THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - January Edition

This is a bit late because holidays. I feel like I’m slowly reassembling my life after being away for the past half-month. We even took down all of the Christmas in our house today so it really feels like it’s actually over.

Happy new decade, you guys!!! I’m so happy to be entering the 20s with all of you at my back. I’m looking forward to a brand new decade of supporting each other and lifting each other up. ♥

December was extremely holiday-heavy and a lot of fun!

We kicked the month off appropriately with Archie going to see Santa Claus. He really understands who Santa is and what he does now - and needless to say, he loves him.

Then I took Archie to CBC Kids at Sounds of the Season, which was basically a big kids Christmas concert downtown. Archie loved getting to meet some of his favourite TV characters like Mr. Orlando the moose and the characters from True and the Rainbow Kingdom.

We visited the Toronto Christmas Market, which was super lovely. They do such a great job of making it the perfect Christmastime thing to do.

Tim and I attended Ubisoft’s Holiday Party, which was called “Adventures in Wonderland.” It was pretty awesome! I tried to go for a “queen of hearts” type of look. The party involved four different rooms that were all done up in various themes from Alice in Wonderland. The whole party was open bar with lots of different food (including edible balloons filled with helium). Plus tons of fun activities!

Then we had our Friends Christmas Party with my Toronto friends, which was great as always. I love all of the quality time that I get to share with them! We all have kids now, so it’s pretty great to involve the kids in everything too.

We then celebrated our own (early) Christmas and Archie was completely willing to accept that Santa was making a special trip to our house just for him. (Why wouldn’t he?!) It was really special to see how much Archie enjoyed Christmas this year.

Christmas morning: ONE!

Then Archie and I flew off to Regina!

The first thing that I did was take a little road trip up to Tisdale with Nadine to visit Sarah! We also went to Saskatoon to visit Candice!

I got to meet Nadine’s baby boy Brady for the first time AND Candice’s son Rhys for the first time. Candice and I were pregnant at the same time!

Back in Regina I also got to have a few hangouts with Carrie, which were great. My BEST new Regina discovery was easily Beaks Chicken!! It’s a new fried chicken place and IT IS SO GOOD!! I went twice! I highly recommend it to anyone in Regina! (Get the Chicken Sandwich and Hot your Chicken! I will definitely be getting this every time that I visit Regina from now on. Their donuts are very good too.)

We celebrated the January birthdays in my family (my Dad, me and Archie) by going out to dinner at Enso for sushi. We all got presents!

We threw a Regina Friends KIDS BASH!, which was basically just a little party for all of the kids to play together. They all seemed to enjoy it! It was super nice to get to see Heather!

We went tobogganing one day, which was funny. Archie loved it. This is all three of us crammed onto the sled.

We had the annual Regina Friends Christmas Party and it was great! We had dinner at Avenue and it was delicious. I would say that it’s my favourite restaurant in Regina. I loved getting to see Crystal!

And then finally it was real Christmas and we had a great time celebrating it with my family. ♥

Christmas morning: TWO!

Tim and I both agreed that we really enjoyed our time in Regina a lot. I was there for 11 days in total and we actually felt very relaxed. My parents were so amazingly helpful with Archie (and took care of him on many occasions so that we could go out without him) and it made such a big difference for us. We were so appreciative. It really made us see how different (and better!) our life would be if we had that kind of support on a more regular basis. We would totally have a second child if this was the case. Unfortunately, this isn’t our reality and we have to create the best life possible for ourselves given our circumstances. (IE: No second child. Which I’m fine with. It’s not like I’m a big “kid person” in the first place.)

After that we were off to London!

We had a great time with our large family and all of the kids (six of them!) loved spending time together. We celebrated a late Christmas together and it was really nice.

Christmas morning: THREE!

I got to meet Mackenzie, my newest niece for the first time too!

On New Year’s Eve we threw a little party for the kids in the afternoon, complete with a countdown, bubbly, and outfits. It was really cute! In the evening we stayed home - but we DID stay up until midnight.

