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Only 10 more days until Christmas...well, almost 9. I haven't even sent out my Christmas cards yet! In fact, I barely started shopping. I just finished putting together another @heatherbaysphotography gallery for a wonderful new family, so now I'm walking down virtual store aisles and bunging things in my shopping cart. Thank god for online shopping! This is actually dangerously fun. 😆

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Yeah, it's definitely rough making snow angels with such little snow while the arctic wind is blowing about making the snow so crunchy. Brrrrrr!! When the temps drop like this, the Winnipegger in me comes out and I'm reminded that I grew up in the coldest city in the world with a population of over 500 000, and then I feel a little bit toastier! Haha, I'm going to be THAT grandma, telling stories like, "I used to walk 2kms to school next to snow mounds taller than me and in temperatures so cold that it would freeze my skin if it were exposed to the air"! 😂

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The only thing I really love about winter is the joy from my children when the snow falls. We played until our fingers were numb and our noses were Rudolph red! ❄️

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Christmas time means a trip to the Eaton Centre and dinner from the food court.

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#tbt This time of year I always reminisce on the days when Adelaide (or better known as Bug back then) looked like a Who from Whoville! 😂😍 Oh where did my wee baby go?

Thanks you to Tante Lisa for capturing this magic moment!

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Someone sat on a whoopee cushion!
😂😂😭😂
Well played little sister!

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See?! Christmas!! We watched Elf (a fam fave) and the girls decorated the tree. It's definitely more balanced this year, and the top two feet isn't bare thanks to those extra inches the girls grew! 🎄

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The annual #christmastreeinchariotunderthebridgepic
Christmas exploded in our home this weekend! 😆🎄

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"Nooooo no no no!" Trying to choose "the perfect tree" with these turds the other night was hard. I think we had different ideas of what "the perfect tree" was. 😂

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Breath in. Breath out. My brain was going a mile a minute before my eyes saw this view the other day. Urban sunsets from the top floor! My golly I appreciated this 5 minutes of detoxifying bliss! 💕

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This pretty much sums up FaceTime with Oma. They can chat for hours. They just virtually hangout. At this moment Adelaide is creatively dancing as Audrey strums away on her ukulele singing a made up song about shaking while Oma cheers. 😍

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What better place to chill out than in a pile of leaves! Better enjoy them now before the snow covers everything!

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Accessories, always needs accessories.

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City life. Sharing a seat on the busy streetcar on our way to swimming!

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This is the perfect picture of me for this one. See my reflection in the ornament during one of my photoshoots this weekend? (Zoom in.) That's my life over these past few months. SO. MANY. PHOTOSHOOTS! I definitely took on a little more than I should have...maaaaybe I got a little too excited and over estimated how much time I'd have with both girls in school full time! 😂 But no regrets. I honestly don't think I'll ever get tired out from my job! I just love it so damn much! Now back to editing I go! 😊

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Always wanting to dance on the coffee table. 🎶"Baby now we got baaaad blood..."🎶 Singing Tay Tay, her absolute fave.

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Temperatures have dropped, that crisp winter smell is in the air. The sun sets by dinner time. Christmas carols have started. Tis the season for hot apple cider on park benches in your onesie. 😊

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There she is! I love seeing this beautiful hawk in the mornings! She lives around here and I often see her circling overhead hunting for her next meal. I love that I live in a big city with so much urban wildlife.

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Sisters. BFF's.

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Always hopping on the lines. It's a good way to keep warm she says. 😊

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She saw some men on pogo sticks jumping up stairs and on walls and doing double flips and craaazy shit like that. So she says, "whoa, I wanna do that!" 😳 After that she wouldn't stop talking about a pogo stick, so I got her stage 1...the fly bar. To be honest, this is a great indoor activity for the winter! 😊

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When this merry go round retires I'm gonna shed some tears for sure. I have photographed my kids on here every season since we moved in to the neighbourhood. It's neat seeing them grow on their favourite ride at the park which was once my favourite over 25 years ago!

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I spend so much time in High Park that I'm starting to bond with the squirrels! 😂 I've really noticed over the past few years the grey squirrel population is increasing! Oh I love squirrels!!

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This messy face is finding the best leaves to write secret messages on using her new spy pen from the book fair. If your kid has a spy pen (invisible ink that can only be seen with the magic light at the end of the pen) there's messages on some of the leaves at the park! 😊

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When ever they get to choose a treat from Mabel's Bakery they always go for the giant brownie. I don't blame them one bit. They are the best brownies I've ever had. For real!!

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We found the biggest pile of leaves on our way to the park. Needless to say, we never made it to the park. 😆

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Introduced the girls to virtual reality. Minds blown! They went on an Arctic adventure. This is the moment Audrey gasped and whispered with amazement, "Wow! The northern lights!" 😌💗

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This little lady had a wonderful birthday full of cake, friends, an awesome dance party, gifts, and Oma. And I'm so glad that I made the time to bake her her favourite double layer chocolate cake with pink icing covered in sprinkles. She was so happy! 💗

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Six years ago today I woke up in the morning beside her for the first time and realized the day before wasn't a dream. I was so in love and so terrified and so sure all at the same time. My Bug turned 6 years old yesterday. I'm still not sure how that happened so fast. But here we are. She is the best surprise gift that anyone could have asked for. I never wanted to be a mum but she made me one and for that I owe her the biggest thank you. Now I can't believe there was a time when I didn't want to be a mum. It's the best. She has always been the one steering her own ship, which has been pretty much steering the mother ship, being me. She may not realize how much she has taught me, but without her in my life there would have been a whole world of things I never would have known about. She has such confidence. She is such a good problem solver. She is very sensitive and very in touch with all walks of life. The empathy she has at the age of 6 is inspiring. She has a way with words that can get her out of any trouble, or make you care about whatever she's schooling you on. I think she'll make a fine lawyer. Her favourite food is bean burritos. She refuses to eat animals. She lost one tooth already, but she's about to lose her second tooth any day now!! She loves my little ponies and has started reading their chapter book collection. And as much as I always encouraged things like dinosaurs and trucks, she just loves pink and princesses. In fact, she will only wear dresses or skirts. She is one wild clever funny kid! And even though looking at old photos and videos of her made me burst in to tears, I'm so happy we're at this stage. People were so right when they said things like "you'll blink and they'll grow up", so I believe them when they say that it only gets better and better. Happy birthday my little darling! ❤️

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These outfits were totally appropriate today. We were late for school because Adelaide was asking questions about the election. Kids hear. They listen. And we have been talking about this for a very long time (because the US drags it on foreeeever). When she heard that Donald Trump won this morning, she said, "but he's a bad man who isn't nice to girls". Uh, yep. He sure is kid. How is it possible that THAT many people disrespect women that much? Seriously, it's not that those people didn't vote Hillary, because I know, I know, she's not ideal either, but holy hannah, look how many people voted for an actual woman abuser! And my gosh he is so much more than that (in the worst way possible). And he got the majority of white votes. Yikes. I'm not American, and I'm nervous.

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This M&M is turning 6 in a few days and she's singing it to the whole world. 🎶"Watch out world I'm turning six, I've got cupcakes with candle sticks!" 🎶 She's obsessed with rhyming and making up her own songs. I've made a note in my phone that I just keep adding her awesome lyrics to. I have a feeling six is gonna be so great!! 😊💖

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What an insanely beautiful fall we're having!! This was the perfect view to end my craaaazy cluster of photoshoots! I just photographed 16 families and 2 births in the last 4 weeks! Bonkers I tell ya! But my goodness we really created some magic!

