The First Five Years

Nick and I said “I do!” at NYC’s City Hall 5 years ago today. That’s half a decade of marriage, people!

I feel very fortunate to have found the person I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with. In the past five years, I have experienced Nick’s generosity and love and his remarkable problem solving skills whenever we encounter a challenge, which happens often now that we are parents! Although we rarely argue, we have perfected the Art of the Argue in a way that always comes to some kind of solution or understanding. While we love being able to travel and do things together, we also both enjoy a good chunk of time spent on the couch, him watching baseball while I read, or just talking. We both have our own interests, as well as shared ones, but respect each other’s hobbies and passions. We can lean on each other when the other needs support, and I think that so far, we are kicking ass at parenthood! ;)

Here’s a look back at our first five years of marriage, if you’d like to see.

Visiting the redwood forests in Muir Woods, San Francisco during our honeymoon, 2010.

Chicago’s big bean, 2010.

Reading Festival, Reading, UK 2011

Paris, France 2011

Jamaica 2012

Stockholm, Sweden 2012

Christmas 2014, Oshawa, Ontario

Abbey Road Studios, London 2012

Babymoon in Newport, Rhode Island 2013

Christmas 2013, Oshawa, Ontario

Christina & Nick’s birthday 2012 Supper Restaurant, NYC

Julia & Jay’s wedding, Toronto 2012

Ben & Hayley’s wedding, Brooklyn 2014

November 2013 with a two week-old Henry

Christmas 2013 with the Gordons

May 2014, Brooklyn

July 2014, Brooklyn

May 2014, Brooklyn

Christmas 2014, Oshawa, Ontario

June 2015, at home in Brooklyn

June 2015, Brooklyn

I love you more than you’ll ever know, Nick. Here’s to the next five years!

Playground Politics

I’ve been dreaming of a simpler time – last summer when all Henry could do at the playground was swing.

These days, he’s big, mobile, and curious enough to do pretty much everything, though never while unsupervised. I can’t say the same for some of the parents of kids around here though. Every day at any number of the playgrounds we frequent (and we have three within a 10 minute walk) it’s a lesson in sharing, patience, and that some kids are adorable and wonderful and others… less so.

Since private outdoor space is rare around here, everyone heads to the playground. And now that school’s out, all of our spots are swarming with kids. This is great because Henry gets to see so many other kids every day. We’ve been fortunate to meet some kids around his age who are very sweet and pretty much in the same boat as Henry when it comes to sharing and playing together, meaning they’ll come up to Henry who is playing with a toy and want it, then I’ll offer them the spare toy I always bring for this situation and they’ll play alongside each other. But then there’s the unsupervised 3 and 4 year olds who will actually stalk around us until they get a chance to grab Henry’s toy when he’s not looking or it’s slightly out of reach and run away with it. There’s also the older kids who declare a portion of the playground “theirs” and that Henry can’t play with them or go up onto their structure. And then there’s the kids who zoom around the park on their scooters, knocking toddlers over with parents nowhere to be seen and then talking back to the parents of said toddlers.

I however, am always around and will always be in Henry’s corner to make sure he’s safe and happy (no matter how exhausting it all is).

I am curious – is this a common scenario where you live? How do you handle these situations with your kids? Do you let your little guys do their own thing or do you stick close by them too? How do you control your reflexes to grab 6 year olds on scooters when they’re headed straight towards your 20 month old? (I have yelled.) Any opinions welcome!

Impromptu Photo Shoots

Unplanned photo shoots – aren’t they always the best ones?

I love the photos my DSLR takes with its 50mm lens, but since Henry became mobile, it’s been more challenging to shoot manually. Then the other night after dinner, I found a school bus I’d hidden in my dresser because Henry was trying to eat the wheels off it. Now that he’s a bit older (and less likely to eat a choking hazard), he was completely enchanted with the bus, driving it around the windowsill of his bedroom.

Then… Dad came home!

Nick had his usual after work snack: Henry’s belly.

And then things got sweet.

