Rediscovering Toronto: Viv's 1st Birthday Party at Dufferin Grove Park

I mentioned earlier that while in New Orleans for a month I had a few "paradigm shifts" that I'm still working through.  The one that is perhaps the least meaningful, but the most fun is that I realized I need to take the time this Summer to fall in love with the city I'm in.  When our friends in New Orleans ask why we don't just move there already I have good answers.  Our family is here, Canada is home and we're fortunate to live here (what up, gun control...come sit over here with me, universal healthcare).  But there has to be more, right?  Maybe that makes me greedy, to want more.  But I do, folks.  And this Summer, I'm making it my mission to experience as many wonderful things here at home as I can.  What better way to start than with great friends at a 1st birthday party for one of my favourite little ladies on a beautiful day in this fine city's West End?

Hey, Dufferin Grove Park.  You are looking good.

Sarah, Ron and beautiful little Viv.

Girlfriends and their babies.  Warms the heart.

Cute couple(s) alert!!!

Sarah remains luminous and gorgeous and I remain a total goofball.  All is as it should be.

There's a candle on that cake!

I love this shot.  Look at all the happy faces on Viv's paparazzi.  So much love.

My peeps.

Ron: Father, Ring Master and Pin the Tail on the Donkey Ref.

Beautiful Sarah and Sweet Viv (she had a cold, but she was still delightful).

Michelle asked Lenny to use the face paint to draw a red heart for her to match the one stamped on her other hand.  I think she did really, really well!

Then she said, "Mommy, sit down, I'm going to paint your face.  I will make you a tiger!"

"GGGGGGGRRRRRR!!!!!!!!"

Sure, the kids in the playground and the mud pit (oh my, Lenny loves the mud pit!) were a little worried about me, but once I explained that I do not have a rare skin condition and that my 2 year old painted my face, they were cool with me. It was fun to watch them try to come up with a tactful way to ask me about my face.  It was pretty impossible.

Today was a wonderful day, with some of the best people I know in what might be my favourite park in the city.  A great way to start project Rediscovering Toronto!  Happy Birthday, sweet darling Viv! You are so loved!

My Sister from Another Mister.

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

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Remember when you were in grade school and you'd pass notes in class with your best friend?  That's the earliest forms of written communication that Annette and I took part in.  Burning questions like "What do you want to play at recess?" and "Do you like my new sweatshirt? The one with a teddy bear dressed as Tina Turner?"  Needless to say, I loved the sweatshirt (duh) and I wanted to dance a tango in the playground at recess.  Annette would lead.  Yeah, we were pretty weird kids.

Of course, the best stories always start when the weird kids find each other.  

Once we were in high school the note passing took on a serious, more long form nature.  One Friday morning, in grade 12 Law Studies, Annette wrote out a detailed missive explaining the entire plot to the episode of Seinfeld that I missed the night before.  I guess the teacher thought she was taking notes in my agenda book, but in reality she was filling me in on Jerry's trials and tribulations with a Cigar Store Indian and Frank Costanza's missing TV Guide.

When my BFF moved to Ottawa for first year University we'd send long, handwritten letters to each other. Me learning about dorm life and her new friends, she learning about my new job and getting the latest gossip from home.

Pretty soon we were grown ups, if you can call 22 year olds grown ups.  At the very least we were masquerading as adults, with schedules, office wardrobes and email.  Both of us, like virtually everybody else our age at that point, bored out of our minds at our desks, clock watching.  It wasn't acceptable to pick up the phone and call your pal to chat while you waited and waited for an assignment from your boss or for 5:30pm to finally arrive.  But sending an email?  BA-RING IT!!!

Over the past years 15 years, over email, we've counselled one another on relationship struggles, office politics, fashion, lunch orders and real estate.  We've planned a wedding, studied sonograms and picked out furniture.  We've made each other laugh, we've made each other cry.  And for me, those emails have brought our words to life the same way those handwritten notes did in grade school.

Pro tip: when choosing a best friend, find one who will take the time to fix YOUR dress on HER wedding day.
WHO DOES THAT?!

With a little luck, someday we'll be old ladies emailing each other pics of our grandkids...

There's still nobody I'd rather tango with.  Happy Birthday, Buddy.  Choosing you as my best friend reminds me daily of my impeccable taste.  Love you to death.  Email me!

Say hello to my little friends!

Lolo and Mags embark on an epic game of ring around the rosie:

On the road again...

The Christmas season is in full swing.  The Robeau, Lenny and I took a trip down to Sarnia (visiting Woodstock and London along the way) for an early Christmas with that side of the family.  I love staying in hotels with Lenny.  She's so adaptable and we get to do fun stuff like give her a bath in the sink at the Super 8.  Who wouldn't love that?

Only in that part of the world would this be considered a "continental" anything.

Sarnia Christmas was great.  Catching up with great folks and eating a killer bird.  And look at the cuteness the Clayton side of the family brings.  I mean...really.  

And I was so distracted with chit chat and munching that I only managed to get half of Lenny's cousins on my camera.  I'll have to fix that on our next trip to catch up in London.

* Music Monday will return next week with TWO Christmas tunes to make up for my absence this week.

Beach Babies

Had a really fun portrait shoot this afternoon at the beach with my friend Rachel and her munchkins.  I love shooting down by the boardwalk at this time of year, when it's less crowded.  I can't believe how big her kids are getting.  In fact...

Attention KIDS (yes, all of you): Stop growing so damn fast!  Thank you.  

You can see more over here.