Happy Birthday Major

it's only fitting to share a picture of major in his favorite spot... waiting for food!

Hard to believe our beloved doodle turned 5 years old yesterday.  The occasion was celebrated early with a trip to the vet due to his lethargic nature last week.  Upon entering the office, Major displayed a huge burst of energy and proved that while he is no longer a spring chicken, he is still learning new tricks.  

Through the Eyes of a Child

Once upon a time.  James Robert is tirelessly hungry for stories that begin with that refrain.  Are all toddlers?  His favorite character happens to share his namesake!  We tell lots of stories about going on adventures big and small: going to the park, riding bikes, riding trains.  Some details are mine, but many are his creation.

Just yesterday he asked me to tell a story about when he was a baby.  It tugged at my heartstrings to recount the story of him joining the world and making us a family of 3.  It also made me fall in love with this stage of his development.  Sure, we had a meltdown at the park today (who doesn't want to go home when there are sticks to collect?).  Sure, getting out of the house could take close to an hour when a two year old wants to do everything on their own.  But how precious it is to share family stories, especially with an enraptured listener.

Our daily activities become the fabric of our tales. And when you look at it that way, doesn't a sunny day in the park become something much more magical?

Happy Birthday Mat + First Spring Day

We had glorious sunshine and double digit temperatures to celebrate Mat's Birthday.  And since we can't be certain it won't snow again, we squeezed every last drop of warmth of from yesterday.

Ernest Hemingway said, “when spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest."  And so that is what we did.  

We enjoyed breakfast on a bench downtown, played in the park, walked along the lake and if we would have let him, James Robert would have gladly napped outside.  

I think we forgot what it feels like to sit outside and feel warm.  Watching my boys literally frolic in our yard was the best possible way to celebrate Mat's birthday!  

The Easter Cake

As a coconut fanatic, I get especially excited about Easter desserts.

This year, I found the perfect cake by mixing and matching a few recipes.  It will now be heralded the Easter cake in our house- a tradition has been born.  In order to re-create this masterpiece for years to come, I'm sharing my notes below.  

Recipe: 

Cake:
1 (20 oz) can of crushed pineapple
1 box of vanilla cake mix

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 2 (9-inch) cake pans with cooking spray and then flour
2) Drain pineapple; reserve juice. Divide crushed pineapple in half; set aside.
3) Prepare cake mix according to package directions replacing amount of water called for with reserved juice; beat 2 minutes. Fold in half crushed pineapple into cake batter.
4) Pour cake mix into prepared cake pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Icing:

2 sticks of butter, softened 
1 block of cream cheese, softened
1 pound of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla1/4 cup of milk 
1 bag of sweetened coconut flakes 

Directions:Cream together butter and cream cheese.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.  Stir together until creamy - do not whip.  Cover the outside of the cake with as much coconut as you like. 

Easter 2015

This is what a Canadian Easter looks like:

If you didn't know any better, you would have thought it was Christmas.  But despite the snow, we did our best to ignore the weather and celebrate.

We visited a farm to see the baby animals and James Robert loved being hands-on.

The Easter bunny was especially kind this year.

After a jelly bean filled morning we went to church and brunched at home.

A Canadian Right of Passage

It's a peculiar yet (seemingly) universally beloved Canadian dish.  Poutine.

I'd never heard of this concoction of french fries, gravy and cheese curds before crossing the boarder. But never one to back down from culinary exploration, we ventured out this weekend for some taste testing.

It may not be my next craving, but it was certainly fun to see what all the fuss is about.  

March 2015

In like a lion.... out like a lion so March 2015 will go down in the books.  Weather-wise, we're in still in the throws of winter.  But we did our best to brighten our March days with celebrating big and small occasions. A joyous second birthday, our new house looking more and more like a home, wonderful Grandparents coming to visit and a St Patty's day feast.  xx