This horseplay is a wonderful nightly occurrence, but it looks even better on camera :)

Mother’s Day, take 2!

My second Mother’s Day was fantastic! (Much better than my first.)

Nick got home from his week-long trip to London on Friday afternoon and spent the rest of the day with Henry and I. He also brought me peonies and British chocolate. Anything else that would happen would just be icing on the cake at this point!

Early Saturday afternoon, Nick filled in on bass for two songs with his friend’s band down the street, so I attempted to bring Henry in the Ergo, with his noise blocking baby headphone things. We hung at Saint Vitus for a bit, but unfortunately, his first show was not his dad playing. That’s okay. After Nick was done, we all went to the park as a family.

Today was a jam-packed, but perfect day of yoga, a quick morning visit from our friend Will, then Nick, Henry, and I took the East River Ferry to DUMBO.

Henry hadn’t ridden the boat since early last Fall, way before his new boat obsession, so he had a great time. He even got to stand out back with dad on the way there!

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, we saw a POLICE BOAT!!! (Please excuse Hank’s sunscreen-filled, sweaty, Harry from Dumb & Dumber hair ;)

When we got to DUMBO, we took Henry to the cool pirate ship-themed playground to let out some energy. I realized I’d never been to this area of Brooklyn on a summer weekend before — it was so packed with people, mostly families, that it was like the Disney World of NYC! The name DUMBO had never been more appropriate.

After Henry got to watch trucks and the subway drive over the bridges, I got a Jacques Torres ice cream sandwich, and we saw enough people to make us want to hide in our apartment, we caught the ferry for a ride back home.

Thanks to Nick and Henry for a wonderful Mother’s Day. I’m so fortunate to be Henry’s mom and Nick’s wife!

Henry is 18 Months Old!

As of this weekend, our little dude is officially a year and a half!

Since trucks are pretty much Henry’s favourite thing in the world, we celebrated by taking him on a subway ride to Touch A Truck in Prospect Park on Saturday.

There was a fire truck, tow truck, police car, ambulance, garbage truck, school bus, and more of Henry’s favourites. There was also a ton of kids so we only spent about an hour there before heading to a nearby park for a snack, then riding the subway back home (where Henry smiled at ladies during his journey).

Our 18 month old is a very funny, fun, and sweet ball of cuteness. He’s recently started to regularly give Nick and I kisses and hugs. There’s nothing better.

Since Spring arrived in Brooklyn, Henry’s been going on long walks daily using his feet, not his stroller. It has made a huge difference in his sleep and appetite. It’s also a ton of fun to watch him take in the world around him now that he can experience it more closely.

He has this adorable noise he makes when he thinks an animal is cute which he pairs with lifting one shoulder to his ear, as if he’s imagining hugging it. He’s working his way up to petting dogs with friendly owners who stop to say hi on the street and is perplexed by cats who want to hide behind fences rather than play with him.

Henry’s favourite foods at the moment are apples, raspberries, grapes, oranges, Cheerios, chicken nuggets, fish, crackers, and lentil soup from our local Eagle Trading Co., where we have started taking him out to lunch on the weekends. He’s pretty amazing at using forks and spoons. The best way to get him to eat a container of yogurt, apple sauce, or bowl of cereal and milk is to just give him the spoon and let him go for it!

I am still nursing, but just (finally) successfully eliminated one session. He now gets “a cuddle” first thing in the morning, before his nap, and before bed.

Henry has great taste in music. We still listen to The Beatles every morning at breakfast and I’ll turn on songs for him to dance to in the evening. His favourites are off a Wes Anderson soundtrack collection I found on Spotify (including songs from Fantastic Mr. Fox, Darjeeling Limited, and Royal Tennenbaums – he makes me so proud!) and really shakes his booty to the Dirtbombs. Above is a picture of him trying to turn up the volume all the way during lunch.

