Giving Thanks: November 2012

November marks the anniversary of our move to Toronto and the beginning of an incredible adventure we have been on over the past three years. It's somewhat appropriate (and ironic) that that this month it has truly set in that our time here is quickly coming to a close. However, until we get 'the call' and things are official we are focused on enjoying every day here and continuing to experience this wonderful country. We have much to be thankful for this year and we feel very blessed to have so many friends on both sides of the border, family that will travel all over the world to be with us and our health, which has improved over the past few months thanks to our new business!

Henry's school collected items for a special family and he took his assignment very seriously. He carefully chose all of his favourite items (Bisquick, Kraft Dinner, Corn Muffins, soup, etc.) and packed them in a grocery bag for the collection.

We are very thankful for our first born/body guard/spoiled yet still sweet dog, Jakey.

Henry is very thankful (as am I) for his Dada. This was taken at Riverdale Farm checking out the goats.

We are thankful for all of our friends in Toronto who have made us feel so welcome and at home here the last few years.

Monkeying Around: Halloween 2012

Halloween was especially fun this year because Henry was so excited about the concept of dressing up and choosing his own costume. Thankfully he doesn't understand the full concept of trick or treating...he enjoyed giving out the candy to all of the kids that came to our door and even gave them his own treats he gathered going door-to-door!

We visited the Toronto Zoo for the annual "Boo at the Zoo" where Henry decided to snack on a banana and then show off his dancing skills with his friend Avery...who was also a monkey!

Click here to see the monkey dancing at the zoo.
Click here to see Henry's favourite animal at the zoo, Hudson. (1 year old polar bear.)

We visited Whittamore's pumpkin patch with our friends Ali and George and the boys had fun climbing over the piles of pumpkins.

On our way home from school every day we walk by the lake and look at the trees changing colours and the enjoy the crisp fall air blowing off the lake.

Catching Up: England, October 2012

Time for an overdue blog post! Apologies to all of Henry's fans who have been craving a dose of updates and photos...promise to catch up and keep up going forward!

Since our last post in September we've have a great couple of months as we welcomed fall in Toronto and took a lovely trip to England. Henry's first trip overseas was wonderful and he even got to see Queen E!

We rented a beautiful boathouse on the Eton College campus (5 minute walk from Windsor Castle), perfect for feeding swans and kayaking.

Click here to watch Henry feeding swans on the River Thames.
We caught up with Nate on The Long Walk and saw hundreds of deer roaming freely and grazing on the royal grounds.

Henry sings Old MacDonal at the boathouse.
Click here for more photos from England.

Farewell Summer...Hello School!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind around Kaasa's crib. We thoroughly packed our summer with vacations, visitors, family & friends. We feel very lucky to have enjoyed a beautiful summer traveling across Canada and exploring this gorgeous country. A quick summary in photos below and don't miss Henry's two year photo gallery at the bottom.


Henry and his buddy, George, at the Blue Jays game in July. The boys were featured on the jumbo tron!

Celebrating Dad's 65th birthday at a lake house in Muskoka. Nate & Mae flew in from Hawaii for the occassion and stayed with us, in Toronto, a few days after.

When we weren't on a plane, train or in an automobile most of summer was spent at the beach or splash pad. Henry and Cole at Kew Park and a perfect afternoon at Woodbine beach with Jake.

Long weekend in Montreal with Jeff & Aimee Hurdle. Group shot in front of Notre Dame; the tandem bikes were definitely the highight of the trip! (Especially for me as Mark did most of the pedaling!)

Over Labor Day weekend we split up and went separate ways. Mark flew to Atlanta for some much-needed "guy time" and family time, while Henry and Tara went to Michigan. We visited with Great Gram and shared lots of laughs and smiles.

Henry's first day of school...Dada came home early to walk Henry to school and see him off. He did great and didn't even look back to say goodbye as he ran in the door to greet his teachers. The only tears shed that day were Mama's.

Friday after school sweet treat for our sweet little boy.

As we say good-bye to summer we are so thankful for all the time we had to visit friends and family the past few months. Between Vancouver, Whistler, Muskoka and Montreal we've experienced so many wonderful places and sharing the time with friends and family is so special.

I find myself asking this question a lot lately..."How did our tiny baby get so big so fast?" Click here to view Henry's Two Year Photos.

Sneak Peeks: Whistler & 2nd Birthday

We just returned from an amazing week in Whistler, BC. Whistler Village, which was centre stage during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, was bustling with summer activities and we took advantage of every minute (rain or shine) we had in the scenic wonderland. From walking trails to alpine hiking, riding mountain bikes to riding gondolas up mountains, we racked up a few miles, and a few thousand feet of elevation, during our stay. Here are a couple pictures for a sneak peek while we work on the full photo gallery.

View from atop Blackcomb Mountain, elevation approximately 6,000 ft.

Yes, that is snow, packed to roughly 10 metres (30+ ft) in July, atop Whistler Mountain.

Henry didn't mind the rain a bit, in fact he rather enjoyed jumping in every muddy puddle he could find. And we love that about him!

Henry enjoyed a free concert in the main village on Canada Day...and the crowd enjoyed watching him dance!


In other news: Henry's 2nd Birthday photo shoot was done a few weeks ago and once again our fantastic photographer, Heather, has brilliantly captured our curious and energetic toddler doing the things he loves most. Click here to see the preview.

Hope everyone is surviving the record setting heat wave and staying cool!