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I've been working so much lately making time spent with my 3 favourite people so so much more wonderful!

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This, 100% Audrey. 💗

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So we put our pumpkin with all the other pumpkins, but when the girls realized that we were leaving it there they were devastated. Audrey accepted it after a couple minutes, but Adelaide is still pissed. She wanted to keep it...forever. She found comfort in my promise to print a picture of it for her. I tell ya, this one is a bit of a hoarder...I wonder where she gets that from 😂   (2/2)

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We took our pumpkin to the pumpkin parade at the park last night! There was baking and hot chocolate and apple cider and a lot of pumpkins, and the girls saw so many friends. I just adore our community! Its a really great way to get all the pumpkins in one place so the city can pick them up for the compost the next day.

I'll post another picture later of us leaving our pumpkin there, which Adelaide insisted "you never told me we had to leave it here. They just want to kill it!" Uuuuh, what?! 😳😂  (1/2)

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All light in general is inspiring...to me, but I love the challenge that comes with night light! And this year I had to shoot our Halloween adventure (which can be seen by here 😉) all in manual focus because my well loved and well used 50mm is retiring. But as a result, a beautiful new lens is in the post headed my way! So excited!

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Hope everyone had a wonderful time last night either trick or treating or handing out candy! I love how halloween really brings a community together. It's so much fun. We had a wonderful time, and as usual, I documented the whole thing! Come see! 

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This pretty much sums up the night! "It's a pile of leaves made out of candy!" 😊

And I must admit, I am so impressed with my neighbourhood. There was a noticeable difference in Nestle products this year! Way way less!! Go team! Now let me sit here and munch on this while I edit the pictures from tonights adventure! #momtax

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One of our favourite days of the year is finally here and we're ready! Some of you may already know this, but I document my children's trick or treat adventure every single year, (there's a link in my bio to take you to their stories). This year we have a moth and a super fairy princess. So stay tuned to see what these two get up to tonight! 🎃

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These little helping hands love breakfast muffins. Muffins make mornings easier for everyone! Especially when mornings start so late. And I already know that tomorrow will start late. It was an epic weekend, very little sleep and a lot of incredible sessions!

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Water is a necessity of life. We all have a right to clean drinking water. I can't believe we live in a time when people who are protesting to keep our drinking water clean are being prosecuted while the people poisoning the water, the land, and the people, get more power!! I can't believe the people who are standing up and saying "no more", or the journalists documenting these peaceful protests are being prosecuted harder than rapists are prosecuted! When did corporate interest overshadow human life?!

#standwithstandingrock

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This little person made me a mum almost 6 years ago! I'm getting things ready for her party which lead me to somehow go through old baby pictures of her and it actually made my heart hurt. How did 6 years go by so quickly?!?! I don't want my children to grow up so fast.

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🍎🍇🍓🍒

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Red is best. One of my favourite things about fall is wool sweaters!! They both have a lovely collection of handmade sweaters and jackets, but these red ones might be my favourites!

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Hi my names Heather and I'm a hoarder. Sometimes I hold on to things for so long that they become relevant in my life again. Like this dress. I wore this when I was just a wee bit older than Adelaide when I was the flower girl in my Aunt and Uncles wedding in 1988. I was 6 and I was so in love with the lace and the off shoulder ruffles. Adelaide found it in the tickle trunk and I realized that the moment for the reason I was holding on to this dress has now come. Was seeing her put it on worth holding on to it for aaaaall these years? ...Meh... 😂

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They're taking turns performing. She's throwing grass in the air while singing her favourite song "baby got back blood" at the top of her lungs, which is actually Bad Blood by Taylor Swift. 😂

PS: Light flares are one of my favourite things! And I love when they happen at the perfect time and place!! 😊✨

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Oh I just can't get enough of this season. It's so photogenic! Between now and the end of the month I have 12 @heatherbaysphotography photoshoots! A little bonkers, but peak autumn is so short so I gotta take advantage of all the textures and colours while I can! Guess I'll be dedicating November to editing in my pjs and mukluks. ☺️🍃🍂🍁

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They love hanging out with their pal Moishe. He always brings the coolest things to share like a bunch of nature exploring tools which kept them buuuuusy!! I'm so excited to watch these turds grow up together.
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Books have always been one of Adelaide's favourite things. I remember from the moment she was sitting up she was turning through the pages of any book she could get her hands on. Books have always kept her very occupied for many hours. She recently got a storybook colouring pad that was pretty long which she immediately opened and read all by herself from beginning to end. So with her 6th birthday coming up in November, I'd like to get her some more challenging books. I really wanted to get her a book I remember loving so so much called There's a Rainbow in my Closet by Patti Stren, but it seems to be impossible to find. Got any great suggestions for super cool books I could get her? I did get her some Amelia Bedelia books because I think she'll get a kick out of them and I loooove hearing her cackle when she's reading. It's one of my favourite things! ☺️💗

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When we moved to Toronto a few years ago, it took one day for me to fall in love. It was a moment much like that clichéd moment when you find the perfect wedding dress and you just know it's the one. I knew after just a day of being here that I had found my home. I found my people! And then when Adelaide started school a couple years ago I reeeally learned that our 'hood is more incredible than I thought. The parks, the potlucks, the crafts, the family activities, the parties!! It's really really nice to live in a real actual community that has such an incredible sense of togetherness! 💗

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The first time she fed the llamas when she was a waddly 1 year old, one of them sneezed all over her and she was not happy about that. So that was the end of the llamas for Audrey. But this year she can't get enough of them. She's such a pro at feeding them now. We're gonna miss our friends from @highparkzoo when the season comes to an end.

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Watch out yellow peppers, Audrey is coming to eat you! She loves helping prepare food. Her favourite part is tasting the ingredients. If you turn your back she'll often grab a taste. Sometimes it backfires, like when she stuffs flour in her mouth or salt. 😂

Hope all you fellow Canadians are enjoying Thanksgiving, and happy Indigenous Peoples Day to our neighbours in the US!

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Oh it's such a glorious Autumn! The colours are really starting to burst! The hot summer sun is still shining down allowing us to have our thanksgiving potluck dinner outside at the park this weekend with some of our favourite people!! 🍃🍂🍁❤️

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This kid is an absolute natural with wildlife. Never afraid. She says she has magic powers that help her understand what the animal needs, as she strokes this chicken and it almost instantly falls asleep. "See!" she says!

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As temperatures cool we spend more time inside meaning I've been shooting more indoors as the girls are playing. Such a nice change because as my gallery shows, we really do spend alooooot of time outside in the summer. 😊

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Kitty loves her new kitty curtains! 😻

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It's October, so we opened the BIG tickle trunk which has sooooo many costumes! I love October!!! I love Halloween! A lot!! I document our Halloween adventure every single year! 

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Flying a kite is extremely exhilarating! She will keep on going until she's completely out of breath, in which case she'll take a break for a moment and go again.

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The parks aren't only filled with toys left by parents, they often have containers and bottles that at first glance one might think belonged in the garbage or recycling. But my girls see things like this as "treasures" because to them they are useful tools for all their park projects.

