Tuesday 28 May 2013

Pictures for Daddy

This great family session was too adorable not to share. Amanda and her daughters wanted to do something sweet for dad, who's working in another province. We ran around the orchards being silly and captured some nice moments to make him smile when he's missing his best girls.







Monday 27 May 2013

The Big Apple, and Apple Sauce


A long weekend in New York City is surprisingly delightful with a tiny human in your arms. Whereas a few years ago I would have enjoyed some solid party-going; this trip I took the time to visit a few real gems in this great city and fit in a little work as well. I had some meetings for the acting side of my world and since I have family in the city, I decided to bring my tiny girl with me to enjoy some touring and visiting with her auntie Leela and her soon-to-be husband, Marc. Sharing New York in the Springtime, with a young couple about to start their life together, is pretty darn special.

We wandered through Brooklyn, Central Park, Soho, Greenwich Village and Little Italy eating and chatting with people everywhere we went. It's delightful how travelling with children opens you up to strangers young and old. Being a parent is so universal, it is something so fundamental we have in common. We all love our kids, and we appreciate that in others I think. From the Hasidic gentleman who offered his seat on the subway, to the young Latina who brought us our world famous pizza, I found kindred spirits all over the great NYC. Folks who would smile knowingly at my squirmy baby as she nose-dives into my gourmet cupcake.

I'm constantly amazed by how well my little girl adapts and how much fun I have showing her new things. New York was warm and mild compared to the freakishly cold Spring in Montreal. We walked for miles and took the trains from sun-up to sundown. My dainty girl gazed calmly from her cozy spot in the Ergo baby carrier and waved at strangers, flashing her smile and making friends everywhere we went. Having kids can make the world seem like a scary place - your heart crawling around with a mind of its own, tiny and vulnerable. However, I prefer to see the friendlies everywhere; the majority of people; moms and dads; brothers and sisters who hold the door, give up their seat and laugh with you when your baby showers her date with lemonade.

The Big Apple is full of friendlies.










This was the expression on her face throughout the museum!









Saturday 4 May 2013

Spring

There is something about Spring...

I'm a hopeless romantic, a shameless enthusiast and an avid nature girl. I tend towards melancholy in the long winter months; but I don't suffer from it. It's a quiet melancholy, a sigh rather than a sob. I like to be lazy and read with hot tea, put on movies in the morning for no reason and lounge in my sweats all day. Springtime brings a burst of energy and JOY that I'm always giddy about. I throw open the windows and listen to the birds and bugs waking up. I smile a little bigger at my great neighbours, I play in the dirt with my kids... I am never bored of the emerging life that is visible everywhere you look in the north-eastern canadian spring. It's amazing that so much colour and potential is sleeping soundly under the grey snow for months and then with a few days of warm sun, it shoots up and unfurls and grows again. It is downright poetic and I'm always moved by the magic of it.

Our first days of real Spring meant a clean-up of our garden, which my husband cherishes. I like to plant once things are tidy (I know!). My son has been wearing work gloves for 4 days straight and I could barely get him to remove them for bath time. He thought it was hilarious that he could go outside without shoes on. My baby daughter is all smiles and giggles, hammering fist-fulls of dirt into her mouth every time I turn my back for a second. We all watch with interest the different birds that come to the feeder at home and try to learn their names. A visit to Quinn Farm gave us the opportunity to meet two new kids (baby goats!) who were hours old, nursing from their mother in the barn. Watching very young children experiencing the rebirth of this season is magnificent. Their unfiltered awe is really the most appropriate state to honour the great Mother that is Nature. Aren't we lucky to live here?

Here is: The first ice cream cone, new babies on the farm, a chicken friend, an outdoor playpen, joy in the hay, the mouthfuls of dirt, and general fun in the sun. These are just iphone on-the-go photos, but now that Spring is here, the camera is OUT. Stay tuned :)