knit parade: a dress for my girl

i had a lot of silly anxiety over just how many projects i would pack with me on our trip to toronto. i packed four. but finished just this one, while there, and assembled it today.

it's the elise sundress by jane richmond, knit with knitpicks cotlin. 

i am smitten.

it's such a simple knit. just around and around. 

and then you add the little crotchet details and all of a sudden it's all sweetness and light.

i should have probably made this one a bit longer. i should have also tried it on the girl as i went... but i know better for next time. and i do believe i might just squeeze another one out of my needles before the summer is over. 

i suppose it's fine for now... the mini dress length doesn't hamper her mobility. and she can eventually wear the dress as a top as her legs continue to grow.

another happy knit ending. 

us being us

just look at her!

she's at the beach and all she wants to do is get back inside the stroller. (practicing her parade wave, perhaps?)

just look at him!

it's all build, dive, and destroy all the time. (what is up with that?)

just look at the wife!

well... she is always lovely. but she does look a bit... mama bored shovelling sand into a pail (it was my turn to relax and do what i wanted. i think i took out my knitting and didn't actually knit.)

just look at me!

i've got that hands-on-hip, perma-exasperated look on my face, mama thing going on. (it was the wife's turn to relax. she read for a bit. but missed us so she walked up to where we were and snapped this photo.)

just us being us, really. 

i'm bracing myself for a difficult week full of deadlines and reviews at the job-that-pays. couple that with family life and well, let's just say that if i get some whole cooking in at all, and even a tiny bit of quality time with the wife, that'll be enough to make my week.

i'll be back tomorrow with some knits to show you. in the mean time, hope you have a fabulous start to your week!

favourite things: home in the summertime

being away was so good. 


but the lovely truth is, there's no place like home.

local strawberries

flowers from our garden

after-dinner walk

walking through the coop to check on our garden

visting the train tracks

our neighbours grow such pretty gardens

washing the gift of newly ripened raspberries

he spat the raspberries out after this shot. "it was too much."

 happy weekend! 

{gorgeous moments} some highlights from our toronto vacation

i have a lot to say about the 10 days we spent in toronto. but the long and the short of it is that while we didn't see everyone we wanted to see, or do every single thing we wanted to do, we had a really, really great time. 

these photos, by no means, represent all of the things that made this past visit to our hometown feel like a real vacation. 

in fact, many of my most favourite moments could not, would not, be captured digitally. because above all, i chose just to be present. or not. on vacation. unhampered by my self-imposed duties to... do anything except enjoy the family and friends we did have an opportunity to see, really. and that choice all by itself, well... was bliss.

so some of these photos represent the rare moments of stillness and quiet reflection. others reflect consciously enforced pauses to appreciate where we were and what we were doing at the time. and indeed, in some cases, the photos were taken by those who volunteered to help us stay in the moment.

the kids had such fabulous adventures - with and without us.

(but of course there was knitting! and late night baking!)

there were so many firsts for all of us.

the wife and i also managed to have a few adventures of our own: moments in fact, that have only ever belonged to us as we visited old haunts and rediscovered just how much has changed since the years when wandering was sometimes our only option for togetherness.

we didn't pride it up this time around. but it was enough to be among our chosen family on pride weekend. more than enough. 

(watching the new generation interact is really something to behold. it's like being witness to a break in the time-space continuum where the past, present, and future collide to reveal the miracle that the children represent to their parents and to each other. it's really hard to articulate but it's pretty darn cool.)

it has to be said that our collective families and friends really did outdo themselves this time - in the most conceivable, inconceivable, and incredibly generous ways. 

you know who you are. i am absolutely unable to express my gratitude for the space, time, expense, and love you showered us with when we were there. so i will borrow from shakespeare when i say, "silence is the perfectest herald of joy. i were but little happy, if i could say how much"

my cup runneth over. thank you.

change management: the boy on summer vacation

back from vacation, and i've got a little bit to share. perhaps tomorrow.


but today is hard. 

the boy is on summer vacation. which means he's breaking in a new nanny - who's not new at all.  she's been a part of our family for while now, actually. she's been nannying our little girl since january. which means the boy has known her since then. 


but since our nanny's never really been "in charge" of his welfare, let's just say that this morning, he's resisting any and all attempts she makes to endear herself to him. which is putting it mildly. there was a holy tornado of screaming outside my home office (bedroom) door. 


on the plus side, he told her that he didn't want to be carried because he had to pee. so, our focus on potty training over the last three days has been effective. (insert dance of joy here.)


the boy is now cooling off in his room. and my heart breaks a little, to see him so distressed, even though i know that his resistance to this change is truly non-threatening. i am literally a room away and can hear everything. not to mention the fact that it's only 5 whole hours of childcare that doesn't involve either one of his parents.


but there is no backing down here. this is where tough love needs to be forged of steel. the boy needs to understand that even though he doesn't like his current circumstances, he still has choices to make: to stay in his room or to choose to make friends; to choose to stay sulky or to find a way to make some fun out of a less desirable situation. 


and now to get on with a choice i have to make: to get focused and stay focused on getting some good headway on my current job-that-pays project, unhappy toddler notwithstanding.

---

a belated happy canada day to my fellow canadians! i love this country. i am grateful to have been brought here. i am proud my children were born here. 


happy independence day to my friends and family in the states! 


i hope y'all are having a great week so far!