Weekend Bits

This weekend was quiet and lovely. We took some long walks - admiring the first blooms, and soaking in some much needed sunshine. The rain held off until Sunday evening when we were walking home from dinner with friends... and we got caught in the most delightful rain shower. It was warm and we laughed, and the bug fell asleep in her stroller, not bothered one bit by the rain.

Also, this:

Have a wonderful week!

Weekend Bits

After spending most of the day Friday glued to the TV, it was nice to get out of the house over the weekend. Sunday was a beautiful spring day, and we made the most of it, starting with brunch with Didz's family. On our way home, the bug fell asleep, so we decided to keep driving and explore some parts of Toronto we weren't so familiar with. She woke up when we were in the Leslieville neighborhood, which was the perfect place to take a little walk and sit down for a drink and snack before heading to our friend Stan's place for dinner. This might seem, to some, a completely ordinary event.... but....

Stan cooked.

Stan, who has lived in his condo for 3+ years, still hasn't hung curtains (he lives in a glass box), hasn't finished arranging his furniture (his chandelier hangs about two feet from the center of his dining table), and has never used his oven for anything other than frozen pizza, prepared Sheppard's Pie. From scratch. And it was DELICIOUS. He also tried to kill us by offering salad dressing that expired in 2009, but that's beside the point.

Here's a few snapshots from our outing:

Thanks, Stan. You're the best.

A Very Happy Half-Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Ina's half-birthday. It might not seem like an occasion worthy of a celebration like a first birthday or a sweet sixteen. But around here, we're all about celebrating the little moments. They pass by so quickly, and when we turn on the news and hear about senseless bombings and shootouts, we can't help but squeeze our little bug a little tighter and promise to enjoy every moment we have together.

So we ate cake. And sipped bubbly. And danced in the living room. And smooched her fat cheeks so much... because she's only 6 months old once. And we think that's something to celebrate.

***

We're glued to the TV watching the news today, hoping this nightmare ends soon (and peacefully). Sending lots of love to friends and family in Boston... Be safe! We're thinking of you!

6 Months

Dear Didzette,

Wow. Half a year has gone by since you came into our lives... and every day is sweeter than the one before. You've grown so much in six months - long gone are the quiet infant days where you just slept and ate and slept some more. Now you want to play, and wiggle, and giggle, and explore every bit of world around you... You're not crawling yet, but you're getting so close. You've mastered this little shimmy move where, if you're on your belly and want to reach something, you wiggle and kick and hoist yourself forward and rotate your body and stretch out long until you can reach it, and ultimately put whatever it is into your mouth. You particularly love reaching for the dirty fringe on the edge of the area rug. If I'm in the kitchen, or even if I'm sitting right next to you and turn my head away for 10 seconds, nine times out of ten when I look back over to you, you will have shimmied yourself off your blanket onto the hardwood floor and I'll catch you sticking the dirty rug fringe into your mouth (yuck). You're so curious - I hope you never lose your sense of wonder and always continue to explore and learn and be surprised by the world.

You have a tooth! Two days of inconsolable fussiness over the weekend, and lo and behold, a little tooth broke through on Sunday. I nearly started crying - you're growing up so fast. Pretty soon you'll be eating sushi and cheeseburgers - but for now you're perfectly content munching on your toes. "Bug! Your socks are all wet!" gets exclaimed at least once a day around here. I even had to go buy more baby socks the other day because we can't change and dry them fast enough - you just love eating (and slobbering all over) your toes.

I think my favorite thing you do these days happens when you get really excited about something (most often when you're naked - you looove being naked). You start flapping your arms wildly and kicking your legs and laughing hysterically... which usually leads to either me or your daddy kissing your belly and tickling you, which makes you laugh so much more. And the more you laugh, the harder your arms flail, and you're just so excited and having so much fun, it's like you can't release all that happy energy at once. Sometimes I worry you'll just spontaneously combust.

You're pretty great, bug. Keep it up.

xo,
Mama

Two for today

One: Toronto has finally decided to cooperate and embrace the Spring... 

Two: Proof of the aforementioned Spring...

Yay!

These two

These two together makes my heart melt.

Seriously?!

April 11, 2013

Dear Mother Nature,

Not cool.

xo,
a.

Weekend Bits

I can't begin to describe how wonderful this weekend was - having Annie and my parents here was simply the best. There was a lot of lounging at home with the bug, and walks in the sunshine. There were a lot of laughs and a lot of jokes. There were old stories remembered and happy memories made. There were cocktails and wine, crackers and cheese. There was take-out, eating-out, and home-cooking. There was so much happiness, and so much love.

I got a new camera from my parents (a belated Christmas present), so I spent the weekend taking a million pictures... here's just a few:

We're looking forward to a quiet week, and hoping Auntie Annie and my folks come back soon. We miss you already! Especially Ina...

poor bug.

The Girls

Yesterday morning, everyone's favorite Auntie Annie arrived in Toronto for a fun-filled girls (+Didz) weekend. She and Ina instantly became best friends, and we've been having so much fun catching up, chatting, shopping, eating and drinking. We spent the day yesterday cruising Queen West with my mom, who arrived Tuesday. We stopped for lunch at the Drake Hotel, where we had cocktails (the Cucumber Smash was the big winner) and fish tacos and killer mac + cheese. I'm so happy to have my two favorite ladies around, and Ina is spoiled by all the love and attention (and gifts!)...

Lucky for Didz, my dad arrived this morning. The two of them just went out to lunch together... which means we might never see them again. In a few hours I'll start calling every bar in the neighborhood, asking the bartenders to be on the lookout... Let's all hope they make it back in time for dinner.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Easter Weekend Bits

On Easter Sunday, we gathered with Didz's extended family for a big family reunion brunch. It was nice catching up with his family, and showing off our little Easter Bunny. In a rather hectic car-packing, baby-dressing, coat-finding attempt to get out the door in time, I forgot to grab the camera. So I don't have any photos of the amazing brunch spread GrandmaDidz prepared, or the sweet smiles Ina gave her aunts and uncles (or the few tears when the big crowd was too much to handle).

Easter brunch was wonderful, but to be honest, the highlight of the weekend was Friday afternoon. We invited Didz's sister, brother and his girlfriend over to hang out for a few hours. We had a few drinks, and a few laughs. Ina got smothered with attention and love from her aunts and uncle, and it was so great spending that time together in a small group setting - big family gatherings can get pretty overwhelming for the little bug.

The other highlight was the massive, out of control, awesome breakfast burritos Didz made Easter morning (before the massive brunch). It doesn't look like much from the photo, but once it was rolled up it was bigger than my face:

This will be a busy, fun-filled week beginning with my mama's arrival tomorrow morning... So much goodness to look forward to! I hope you had a great weekend filled with chocolate bunnies and joy. Have a great week!