An island of fun in a lake of stress

Yesterday was Nate's first birthday.

To celebrate, we were going to go to Toronto Island(s) but it rained.

So instead I tried to think of the most fun (indoor) place in the city. And I came up with Gymboree which did, in fact, blow Nathan's mind (lots of stairs and balls and slides, oh my!). It was hilarious.

And then today we got to go to Centre Island after all, and the awesome little-kid amusement park, Centreville. It was great!

(There's nothing like doing something hugely fun in your city, right before you move. It's like fixing up your house right before you sell it - you kick yourself that you didn't do it sooner and enjoy it more.)

We had a fairly limited amount of time there (had to sacrifice a morning nap as it was) but managed to have as much fun as a two year old could stand. Yes, it really was more about Mela than Nate but come on, he'd had three days of birthday celebrations already.

The highlight was Mela riding a pony. I didn't think she'd actually be able to do it (biggest 'fraidy cat EVER, she has taken to screaming hysterically if she sees a fly lately. Really. A house fly.)

We talked about it a lot and she said she wanted to do it. We waited in line a long time and she was eager for "Mela.ride.pony?"

Then the moment of truth. I swung her up on the pony's back and she felt it move and panicked. "Mama!" And reached out to me in panic and I thought the whole thing was over.

But I put her hand on the saddle and told her to count (which is what we sometimes do when she's losing it) and told her to look for Dada. And she got distracted and then we were off! And after a couple seconds of doubt, she laughed out loud in glee!

And my heart burst and her Dad and Aunt Mary waved widely and we screamed about how brave she was and clapped and had a huge celebration the whole time she was riding.

Parenting highlight, right there. Made the entire day.

And now we're exhausted but happy. I'm glad we were able to do a really fun last thing in the city.

Speaking of parenting highlights, I'm not going to make a big deal about the fact that Nathan is one now (no time!) but I will say this:

He was climbing up the stairs to go to bed tonight (I swear, his favourite part of the day), and I was pretending to bite his bum and he was squealing with laughter and suddenly I realized ...

... it was worth it. The birth (oh god, the birth). The sleepless nights. The crying. The absolutely unrelenting, night after night, please god I can't be a parent to this child anymore, crying.

It was all worth it. For a five minute climb up the stairs and that precious little boy giggling and shrieking with laughter.

This is the paradox that is parenting. And it doesn't make sense until you go through it yourself.

Say click:

Are you ready for some fun?!
So crowded on the ferry ...
Mama + hidden child:
We're at the park!
The perfect ride for an Amelia (it went sooo slow!):
The bravest kid in the world!!
We can't believe she's actually doing it!
Picnic lunch in the cool shade ...
In line for the train, Mama pulls out a book to entertain the toddler and is quickly swarmed:
We're on the train!
My boy is one!
My girl in the sun:
Awesome Aunt Mary, who's going to come and visit us every summer for an extended period of time:
Nate in the City:
Big city girl (a long way from this kid):
Rectors4 (Nate's there, too - you just can't see him!):
Exhausted by so much fun!