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The leaves have started to change. The days are cooling off making it perfect for long walks. I'm so glad they have each other. Today, our ten year old neighbour told Adelaide that she's lucky to have Audrey and even though she's lucky to have her own bedroom she'd rather share it with a sibling. She said that parents don't have as much time for kids and they aren't the same as a kid anyway. Seriously, my heart nearly broke right in half. Of course I told her that she's welcome to come over anytime!

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Having a coffee on my balcony in a city with millions of people watching a hawk fly over head. She's lived 'round here longer than I have. She often sits on the roof of my building across from my balcony.

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Mini teenagers takin' a snack break after a busy day of caring for farm animals and exploring the castle. Children are so beautifully animated! 😊

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Finally, the temperatures are more autumn-like! Seriously, in all my life I've never been happy to say goodbye to summer. But this year was a doozy! So hot and dry and humid all at the same time. We of all people actually almost caved and got an air conditioner! But today the winds have changed and the autumn weather is officially here! 😊

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What a kid. While waiting for Adelaide to get out of class she showed me her impression of how she feels at the end of the school day. 😂 We're all very glad that it's almost the weekend!

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My niece Kadence is coming to the end of her 6th year and she's about to start her 7th year. Her world keeps getting bigger and bigger. Her perspectives are changing. She's such a big kid now! So this year I got her a more grown up gift. Kitty stardust earrings made by Ugly Bunny (inspired by David Bowie of course). She's gonna love 'em! 😸⚡️

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With both children at school all day my fur-son Oggy is always within 2 feet from me. He's so vocal too. Always talking. Wants to cuddle, wants food, wants to play with the pen I'm trying to write with. He's always trying to sit in front of my computer or on my keyboard! I think he's bored without the girls here but I also think he's glad they're gone so he doesn't feel the need to run for his life multiple times a day. He's a skittish one. I believe it's his skittishness that kept him alive for 6 weeks in Winnipeg's West End. But I suppose it's also the reason he got lost in the first place. Hmmmm. Anyway, maybe he needs a cat pal?!

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"Aaaaaadewaide, stooooooop!!!"

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Always on the lookout for acorns! 🐿

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Racing to the top of the castle. And my goodness I'm really in to light flares lately...could you tell? 😁😂

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When my husband paraphrased something from Kurt Vonnegut, he said, "No matter the transgressions, no child deserves the sentence of growing up." I couldn't think of a more accurate thing to say at that very moment. It's exactly how I feel.

You see, this kid, she just wants to stop and smell the flowers. She wants to explore. Wants to be out in the world outside of an institution. I totally get her. I wish she could have that too. It does break my heart that for 5 days a week during all the best hours of the day, she's in school. So many kids. It's like a cattle call. She hates it. I hate it. Every day she desperately negotiates with us to get out of going to school. She wishes she could "go back to kindergarten at least". More playing. More exploring. More friends. It all sucks. I hope her perspective changes soon. It's really hurting my heart watching her go to class in tears. Growing up is awesome but it also super sucks. 💔

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I love how children joyfully mimic what we do even at the park. 😊 It's been buuuuusy over here as we've transitioned into a new routine now that school has started again. I was a single parent for a week too while my husband was presenting at a conference in Portugal. Thank goodness he's back now because I'm diving in to the busiest season over at @heatherbaysphotography and I was starting to go a little bonkers juggling so much. 😁

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Oh my heart. It's gonna burst. I can't handle the nostalgia of this picture. This soooo coulda been me about 30 years ago! It was and always will be one of my favourite movies! 😆💗💥

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Flying kites was definitely the highlight of the week! It's been a craaaazy week. Way too much adulting for me that's for sure. But today!!! Today my husband comes home and life can return to normal. Us girls can't wait!

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Our favourite thing about school so far is seeing Tuna everyday again. We love her! But they aren't too fond of school this year. Audrey thinks it's too long, and Adelaide can't believe that she can't play as much anymore. Fair enough I suppose. I think things are about to get better since life will be returning to normal tomorrow!!!
PS: The girls got new shoes from @solekidsshoecompany and no joke, fastest shoe shopping experience of my life! We found the perfect shoes, exactly what we were looking for and were out buying donuts 5 minutes later! 😊👌

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She's so much like me when I was a kid. Even in ways where I thought the only reason I was like that was because of the chaos in my childhood. I guess we just deal with our emotions the same way. So we had a good chat about speaking up when you get hurt (especially when there's so much blood involved 😳). Hopefully she speaks up when she inevitably hurts herself today or is being hurt at any point in the future instead of hiding and dealing with it herself. I'm glad she's a tough cookie, but everybody sometimes needs someone to help them out! I don't want her to be afraid to ask for help like way too many people are! And yesterday's cut definitely needed a grown ups attention. Thank goodness there was a child who saw Audrey and then grabbed the teacher. 💗

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And just like that, they're gone!! Such a bittersweet day!

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I barely slept last night. Too much on my mind. Not only are both my babies starting school today, but my husband is also leaving for Europe. If you know me just a little, you'll know that even though I've done a lot of world traveling, I am super afraid of flying. So naturally, I've convinced myself that today is quite possibly my last day with my husband. And clearly, my favourite place in the world is wherever I'm with him! Although Winnipeg Beach arcades with him may be the best! Ugh, wish me luck on this super emotional day! And I'm sure I'll have first day of school pictures to share with you later which is perfect since my next theme is "learning." 😊
Good luck today to all you other parents taking their kiddos to school!

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This big kid of mine climbed these stairs a thousand times so she could fly down the slide! And tomorrow she is about to start climbing a metaphoric staircase. School! This is a big day. She's ready. She's excited. I thought I was ready. But I'm not. I've already cried too many times over the last few days. Tomorrow is gonna be weird.

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Guys!!! 😆 Back in June it was all over the news that the infamous white squirrel from Trinity Bellwoods park had died. I was pretty sad that I never got lucky enough to run in to the little fur ball. But look!!! There must be more or the reports were wrong or she really is a ghost because look what I came across the other day during this photoshoot!!! I literally stopped mid shoot and got on the ground and starting inching my way closer to see if I could get a better shot, but this was it. The one and only shot I got before she took off. But I saw I her!! And it was a glorious moment. 😊

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Spotted a fallen maple leaf. Usually the autumn colours come much later, but this year, with the extreme heat and the lack of rain, I'm thinking autumn might be here a little earlier this year. 🍁

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The story of two princesses in the city is on the blog!

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Adelaide really wanted in on this. I knew it wasn't going to end well, but she was very determined. She lasted 30 seconds before I jumped in and rescued her. "Oh my god mum, why did you let me do that?" 😂

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My absolutely faaaaavourite time to shoot is when the most beautiful light appears just before or after a storm.

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Her favourite dress is getting too small for her! She grew over night! They always seem to just do that. It seems one day their shoes fit, and the next day they are two sizes too small! 😂

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This picture kills me! They look like mini teenagers! They get along so well and I can tell that they'll be friends for a long time. 😊

PS: check out @lunarbaboon! You won't be sorry!

