The Big Apple

This moment of escape and parental solace brought to you by the bravery, love, and support of Grandma and Grandpa Mel. They held down the new home and the two kiddos while Mommy and Daddy took on Manhattan. Sure, it was for less than 48 hours but it felt like freedom - we went without snacks or a diaper bag! It was just us, no set plans, and every intention to sleep in! It was bliss. Thank you for making our first time away together in over 4 years happen, Mom and Dad. Look how relaxed we look... maybe we should make this an annual (or monthly) thing? ha.

Lunching with lemondae

Being a part of it - Time Square

When we returned, it was to a home full of four happy faces accompanied by stellar reports for how they made out in our absence. From the accounts of how smoothly it went, I'm hearing that we should go for longer next time! 

Grandma's happy face is missing from this photo, unfortunately...

Light Work

It's true, many hands make light work. Thank you to our parents and their hands for assembling, moving, cleaning, repairing, sanding, laundering, grandparenting, and being all around great helpers. Your combined efforts made quick work of the settling in process. Yippee!

MOMENT: All Hands On Deck

Turns out, I like things set up the way I like, and I like it that way now. I'm demanding, but the place looks great so I guess my mission was accomplished! Grandpa Mel even put his shadow to work and played with him and, and, and, and ... Thanks again everyone!

Sanding the kitchen table with Grandpa Mel

Avoid-cation

It's true. The kids and I dodged the heavy lifting required of a move. Well, there were movers for the actual lifting, but you know what I mean. We picked the perfect place to go too. The company was grand(parents), the scenery was wild(life), and memories were made (and captured).

MOMENT: Movie Montage

Kids and grandkids arrive at Grandma and Grandpa's. 

Co-captains of the boat

Frog finder

Taking in the sites - I

Taking in the sites - II

Tavish and the turtle

Playtime with Grandpa

Bathing Beauty...

...with an audience

Taking care of some paperwork

Mommy and Tavish

Waiting for the fish to bite...

...hoping Grandpa has better luck

Mommy and Keva

Grandma with her grands

Happily hangin' with Harper

Cousins cycle

Grocery getters

The trip was just too good to summarize in a short little video, so I had to make a longer one and include the above photos. So, take a seat, put your feet up, and enjoy the montage of moments that great memories are made of...



Meanwhile, back in southern Ontario...

MOMENT: Moving Mayhem

Tom was a trooper. He supervised the rest of the pack up after returning from dropping us at the airport, cleaned up the "old" house after our belongings were loaded into the truck, went to work for a few days, then met our stuff at the "new" house and began working to get it set up for our arrival. Phew! Moving is a nightmare, but letting you avoid the initial part makes Tom even dreamier... :)

One Year Old

Enjoy the last of the monthly mug shots of Miss Keva. It's unanimous (I only asked me), she gets two photos in honour of her first year. So, here is her face at twelve months of age at breakfast and then at dinner ... there was a long (and loud) drive from Winnipeg to Fort Frances in between. She was still all smiles though, so it was obviously still a good birthday.

MOMENT: Twelve to One

Breakfast and her water bottle

Smiles over supper

Our one year old is engaging more and more all the time by imitating and initiating interactions. She's closer to using a more identifiable wave, she 'talks' back, blows raspberries, and is a real smiler! Looking forward to many more years in the company of this lovely child. Happy first birthday, Keva!



FLASHBACK: Tavish Turns Onederful

Smiles over syrup

Tavish's first birthday fell on a Wednesday. We kicked off the festivities by hosting the family for lunch the Sunday before. That was Tavish's first taste of cake ... sure, it was the healthiest cake I've ever had and there was no icing (what? he was the first child... I was more particular then!), but he really enjoyed it regardless. His actual birthday was spent at a maple syrup farm with our friends, Andrea and Darius, where we explored and they tasted syrup for the first time. Also a hit. His birthday party was planned for Saturday, but we cancelled it because Tavish was pretty sick. It was a bummer, but his first year was certainly celebrated but it would appear that I wasn't as big on taking videos then, so enjoy the photo based video tribute to Tavish turning one!

