{gorgeous moments}

when i began this blog in the beginning of the year, i decided that fridays would feature {this moment} - copying adopting the ritual originated by soulemama, featuring a single photograph, without words.

i am finding, however, that seldom is it that there is only one photo in the week i would like to feature. not to mention the fact that most often, i really do want to share why the moment i've managed to capture is so special. and so i hereby discontinue my {this moment} posts in favour of a new friday ritual.

{gorgeous moments}, borrowing its original inspiration from soulemama's ritual, will still be all about the photos but will  feature any number of moments that merit savoured remembrance. sometimes there will be words. sometimes there won't be. it's my party after all. 

here are some of my favourite moments from earlier in the week, taken from our twilight tuesday trip to the aquarium, on the eve of the boy's birthday.


in between chasing the boy - and the girl, there are always moments of collective discovery: an opportunity to catch our breath and watch the babes process all that is new and revisit all that they know so far. 


looking on in wonder at the natural world, all four of us, all over again = my favourite.

discovering anemones

enoki mushroom-like tendrils 

crab encounter

whale watching

friendliest harbour seal

seal follows the hand

plays peek-a-boo

jellyfish rock

they really do

knit parade: one hexi-puff

i've been sharing all manner of project updates over the last little while and all i have to show for is one little hexi-puff.

what is a hexi-puff, you ask? it's a little piece in a pattern called the beekeeper's quilt by tiny owl knits. 


the plan is to cover my tired, uninspired, office chair with hexi-puffs made with scrap sock yarn from projects past. the yarn i used for this project, for example, is left over from socks i knit for both the wife and the boy and a pair of little slippers i knit for the girl.


the wife has since worn out her socks. i have no idea where the boy's socks are anymore. and the girl barely wore hers because when i remembered to put them, her feet were too tiny. so they've since been relegated to the role of christmas ornaments.


the point is, when i knit my first hexi-puff, i was flooded with memories of my loves. which, of course, is bliss; and makes me want to knit more. 


anyhoo, it's going take a while, but each wee thing doesn't take too long to knit up and i expect i'll have a decent pile in which to cover my chair with memories i can sit on soon enough.

my goodness, the boy is three.

the boy who was born a ram in the year of the ox.

of course, it was love at first sight. i remember the moment he was handed to me. the tangible realization that the weight i was carrying was transferred from my belly to my chest. he was real.

the word "belonging" never held its meaning more as we all grew together in his first two years.

the second year was overwhelming for all of us. it was such a time of change. 

it was - and continues to be incredible, to listen to him speak and share what's on his mind.

it was our pleasure to jump on all the bandwagons he chose to explore. no doubt, it was the year of the dinosaur. but there was also curious george and belugas and orcas, too.

i even have a healthy respect for his defiance and strong will. as much as it infuriates me in times of necessary discipline, i am so proud of both his courage and his conviction.

and i am so grateful for his sense of humour. and how much he loves to laugh. or hug. no matter how scary i get. and i do get quite scary. perhaps even scarier than necessary sometimes. 

i love the spirit in which he chooses to explore the world: with one foot in front of the other, a question formulating with his furrowed brows.

happy, happy birthday my son.  bring on your version of three. i'm quite sure i'm not ready for it but i am up for the adventure.

love,

mama

womb memories

my dearest friends once told me that at ages two and three, a child still has memories of their time in the womb; and that  sometimes they're able to articulate what they remember.  

the same friends told me that when they asked their son, then 3, what he remembered from being in his mama's womb, his answer was, "blub." 

this story did not prepare me for the conversation i had with the boy, not two days ago.

me: son, do you remember what it was like to be in mama's belly?  

the boy: uh-huh.me: really? what was it like? 

the boy: i can't see you. 

me: [slightly caught off guard]  you couldn't see me?  

the boy: yeah.  

me: so... you wanted to see me but you couldn't see me? 

the boy: yeah. 

me: huh. do you remember hearing anything else?  

the boy: talking. 

me: you remember hearing talking?  