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Woohoo!!! Octonaut toys! Ponies! Books! Records! Crafts! Audrey got spoiled yesterday. She partied so hard that she was asleep before the end of the first bedtime book. 😌💗

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Happy 4th birthday to this shining star! 💫

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She's down to the last 24 hours of life as a three year old. How are we here already?! HOW?! It really did go by so fast. I mean, it also went painfully slow at times, but now that I'm on the other side and now that I'm no longer a mother to toddlers, but instead two young school aged children, I did what every parent does...looked back through the photo albums which made me feel like I blinked a few times and now it's all over. It made me think that I wish I coulda done this more and that less, but let's be honest, there's no such thing as balance with babies! No such thing! So I did my best and as a result I think they'll be alright. 😂 Ugh! How are we here already?! 😭

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Caught in mid-leap. This "little kitten" is so excited because today Oma arrives! So we're gonna play at our favourite park with some friends to pass the time because it's only 9am and I've already heard "has Oma landed yet?" about 15 times...her flight doesn't arrive until late afternoon! 😳 They definitely need a distraction...for my sanity! 😂

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"Give light and people will find the way." -Ella Baker

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Pretending to be "the best dancer in the whole entire world" wearing one of her favourite costumes from the park tickle trunk.

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She's shower obsessed, especially on these hot humid days.

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Blue skies, nothing but blue skies. Oh my goodness I'm really not ready for summer to end.

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Every time we hang out with our friends dogs we are more tempted to get one. Well, me and the girls are more tempted...Julian, not so much. 😂 The problem is mostly that IF we got a dog, I wouldn't settle for anything other than a giant slobbery dog. They're my fave! We'd for sure need a bigger living space. So for now, we'll just enjoy other people's dogs and our cat Oggy will be forever grateful for that.

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Small forts are huge! They make the girls so happy and keep them busy for hours!

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I love this city so friggin much. It's my favourite city I've ever lived in. It makes me feel inspired and adventurous and forever young! I had no idea until we moved here just HOW incredible this city was for kids! So many parks! Such involved communities! A lot of people strive for that house and that yard with 6ft fences. But in this city you just don't need that. There's seriously at least 12 incredible parks within a 20 minute walk from my house that has a great play structure, lots of toys, a splash pad and/or pool, and some also have crafts, dress up clothes, toys, and snacks! But my favourite thing is there's always friends to hang out with because everyone goes to the parks!

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It's been a very busy adventurous couple months so I have been playing catch up all summer with this My 365 project and I'm almost caught up!! 😊 This project is so incredibly fun! I'm so glad I started it. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd finish, but now I'm not sure I'll ever stop! At the end of this year I'm going to make the most beautiful book.

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Totally impressed by dads (imperfect) dive. "Is dad gonna be in the Olympics?"
😂😂😭😂

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All. Day. Long.

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At the park they made a house for themselves to play tea party. They're getting the tea ready, and sweeping the place for their guests...their little sisters! 💗 Have I mentioned how much I love Dufferin Grove?!

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My two little loves can't resist the park tickle trunk! Even when it's so hot out.

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Dufferin Grove allows children to be free and explore. There's wood, shovels, buckets, a tap, and many other tools and toys. It took a bunch of kids to dig and fill this "pond". Watching them work together is so cool. They take on tasks and rolls so naturally. You see which kids are leaders, which kids are protesters, which kids are workers. Of course some kids changed up their positions every so often. But they always communicated and worked together to get their pond finished. It's all very interesting to observe!

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I'm so glad that long heatwave is over! I can finally bake again!! First up...

Carrot Cake
4 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all purpose Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 cups grated raw carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup (or more) finely chopped nuts and/or seeds - optional

Beat eggs well in a large bowl, and add sugars in gradually, beating until light. Beat in oil. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir into egg mixture. Stir in carrots, raisins and nuts and seeds (if using). Pour into a greased and floured 13X9 pan, and bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Top with a cream cheese icing and sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Enjoy!

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She's back up on the monkey bars as if she never broke her arm! Kids are incredibly resilient! And even though she bounced back immediately from this whole experience, I have not. But I'm not gonna hover and I'll resist the temptations to constantly remind her to be careful even though I just want to wrap her in bubble wrap.

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Gee whiz! There aren't many things in this world cuter than two tiny humans hugging goodbye. 😍😭

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I miss them. I do. But I think I'm really gonna love these normal working hours! It's just gone 1pm and I've already gotten so much done! If the kids were here I would have finished doing what I just did by midnight tonight...if I was lucky! Now I feel like our time spent together will have less distractions on my part! Quality time! 😊

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She can't catch enough water bugs!!

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This is just the beginning of having less time with our children. Both girls are at dance camp all day, all week! This is kinda like our test week since come September they will both be in school full time!!! I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad. When I really think about it, honestly, I'm feeling pretty ecstatic! This isn't just a milestone for the kids. This is a huuuuge milestone for parents too! 😆

Fly little birds fly! (But please be careful...) 😅

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Ya know what was so awesome!? At the cabin I could say to the girls, "go out and play!" Which is something my mother used to say to my siblings and I when we were kids, and I could never say that to my children in the city. But I was washing dishes looking out the window watching them as they played in the garden with their My Little Ponies for so long, which is exactly what I used to do when I was a kid! Oh how history repeats itself... 💗

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We got a wonderful downpour today. It didn't last long enough, but luckily it was a heavy rain! We could not resist going outside. Got absolutely drenched! It felt so good!

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Can someone please send rain?! It feels like forever since we've seen any. Seriously, there hasn't been a substantial rainfall since June 11th! Some areas of Ontario haven't seen rain since June 1st! We're in a drought. The trees are so thirsty, the grass is so yellow. The farmers fields are in trouble. It's just so so hot. Like +30 to +43 with the humidity every single day!!! It's bonkers. We're actually considering AC. But so far, we've resisted the temptation. Instead we've spent a lot of time taking cold showers to keep cool! Along with hugging homemade ice packs and hanging out at splash pads and pools. Oh I hope it rains today! I hope I hope I hope!

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When this kid showed interest in tennis, you can imagine how excited Julian was! And ya know, she's pretty good for a beginner!

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Trying to figure out how to get the water from one of the ponds they made to another pond they just dug. I think they're on to something...

PS: the adventure park is the best!!

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These two. I just love 'em ever so much! 💗

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It's hard to know ones fate, ones destiny, because life has so many paths. But this. Right here. This moment at our friends beautiful cottage was a moment when the decision to buy a cottage was made. A cottage has always been in my dreams in many different forms, in many different places. But now these dreams are becoming a reality in the (kinda) near future and I just feels like it's totally meant to be! I just can't stop looking at real estate! These old rustic properties are so inspiring to me!

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When's she's given the choice, it's always pancakes. We pretty much have them every day at the cabin.

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Adelaide really wanted to go in the lake but she was too scared because it was "colder than nanny's pool", and "there are fish in it", and "it is dirty." Now, if you know me, you'll know I'm also not the biggest fan of swimming, especially in lakes for mainly those reasons! But I know my fears are ridiculous and I really don't want my children to have unnecessary fears because of me. So when Adelaide asked why I wasn't going in I decided then that I would go in. To show her that there was nothing to fear...even though in my head, there was so much fear. So, I put on my game face and jumped in the lake. I was not at all okay with it, but I pretended I was like a champ. Now, even though Adelaide still didn't end up going in after she had the most dramatic fit, I'm still glad I did. I think I actually overcame my own fears just a little bit! 😊

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A vegan taking a bite out of a turkey leg (almost) the size of his own baby! 😳

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Watching one of their favourite films, The Peanuts Movie, while I rearrange the home and hang shelves...I was at IKEA a couple days ago. So dangerous! 😂

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That's my dad right there helping all the kids give the dogs their treats!
Ya know, last week we completed the 7th year with out my grandpa and I'm understanding why people say things like "they live on in you" because they do! I see so much of my grandpa in my dad when I watch him with his grandchildren. It's sweet.