Henry’s not really talking yet, but is very expressive. He’s started miming and making noises to communicate including going “mmmmmmmm!” when he wants to eat, or grabbing his shoes and hoodie and sometimes even my shoes when he wants to go outside. He shakes his head yes and no. He makes a ton of different noises and has said things like “moo” for a cow, “mom” and “dadad”. No rush, Henry, I’m sure you’ll speak soon enough!

That’s our update for now. See you on Instagram for your daily dose of #dailyhank!

Hooray!

After four months of rough times – teething, leaping, frustration, whining, and most of all, exhaustion – we’re finally over the very slow, uphill ride and are coming down the other side, smiling.

It’s so important to remember that when dealing with small kids, nothing lasts forever. All things must pass. It’s just that some challenging times last much longer than others. I’m happy to report Henry is sleeping through the night again, sometimes as late as 6:45 am**! Nick has a show tonight, but I am not completely exhausted from watching Henry and planning on a 9pm bedtime, as I was likely to do a month ago. I’m currently enjoying Indian food, wine, and High Fidelity after a lovely warm day where Henry got to run around in a park and we didn’t have to wear winter coats.

Thanks to everyone for their helpful encouragement over the past few weeks and here’s to the winter woes finally ending!

**Parents will understand that this is a decent sleep at this point in our lives.

Some Daily Hank

It’s been a few months in between Henry updates, so after taking the first DSLR photos I’ve been able to snap of him since he started walking, I thought this would be a good time for one!

Little Hank here is about 16.5 months old. His baby days are long gone! It’s amazing to see his skills and interests constantly evolving. He’s traded in his former favourite toy – the plastic bottle – for megablocks and little wooden animals.

He has quite a few wooden puzzles of animals, dinosaurs, and various vehicles that he can now put in their proper spots. He can stack and nest cups, play with his megablocks, and use a fork very well!

We now let him watch a little TV each day, because when it’s an ungodly hour in the morning, you need to watch Thomas & Friends and cuddle. He’s also started watching some Baby First TV right before dinner and his waving, clapping, pointing, and other skills have actually improved.

We are currently in an exhausted limbo, waiting for his final fourth teeth, the incisors, to come in. Early mornings and midnight wakings are our current state. The photo above shows his “Muppet face” which lets us know his teeth are really driving him crazy.

Henry may be deep into toddlerhood by asserting his opinions and letting you know when he is NOT happy, but he really is such a joy. After a toddler meltdown, he’ll eventually calm and look you in the eyes and smile (maybe even do a little butt wiggling dance) and all is forgiven :)

Another one escapes NYC!

New York is losing a wonderful collection of people to Nashville today – my good friends Kate and Bryan and their “menagerie”.

Kate and I met in person in 2007 during my first visit to New York. We both worked for The Agency Group and I wanted to check out their office while I was in town. We began to see each other at shows, festivals, and bars when I was in town, and once I moved here, she was one of just two friends I had (not counting Nick, of course).

As twenty-somethings, we would plan nights of dining at tacky-but-tasty Indian food restaurants then tour the bars of the East Village for PBR and Jager specials. That morphed into trying to find Manhattan’s hidden speakeasies and sipping fancy cocktails.

We started to become actual “adults”. We saw each other get married – they even asked me to be their wedding photographer!

Then we were fortunate enough to be pregnant together, Kate just a few months ahead of me, and discovered that trading drinks for dessert was the way to go. (One evening at Eataly, we had gelato after dinner and both wondered out loud “What have we been doing? This is much cheaper and more delicious!”)

The past two years have been a mix of family get togethers and one on one visits. The 5pm Sunday dinner at Brooklyn Label with 4 adults and 3 young children became our new favourite tradition.

No matter what the activity (or stage of pregnancy), Kate was always fun. Always positive, rational, kind, outgoing, and welcoming. Kate and Bryan have been parenting role models to Nick and I – we have been lucky to have them 5 months ahead of us in child rearing and love to hear how they handled the sticky situations we currently face.

