a little trip to the aquarium

these past few days we have been enjoying some family time with my dad and stepmom who are visiting from costa rica. we decided to take a little trip to the ripley's aquarium here in toronto which i have been wanting to go to so bad since first hearing about it. we spent hours there and if you couldn't tell from my instagram feed yesterday i was pretty excited to be there. i mean shark tunnel, really. and the jellyfish wall, seriously. i could sit in front of that for hours. we actually went back to sit there for a second time. we also may have ended the day with two new memberships. 

hope you enjoy our little film from our adventures that day!

that time she had really blonde hair, he rarely cut his hair and they both lived in L.A.

jay and i got m down with no fuss (no fuss!) the other night and took the free time to go through our photos from europe. we have been meaning to print some off for awhile now to hang in some gallery frames jay got me for our anniversary. right before we shut the computer down for the night we ended up finding a folder full of photos from the years we lived in los angeles. we met there so the city holds a special place in my heart. not to mention we have some really dear friends who still live there.

these photos brought back so many wonderful memories and made me miss our times together back then. though, i wouldn't trade what we have at this moment for the world, it's sweet to look back and remember what brought us to where we are. i will admit i desperately miss my ability to tan as well as i used to. but apparently my love for old man caps remains the same and i'm pretty happy about that.

{2006: new years eve at 26 beach restaurant in venice. i used to work there too!}

{2005: santa ynez wine country with the bestie and big sister. some photos from this trip may never be seen again}

{2005: ice skating in downtown. hence the short sleeves but i really tried to get the look with the scarf, can't you tell?}

{not sure the date here, i think 2004, but this is the cafe where we met! it's moved since but still around if you ever want to go. the talking stick, started by our friends rich and sheri. rich ended up marrying us and sheri was one of my bridesmaids}

{2005: at a petting zoo in a pumpkin patch. you can't see it but i am rocking a wool vest along with that cap and hideous bag}

 { 2005: the fourth of july fireworks with friends on the field of my college in santa monica. also one of my most favourite photos of us}

family

last weekend a friend of ours, teddy chau came over and took a few shots of our little family. we are in love with all of the photos he took and happy mila complied with wearing a dress for as long as she did. if you look closely you will see layer by layer, some article of clothing came off. by the end, she was in a diaper and onesie.

thank you teddy so very much for these, we will treasure these forever!

happy holidays

yesterday i posted a photo to instagram that jay emailed me of his fun afternoon with mila while i was at brunch with some friends. it was a pretty cute photo of m in a santa hat. simple, happy and sweet. i hadn't noticed the photo during breakfast so it wasn't until i got home to see m napping on jay and jay asking "did you see it?" not sure if it is just the holiday season, our new sweet babe, or the fluctuating hormones still kicking around but i started to tear up the moment i saw it. there is just so much joy behind that face and of course behind the dad taking it.

here is a shot of what our cloud looks like after their fun time together. i mean, nine times the photo equals nine times the cuteness right? 

i think so.

hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

xo

photos from the phones

on mamahood pt.one: three months

it's been awhile! but the little lady who has been occupying my time has been completely worth it. i am loving this mama-hood journey and happy to know it's a lifelong one at that. there are so many new and exciting (and exhausting) things that happen daily. i think we have been pretty fortunate to have a little one who adapts well to direction even at an early age. she knows once that sleep sheep goes on it's time to shut those eyes for a snooze. honestly it takes all of 3 minutes for her to know it's time to sleep. also, the ocean setting on sleep sheep is sort of where it's at, just say'n.

there have been so many changes and developments in such a short period of time that i have been thinking about starting a new blog series documenting the joys of the stage she is in. not to provide any kind of advice but just to capture the blissful parts of her babyhood so i can look back years from now and remember what it was like. not entirely sure what will happen from one day to the next so i'm sure this list will be forever changing, or have some things that stay the same, either way, i'm pretty excited about it!

so here we are, LAAV on mamahood pt. one at three months:

• her smile in the morning when she first sees one of us is my absolute favourite part of the morning.
• i forget to have a burp cloth around at least 90% of the time, thus getting puked on about 90% more.
• she is really good at spitting up on the couch so i blame these moments for why i typically don't have a burp cloth handy. though i know it's really just because i keep misplacing it.
• i thought nothing was more amazing than her smile until i heard her laugh. that is the most amazing thing. of. all. time.
• i have probably asked 30 moms about sleep training and have read a few different schools of thoughts on the subject. all of which to find a consistent routine is the key factor in all methods. go figure.
• showering has become insanely more glorious.
• our apartment seems a whole lot smaller.
• her and jay together. ugh. bliss. 

life lately

we are almost celebrating two months here having little m around and while at times it has been a bit of a challenge trying to navigate mommy-hood and understanding what she needs i have to say, it has been the best time of my life. every week there is something new that she has discovered and i sort of love seeing her figure things out in her own time. jay's new role as dad is also pretty spectacular. i really didn't think that man could get any more handsome but seeing him goof it up with our baby pretty much makes my heart implode daily. she sure does love her dad more than anything! though i have noticed she smiles so big when she sees the two of us sticking out our tongues or making cooing sounds in front of her. i always imagine her thinking "dance monkeys, dance!" whenever we go on and on trying to get smile after smile out of her. but it's worth it to see those eyes light up and that little gummy smile go from smirk to grin.

we have started a few routines with her now and she is starting to really pick up on them. in the morning we read her wurthering heights for babies. she loves the illustrations in the book and just sits there and stares as i point out "castle" and "clouds". then she'll reach out, smack the page and give a little smile. it's ridiculously adorable. in the afternoon we read miss twiggley's tree. it was a favourite of mine from childhood and takes up fifteen minutes easy. she doesn't really get the book yet but i think she likes hearing mom's voice fluctuate when the hurricane comes. at night we are all about goodnight moon. we never go through front to back and usually drop new things to say goodnight to while she looks at the pictures. the other night jay said "goodnight moon, goodnight red balloon, good night pat falloon" (pat falloon is apparently a retired hokey player. the things you learn married to a canadian). after our book we swaddle her up and go around counting the light switches we turn off in the house. sometimes she is in to it, and other times not so much but it's what we do around these parts to set bedtime in motion. i hope one day she'll reach out and turn the switches off herself.

other then that i finally got called in to take my citizenship test, woot! i'll be taking the test next week on halloween which seems sort of perfect seeing as it is my favourite holiday and the day before jay and my anniversary. this might just mean that for the next week mila's afternoon book will be the 'discover canada study guide' instead of miss twiggley's tree. i'm sure i can make it sound fun when i read about the rights, responsibilities, historical and economical growth of canada. sounds fun already right? 

then i just need to work on getting little miss m her dual citizenship. maybe i can knock both out in one week! likelihood of that happening is slim though. we'll see!