the boy: yeah. 

me: [speechless, mouth gaping]

i so loved being pregnant. i really, really did. it must have been like, the "disneyland" of pregnancies because i was the happiest, jolliest preggers you would have ever met. 

january 2008
photo by kelly

many will attest that this was not their experience. but i really loved knowing that the boy was inside me. every movement was an inside joke. i would sit in meetings at work and instead of getting caught up in "drama," i'd rub my belly and smile to myself as the boy hiccuped, just to let me know that there are more important things in life than whatever was the concern of the day.

i loved feeling that he was growing. that i had no idea who he was and yet,  with every passing moment he became an inextricable part of my life force. 

and what he remembers - what he tells me he remembers, was that it irked him that he couldn't see me. that he heard talking. 

me, the wife, and the boy in the womb
january 2009
photo by kelly 

i'm not sure why i am all awe that these are his womb memories. but i am. 

perhaps it's because the boy rarely stops talking himself, these days.

or maybe it's because a lot of the talking i do is a direct result of anger or irritation - reflex reactions for inappropriate toddler behaviour. sometimes uncalled for, other times necessary - neither of which is my favourite.

or... because i am now able really cherish the "real" conversations we have... when he tells me the story of how he got hurt,  why he's sad, what they did in school, and blessedly, what he's happy about and what he can't wait to do or see. and especially, the golden moments when he says, "i love you, too." 

the boy
9 weeks in utero
august 2008

midnight tonight marks the moment, when three years ago, my body was a literal lightning in a bottle, storming to give way to the remarkable little boy i will spend the rest of my life getting to know. i became a mother.

i'm so glad i interviewed the boy about his womb memories. 

because as a mother, what i want for our family, the foundation of what we are trying to build every day (though some days are better than others), has never been clearer: that our little foursome will want to see each other often and always; and that we never stop talking - and listening - to each other, especially when it's most difficult to do so. come what may.

one day a week: trying new things

after a very long stretch of illness, which included a visit from my parents, our little family is finally coming back to centre. this weekend, we spent our one day a week trying new things.

i got up very early in the morning to attend my very first knitting class.

the boy went to his very first art class.

and we got a new book to read. a new family fave.

it was a ridiculously beautiful day.

we attended the very first birthday party the boy has ever been invited to, outside of family. which meant a fabulous opportunity to return to granville island.

the girl had her first encounter with ducks and geese. if she had it her way, we would be in the water   with them.

and then we all knocked out together at 8pm, an indication to be sure that it was a very good day indeed. (though i got myself up again at 9:30pm where i knit for 3 hours whilst discovering season one of game of thrones. but that stolen moment is another matter all together.)

it has been too long since our last one day a week adventure. now if only the weather would cooperate long enough for a walk in the woods. i've been talking about that for nearly a year now.

but first, there is another birthday to plan for. and perhaps just a bit of last minute crafting. we'll see.

{this moment}

a friday ritual i've adopted from one of my favourite mama bloggers, soulemama.

each week, she (and others she's inspired) shares a single photograph, without words, of a moment to be savoured and revisited.


this week, i'm going to break "the rules" and give you all the reasons i am in love with this photo:

: the tulips the wife planted for me last fall are growing.


: there are tulips from peeking the hole inside the stump we brought with us when we moved here last year.


: unbeknownst to either of us, the boy planted those bulbs in the stump. i guess he took some when the wife wasn't looking and stuffed them in last fall.


: the wife carried that stump two blocks from the school near our old place, and up three stories, to our old apartment. she was five months pregnant with the girl at the time.


: the girl is smiling in this pic. and for some reason, until now, i haven't been such a quick draw at capturing that smile. it occurs often. and it's my favourite.