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Surprise! A plane ticket to Europe! My mother (in-law) just retired from teaching after spending much of her life working with children in Winnipeg's inner city schools. I think she's feeling pretty excited about her next adventure involving a backpack and hiking boots! You deserve it girl!

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We want a cabin on the lake so badly. Like more than owning a house in the city (which is sorta impossible these days anyway). So we decided to make it part of our 5 year plan! It'll be a wonderful place for our children to grow up and a peaceful place to retire to!

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We met Theo and fell in love. 💗
Theo is our dear friends baby who was born in to the hands of his dad in the parking lot of the Ottawa birth centre!

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Dancing in the wind on top of a hill over looking the lake. Be free...or at least feel free!

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So far this summer has been nothing but sweet! Making so many wonderful memories for these two all while bringing me back to my childhood. It's just the best!

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Cousins!!!! These are the Canadian cousins (so far)! And there are three more cousins living in England that belong to this crew! My goodness my parents are rich with so many grandchildren!

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Someone was playing with Grandma Gorlick's makeup!

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Trying to organize THREE 9 month olds and a 3 year old is quite the challenge! At least Ozzie thought is was hilarious! And in the end we did get a great one!

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One of my favourite nights on our trip was Sunday night bingo at the legion in Winnipeg Beach simply because this is the very place I used to come with my grandma (and occasionally my grandpa too) when I was a kid. It was a weird feeling being in here. Barely anything has changed so I was in nostalgia land. And no joke, I recognized some of the older ladies and thought of going up to them to say, "hi". I know for sure they would have known my grandparents. But I'm glad I didn't because at that point there was too much vodka in my system.

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The girls picked so many raspberries with Grandma Gorlick after supper.

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Well, she's officially a big kid! Lost her first tooth! Mind you, it was barely loose, but it was inevitably gonna be the first one to fall out...soon..ish. 😂 Audrey actually knocked it out with one of Leonardo's nunchucks while they were playing ninja turtles. Whether her intentions were playful or not is still unclear (🙄 sisters!!) but Adelaide doesn't care either way, she's just excited that she gets her first ever visit from the tooth fairy!

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This is Seth. I also photographed his birth day. It was such a powerful birth! He is my cousins baby. He just turned 4 and he is so fun! Such a ham. Just loved the camera.

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We own a beautiful 108 year old home. Some awesome friends are living in it right now until we decide the next chapters of our lives. But I wish it was possible to move the house here to Toronto. Buying this house here would cost like a million dollars! Seriously!

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All aboard the tractor train!!

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Eleanor Sadie & Martha!

😍😍😍

These identical triplets belong to some of our greatest friends! It was about this time last year when Gill arrived here in Toronto the day after her 20 week ultrasound and was given the news that she wasn't carrying 1 baby, but instead 3 babies! It was quite a shock considering there were no signs of multiples previous to the 20 week ultrasound!

They are now 9 months old and just rockin' the baby life! Already standing and walking along things! They are insanely adorable! Seeing them again made me want my own set of triplets, so they are the reason I have to get a kitten. 😂

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One of my favourite things about visiting Winnipeg is our new yearly cabin adventure with these friends! Miss you guys so much already!

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My heart will always be in nature photography. I love capturing animals when they are unaware of my presence. And now that my children are getting older, it makes it possible for me to find the quiet time and the patience for observing wildlife again! No doubt that one day I'll be documenting the lives of animals all around the world just like I did before my babies came along. But for now, I find wonderful wildlife in my own backyard to observe and document! 😊

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My niece and nephew! Man I miss these turds and wish I could be more apart of their lives. I was there the day these two nuggets entered this world. In fact, Kadence is turning 7 this year and she was the very first birth I documented, which got me hooked! (I've now documented 22 births!)

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While at Winnipeg Beach we ate a lot of Johnees and Dairy Bee. Like I mean every single day! When you're only here once a year you certainly have to eat a years worth of these delicious eats to make up for lost time riiiiight?! 😂

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I know I keep posting about fish flies but I don't think you can totally appreciate them until you see them under a street light at night. This is me looking down at a curb on to the street. It's like a Hitchcock movie!! The sound. The smell! It's crazy!

I just posted on the blog, full of pictures of me and the girls hanging with our friends and the fish flies. We actually kinda like these gross little critters 😂

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There are so many fish flies that come to Winnipeg Beach that you can see them in weather radars. As more and more hatch the patches on the radar images grows bigger! With the millions of fish flies comes so many birds to eat them up! Birds you wouldn't otherwise see here. They only come for the feast. It's really an incredible thing to see...and smell! 😂

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Well, these little humans are ever so excited about the fish fly phenomenon. This was the first day they came out! You can see them all over the wall behind the kids. The fish flies take over the town for about 5 days, it's insane! If you haven't experienced the fish flies at Winnipeg Beach, you may not ever want to! 😂 But I actually feel so lucky that we were there during peak season! I just love them! I'll show you more pictures throughout the day of this incredible feast for nature!

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It feels so good to take some time away from social media. I can count on one hand how many times I've been on IG and FB in the last 3 weeks! We were in Winnipeg visiting our family and friends! We also spent a lot of time at the cabin in Winnipeg Beach. The cabin is a place I love so much. Some good childhood years were spent there, along with some fun parties in my young adulthood! My favourite memories of my brother are there. My memories of my grandparents are there too! Being in Winnipeg Beach makes me mostly so happy, but also a little sad because it makes me think of the "what if's". I wish my grandparents could have known my girls. They would have loved them. And I wish there wasn't such a giant gap between my brother and I. I wish we could really be in each other's lives for real! Facetiming just doesn't cut it.

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Well we're closing a few chapters today. First the plaster cast chapter of this journey has come to an end and she's got a new pink waterproof cast! Her friends made her feel so loved...and she made me keep the cast! 🙊

Also, Audrey says goodbye to dance school and hello to JK, and Adelaide is saying goodbye to SK and hello to grade 1! And then we're jumping on a plane and heading to Winnipeg! What an epic day. 

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Five going on fifteen! I've always claimed that she will make a fantastic lawyer one day 😂 Always owning her argument, she's very careful with her words, and won't back down, ever.

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We go through so much sidewalk chalk! 

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We are really taking advantage of summertime! All we have been doing so far is playing at parks and picnicking with friends! It's just so good for the soul to be outside exploring in good company. So forgive me as my IG feed slows down a bit.
Sometimes I wonder why we live in a place that endures such cold temperatures for 1/3 of the year. Honestly though, I think we wouldn't appreciate this time of year as much as we do if we lived somewhere that was always summer and spring. I also really love the dramatic change in seasons a lot. I love the way nature changes and brings such diversity in the landscape and wildlife. I love having a different wardrobe and different diets and different routines with the change in seasons. So even though summer is my absolute favourite time and winter is my absolute least favourite time, I still don't know if I could give up old man winter.

