Looking Back: Eliot's "First" Summer

Now that the dust has settled from our move and I have a little more time on my hands I've decided to blog about some of the things I've appreciated in the past little while but didn't have time to write about. First on the list is this past summer with Eliot.

Though Eliot has already technically lived through a summer (having been born last March), I consider this year to be his first. It was so much fun. Perhaps it was because he was old enough to run around and delight in the great outdoors but too young to heed the siren song of the ice cream truck. Eliot got a real taste of what summer has to offer with Andrew and Sarah Schmidt next door and his 3-year-old cousin, Maddie, in Milwaukee for a visit. Some of his favorite activities included:

• Playing in the sandbox
• Swimming
• Snacking on watermelon
• Pushing a stroller, shopping cart, anything with wheels, around the block and using said vehicle as a receptacle for sticks, leaves, rocks, etc.
• Going for rides in the wagon
• Swinging
• Going down slides
• Learning to say "bubble"
• Visiting Lake Michigan
• Tasting new foods like raspberries and cherry tomatoes
  

Watching Eliot discover the joys of summer has been a delight and I'm looking forward to every new season with their special adventures in store.

All Moved In

So, some of you might be saying to yourself, "Nora and Spencer have been up in Toronto since Sept 1, why is she just now saying they're 'all moved in'?" Well, that's because I just now feel "all moved in." Like with most other population centers, space is at a premium here in Toronto which means that our new apartment is somewhat smaller than our last one. This has made unpacking something of a challenge. Or, as my mother would say, like trying to stuff 50 lbs of potatoes into a 20 lbs bag. But the upside is that it has served as a keen test for my organizational skills as well as an effective sieve for all the needless junk we'd been hauling about with us simply because we had the space.

So now after feeling like an over-stuffed storage locker for about a week, our little apartment is starting to feel like home. Just in the nick of time too, because Eliot is, as I type this, on the road with my parents making his way across the border. We can't wait for our little guy to arrive. Then it will really be home.

Spencer and I have taken a few excursions in the city and I've been impressed with what I've seen. We took a trip down to Toronto's lakefront and had a lovely walk that included stumbling across a vegetarian food fair. There always seems to be something going on here. The Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing and while we haven't come across any celebs, word is the place is crawling with them. All in all, I'm really pleased with my new Canadian digs and looking forward to getting to know this city over the coming year.