On New Year’s Day my sister-in-law and I attended a two-hour Yoga For YOU class that was really amazing. It was all about unwinding from the holiday hustle and reconnecting with the inner you. Releasing, relaxing and recharging. I loved it.

Tim and I both agreed that we found our time in London a bit more challenging. We were there for 5 days in total and we never felt very relaxed. It’s very chaotic with all of the people and all of the kids tornado-ing around. Tim’s parents tried to be helpful with Archie but their attention is spread pretty thin with all of the kids. On top of that they aren’t doing so well mentally and physically. Tim and I are also just different from Tim’s siblings in the way that we parent and our general outlook on life. Not that there’s anything wrong with being different. Needless to say, we were happy when it was all over and we were able to return home to our real life.

And so that was our holiday season! PHEW! I loved it but I’m also relieved to move on from it.

Life with Archie:

The biggest news with Archie is that he had his Speech Re-Assessment appointment and the specialist recommended that we close his file because he no longer requires speech therapy! What a relief!! I already suspected that this was the case but it was really great to get confirmation from a professional. I am so happy and relieved that Archie’s speech has caught up!

Archie had his last Yoga with Caregiver class. We were taking this class on Mondays during the fall season. He didn’t always participate or pay attention the entire time, but I’ve totally noticed him wanting to do various poses when we’re at home. So I’m happy to see that he has taken something away from it. His favourite pose that we learned was the Swinging Butterfly!

I’ve been trying to put effort into spending more time outdoors - even if it’s cold out. I really want Archie to climb around in the woods and take risks, learning lessons outside. “Offer the right mixture of caution and enthusiastic support, resulting in a powerful victory that bolsters your kid’s sense of confidence.” This is essentially the exact kind of parent that I hope to be.

Archie really, really enjoyed the holiday season. He seemed to really understand Christmas this year and was very excited about it. As an adult, it really injected a whole new energy into the holidays that I really loved. It was so special to share it all with him. Archie especially loved all of the treats!

Archie took his 20th and 21st flights!

And most of all Archie loved spending time with all of his little friends (and cousins). ♥

I’m looking forward to embarking on a new year and decade as Archie’s mom. ♥

Also! Each and every one of you girls have now officially met Archie! ♥ This means a lot to me. Since having a child of my own, I can now understand how your kid feels like an extension of yourself. So it means a lot that each of you have gotten to meet this human person that I created myself.

I’m happy that it’s January and I’m ready to move into a brand new year. January is a pretty celebratory month around these parts!

First of all, my birthday is coming up! 38!! I’m sooo excited about my birthday this year. (I’m celebrating on Saturday.) First, in the afternoon my girlfriends and I are going for Afternoon High Tea at Windsor Arms Hotel. It should be fancy and I cannot wait! Then Tim and I have dinner reservations at Buca (a fancy Italian restaurant). Followed by tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera, my all-time favourite musical. Followed by spending the night at Le Germain Hotel, a boutique hotel downtown. (Tim is going to be dropping Archie off for the night with his sister Emily in Kitchener.) So yeah. This is going to be THE BEST DAY AND I AM SO EXCITED.

This is absolutely ME.

Then it’s Archie’s birthday and he is turning 3! I love him as a little three year old already. His birthday party is being held at McDonald’s this year because it’s cheap and easy. Ha ha! Archie is really looking forward to seeing all of his friends there. And to climbing around in the PlayPlace. And to eating cheeseburgers.

Sarah is coming to Toronto from Tisdale! She’s going to be staying at my house for part of it! We’re also hoping to take a girls trip to Ottawa during her visit!

I also have a ticket to see Ben Lee, a musician that I enjoy.

I’m pretty excited about being back at home and also about having a super fun month ahead!

Also, just in case you missed it, I wrote my annual 2019 Thoughts, Resolutions, Re-caps, Bests blog. If you feel like hearing more about my opinions on things, click the link! THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:

January 30th is Enobong Anstey’s 38th birthday!

Wishing you a wonderful day, my birthday-month friend! I have loved getting to see you more often and can’t wait for you to join me for afternoon tea. Let me know if you have any plans in mind for your birthday! Love you! ♥