: the girl is clad entirely in clothes previously worn by the boy at this age - save the hat, which i made with my hands.

happy friday!!!

favourite things: on granville island

or, what we did to celebrate our anniversary...

the view from bridges restaurant, where we legally married

perfectly-made caffeinated beverages and latte art

blue hydrangeas for my girl

unusual (to this climate, anyway) florals

stationary, anything screen printed on canvas or linen

taking a moment to breathe in 17 years

first walk of spring

it was by coincidence that we collectively jumped at the chance to get outside and take a walk on this first day of spring. really, we've all been in and out of ill for the last three weeks (or more), i honestly could not remember the last time we went for a walk for the sake of it.

so we took a turn around the train tracks, just to find our outdoor feet again.

it was so much colder than we would've wanted. this cold spell we've been experiencing - not my favourite.

but i don't think this little girl noticed. were the ground warm enough, i might have just let her crawl and toddle at leisure.

there is always so much to explore in the community gardens. so many of our neighbours are starting to prepare to start their gardens in earnest.


but some of the things i admired were around all winter. 

these teeny succulents are so adorable!

but for the cold we probably would've stayed out longer.

hello spring. it's nice to see you again. isn't it time it warmed up again please? 

pretty please? 

thanks!

celebrating 17 years

if you had told these two 17 years ago that they'd end up legally married, living in vancouver, with two beautiful children, they very well would have laughed their heads off and probably would have made to move as far away from each other as possible.

yep. that's some sort of food stain on the photo.
taken 17 years ago on our grade 13 retreat.

they were only 19 and 18 after all. gay marriage was far from legal in canada. and being together would have meant many years of tearing down belief systems, building them up again, and then fighting to stay together. and how in the world would they manage to make babies?


thankfully, these girls didn't know what they were doing. they were just two crazy kids who happened to fall in love. in the closet. out of the closet. then defiantly out of the closet. and then gay marriage was legalized. there was as a lucky opportunity to move to vancouver... 


and here we are.

when we were in high school, we learned that the text book definition of love (from our religion class as taught to us by sister power) is "to seek and to foster the good of others in the context of concrete situations."


marriage is hard, hard work. 17 years later, there have been loads of "concrete situations." we continue to work hard to stay connected amid the chaos of work and family life. we try to remember to laugh through the unexpected. we try to take turns being "it" so the other can have a rest. 


happy anniversary, dear wife. 

i know how lucky i am. thank you. i love you (exactly as taught by sr. power) and i daresay, i remain madly in love, too.


let's work together to celebrate us today, ok? 


p.s.
your anniversary socks are late. i'm about half way done the second sock but have had no opportunity to focus my attention on the heel. but i promise to knit you a new pair every year from this point forward.

{this moment}

a friday ritual i've adopted from one of my favourite mama bloggers, soulemama. 

each week, she (and others she's inspired) shares a single photograph, without words, of a moment to be savoured and revisited.

catching up: belated birthday girl report

pardon my absence. it turns out that the cold i thought i thwarted with a bit of r & r has had this family walloped. the wife and kids are still sick and i have been hit harder then they. i lost my voice yesterday and my body still seems intent on keeping me horizontal but i refuse to concede. mostly, because i can't. duty calls. even if i called in sick to the paying job, my kids still need me to be their mama. and so i'm up, working, typing, and finally - after days of quiet, blogging.


the girl had a lovely birthday, surrounded by the people she knows and loves, as well as visiting grandparents she's still getting to know.

we had hoped to take her for a solo park date with her moms after dropping her brother off at school. but the rain had other ideas for us. so we hung out in a nearby cafe where we let the girl indulge in her first taste of a cinnamon roll.

after which, were continued party preparations.


it was all about keeping things simple and remembering the day the girl was born.

i wish i had just one good picture of us blowing out the candle. in my sick brain fog, i didn't think to turn on even one light to allow me to take a good photo of the girl's bewilderment and the boy's persistence at being the one to blow out the candle. duh.  


to boot, the pics we took didn't even turn out that fabulous. i got a new camera and i'm still learning how to use it. i find it takes great photos in good light but needs to be tempered somehow in darker lighting. hmn. ah well.


all in all, we celebrated the girl. and that what is most important.

and the crown? we finished it, just in the very nick of time. and she loves it. so yay!