87/365 Pieces of Fall

The 7D went back, so it's back to my trusty Rebel Xsi for now.  The familiarity and comparative simplicity of the Xsi is really nice.  I still want to sell it and move on, but I also have a new found appreciation for it.

Gabrielle and I went back to our favourite spot by the waterfront today to enjoy the beautiful fall afternoon.  I can't believe that I've lived in Toronto for 9 years, and just recently found it.  The city can sometimes feel so big, busy, and crowded, and I love that I can be in the middle of it and still feel like I'm on a beach in the middle of nowhere.  There's something about open water that is so refreshing and peaceful, especially with the crashing fall waves.

86/365 Pumpkin Carving

Today was Gabrielle's first pumpkin carving experience.  Here she is, intently watching the process.

She kept trying to put the nose back in the pumpkin, but eventually she realized that it was supposed to come out.

I'm not really sure what gave her the idea that raw pumpkin might be tasty, but she really enjoyed gnawing on it for a while.

Gran tried to entice her to help pull out the seeds, but she decided she'd just rather watch.

And, here is the finished product.  I'm looking forward to getting a better picture of our jack o'lantern on Halloween.

85/365 Little Big Girl

She likes to play with keys and talk on the phone. 

She loves to "help" me dust and do exercises with Daddy.  She tries to brush her own teeth, wash her face all by herself, and pretends to blow her nose.

She watches everything, listens to everything, and imitates everything...but she's still my baby for a while.

84/365 Our Cloudy October Day

Gabrielle throwing rocks by the waterfront

Taking a break again

I love her baby eyelashes!



Today's outfit for Small Style:

Jacket: Children's Place

Demin Jumper: Children's Place

Tights: Baby Gap

Shoes: Hush Puppies

83/365 Making Friends With My 7D

A Canon EOS 7D came to live with me today.  We're still not sure exactly how we feel about each other, but in all fairness, we're still getting acquainted.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

This is Gabrielle engaged in her favourite activity of late.  If she had her way, I'd sit and read her stories all day long.

82/365 Walking In The Rain

This week's theme over at I Heart Faces was "let them be little".  While I didn't enter a photo in the challenge, I did sort of let this theme influence our day.  Rather than bemoan the rain from indoors, we put on our raincoats and went for a walk to Java Joe's (the white mocha I had there definitely improved my day).  Gabrielle didn't quite know what to make of walking in the rain, and kept holding out her hand and commenting "uh oh" to let me know it was getting wet.  She didn't mind at all, and had a great time playing in all the puddles on the way there.

I caught this lovely moment of my daughter sucking her thumb with her finger up her nose while I was later practicing with my speed light.  It may not be the most artistic, but every time I look at it, it makes me laugh.

We finished off our dinner with a little picnic.  Gabrielle thought it was great that she got eat her corn beside Mama in a "big girl chair" while watching TV.



81/365 A Sunny Afternoon

The sun came out this afternoon, and Gabrielle and I had a wonderful stroll down by the waterfront.  I've been wanting to practice more with my zoom (70-200mm 4L), so this was the only one I took with me today.  I think I'm really starting to fall in love with this lens.

My munchkin has become a great little hiker, and it's so nice to be able to leave the stroller behind.  Of course, with her new-found mobility in public comes all sorts of other issues like keeping her from running in front of cyclers on the Martin Goodman, and from trying to make friends with every single dog that walks by.

It also makes it easier for her to develop her amazing ability to quickly find the most disgusting objects.  Today's finds included an ancient cigarette butt and an old cracked Tim Hortons cup full of swamp water.  Her fascination with this purple flower was a welcome relief.

I also spied on a few people with my zoom, like this fisherman below.

On another note, I think I'm developing an addiction to the Toronto skyline.  I love the way it constantly changes with the weather, and the sun at different times of the day.  This one was taken at about 6:00pm with some stormy clouds heading in, just was we were heading home.

80/365 The Real Hair Cut

I've been incredibly lazy this week regarding the amount of effort that I've put into this project.  I think part of it is because I've had to spend a lot of time indoors due to the weather, and I'm still a bit terrified of my speed light.  I dream of a 5D Mark II with its amazing ISO capabilities but until then, I'll just have to become better acquainted with this new flash of mine.  Tomorrow is supposed to be the only clear day all week, so I have high hopes of taking her outside for some real practice tomorrow.