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Photography is definitely my biggest vice. I just can't stop snapping. I take hundreds of pictures every day. Even on days when I'm swamped and there's no time for fun and games, I can not pass up a photo op. I came out of my editing cave to refill my coffee for the thirteenth time when Audrey caught my attention pretending to be a super hero. How could I resist? I grabbed my camera, laid down on the ground and started snapping. Julian says, "Come on babe, you have a lot to do, and you have hundreds of pictures from yesterday I'm sure you haven't even looked at yet." Sure. He's right. But try taking a camera away from me while I'm already clicking. Not gonna happen. Regardless, my husband was right and I should have listened to him. This picture was the last one I took during this series when that foot came down on to my lens pushing my camera and squishing my face and pushing my eye causing the weirdest feeling in my eye and head. My eye wouldn't stop watering and I couldn't fully open it for about 2 hours. So don't mind me as I wrap my family in bubble wrap because we don't need anymore injuries this week! Oi.

Oh, and PS, my camera is just fine!! Phew!!

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Yesterday was really perfect. While papa slept in we walked to Fantail AND Mabel's bakery collecting everyone's favourite treats. The girls couldn't believe that we were having desserts for brunch. They were in heaven. And the cards the girls made this year were so cute! So creative! After gifts and brunch we spent the afternoon at Revue Cinema watching Zootopia. Guys, have you seen it?! Geez, what a perfect movie about racial profiling and higher power. Seriously. Most adults could do with seeing it!

Anyway, hope you all had a wonderfully delicious day yesterday too. xo

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My husband. The person I made 2 wonderful humans with. He is my soulmate. Ever since I was 12 years old I knew he was the person I'd spend the rest of my life with. No joke. Even the journals from my youth states this on numerous occasions from the ages of 12 to 20. I can't believe how much of our lives we have shared with each other! At this point he really does feel like my other half. Life without him would be intolerable. Oh I hope we get to grow really really old together. ❤️

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Puppywearing. Pre walk snapshot.

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I love all the different subway stations. I love the tiles, the colours, the way you can see how it has changed over time. There's only one lonely telephone standing under a sign that implies there's more than one because at one point there was. Do you remember standing in line to use a public phone? I do!

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Sidewalk chalk brings hours of entertainment! Perfect for two mums who just want to sit and relax and drink coffee! 😊☕️

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You may not remember but a few weeks back I posted a picture of our furry friend #cashew_the_squirrel who was clearly very pregnant! Well she finally brought her little baby out of the nest and was teaching it to forage for food when they stopped for a moment so baby could breastfeed! So adorable!! We named her baby Peanut, and #peanut_the_squirrel has already taken quite a liking to me. I'm so in love! 💗

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I love that Ontario still has merry-go-rounds! They're big old heavy metal wheels that the kids can't get enough of! This one here, it's well used. It's well loved.

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Audrey's sneaky pounce! Adelaide has no idea what's coming to her in less than 1 second! 😹

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Always more under ducks to get her swinging high. "More more!" she says, "I want to touch the sky!”

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I'm in love with these hearts that are always placed in the perfect spots! ❤️

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delaide Dorothy Von Bargen.

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During those ordinary every day routines is when you really see your children's growth. I remember when she could barely reach the G button and now she can finally reach that 8! She is so pleased.

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I wasn't in the best mood today (long story) but then I went to the hashtag #strengthforleo and WOW!!! What a community we have here! So uplifting! So supportive!! I can't even imagine what you and your family are going through @meg_nlo but I do know that you have a hard road ahead and that it won't be easy. I also know that love moves mountains. So after school we put on our capes and we screamed Leo's name with every jump onto the couch hoping the louder we yelled the more love and strength will reach him and your whole family. 💗

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Waiting (sorta kinda) patiently for the banana bread!

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Making spin art bookmarks 📖📚

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Every single day when I pick Adelaide up from school I'm greeted with the dirtiest face as if she'd been rubbing it in the mud all afternoon. It makes me smile every time.

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At the fun fair the girls couldn't get enough of this obstacle course! Needless to say they were sleeping by 6:45pm.

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Seems appropriate to do another #snailmailbyheatherbays for this one since I love sending handmade gifts to my IG pals! Winnipeg is also celebrating Pride so I'm giving away rainbow fish to celebrate!! A full set of 20 fish (2 of each colour) to one lucky winner. We use these for fun brain exercises. I'll ask Audrey to grab 2 or 3 different colours at a time. Or we do basic addition and subtraction. Or matching colours. Often these cotton fishies end up in the bathtub or on a bobby pin or clip for their hair. The possibilities are endless with rainbow fish! 🐟💙💜❤️💛💚
Come find my on Instagram if you want to participate in the snail mail giveaways!

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You guys, it's hard to keep up with social media life right now. I'm just so busy working like 50+ hours a week with and when I'm not working I'm spending as much time as I can with my ever growing children before they are too big to do things like this with. We're on the last month of school before my big kid goes to grade 1!! I can't believe how fast we got here, which means she'll be a teenager in 2 blinks and a jump. Adelaide's already showing me her independence where she doesn't need me or want me to do things for her anymore. For example, she'll fail to tell me things like, when she goes to the bathroom at the park. When I say to her, "at least come tell me you're going to the washroom so I can watch out for you." She rolls her eyes as if I'm paranoid. To her I'm treating her like a baby, when in reality I'm trying to protect her from harm and all the creeps out there that just might follow her in to that public washroom. I'm getting more and more glimpses of her teenage years. It's freaking me out! Its freaking me out because this world we live in isn't changing fast enough for the next generation of women. I want her to be safe. I don't want her to live in fear. But the realities of life as a women are, you gotta protect yourself from all the dark corners because there's too many predators out there and our justice system and our society as a whole isn't set up to protect us. Instead it's set up to objectify us. If anything was to happen to either of my children, I'm sure I'd end up in prison for taking matters in to my own hands. So, the best thing I can do for her is be there to show her and guide her and educate her. She's got some tough realities to learn in her very near future because the world we live in is so misogynistic. But from what I can see through Adelaide and her friends and her classmates is, they will not stand for this nonsense. Kids are being educated on consent and empathy and respect and empowerment more so today! I'm glad I get to be a part of the future through my children. I have so much hope for them!

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We watched the emu have a shower in the hot sun at High Park zoo. She was lovin' it so much!

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Eeeeek!!! Adorbs! 😍 Do you remember when I took Adelaide's picture in this very same place two years ago!?! (See that picture here). Where does the time ago!?!

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Yesterday was Audrey's dance recital! That was adorable. Of course I took too many pictures and I'm about to share some of my favourites with you! As you can see from this perfectly chaotic group shot, things weren't exactly smooth sailing, but when you're 2 and 3 years old, smooth sailing would be boring and kinda weird. 

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We love feeding the llamas at @highparkzoo! We go almost every weekend during the warmer months. We feel very fortunate that we live so close to such a beautiful enormous urban park. It's one of our favourite places! 

PS: see that barrette that Audrey's wearing? That was my favourite barrette when I was about 5 or 6. Sometimes I'm really grateful for my hoarding tendencies 😂

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Wandering through the "whispering woods". One of our favourite places to explore.

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I'm just loving these pictures of my girls and I! Makes me really understand how my clients feel when they see their pictures!! 😊 This is the silly way we skip. They each take turns on my back and think it's the funnest thing ever. It's also quite the unintentional workout for me!

