When I found out I would be having a November baby last year, I was worried about surviving the long winter with a newborn. Then when the end of the cold was in sight, the world shut down. I first have to say how privileged we are. Matt continued working and we were still able to see friends and family in socially distanced situations. We didn’t lose any loved ones and we live in a city that allowed us to still get takeout, have picnics and take long walks with friends.
All that being said, at first I still mourned the loss of the summer I had envisioned with Elliott. During the first year, things change so much and so quickly. I was scared we would miss out and everyone would miss out on getting to know this little guy who was starting to develop his personality.
Luckily, we were still be able to enjoy his first summer even if it wasn’t what I had imagined. We saw a few friends, had a few family get togethers in backyards, took Elliott to the baby pools on the hottest days and we booked 2 cottage weekends to get out of the city. In July, I pulled out my old point and shoot film camera from a box under my bed. I had honestly forgotten I had it and based on the blurry photos that were already on that roll of film, I hadn’t used it in about 15 years. I wanted to keep track of life on film because I would think back to all those photos my parents and aunts took during my childhood. I still love looking at all those great memories. With film, you can’t take 20 shots of the same thing and pick the best one. You get what you get and there is something special about that. I finished off the roll in the camera and have since printed a few more rolls. I also occasionally use Matt’s grandfather’s vintage Minolta but since it’s a manual camera, it requires a little more to get the shot. It’s not the kind of camera I can just throw in the bottom of my purse.
My 90’s Canon point and shoot doesn’t always work so we’ve been on a mission this summer to thrift a new one that will be more reliable. And I am excited to say we found 2 last weekend ($18 for both!) and I am currently testing them out and hopefully (at least) one will work so I can keep capturing these moments with our little family. Here are some of my favourite moments from this summer.
Coffee shop baby date @ Arts Café
Adventures with friends. We took our babies to the beach in Mansonville after plans to go river tubing fell through.
A quick backyard visit with my parents and sisters.
@ Parc safari
Another visit with my parents and letting them hold Elliott for the first time in 5-6 months.
First cottage weekend as a family. River swimming and canoe rides.
Bobby lounging and hiding from a grabby baby.
Lots of baby dates outside. Elliott has a big crush on Emi.
Second cottage weekend, end of August and already getting so cold.
Weekend family walk in little Italy and @ Bloomfield for brunch and Ice cream
Great aunt Lou’s (outdoor) birthday dinner with Elliott and Layla.
Dinner @ Matt’s parents house
Two cute babies wearing vintage @ Café Les Faiseurs