My baby got her first real haircut today, so of course I had to document this.  I've been resisting this for a while, but today was the first time I was actually embarrassed to take her out in public.  I brushed her hair before church, but the big frizzy mat at the back of her head was just too stubborn.  I took her to her Gran's right after, who kindly obliged by giving her this cute little cut.  Of course Gabrielle doesn't know the difference, but I love it!

79/365 Reading with Grampa

 

78/365 Post-Date Relaxation

Gabrielle and I had another little mini-date at the mall today, complete with ice cream and a visit to the pet store.  I had some errands to do there, but we both needed a little pick-me-up and an excuse to get out of the house after all the rain we've been having. She wasn't really in the mood to pose for Small Style when we got home, and I'm still figuring out my speed light, so these will have to do this week.

Gabrielle entranced with Gilligan's Island



Having a little pre-bath playtime before bed

Small Style:
Shirt: Baby Gap
Jeans: Baby Gap
I'm not sure about the slippers, as they were a gift and aren't labelled.

77/365 First Self-Portrait

Since it was wet and dreary outside all day, and I'm currently without a speed light, I thought today would be a good day to attempt a self-portrait.  Gabrielle wanted in on the action, so it turned into a portrait of me and my babe.  Let me just that this was definitely a learning experience for me.

76/365 By The Lake

Gabrielle and I took advantage of the nice weather today and had a date with Gran down by the lake.  Jackie (Gabrielle's Gran) enjoyed the wind and waves...

while Gabrielle invented some games to play with her rocks.

And of course her outing wouldn't be complete unless she found a souvenier to bring home.

We stopped at Dimpflmeiers for a cappocino and pastry on the way home, which made it the end to a perfect day.

75/365 Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

We're having company today, and I thought this would be a great excuse to make my favourite vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  I love this recipe because it's so easy to make, it only takes one mixing bowl, and they always turn out amazing.  Without further ado, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

½ cup vegan margarine

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup applesauce

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 pinch of salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup old-fashioned oats

½ cup raisins

½ cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Cream together the margarine and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in the applesauce.  You can use a mixer if you prefer, but I like to do it the old-fasioned way with a wooden spoon.

Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla.  Blend well, and then stir in the oats, chocolate chips, and raisins.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom.  I love soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies.  If you like your cookies this way, be very careful not to over-bake them.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to continue cooling.

*This recipe was adapted from Robin Robertson’s recipe for Chocolate-Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies in 1,000 Vegan Recipes.

Day 74 Part 2

My daughter has been the most convenient model for me to practice on lately, but I did take a bit of time yesterday to snap a few shots of the Toronto skyline.  I've been wanting to do this for a while but just haven't taken the time to actually go out and do it.  Thanks to some great info that I've been reading in Bryan Peterson's book Understanding Exposure I'm beginning to learn how to meter these types of scenes better than I've been able to in the past (when I probably would have ended up with a completely washed out sky and dull colours in the foreground).  If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it!

P.S.  My endorsement of this book in purely unsolicited.  I just like it and have found it very useful.

74/365 Mini-Hike

Gabrielle and I went for a little stroll today down by the waterfront to get the ants out of her pants before bedtime.  I thought she'd be tired after about 15 minutes, but she had a blast running around and investigating for almost an hour.

I think her favourite part of our little walks is still collecting all her "treasures".

I tried to get her to pose for me, but she really wasn't in the mood.

It always cracks me up how she simply plops down on the ground for a rest whenever she's tired, no matter where we are.  Life is so simple...if you're tired, just sit down and take a break!

This week's Small Style:
Diaper shirt: Oshkosh
Jumper: 2 Dye 4 Kids (I'd never heard of this brand, but I found it at a warehouse sale)
Shoes: Hush Puppies (from Marshalls)

73/365 First Hair Cut

Gabrielle finally got her first trim yesterday, courtesy of her Gran. Actually, it was only her bangs that got trimmed, because that's all I could bear to have cut.  Jeff has been after me for a while to cut her hair, but I can't stand the thought of parting with her baby ringlets yet.  I have to admit, however, that I do like her new look.

P.S. For anyone from Clickin Moms, the grain in these is killing me, but it was the best I could do on my poor Xsi!