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We watched this mama work so hard feeding her babies. She would feed them then fly away returning moments later with more food. She repeated this for the whole hour and a half we were there. Oh cluster feeding!!😆

She ended up getting quite comfortable with us. I'm standing about 5 feet from her in this picture and she didn't even mind. Before she flew away to get more grub she'd perch right near the ledge, look directly at me tilting her head so adorably as if she was saying, "be right back k?" (But probably saying, "touch them and you die") and I would smile. 😊

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There is nothing in this world that I love more than them! My favourite people right here!

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Papa helps Adelaide by holding her hat for her while she achieved a couple bars all by herself for the first time!! What an exciting moment! ✨

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Petting zoos are such magical places for children. Maybe not so much for the animals though. The kids are all gentle, but it still must be a little horrifying from this chicks perspective. 

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Incoming train. Heading to the lab to pick up clients orders!

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This weekend the girls were in a High Park promo video feeding the new baby reindeer!! It was adorable. And that reindeer is the cutest and softest!! While we were at the zoo we also fed the llamas and cuddled chickens and rabbits and watched the emu have a bath! The pictures, oh boy!!

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Oh man! Serious tears when I went through the pictures we took at the park this afternoon. 😭 I'm so damn lucky! 💗 Knowing how quickly life can change, I just hold my breath and stay in these moments as long as possible. I wish I had the power to slow time down.

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This right here, my kids dreams have come true. Some of these bubbles were bigger than them!

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Our pal Cashew hasn't been seen for a couple days. Maybe she's having her babies?!?! I hope she brings them by for a newborn session! Stay tuned!!

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Like mother like daughter. Can't leave the house without her camera.

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I was snapping a few pictures as we were just standing there picking dandelions and chatting about her day at school when out of no where she starts belting out this song (which she learned from a girl at school earlier in the day). She jumped in to it with all the passion in the world. My jaw dropped with excitement, so I switched to video and hit record. What you can't see is me hiding behind the camera trying not to laugh with all my might, along with an audience of 5 or 6 people that gathered behind me who were also in awe and trying really hard not to laugh. I friggin love how casual Adelaide is at the end. 😂

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I joined Adelaide's class again on their (last) visit to the seniors home. Adelaide was so happy to see Eleanor again that she stood up and said to her teacher "uh Madame, I would really like to be with Eleanor." She got to be. And Adelaide gave her her drawing before we left and said "it was lovely to meet you". Seriously thinking of asking Eleanor if she wants to have tea with Adelaide and I sometime. 

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That ice cream truck always comes by at the perfect time. 🍦

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Everything really blossomed this weekend! It may not have been great weather for picnics, but it was great for photos! My sessions were awesome! 

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I love that she often likes to babywear...or puppywear or kittywear! The way she's hugging her cat Dusty as she wears him to the grocery store...melt!!

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Right in the middle of my photoshoot a red winged blackbird was following along and kept perching close by so I assumed he wanted his picture taken. You might think I was using a zoom lens here, but nope. He let me so close at 35mm that I got a little nervous and thought maybe that wasn't a song of joy he was singing, but instead a warning to back off before he pecks the lens with that sharp beak! Ha. I'm gonna go with the first option, it makes me feel special. haha!

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Piiiillow fiiiight!!!

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Well this is not exactly how I would picture a child playing at the park. 😂 She napped for almost 3 hours today! 😳

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I had a wonderful day! I can't believe I'm in the stage of my life already when I'm receiving the most adorable handmade cards and crafts that are worth more than any bought gift. ☺️💖

PS: I like that I'm wearing the same jeans as my mum was wearing in the previous post! 😎

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Today the girls and I learned that our squirrel friend Cashew isn't a boy. And it looks like she's gonna have babies any day! So, while the kids played at the park, me and Cashew did a little mini maternity session. 

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Baking with these two is mostly fun and slightly disastrous. But totally worth it! 

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Sometimes we play ball hockey in the family room! I loooove her game face! 

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The pure joy that radiates off of children when bubbles are around is outstanding. It's always a nice reminder that if I'm not enjoying some things in life this much then I'm either working too hard or not hard enough! Happy Wednesday friends! I hope you find some immense joy today!

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I did it!!! Last week I said I wanted to catch the perfect shot of a bubble as it's popping! And here it is! Our pal Moishe popped the ginormous curvy bubble with an orange goldfish cracker! I love that you can see the goldfish in the bubble as the pop happens!

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Every day on the way home from school she collects a bouquet of dandelions for me. "I know how much you love flowers mum." And she thinks these are the most beautiful flowers. So we put them in a little cup with water. They don't last long, but that's okay because they're replaced every 24 hours.

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First thing yesterday morning this tiny nugget arrived! She's my friends beautiful third daughter and she's just so stinkin' cute!!! Let me tell you a crazy story about this friend. We met in January when her oldest daughter joined Adelaide's class and they became friends so a play date was arranged! Turns out we had quite a bit in common! We're not only both from Winnipeg, but we're both from the same tiny neighbourhood that was like a small town within the city where we both spent our childhood and grew up just blocks apart. We even went to the same elementary school but were a grade apart. You don't understand. I went to the tiniest elementary school that no one has even heard of and somehow we both ended up on the same street and our daughters in the same class! Our children are going to grow up together! Totally bonkers. Such a small world!

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It's a real slow start to spring over here. Not gonna lie, it's been hard. Most of the trees are still bare, which looks so pretty in this picture, but I'm glad that in the next week we should see a sea of green take over the city!

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Pumping like an almost pro on the big kid swings!

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In this house, there's always music, always dancing. The girls will be playing together and all of a sudden a favourite song starts so they jump up and give 'er! Adelaide recently got this handmade dress while we were out thrifting and as you can see why, it's her new favourite dancing dress!

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"You gotta dig for it!”

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Coffee. Always coffee. With my after school coffee I opened the mail and we got a sweet parcel all the way from my instapal in Denmark! What a treat!! I love snailmail! And I loooove black liquorice a lot!! These little pipes are especially delicious! Adelaide liked it for 3 bites and Audrey downed a whole pipe before she said, "that was weird". 😂 But my goodness are we excited to plant our seeds!!

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Audrey was totally blown away that Adelaide and Ava could blow so many more bubbles than she could. She was just blowing too forcefully usually causing the bubble to pop before it even left the wand.

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Public restrooms. These ones have her favourite dryers that she uses to warm up her whole body.

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These city pigeons fought with me for a long time trying to build a nest on my balcony. Looks like they found real estate on the roof. As I'm drinking a coffee I see these two lovebirds just loving on each other so preciously making me completely forget how dirty and gross these birds are.

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This little lady is all registered and ready for JK!! So come September both my children will be in full time school! I'M FREEEEE!!! Oh the joy I feel!! But oh how my heart hurts. Why oh why must those baby days go by so fast? One day we were in 'em, and now, we're not.

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Why do kids love sticks so much? It was like she won the lottery. She wanted to drag it all the way home...which is about a 45 minute walk. haha!

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Walked all the way around and then let go of dads hand right at the end for the big jump!

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I wanted to share this one of my miniteenager. Yesterday was one of our favourite days of the year! We started the garden. Every year I let the girls choose their own flowers to care for. This year Adelaide took it more seriously. Not only focusing on colour, but also focusing on shape, and scent, and mostly whether they were helpful to our bees! 🐝💖 Which is a great tip for everyone!! Mind the bees by not killing them or destroying their hives. Help the bees by growing bee friendly plants and flowers. Bees are vital to our ecosystem, we need them!