Up and Away

Mommy and the kids made a side trip en route from Ottawa to Toronto. Okay, fine... we skipped out on the bulk of the move and left Daddy to supervise movers and start the settling process. Visions of being home with two little ones surrounded by boxes and having no idea where the cutlery was, all while Tom was working just spooked us both. This was for the best. So, we booked our flight from Ottawa to Winnipeg, then from Thunder Bay to Toronto. Everyone was truly on the move....

MOMENT: Fleeing the Scene

The three of us traveled well together ... well, the flight was no problem. The big ol' drive 'home' to the Fort left a numbness in Mommy's left ear though. Turns out, Keva had some separation anxiety which I now understand after some research, is common for the age, and can be perpetuated by absence of a parent or changes in surrounding ... oh ... add the arrival of some more molars and things were only peachy when Keva kept direct company with Mommy for the first few days we were there. Yeah, that was fun. Hard to believe such a sweet face could be so sad when Mommy was out of sight!

Sweet face, ready to board

Boosting up with juice for the flight

Traveling trio

Taking in some scenery and giving out some silence (ah)

Moving On

Just one month shy of 4 years since we moved into this place, we're leaving and with one more family member than we came in with. Goodbye Ottawa and Holland Avenue, you've been a wonderful host. Thanks for the many wonderful memories, there is no doubt that you will be missed...

A ONEderful Party

Happy First Birthday, Keva!

Our baby is wrapping up her first year living almost the entire year in Ottawa. We technically moved away the day before Keva's birthday, but decided to have her party among her friends and lump it into a departure party as well. Two big reasons for one fun party...

All decked out in festive attire

Pooped at the party, thanks for the lift, Daddy!

MOMENT: "Ain't Nothin' So Good as a Cake and Eatin' It"

Cake face!

Good friends gathered in one of our favourite neighbourhood parks to bid us farewell and to celebrate Keva's first birthday. The birthday girl was decked out in her new bonnet and Mommy-made tutu for the festivities. There was all of the birthday perks, a song, a candle and, of course, the inaugural taste of cake - sure, it was healthy-ish cake (Mommy made), but I think she liked to have her cake and eat it too... Happy birthday to Keva! Bon Voyage to us!

Cleaning House

One would think by the title that I am referring to the cleaning out of our house in preparation of the upcoming move, but no. It's the little house that Tavish and Tom decided to clean out before our move that I am showcasing. It epitomizes how we chose to procrastinate from the larger and more pressing house that needed cleaning at the time...

Keeping up with the Upkeep

MOMENT: Hosing Down

Tavish took his job quite seriously, but is apparently quite skeptical of his Daddy with a hose...

Beetle Bop and Rolling Rocks

There was a rock revival in our dining room over dinner one night. It started when Tavish was irrationally disappointed (he's 4) about not being the one to pick up Keva's waterbottle that she tossed on the floor (she's almost 1). When I said: "Hey Tavish, there's this neat song ... want to hear it?". He did, so I sang it (poorly) but played the real thing later for him to rock out to...

MOMENT: You Can't Always Get What You Want

We'd recently enjoyed brunch where the Beatles and Rolling Stones portraits and songs were pointed out to Tavish. After my performance, we asked him who the bands were that we talked about in the restaurant, he remembered "Beetle Bop" and "Rolling Rocks". Ha. Needless to say, he was pretty excited to jam with the Stones and his folks were excited that the song's repetitive message might be getting through to him...



MOMENT: Lasting Impressions

Fast-forward a few weeks and we had confirmation that the message was delivered, but perhaps not received. It was while up north visiting my family and it was e-a-r-l-y. Mommy doesn't do early. Tavish was sent back to his room for 'quiet' time. This is what I got ... and it wasn't what I wanted. But, I did get what I needed, a good chuckle...in hindsight, anyway!

Note: might need more volume for this one...

School Send Off

It was tough to leave such a wonderful school, a great teacher, and the plan we thought we had for next year. Our Montessori experience was an excellent one, so although it was a little sad to leave, we bid a fond farewell to Tavish's first school, his friends and his teacher, Ms. Danielle.

