest thing was that we had perfect strangers standing around watching, holding a reflector and several even taking our pictures!!!  We sort of felt like celebrities....

The pictures are amazing, my cousin is truly an artist far beyond me.  She just has such an incredible gift.  When she sent them to me the other night, I was just bursting with gratitude while simultaneously laughing out loud.  Our children are hilarious and charming and mischievous and I feel like she really captured all that.  I had to stop part way through the gallery viewing and send her a glowing message.  I was so thankful.  We've never had family pictures like these.  Ever. 

The pictures really do look idyllic, but I have to be honest.  On Saturday, after a few hours of photographing, we left the park, covered, COVERED in dirt, soaked to the bone and sweaty.  Magdalene (and the stroller where we had strapped her in) were covered in yogurt.   Here's a few funny tidbits from "behind the scenes:"

1) The very first two minutes of being in the park, Gabriel laid down in the dirt under the Magnolia tree and started rolling around in it.  It was then a shuffling game of how to avoid getting dirt on his white shirt, my white dress or Jordan's tan pants.  By the way, his shirt is now officially destroyed after face-planting on the sidewalk only minutes after the photo shoot was over.  And my dress... will never be the same.

2) About 10 minutes in, it started raining and we had to hide under the reflector.  A good reason to bring one I guess.

3) There were no less than 5000 people in the park that morning, crowding every single tree, although not so much the magnolia.

4) We got down to the lake, away from the crowds but "the paparazzi" with their telephoto lenses found us, again, snapping pictures while Ginger worked.  Who are these people???

5) I was sweating, sweating...  Had to keep taking off my scarf, jacket etc.

6) The children ran for the water immediately, the last shots of us as a family are there, after that, we were really all too wet to take more. 

7) Except it started raining.  Again.  This time, we were officially done. 

Can you believe that?  My cousin is amazing.  I cannot believe she got the shots she did with all the craziness going on, the kids running around, the water, the crowds. 

Thank you cousin, for capturing the moments and giving them back to us so beautifully!!

xo

Rock Throwing and Dandelion Blowing.

May long weekends are always busy, so this year we mostly opted to stay home except for one big adventure to Toronto Island.  Instead we went for walks by the river, threw rocks (which we haven't done in a long time) and meandered down the trail slowing, stopping to pick handfuls of dandelions and blow the fluff off them.

The look on Gabriel's face and the level of enthusiasm for seeing the river after so long, was uncontainable.  He frantically went from rock to rock launching them with great gusto into the river for the dog.  He kept waded in deeper than he should, giggling and laughing.  I love how the simple things really get him excited.  The water and rock throwing is better than any icecream cone or tv show.  It's some sort of natural high for him, without the dreaded sugar crash afterwards.

Magdalene was all about the flowers.  I know, I know. Dandelions are weeds.  But for some reason I still kind of like them.  The city of Toronto and the the parks decided years ago to stop spraying to get rid of the dandelions.  Instead the let them grow unfettered along the sides of roads and in the baseball diamonds.  For some reason the bright yellow just seems so much cheerier to me and I don't have to worry about the kids running around inhaling pesticides, which makes me feel better.  And when the yellow flowers have all turned white, it's magic for toddlers, blowing dandelion fluff into the wind. 

I really think that was the best part of the whole weekend--just doing the natural things we often like to do.  Yes, we did other things, but this was my favorite part.  Nothing fancy.  Just simple.

The Backyard Rink.

We must be among the very few Torontarians who are actually excited it is January and the temperature has dropped.  In fact, as the sun goes down and the children are in bed, we get all excited when we see that it is supposed to be -12 degrees Celsius or colder.  It's almost like a competition; will tonight be colder than it was last night?  Ok, so is that totally weird or what?  But you see, we've been working on a little project in our backyard, one that started back in September when my parents were here visiting.

And it's finally cold enough that we have managed to put down a fine layer of ice on our backyard skating rink.  It's been a total make-work project, with me on day-shift and Jordan on evenings, pulling the garden hose in and out of our bedroom window to water the rink before a good freeze overnight.  Which isn't so bad, if you don't mind sleeping with a garden hose coiled on the floor of your bedroom or spending a small fortune on your water bill over the winter.

But we have spent a ton of time out there already.  In fact, Gabriel and I spent a good hour the first day and when he didn't want to come in, he spent another hour out there honing his skating skills.  And today, a total of four hours! 

Jordan and Gabriel skated around and around swatting the puck back and forth to each other all morning and then later in the afternoon.  It's anyone's guess who is having the most fun.  But Jordan sure has an ear to ear smile.  We've been enjoying watching the boys, but had to get out there and enjoy it too. 

As Gabriel pulled Magdalene around in the sled with a hockey stick in one hand and the pull for the sled in the other, we were all laughing and smiling and enjoying ourselves immensely in this little backyard creation of ours.   Jordan and I both had this moment when our eyes met and I'm sure we were thinking roughly the same thing.  It's pretty hard to beat a moment like this. 

So maybe it's cold out there and people are wishing for spring.  But for now, we are hoping it will stay cold just a little bit longer!  If you aren't loving the cold so much, you'll just have to swing by for a little skate, some hot cocoa and a little fire to warm you up!

You might also like:

• Hockey Night. In our Basement.
• Homemade Hockey Sticks and Indoor Rinks.
• Baby it's Cold Outside.