Longboat Island Run - for the second time.

Two years ago John & I ran in a 5K race on Toronto Island.  It was John's first running race and he called it a "marathon."

 

This spring John brought up the race in a conversation with friends and they decided to all run it together.

John had some cute fans cheering him on:

 A quick note from a spectator - I have to just mention all that happened during John's 26:26 run: Benjamin ate and had his diaper changed, the race's bagpiper gave Helena a thorough explanation of how the instrument works, we walked to the other side of the island, had a snack, and Helena fell & skinned up her knee.  It's amazing how much happens with little kids in such a short time!

Mr. B

Benjamin is 3 months old today.

He celebrated by rolling over - twice!  Alright Mr. B!

He also sat in the Bumbo for the first time without any help.  He didn't quite know what to think.

 

Here's a rundown on the little guy:

-still an absolute sweetheart.

-loves to sit, which means when he's propped up yet lying down, he's constantly raising his head and shoulders, trying to sit up.

-falls asleep immediately when snuggled in Mom & Dad's bed, but struggles with naps in his own crib.

-amazing head control, strong legs, and getting good at grabbing onto his play mat toys.

-hasn't gone for his thumb in awhile but boy does he love to suck on his hands!

-can be quite smiley and talkative.

-would rather enjoy being held every moment of the day.

-usually quite content to lie next to his sister when she's playing.

-getting heavy!

A Thing to Do

Yesterday we were in Queen's Park making Froot Loop necklaces while Benjamin napped.

 

 A girl in her twenties walked up to us carrying 4 large bouquets of different-colored roses and asked us if we'd like one.  I was a bit hesitant; what was the catch?  She noticed my pause and explained she wasn't charging.  So Helena picked pink and I picked white.  Then I asked her why she was handing out roses.  Her response was "It's a thing to do."

What a nice thing to do!  I hope to do it in a few years with Helena.

What a summer we've had!

Blogging has obviously not been #1 on my to-do list this summer - but not because there was nothing to report!  We have had an extremely full AND absolutely fantastic summer.

We had great visits from grandparents and then in August my brother & family came to Toronto for a week.  It was so much fun to see the cousins playing together.  Helena adores Emma, and Charlie loves Benjamin!

A highlight of their visit for me was taking the three older kids on a log flume ride.  Their reactions and then excited faces when we got to go again were just the best.

 

Another activity of the summer was housesitting for one of John's colleagues.  Having a house of our own was such a treat.  I may have told John every couple hours "I love living here."

First thing we did after arriving at "our house" was buy a kiddie pool to use in the fenced-in backyard.

A few blocks away was a ravine so we took evening walks.  As soon as we got to the entrance, Helena would hop out of the wagon and just run run run.  Or pull the wagon :)

We made at least one meal a day on the grill.  Hamburgers, brats, barbecued chicken, grilled pizza - so good.  We also ate almost every single meal outside!

 

It was possible to squeeze a few fun Toronto festivals into our summer schedule.  Helena & her friend Zoe had a lot of fun at Dundas Square's (think Canada's Time Square) 10th birthday!

The huge Toronto Buskerfest (Festival of Street Performers) was held 10 minutes away from us.  She liked the acrobats but Helena's favorite were the seagulls.

 We wrapped up the summer events with our annual camping trip and apple picking with friends.  

 

Benjamin was such a good camper.  (Thanks again, Millie, for this great baby chair.  It helped protect Benjamin from bugs and the girls loved turning on the nature music, as if we needed it while in nature.)

 

We had a few gorgeous beach days while camping, as well as a few days of rain.

It's sad summer has come to an end, but with the brisk breeze coming in our windows right now, we're looking forward to wearing hoodies, drinking hot chocolate, eating squash and crunching leaves this fall.  Life is full with these two kids and so so good!