CN Tower

One of the world's tallest buildings. When mom and I went to Lake Ontario, I saw this tower across the lake- it's hard to miss as it 'towers' above everything else, but then didn't think about it again with everything else going on. Daniel arrived on a Saturday evening, but it rained Sunday and we didn't do much.

When his first full weekend arrived- my second- my thoughts were on exploring this city I temporarily called home. I wanted to hit the highlights...like the places that "you'd be crazy to miss if you visited Toronto." You know, the must sees. Niagara Falls was a given. One day while conversing with the landlord's wife, she said what about the CN Tower? You have to go there. And so we did. Our perfect day was spent in Niagara so we faced a rainy, foggy view from the tower, but better to be inside during such weather anyway.

stopped at Union Station for lunch and Daniel had to have a picture of this
pigeon inside! I will never understand that man's fascination with pigeons :)

a view from the top

Lake Ontario

Maggie is letting down her hair...that's right, this is Rapunzel's tower :)

the outdoor portion of the tower- boy was it chilly out there! 

the glass floor...can you see all the way down?

We had a great day visiting the CN Tower! I love the picture above of Jake looking down, no doubt wondering what he was looking at. We had a delicious dinner downtown too- just down the street from the tower- mexican and pizza were right next to each other. Daniel got a burrito, me tacos and the kids shared a pizza. They were two great finds. We didn't wander downtown as much as Daniel would've liked, but we did walk it some and what we saw was very nice, not even the rain got us down. :)

Niagara Falls

A trip to Toronto would not be complete without visiting the infamous Niagara Falls. Daniel and I have actually been to the falls before- on the New York side. It was about 9 years ago when we traveled up to New York for his stepbrother's graduation from Cornell. During that trip we didn't go to the Canadian side of the falls and we haven't been with our children before, so I still wanted to go. We paid almost as much to park as we did for Maid of the Mist tickets and I think we paid more for lunch than both combined. The tourism trap rivals that of Gatlinburg, TN for sure!

classic

I'm bummed this came out blurry! Too cute :)

 I'm sure glad we went! Maggie loved it, Jake was as interested as a baby can be and Will seemed unimpressed by the "falling water." What is wrong with this child?!! I loved it as well and it really is true that the Canadian side is better. We shared a beautiful day...it didn't hurt that the weather was perfect! Sunny, about 70 degrees with a light breeze. I packed all sorts of blankets and jackets in case it was super cold, but they were not needed.

you're welcome

2013

2004

Health in Motion- week 2

When I told Natan my positive feelings about watching him work with Maggie without having to list goals and address concerns, etc., he told me there are no goals. Well, not like that anyway. His short term goals were teaching her to roll, sit, crawl and stand, plus proper transitions between. But as he saw Maggie was standing great and bearing weight well, he had her take steps, then he knew he could put her in a walker. He knows what he's doing but says it's more about feeling than thinking. Now, this isn't to take anything away from Maggie's previous therapists or meetings we had with social workers, Natan's methodology is unique to him, he created it after being a physical therapist and seeking to fulfill the gaps he saw.

Week two we were in walker mode. Daniel and Will arrived over the weekend and with them came Maggie's pink gait trainer from home, stripped of all the supports. It's not the best walker, but we couldn't get another one fast enough. Walker aside, Maggie did more walking this week period. Natan held her legs for safety/guidance and a little support but she was doing it on her own. The steps were hers, she was supporting her trunk, he wasn't moving her legs or anything, it was all her!! She's doing great with this and the walker too- she has to walk into the room with it before she starts working on everything else. At the beginning of the week, she was none too pleased, crying plenty. By the end, she was doing really well. Now, we're not ready to send her on down the sidewalk by herself or anything like that, but she's making great progress. She also did a lot of work on the ball- all this prepares her mentally and physically for supporting her own weight and balancing while walking. I cannot express the joy I feel seeing Maggie accomplish so much. She started crying again now- Natan attributed that to Daniel and Will's arrival- she's seeking to gain sympathy and an 'out' from new parties. Still, she works through all the crying and has come so far the last two weeks. Her movements are smoother and her trunk support is much better, which leads to all the other movements improving.

He's also talked with us about her diet. He wants her on an 80% raw diet - mostly fruits and vegetables, some nuts and beans of course and potatoes. He does not want her eat meat, dairy, grains and of course sugar on a very rare basis- she can have honey- and he very much recommends juicing. This is a tough transition for sure because dairy comprises a huge part of Maggie's diet. And being her mama's child, she loves the sugar. She can still have birthday cake, just wants her sugar consumption to be scarce. The diet, of course, falls right in line with his holistic approach and properly feeding the body- she needs wholesome nutrients enriching her body so she can accomplish her goals. We've learned so much from Natan. This will be the most difficult change to implement.

They love playing in our shower at home too...I don't know what that's all about. :)

Not all work, some play...

My mom really wanted to see some of the Toronto sights. At first I was like, we're not here on vacation, this is therapy for Maggie. As I thought about it and prayed, I realized that if I had traveled a long way to another country and a place I've never been, I would still want to see more than an apartment and health clinic while I was there. I mean, I did drive to another country, but you know what I mean. Problem is, we arrived Sunday evening and mom had to arrive at the airport around 1pm Saturday. This didn't allow many windows for sightseeing. I did want to make Lake Ontario happen for her since we were too far from the other Lakes and Niagra Falls (at least for a weekday in the evening).

One day Maggie finished up at 4:00 so we left right away but sat in loads of traffic. I also may have tried to get directions from OnStar and got disconnected two or three times then found out later I went an hour out of the way. When we finally arrived, it was past dinner time and we were all hungry. We hung out by the lake for awhile then walked to a nearby restaurant off the recommendation of some locals. The weather was nice and we were able to follow a path along the lake the whole way, which made for a very nice evening. At the restaurant, a nearby table bought the kids ice cream- probably because they're so cute:). Turned out to be a fun little trip.

downtown Toronto- the CN Tower soaring above the rest

walk to the restaurant

We also visited a nearby park and enjoyed a little picnic lunch during Maggie's break one day...

A few things I've learned about Canada:

• they have the squeakiest chairs ever
• traffic is a force to be reckoned with...allow plenty of time to move around town
• the grocery store near us is apparently the only one in Toronto. 'Cause everyone and their brother shops there and good luck with parking
• most DQ's only have cool treats...no hot eats (we found one downtown that served hot dogs)
• people are so nice yet not at all. They're helpful at the grocery store and other public places but won't say hi as you pass by on a walk, even if they look right at you and only sometimes reply to your hello
• parking is crazy- you can tell it's a hot commodity, folks will park anywhere there's not a sign, largely blocking residential streets
• Chinese buffets are expensive! Like, hey we could've bought a timeshare in the Poconos expensive
• Signs on the interstate or cans at the store are labeled in English and French, opposed to our Spanish in the states (not very surprising)
• OnRoute is a super convenient interstate exit. Instead of exiting to multiple restaurants and gas stations like we do, they have this OnRoute with a gas station, little convenience store then several eatery choices with a huge eating area- like a mall food court. One stop, done.
• very few drive-thru's...I think I saw one
• Walmart is closed on Thanksgiving...which falls on the second Monday in October- our Columbus Day
• speed limit is low when you convert kilometers/hour to mph and no one seems to follow it

So there's your education on Canada.

Seriously though,  I realize people/places differ from region to region in Canada as they do the states, but it was fun to note some differences.