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New or old. Dead or alive. Spring or Fall. How ever you want to look at it is up to you. Just like everything in life, it's all about perspective. Audrey kept commenting about the dead crunchy leaves and Adelaide kept commenting on all the buds on the trees and new life sprouting out of the ground. It was this tree that changed Audrey's perspective.

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Today is filled with lots of hope! Spring brings that feeling doesn't it?! We are cleaning the balcony and planting flowers so we can open the outdoor living room (finally)!! But we're starting the day listening to Marvin and Tammi and baking chocolate banana bread! This little lady is really hoping that her "special powers" will help bake the bread faster!

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Today is a PA day so we're just hanging in our pjs this morning and Adelaide is showing us some of her recent videos she made. She loves using the iPhone camera and often I find myself the subject of her documentaries. She finds it most hilarious when she catches such ordinary moments, like just footage of Julian and I having morning coffee while discussing the day, or in this case, Julian and I sleeping just before they woke us up, which is what they're laughing so hard about right now. 😂 These moments that she captures are a real treasure. And her narration to these videos are so funny. One day we'll mash them together and Adelaide will release her first documentary. Just you wait! 😊

PS: I feel the need to explain Julians moustache...but I won’t.

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My goodness, there is a lot of movement right now, in so many different ways. With 2 little restless ladies who are ready for warm weather, with Spring cleaning in motion, and new inspirations, and putting plans in to action, it's pretty bonkers over here. So much is happening. And I have some big news coming your way later!!

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This is the whole reason I started this project. I want to capture daily real life moments because these are the pictures that will always bring a flood of memories every time I look at them. They're so meaningful and emotional to me even though they're not exactly extravagant images. And you'll realize through this series, we bake a lot! I love baking and they really love helping!

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"Hey Adelaide, tell me what you see out there over the horizon!”
"Spring! I see Spring mom!"
My goodness, I sure friggin hope so!!

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Culture is one of my favourite things. It's why I looooove (and really miss) travelling. Indulging in different cultures is so amazing. It's so eye opening. It's mind expanding. It's good for the soul. It really opens up your heart. I'm looking forward to the day when we can put on our backpack and hiking boots again and head back out in to the big wide world with our girls by our side this time. Oh the places we'll go! For now, we'll keep our minds and hearts and eyes open right here in Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the world. It's so beautiful! We love living here. And we also reeeeaaally love Cosmic Kids Yoga!

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Glow. The girls wanted to make a birthday cake even though we didn't know anyone here who's birthday it was. We realized it was almost exactly 6 years ago that Julian and I arrived home from a 2 month trip in India and learned that Adelaide was growing inside me. That was definitely worth celebrating! So we made chocolate cake with pink icing topped with rainbow sprinkles and candles (of course)!

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Building houses never gets old! This one she built up and made it a two story home for their play mobile dogs and cats to live in. I love how the window light reflects off the dresser.

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Well this IS strange. I was busy organizing some shelves when I heard silence. Every mom to a toddler knows that usually means you're about to walk in to a bad scene. But not this time!

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Seriously? When did she grow up? 😩 Make it stop!

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Boxes are the best! They provide hours of entertainment. Starts off as a canvas, ends as a boat or car or dog house…

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Adelaide always goes back down when she gets to the top instead of going over the hump. She's my careful one. When there's a risk of injury, she doesn't risk it. Audrey on the other hand just goes and assumes everything will work out. It usually does...but not always.

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Crepes covered in chocolate and topped with strawberries and bananas. Happiest 3 year old!

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It's been a real gloomy start to Spring. So we make obstacle courses in the house. Lots of running and climbing and jumping!

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My Audrey, brushing her craaaazy hair. Both my children were given A names. We tried to avoid that, but I honestly think my children chose their own names. They weren't named until about a week after they were born. The names they ended up with were not even on our list of options. Had we named them before they were born Adelaide would have been Amelia, and Audrey would have been Josephine.

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Real moments in my life are rarely caught on camera. But my husband was holding my camera and hangin with Audrey when he got this shot of Adelaide and I heading to the checkout counter at Sonic Boom with some new records to add to our collection. I feel like this really sums me up in one picture. I cherish these rare pictures so friggin much!

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Every time I'm at a birth I can't help but resurface the feelings of my births. I always go back to this moment! It was at this moment of my life that I knew my calling was the birth world. If you knew me before I got pregnant with Adelaide, you might be surprised because we absolutely did not want children and birth and breastfeeding totally freaked me out. We just wanted to travel and write. Which will happen again one day, but right now, I'm soooo in to this! Birth is just the most incredible most emotional thing. I can't get enough!!

PS: I couldn't find a birth photographer for Audrey's birth because it was a very new industry so my friend was going to do it, but everything was so fast that she didn't make it. Luckily my amazing doula friend @bafaris (who everyone in Winnipeg should have at their birth) just grabbed the camera and caught some incredible moments for me, like this one! I'm forever grateful!! I only wish more than anything that I had someone document Adelaide's birth too.

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s you may know, Adelaide has an awesome 1970s fisher price record player of her very own. But at the record store she was really admiring all the different kinds. Her mind was a little blown and I'm thinking she'll be ready for her own little not so old and rustic record player in her room one day soon.

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These two are always somewhere over there imagining things or collecting things. I think they were collecting bits to make a birds nest. What ever they were doing they looked adorable! Seriously, those fox hoods are the only things making this cold spring bearable for me.

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Here, on Instagram! 

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Today my fam jam celebrated Easter in Kensington Market, one of our favourite neighbourhoods. It was a gorgeous day to be out and about eating delicious food! When we came along these folks we had to stop and dance with the crowd and drop a few bucks in their guitar case. Adelaide was so impressed with everything about that woman. Just in awe!

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Bath aren't just for bathing, playing, and relaxing. They're Audrey's favourite place to drink her cooooold smoothies!

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Just say "chocolate" to this kid...!

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Today was a gloomy icy day. But we got a parcel from Winnipeg which clearly kept Audrey busy all afternoon.

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The adrenaline rush when it collapses! Sometimes it ends in giggles and sometimes it ends in tears. This is Adelaide at that emotional fork in the road. This particular collapse ended in laughter!

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When I clean or cook I usually put on a record and turn up the volume. My children use the living room as a dance floor. I caught this picture of Adelaide when she was in her own world. Eyes closed and super dramatic. Perfectly appropriate when listening to Adele.

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I love our city. I love our community. And I really love our home. If there was one thing I could change it would be the light! I have really crappy light in my home! It's not the light I want! Which is why I don't photograph my children in our home as much as I'd like. But these past few weeks have been a game changer as I've pushed myself! Since everything in life is about perspective, I just had to change mine! So I'm working with the light I do have, and turns out it's really beautiful and dreamy!

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Wow, so here I go! First day of spring, first day of my photo challenge! Spring really brings you out of your winter cave! It brings inspiration and hope (especially if you're one who starts feeling gloomy by the end of the long cold winter season like me.) We are so happy to be able to ride our bikes to the park to play! We are so happy to see tulips popping out of the ground! We're just so happy to be able to spend the day outside without getting numb limbs and blue lips! Hello Spring! I'm so so damn happy you are here!!! 

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