This past Sunday we celebrated Sofia and Emma’s first birthday. It was a lovely day spent with friends and family. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate as we had hoped. It was cloudy, windy and cold, but we managed to spend 80% of the time in our backyard.

yummy homemade snacks

I made homemade diamond cheese crackers as a substitute to Gold Fish Crackers. I prefer them not double baked.

fruit salad

smarties

The Zucchini Bread featured behind the smarties turned out to be moist and uber delicious. You should try it (note: I omitted the nuts)

ZUCCHINI BREAD    350F

Combine
3 eggs
2 1/2cups sugar
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup oil

Sift together
3 cups flour
1/4tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp nutmeg

Add dry ingredients to the wet ones.
Add    1/2cup chopped walnuts
2 cups grated zucchini
Pour into 2 greased loaf pans
Cook 1 hour.
Freezes well.

It was no surprise that Emma and Sofia loved their sugary treat. They wanted to eat the carrot cake by the fist full.

I had hoped to have better pictures of the two of them but these are all I managed to take. Enjoy.

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1. they’re turning one!
2. today i’m grateful for…
3. a father’s love

I’m thrilled to be writing this post. I’m so happy to be here. At first I felt teribble about not posting but I don’t feel bad anymore. Being away from my daily routine is tough at times but I love being with my family and love watching my girls grow rapidly everyday.

Sofia and Emma are eager to walk. They both stand up with support and completely let go wanting to take steps. It’s just a matter of weeks before they take their very first step. They love Florida and spent over an 1 hour in the pool yesterday. My sister’s house is huge and she has kindly child proofed the entire space so that the girls can roam freely. Their cousins Milad and Ariana entertain them endlessly with funny sounds, new games, toys and songs. They’re sleeping well and have started to eat cheese, yogurt, and a varity of congee’s.

Time for myself is rare and finding a computer with wireless internet is not easy. When the babies are down for the evening, I sit with my family and drink wine, eat dinner and I generally can’t keep my eyes open after 10pm. We’ll be home soon, but right now my family is winning out over the computer. In the meantime, here are a few new pictures.

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::We got to spend some time outside today -Sofia in her summer dress::

::Here is Emma-smiling::

::Emma enjoying some Breakfast O’s::

::Sofia::

::Check out the mouth full of teeth::

::Sofia and her daddy watching a dog::

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3. birthday party

One of my favourite places on earth is my in-laws cottage in Bobcaygeon. We spend most of our summers there and couldn’t wait to introduce our beloved second home to Emma and Sofia. This past weekend we made our first two hour drive with the girls. My lovely in-laws have created a room especially for Sofia and Emma equipped with two white cribs, toys, books, clothes and a change table to ensure we all feel comfortable and at ease when visiting.

We got there just in time for bed.  Surprisingly, they gave us very little trouble going down the first night. Once they fell asleep, we poured some wine and sat down for dinner. The cottage is on Sturgeon Lake and while you sit at the dining room table you have a wonderful view of the lake and the most fabulous sunsets. The photographs are the sunsets from the three nights we spent there-Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.

[View with PicLens]

The most relaxing and enjoyable time at the cottage happens right before the sunsets. We usually go for a swim, come out, get dry, sit and watch the sun go down with a robust, full glass of red wine. With my head on Sean’s shoulder, I breathe deep to take in the sweet smell of the evening air watching the sun disappear and wonder, will my girls sit on this bench with the one they love someday?

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