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

I am currently sitting in a cafe (Jimmy’s Coffee), sipping a beet latte, and writing this blog. It’s 10:30am. See photo! Today is Archie’s last day of the Parent Relief Program. Already!!! Those weeks flew by. I absolutely loved my Fridays to myself and usually used my time to attend yoga classes, sit in cafes, and have peaceful showers. It was a great experience for Archie as well! He always loved “going to school,” was never upset when I left him, and I think that it only solidified his already amazing independence. I am so grateful for these past Fridays.

The first thing that we did at the beginning of October was have our annual family photography done! It’s really important to me that we have proper photography done each year, especially since Archie changes so much year to year. I frame the photos in our house and I use them for our Christmas cards. This year we did our shoot on Centre Island and it went well! I loved getting all glam for the shoot (I had my makeup and hair done). It always feels amazing to capture your best self!

We did the shoot with Captured by Grace Photography and she did a great job.

This is a better photo of the tattoo that I had done in the summer. Tim and I got these matching tattoos together, as you know.

I didn’t think that I wanted more tattoos... But there’s a tattoo artist in Toronto that specializes in flowers/plants and I really want her do another tattoo for me. I want to get all of the provincial flowers for the five provinces that I have lived in. I’d love to get around to doing that at some point!

We drove up to Collingwood (just over 1.5 hours) which is where Enobong is currently living and celebrated her kids’ birthdays! Archie loves Amos and talks about him all the time.

Tim has been making business trips to Montreal about twice a month lately. This is pretty funny because the Ubisoft studio that he goes to work at is RIGHT by our old house. I personally feel as if I have gotten much better at being home alone with Archie than I used to be.

We went to London for Thanksgiving and spent it with most of the Golem crew! Archie loves his cousins. My sister-in-law Mya will be having her next baby this month and I’m super excited to find out if I’ll have yet another niece or my very first nephew! We also got some exciting news that Tim’s sister Emily is pregnant and expecting her second child in May!! This brings our kid-count up to SEVEN!!! We also celebrated my niece Madison’s 3rd birthday.

Melanie had her baby!!! His name is Lucas and I was so excited to meet him at 11 days old!

Tim took the day off for his 36th birthday and we spent a great day together as a family. We went apple-picking which was super fun! The apples were so impressively abundant! I grew up going to this same orchard, so it was extra special to share it with my own family.

Tim’s parents came to visit us for a weekend from London. It was their first visit to our place in Toronto. We had a good visit! (Even though they got up to use the bathroom 12 times a night and woke me up every time...)

And then it was Halloween! Archie was very excited to dress up and very into the whole thing. He dressed as a Thomas Engineer, which he loved because it’s his favourite show. In the morning I took him downtown to CBC Kids because they were throwing a little “Studio Spooky” Halloween party. Archie watches CBC Kids every morning so it was fun for him to see the hosts of the show in real life.

In the evening we went out trick or treating, of course! Unfortunately it was pouring rain, but we still managed to hit a decent amount of houses (especially for a two-year-old). Archie totally ‘got it’ and said “trick or treat” and always said “thank you” after he was given candy. Tim and I laughed at the irony that the weather was gorgeous and perfect for the two Halloweens that we spent in Vancouver... And it was raining in Toronto. I thought that Vancouver was supposed to be the rainy one?

It was a good month with a good mix of things going on but also down time. It definitely feels like a real fall in Toronto and all of the trees are beautiful colours at the moment.

Life with Archie:

I mean, just look at his little face! He’s such a special being and such a little ray of joy. I definitely know that having him in my life makes me a better person. (Even though he drives me absolutely crazy some days, like all kids do.)

I often try to highlight all of Archie’s best qualities and accomplishments, but it’s not ALL great. He can be a pain in the ass. The biggest issue at the moment is that he can be very possessive with toys. When I bring him to playgroups he’ll often attach himself to a specific toy and won’t let any other kids use it. I’ve seen improvements in the last few weeks but we’re still working on it. Also, his attention span is pretty short. He doesn’t “sit and listen” very well at all. It’s another thing that we try to work on by attending storytimes, etc. He just seems to have too much GO JUICE in him, most of the time.

Jamaican, Indian, Thai... Plus a rainbow poutine. Archie eats everything.

The boy’s first election! Archie helped me vote in the federal election! No one at our polling station seemed to mind that this is not supposed to be allowed.

And lastly, nothing is better than hearing compliments about your kid from other moms (or anyone, really). One of the moms who also has her son in the Parent Relief Program with Archie came up to me and asked “how old is Archie? He’s so articulate!” This seemed like such a crazy thing for someone to say to me. Archie has gone from needing Speech Therapy to speaking incredibly well, apparently. A different mom who also has her son in the program said to me “Archie’s level of empathy is incredible for his age!” I guess her son was crying one day and Archie gave him a hug and tried to make him feel better. I love hearing that this is who he is becoming as a person and that other people can see it. ♥

On the topic of more kids... I think that Tim and I are 98% sure that we are not going to have any more. I am just itching to sell all of our baby stuff taking up space in our basement. If we lived somewhere where we could have regular help from family (grandparents) I think that we probably would have another baby. But without any family around to provide support and relief, I think that another baby would be very difficult. I’m not one of those moms who lives to be a mom. I really struggle with it. Even if we lived in London, Tim’s parents are not fit enough (physically/mentally) to help out with kids. That leaves us with Regina and I really don’t see us ever moving there. It’s becoming apparent that our family of three might be what is perfect for us.

And now it’s November!?! I feel like I’m staring down the barrel of Christmas and I can’t believe that it’s already this time of year.

My parents are visiting for a quick one-night stop (a layover on their way to the Dominican).

The Toronto Santa Claus Parade is happening, which I’m SO excited about. We watch it every year as we put up our Christmas tree... And this year we’ll get to go see it in REAL LIFE.

I LOVE our “getting ready for Christmas weekend” and cannot wait for it. Last year was a pretty weird Christmas for us so I’m looking forward to having it this year in our house.

We have one last family Muskoka cottage weekend at the end of the month but I’m not sure if we’re going to go. Ubisoft’s Kids Holiday Party is happening on the same weekend and I don’t really want Archie to miss out.

THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:

November 9th is Erin Anderson’s 32nd birthday!

Wishing you a special day to celebrate the wonderful girl that you are! I miss getting to have casual Kits hangs with you. On the plus side, I love following your adventures because you always seem to be up to awesome stuff! Love you! ♥

November 10th is Sarah Swalm’s 37th birthday!

I love when we get to have Regina hangs and I hope that we have some more of those in our near future!! I hope that Adam spoils you on your day and that you get to feel loved and appreciated. Love you lots! ♥

November 20th is Carrie Schill’s 31st birthday!

I love you the most, my little sister! You have impressed me so much with all of the goals that you’ve been crushing and all of the dreams that you’ve been chasing. I hope that you take the day to celebrate and relax from school for like five minutes. I don’t know what I would do without you in my everyday life. ♥