All in White for Halloween

 

Canadian holiday traditions are pretty great. I must say that I wouldn't mind if Australia cultivated a bit more of a celebratory spirit. Until such a time, I'm learning all I can from the pro's and plan to do my utmost to get into the spirit of the holidays that come along. I haven't always been a Halloween fan, but in Canada it really does make a lot of sense. The last leaves of fall cling to the tree's and there's a crisp nip in the air, it starts to get dark early which all adds to the ambiance of the holiday.

A Perfect Fall Day

 

When your time in a place is quickly drawing to a close, those would have's, could have's, should have's start to rear up. Nova Scotia really is so packed with beautiful things to see that I would have needed a good few more years to get through all I would have liked to see, but with just over a month to go until we would be leaving her shores a few old favourites and a few must do's became the focus. One of which was Victoria Park in Truro, best admired in fall when the leaves are just so and the air calls for rugging up in your finest.

Our New Baby

'Our new baby, our new baby!' The kids meeting their new brother for the first time was such a joy. They had been waiting a long time and now the wait was finally over. That afternoon, just a few hours after I'd given birth, they came into the hospital for a visit, baring celebratory cupcakes for mum and huge smiles in anticipation of meeting their brother. They came into the room so excited and then looked at Quill with the awe and wonder that abounds at the sight of a new baby. 

Welcome to the World Quill

Reflecting on Quill's birth now, a few months later, it feels completely surreal. Did I really do that? Birth is such an intense experience and when it's all through it really does feel like a victory - with the best prize of all. This pregnancy was definitely my hardest. It felt like from day one symptoms, all too familiar to me, set in and the next 9 months became a battle against my body to function in every day life. The only thing I can really say I gained from the experience (aside from my sweet babe) is an empathy for people who live with chronic pain. Some days it's hard to get even the bare minimum done. My family was patient and loving through it all and it was all in the name of a new baby, much wanted and anticipated by all, and loved before he even was. Will I do it again? I don't think so but I'm glad I did for him.

Prima Ballerina

Recently Primrose started ballet lessons on a Saturday morning and it's basically the cutest thing I have ever seen. She is the youngest in the class by a little way and is just so sweet and funny following along and then getting distracted, regaining focus and falling over trying to get her legs in the right spot. Watching her, I couldn't help but have a huge smile on my face the whole time. She absolutely loves it. You can see that she really feels like a fairy princess prancing around and having a great time. She often talks about how much she loves 'Baa-lay' and being one of the 'Princess-es-ss'. 

Mermaid for a Day ~ Primrose turns Three

We could not have asked for a more beautiful and lovely day to celebrate our girl turning three. Her birthday fell on the Victoria Day holiday so Levi had the day off and we were able to fulfill Primrose's wish to go as a family to do pool and be mermaids. We started the day with the three of us waking her to the sound of 'Happy Birthday', she was her beautiful sweet self, smiling and happy that her special day had come. She was very concious that she was two and is now three and ready to get into the action. Then it was pancakes and two presents, dollies from mummy and grandma who have been waiting two years til she was the right age to have them. Primrose loved them on sight, she is a dolly girl for sure.

Smile, you're Six

I love birthdays and as the children grow and their excitement for their birthdays grow, I get so much joy out of making a happy day for them from start to finish. We have instilled the 'party every second' year rule from my childhood and this year that mean't Finley had a family birthday, which I think is just as fun!