Rocco and Royce (and Ponch, Gucci, and Gambino) are fortunate to have such great parents, who care so much about them that they wanted to leave this remarkable city to bring them up in a proper house with a yard, two cars, and less pollution. New York will miss them all, but the city understands it presents some serious challenges for families (who aren’t millionaires ;)

Good luck to the Vastanos – I’m sure we will head south to visit you sooner than later!

Mom’s Weekend Off

This weekend was one worth mentioning: it was my first trip alone since Henry was born and so it was also my first night away from him. I know some mothers don’t go this long – and others go much longer – before they are able to spend a night away, but this seemed just right for us. Henry is 15 months old now, and although he still nurses, he doesn’t actually need to. I compiled a very detailed meal plan for Nick to follow in my absence, and from what I heard, it went quite well – or as well as planned meals with a toddler ever go…

What made me take the plunge and plan my first solo weekend away was an invitation to the Toronto wedding of two of my favourite friends, Karen and Matias! How could I miss it?

Their wedding was freakin’ wonderful and actually had a strict no social media rule so although I took photos of the party, this one of our cropped heads is all you get. (And no, Sarah wasn’t a naked bridesmaid.)

Deciding to fly to Canada on my own for 30 hours was the best decision I’ve made in a long time. I stayed in a hotel alone for the first time and took full advantage of my free time – when I arrived 3 hours before I had to leave for the ceremony, I promptly practiced yoga, ordered pizza, and watched The Simpsons in bed. At the wedding, I had many moments of pure joy and felt so grateful for the friends I have in Toronto. They really are the best! I kept remembering “oh yeah – I DON’T live here anymore AND I have a husband and child waiting at home for me in another country!”

The boys had a great time together. Henry, as usual, surprised us in how well he can adapt to new situations. Nick had little problems putting him down for naps and bedtime. He even got this priceless shoulder nap on Sunday!

Here’s hoping my next solo Toronto trip is only a few months away…

Christmas 2014

We flew to Toronto for Christmas with my family on Tuesday. It was quite an adventure!

Although Henry doesn’t fall asleep on planes anymore, he’s still a great flyer. Just watching the airplanes and trucks out the window is enough entertainment for him. (That, and having Dad blow his hair into funny shapes.)

We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve, as we have done for the past few years. My parents, grandparents, brother, and sister-in-law all came over to my sister’s family’s place in Oshawa.

Ben answered the door for each arriving guest in his policeman’s uniform, to make sure we didn’t have any Christmas freeloaders.

Henry enjoyed playing with his four cousins, but knew when he needed some alone time and would head over to the corner to look out the window at cars or read Goodnight Moon.

My Dad wore a pretty amazing Christmas sweater, jingly bells and all.

Jenn is still ruling at being a mom and her twins are so cute!

It was so nice to be able to hug my grandparents after my uncle passing away suddenly a few days before.

We packed everyone in for dinner at a big L-shaped table. 7 year-old Ben decided we should all give speeches afterwards. It turned into a teary, love-filled mess.

And then Jillian brightened the mood by smearing chocolate icing all over her face. I love my family.

Christmas Eve was full of video games with Uncle Ryan.

Then the kids went to bed and we got goofy while the adults exchanged gifts.

Christmas morning came far too early, but the kids were happy!

All of Henry’s presents were a hit! Especially the stacking cups (and Grandpa’s nose).

Boxing Day started with breakfast…

…And grocery shopping. Henry rode in a shopping cart for the first time and loved it! It’s always the little ordinary things when you visit the suburbs, right?

Later that day, we were so happy to have a visit from the Gordons. Blake and Henry “played together” aka stole toys from each other for a while. We also tried to take photos, but it’s not easy with toddlers!

This is the best we got:

On Saturday, we flew home – eventually. Let’s just say we have another challenging situation successfully completed in the form of entertaining a 1 year-old in an airport for 7 hours.

Until he could finally fall asleep on the plane at 9pm.

Although the trip was full of travel delays, toddler accidents, and majorly lacking in sleep, it was worth it to see my wonderful family. I hope you all had a great holiday too!