Garden update

I'm so grateful for our yard. Each day, about 15 minutes before Nathan's bedtime, Jay takes him outside to the backyard, just to hang out. They walk around (Nathan can walk nearly the whole width of the yard now), eat cherry tomatoes off the vine, touch the apples, or just sit on the grass. It's lovely.

I enjoy the wonderful 15 minutes of silence in the house :)

There's only one little thing I don't like about our yard: our sunflowers. They are Jay's favourite flowers and he planted them along the back fence. But I find sunflowers a bit...creepy. They have such large heads that droop from their weight, and they're much larger than any flower ought to be. Anyway, I keep my mouth shut because Jay loves them. Except now there's something even creepier than our giant sunflowers - ones with multiple heads! Ack!

Good thing we have a beautiful rose bush I can focus on instead.

Our apples will probably be ripe for the picking in a few weeks. I ate this one today, and while it looked lovely, it was a bit tasteless.

And...here's Nathan taking a couple of steps.

First steps

I finally managed to capture a short video of Nathan taking a few steps yesterday. My cute little man looks so proud of himself.

This photo was taken with my new iPhone 5. It's so much sharper than the iPhone 4S

Summer Love

Last year, I lamented that having a newborn in June meant that summer just passed me by. I was stuck inside a condo with a cranky needy newborn, and the rigamarole of taking an elevator down 25 stories and carrying Nathan in his heavy carseat and all the baby gear into my car in the underground parking garage made necessary outings (like doctor appointments) difficult, never mind just getting out to enjoy the weather. By the time I felt like I had a handle on things, it was already autumn.

Well, what a difference a year makes. Having a toddler in the summer is delightful! He loves being outside, exploring the grass, fruit trees and vegetables in our garden. When the wind blows and ruffles his hair, he giggles and claps his hands.

I'm back at work part-time and it has been the best of both worlds. I get to interact with adults in a professional role, and still spend lots of quality time with my busy boy.

At the end of June, we went to a resort in the Dominican Republic with sixteen family members on my mom's side. I was nervous about how the trip would go with a toddler in tow....plane rides, sleeping in an unfamiliar place, naps!, new foods, etc. but it went SO well. Nathan had an amazing time. He loved swimming in the pool and ocean, playing in the sand, eating at the buffets, napping poolside in his stroller, and charming everyone with his toothy grin. The only difficult part of the trip was the return flight home, when the timing meant his nap got delayed for 1.5 hours, and he cried really hard for about twenty minutes during take-off. That was pretty awful, but after such a great week I could hardly complain. Would you believe that I took ZERO photos the entire trip? Here are some I gleaned from my mom and Uncle Alan.

Happy on his first flight

Four generations

Last week, we went up to the cottage with Jay's sisters and their families. It was so nice to spend time together, and the kids (aged 1, 2, 3 and 4) were a whirlwind of activity from 7:00am to 7:00pm. It was great to get out of the city. I had a moment of nostalgia as we pulled into the driveway with Nathan for the first time, remembering all the summer weekends I spent there in my childhood, and now Nathan would have those magical cottage experiences too.

 

It wasn't easy getting a photo with all four cousins in the frame

Nathan has been practicing standing by himself for the past few weeks, and he took his first steps at the cottage! He's still pretty unsteady but I suspect he'll be walking in the next month or so.

Look, Ma - no hands!

There's a park in our neighbourhood that we walk to quite often, which has a playground and splash pad. Nathan likes the swings and slide, and loves the water sprinklers.

Skunk Friend

Jay has a skunk friend. This isn't a snarky dig or a euphemism for any of his friends or anything. There is literally a skunk that lives in our neighbourhood that likes to hang out with Jay.

The first time I saw Skunky, I was in my car pulling out of my driveway late at night. My headlights shone on him as he crossed our front lawn.

The second time, Jay was working in the garden and it started to get dark so I turned on the back house lights for him. Skunky happened to be in the back corner of the garden too, and initally froze when the lights turned on. Then he saw Jay and started making his way towards him. Jay hastily packed up his gardening tools and came inside. Skunky looked a bit hurt.

Tonight, a few minutes ago, Jay and I were out in the garage discussing some possible improvements and Skunky poked his head in, saw Jay, and wandered in. He looked like he wanted to join our conversation. But Jay and I eased ourselves out of the garage and bolted back into the house.

Poor Skunky.

Riverdale Farm

After a week of heavy rain, flooding in Toronto streets and a power outage, it was a relief to have a beautiful sunny day. After Nathan's morning nap we spontaneously decided to head down to Riverdale Farm, located just 20 minutes away, tucked in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood downtown. A bucolic setting in a decidedly urban environment. Funding for the farm (which offers free admission to the public) was on the City of Toronto's chopping block a few months ago but luckily, due to petitions and public outcry, funding has been extended. Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy the farm for years to come.

We had lunch on a patio nearby and then strolled around the farm, looking at horses, donkeys, cows, pigs, chickens, roosters, sheep, pigs, ducks and goats.