Summer Fun!

Since our last post we've been welcoming an early summer and all of the fun activities that it brings. Ontario has hundreds of beautiful lakes with sandy beaches, parks with rolling green grass and miles of biking and hiking trails. Our goal this summer is to visit as many beaches possible, run through every park we come across and log as many trail miles as our legs will allow. Here's what we've conquered so far...much more to come as we are travelling to Vancouver & Whistler, BC in 2 weeks!


Chillaxin' in Lake Simcoe at Innisfil Beach Park.


Biking around Ashbridge's Bay Park on Victoria Day.

Click here to watch Henry dancing at the Woodbine Park Police Fair.


Tara & Henry take a break on a hippo at the Toronto Zoo.


Toronto Zoo's new white lion cubs...adorable!

Click here to watch Henry's version of Rock Band, performed with his friend, George, at the Ontario Science Centre.


Henry and his friend Janna getting cozy in the wagon after a play date at the neighbourhood splash pad.



Great-Gram and Auntie Liza came for a visit and we celebrated Gram's 88th Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Henry!

Our baby boy is two years old. He runs (doesn't walk) around the park. He feeds himself and drinks out of cups without lids. He strings 3, 4 and sometimes 5 words together. He can count to 10...and mostly get the numbers in the right order. And he knows how to throw a great party. To celebrate his big day we hosted a small party complete with lots of food, Elmo & Cookie Monster cupcakes and most of all, the company of our wonderful friends. Click here to see the photo gallery.

We brought out the infant bouncey seat for our friend's newborn, but Henry decided it looked like a good place to rest after everyone had gone. The photo on the left was taken May 10, 2010 (one week) & the right was taken May 5, 2012 (2 years). Time flies when you're having fun. And we are having the best time of our lives.

Hello Spring!

At the end of March we went to Mountsberg Conservation Area for the annual Maple Syrup Festival. The conservation is home to native birds of prey such as bald eagles, owls and raptors. We enjoyed the birds and learning a few fun facts (did you know that a bald eagle's head doesn't turn white until it turns five years old?) but let's be honest...we were really there for the maple syrup and pancakes!

Jake enjoyed the last "offleash" weekend at the beach.

Henry and his friend Janna enjoyed a walk on a warm sunny afternoon in Kew Park.

The first week of April we had a great visit with the Hurdle family (Tara's BFF in St. Joseph, MI) Vaughn (8), Cohen (6) and Courtney (3).

Henry and Great Gram playing in the sandbox before dinner at Papa's.

We arrived back in Toronto on Easter Sunday just in time to catch the neighbourhood parade. Click here to see Henry watching the Annual Toronto Beaches Easter Parade.

March Madness!

If you know anything about our family you probably know we are sports fans...ok...fanatics! The NCAA basketball basketball tournament has been the perfect opportunity to work on Henry's cheering skills. When he sees the MSU Spartan logo he screams "Go Geeen!" (And the occassional "Touchdown" which will be handy in the fall.) Aside from the Spartans loss in the Sweet 16 we have had a wonderful month. Grandma and Grandpa Kaasa visited and were thrilled to have an early spring in Toronto. They looked after our boys while we took a quick get-away to Vegas for a Home Depot convention and some much needed R & R. Mark received the prestigious "Merchant of the Year" award at the event which gave us another good reason for a special celebration on his birthday. (I will take the liberty to brag about him since he won't!)

It seems impossible, but in four weeks we'll be celebrating Henry's 2nd birthday.

Grandma enjoyed the sunny day at the beach with Henry and Jake.

Grandpa's iPad is now fully loaded with Elmo videos!

Spring came to Toronto early and we are taking full advantage of the warm weather.

When a boy is sick, all he wants is his dog.

Happy 5th Birthday Jake!

It's hard to believe we've had our Jake-ster for nearly 5 years. He is most definitely an important member of our family and considers himself the family body guard.

We celebrated Jake's birthday with a special treat from the dog bakery and enjoyed a sunny day at the beach.

Great Gram, Nana and Auntie Liza visited the same weekend and Henry got cozy with "Gate-Gam" on the couch.

Niagara Falls

Situated between New York and Ontario, Niagara Falls is just over an hour drive from downtown Toronto. We decided it was time to get out of the city and take a quick road trip to experience the magnificent falls.

Mark and Henry with the (still beautiful, but less impressive) American Falls in the background.

While Niagara Falls are impressive, Henry was more excited about the indoor water park.
Click here to watch Henry at the water park.

After 2 hours at the water park Henry decided it was time to go all by himself and didn't want any help from Da-da. Click here to watch part 2.

We returned to the city and took advantage of the spring-like weather for a day at the beach with Jake.

Winter has arrived!

Henry is proving to be a tough little toddler and doesn't mind the cold a bit. It takes us just about as long to get ready to go outside as we actually spend outside, but all in all we have had a very mild winter and are enjoying the little bit of snow we have had. Growing up in the South, Mark didn't get the opportunity to partake in the joys of shoveling snow, layering on clothing, salting icy sidewalks, shoveling more snow and...sledding! Now that winter has arrived in Toronto he is getting his fill.

Click here to watch Henry sledding.
Click here to watch Tara sledding.

All bundled up and ready for winter.

Sled complete with a seatbelt and windshield for our little Arctic explorer.

When we're not outside in the snow, Henry keeps busy in his play kitchen...his big gift from Santa.