Ms Danielle and Tavish, last day of school

MOMENT: Growing

Tavish has learned so much and met a lot of lovely people at 'school'. His teacher for the past two years, Ms. Danielle, is a very dedicated teacher who believes wholeheartedly in the Montessori philosophy so the emphasis of his learning was on gaining independence and learning at his level of readiness. He left being able to sound out small words to read and write; he is very comfortable with peers of varying ages; and excels in the area of numeracy as well. It's hard to move on, but that's the thing with time, it just ... goes on. So, thank you for a great start to a long future of schooling for Tavish, Ms. Danielle...

Tavish's first day of school, September 2012

Tavish's last day of school, May 2013

MOMENT: Theory into Practice

Also on the last day of school, we did what we often do after school on Fridays - we went for a family swim. About once a month (fine, sometimes more often), swimming is followed by dinner out for sushi - a family favourite. This time, Tavish offered to fill in the order form and we let him. It was impressive - we actually got everything we meant to order. It was also a little bitter sweet with him unintentionally showing all he's learned, but us knowing that he's moving on from such a great learning environment.

Biker Baby

Keva enjoyed her first Chariot ride behind wheels. There was a lot of smiling. Mostly from her folks, but there was no shortage of pearly whites from Keva either. Everyone likes having the wind through their hair...

Our smiley biker baby...

MOMENT: Her Chariot Awaits

Since our Chariot is only a single, it's a bit tough to go for a full-family bike ride - even though Tavish is quick on both his Strider and his Animator (pedal bike). So, with Tavish visiting his nearby friend Sofie, the three of us biked to collect him with his Strider on board. Yes, we took the scenic route. She liked it. We liked it. This was a moment of biking bliss, really.

The scenic route with the baby (and Tavish's Strider) in tow...

Adventures in Baby Moving

There's progress in the mobility department - Keva has found her knees and is working on navigating her way up, over and around things just days before turning one!

MOMENT: Can't Go Over It...

Keva has made some new moves that utilize her knees for getting around. Sure, there was some extra motivation provided by cushions creatively covering her path and well-placed lures. If she can't go over it or  can't go around it ... she's sure to find something else to be distracted by! Brotherly entertainment provides deserved rests and helps time go by quickly. Literally...

Mother's Day is Every Day

Mother's Day is becoming a highlight of mornings to wake up to. What's not to love? There are the thoughtful gestures, flowers, the sweet faces of my "babies", and a digger ride of course ...?

Mother's Day now has TWO reasons to be grateful I'm a Mom...

MOMENT: High Five

What a lovely gift Tavish made at school for me again this year - a reminder of his wee-hand that I get to hold. Keva joined in the party full of giggles and positive energy. Tavish thoughtfully arranged a beautiful bouquet of flowers that decorated the table that was filled with a hearty brunch made by Tom. I'm surrounded by love every day - such a fortunate woman. This Mother's Day marked my first as a Mother of two great kids and the beginning of our family move to Toronto...

Soccer Start Up

The season opener for soccer began in Ottawa. Tavish wouldn't make it through the whole season there with the move pending, but he got in some kicks and giggles before leaving...

Making his move...

Kick!

MOMENT: Getting a Kick Out of It

His soccer gives me a kick - it's entertaining to watch the chaos somehow work itself out. Before his first game, he concentrated to so hard on 'tying' his hand-me-down cleats. They were basically woven (ish). I was impressed with his efforts but did manage to convince him they needed to be tighter. He ran and down he fell. Whoops - I didn't tie them tight enough. I knew from watching him limp that he'd hurt his knee, but he wouldn't admit it. His acting un-injured was good, but he needs to work on embellishing non-pain if he has a future in professional soccer! (ha) Week two he was back in the game but cleat-less. Enjoy the kicks (his) and giggles (yours).

It's Back

* very delayed entries due to moving mayhem ... choronological order is a must so back in time we go....

The winter was tranquil but spring sprung with heavy equipment, lots of workers, and plenty of extra noise outside our window that lured not only one, but two curious onlookers...

Captive audience

Closer inspection

MOMENT: The Learning Glass

Watching Tavish watch construction is entertainment and education all at the same time. Seeing Keva grow more interested in the things around her and being with her brother isexciting. Both of these things almost makes all of the disruptions associated to the ongoing construction worth it. Almost.