Family selfie

Afterwards, we passed by a little shallow splash pool nearby where kids and parents were walking and splashing about, I wish I had taken a photo of Nathan's expression. I thought he would like to splash in it, but he furrowed his brows and gave a look that, after a week in an oceanside resort, clearly said "That's no ocean, Mama. That's a concrete puddle." Spoiled baby.

Our First Garden

This is the first summer we've had a garden, and Jay was able to turn it from a weed jungle into a thriving vegetable garden. It took him a lot of sweat equity, but was totally worth it. We've got snow peas, green beans, zucchini, sunflowers, lettuce, tomatoes and three carrots. Oh and a bunch of Chinese leafy greens that my grandma planted, but we have no idea what they are. There's a cute little bunny that likes to visit our yard, and even without any protection, most of our veggies are in great shape. I think the bunny likes bok choy, so that hasn't fared too well but the rest of the garden has been left alone.
 

Our garden - 3 weeks ago

Our garden yesterday - it suddenly got crazy big after we returned from our holiday last week

 

Snow peas (left) and green beans (right)

Lettuce and tomatoes

Jay loves plucking snow peas right off the plant and popping them into his mouth. Nathan enjoys them too!

A proud gardener (left to right: snow peas, beans, zucchini, sunflowers (in back), lettuce, tomatoes) Not pictured: 3 carrot plants, various Chinese veggies hidden in the back

Last night, I made a simple stir-fry using freshly picked zucchini, snow peas and green peas. So tasty!

The previous owners must have loved roses, because we've got about a dozen rose bushes of different varieties. Also, some lilies, hydrangeas, sedem, hostas, and a bunch more.

Our fruit trees are doing pretty well this year. We ate some cherries (a little tart, but nice) and are waiting patiently for our apples to ripen in the fall. Unfortunately, prime cherry picking season seems to have coincided with our weeklong vacation to the Dominican Republic, so we missed out. There's also an apricot tree, but the fruits seem to fall off the limbs quite easily and don't look very edible...

For newbie gardeners like ourselves, I'm really pleased with how our garden has turned out. I was secretly worried that nothing would grow, and all of Jay's hard work would be dashed but instead the reverse is true - we've got way more veggies than we bargained for!

For more gardening goodness, check out Jay's sisters' outdoor blog.

Letters to Nathan: Twelve Months

My Dear Nathan,

One year ago today, you came into this world, perfect and beautiful. A healthy 6lbs 5oz, with wailing lungs and tiny hands. You were so fragile and helpless. As you snuggled into my arms and breathed little sighs of sleepiness, I felt a sense of calmness and recognition, as if I had known you all along and we had just been reunited. It took both of us awhile to adjust to you being out in the world, and while I would make mistakes along the way, you never seemed to mind. Today, you are no longer a baby. You're a toddler. Except that you'll always be my baby.

I can't believe all that you've accomplished this past month. You learned to crawl (and boy, you're fast!), pull yourself up to stand, and walk along holding onto furniture. You're fearless, maybe a little too fearless. You walk along the table and when you reach the corner, instead of turning, you just continue on your trajectory and take a leap of faith. Luckily, someone has always caught you but I'm trying to teach you to round the corners now. With so much going on developmentally, you suddenly had trouble falling asleep. You're still napping twice a day and sleeping deeply at night, but it takes you longer to fall asleep and there's usually some protesting involved beforehand.






You've got a mischievous grin and a burgeoning sense of humour. You do things to try to make me laugh now, instead of the other way around. Your face shines with pure delight.

We had a big family BBQ to celebrate your birthday, and you had your first taste of cake (chocolate banana, yum!). You didn't seem to know what to do with your cake at first, and eventually conceded that it was fairly tasty but you would prefer to eat grapes and blueberries.

Oh, and you said "Mama" a few times! All my coaching the past six months has finally paid off.

Nathan, what a wonderful little boy you've become. Your dad and I love being your parents and feel that we are just the luckiest little family of three.

Playing Peek-a-Boo with Mumma and Daddy

Morning Yoga: Downward Facing Dog pose

"Look Ma, only one hand!"

"I don't like baby jail"

First time in the pool

Eating birthday cake in your birthday suit

 

Last set of monthly photos

A look back in the past year:

When I first started writing these letters to you, I thought it would be a wonderful way to chronicle all the little details of your first year. I saw it as an online memory box. Now I see that these are actually love letters that I've written. Love that includes grand sweeping moments of heart soaring euphoria, the daily drudgery of duties and diapers, and everything in between. It wouldn't be right to say that I didn't know love before I met you, but I certainly had never experienced this consuming, unconditional, always-in-my-thoughts kind of love until you came along. I think of you when I wake up and before I fall asleep, and every single moment in between.

I look into your eyes and I see everything that is good and right with the world. A year ago, you made me into a mother. Your mother. Forever and always - you are mine, and I am yours.

Love always,
Mumma