I’ve just had my last films of 2020 developed. It was definitely not the year I had envisioned, as my first real year as a mom. I couldn’t wait to bring this kid of ours to all our traditions and to start new ones. Well, we still had a fun summer despite everything. And this past fall was our last hurrah before the cold settled in and we faced the fact that Elliott’s first birthday would be just the 3 of us and that our family Christmas would be canceled (and illegal, quite frankly).
We were so grateful to have many warm days that allowed us to stretch summer out for an extra month, much appreciated since we could only see other people outdoors. We went hiking with my mom, had lots of walks and picnics with friends and family, went apple picking and even got out for a walk around the neighbourhood on halloween with our little Winnie the Pooh.
As the cold set in, we tried to see family or friends for short outdoor visits though it became more difficult and required some extra effort (fires, long johns, hand warmers). We celebrated Elliott’s first birthday at home with a homemade oat flour cake with greek yogourt frosting. I decorated it with his favourite, ground cherries. In the weeks leading up to his birthday, I dusted off my sewing supplies and made him a felt crown inspired by Julie O’Rourke. We spent the day together, the 3 of us, feeling proud we made it through the year.
We got our Christmas tree early after panicking when I heard stores were selling out at the beginning of the December. Elliott enjoyed trying to pull every decoration off but only managed to break one (non sentimental) ornament. We had a few snowstorms and my thrift store sled (purchased back in the summer) was taken for long walks and a few attempts at downhill sliding. On one of these outings, a stranger offered to take our photo, the kindness of offering to take someones photo during a pandemic was not lost on me. It was our first family photo, unless you count the self timer one we took for our Christmas card. I love it, a good reminder of the dream team that survived their first pandemic year.
And we are about almost halfway through winter now but it will require its own post. It will certainly be much less eventful than this one, mostly photos from our walks or just hanging around the house. I’ll sprinkle in some cute Christmas ones and we’ll look back from the warm spring days saying “It wasn’t so bad!”. But the days are currently long and we’re looking forward to being able to see people outside our household again starting next week.
October
November
December
