“There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community”

–M. Scott Peck

It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a community to celebrate one. This past weekend we felt so blessed and thankful to be surrounded by our village as we celebrated our youngest’s baptism. We are so lucky to have a community of amazing people who came together to help us make this day beautiful. If there’s anything I’ve learned from being a mother and doing all of this for the second time, is to ask for help and be ok with others wanting to help you. Our son’s baptism was one of the smoothest events we’ve ever had and I am secretly (well it’s not really a secret because I’m writing about it) shocked by how well the day went.

My mother and mother-in-law are two of the most helpful people I’ve ever met, they are always there when we need them; from putting together favour boxes to making a onesie for our son to wear and baking for the breakfast before church, they truly helped us make this day possible.

 The day went a lot smoother and was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Of course when you have two little one’s your idea of smooth is based on minimal crying, a few tantrums and no one breaking anything. Our son was so content for the majority of the day, and this never happens, I was honestly shocked. I think this has to do with the fact that I’ve found some sense of ‘calmness’ in motherhood and because there was such a helpful community of family with us all day. I’ve also realized that if my little one is fussy and needs to nurse that this can and will have to happen even if that means during mass. I know this might not be a big deal for many mothers, but this moment was a huge turning point for me and the result of me relaxing and stepping out of this self-imposed comfort zone was that our son was also happy, calm and relaxed throughout the mass and baptism.

 In addition to our family, there were so many amazing small shops that helped to bring blessings and beauty to this special day and I am so happy to share all of them with you!

• Our cake, made by Heather of Sweetie Cake Bake Shop was classic and simple with a rustic ‘naked’ top tier. The best part about it, was that in addition to be stunning the cake was so delicious. I may have had two slices! She created exactly what I envisioned and we enjoyed every bit!Tonic Blooms, a blossoming Toronto boutique that I can’t wait to feature next month, made the beautiful bouquets for the tables. When Michael of Tonic blooms showed up with the flowers I can’t express how happy I was. I love flowers … a lot, but these bouquets took my breath away. The greenery, succulents and eucalyptus together made for such full, fresh and fragrant combinations and they are still bringing life into our dining room almost five days later. Stay tuned for an amazing Mother’s Day Giveaway coming up next week!

 Our thank you cards, and beautiful Truly Blessed art print were made by Erika of Bueno Market. Erika’s watercolour work is absolutely stunning; finding inspiration from nature she creates soft, delicate and vibrant images. There is so much calmness that comes through in her pieces and I was so excited to collaborate with this fellow Toronto artist and mompreneur. Bueno Market is part of my small shop Mother’s Day giveaway (head on over to Instagram to enter).

 We celebrated the baptism with family at one of our favourite Toronto restaurants, Cellar Door. We are wood oven pizza and homemade pasta kind of people, so this is kind of our spot! If there’s one place we are really going to miss (or make frequent trips to come and visit) it’s this one. Cellar door is a family owned restaurant that specializes in seasonally inspired, fresh and house made dishes. We eat there all the time and are always so happy with or experience. We had our oldest’s baptism luncheon there and were so impressed with the exceptionally fresh food and seriously unforgettable service that we had to go back!

 The sun was out, our community came together to help us celebrate our little one’s special day and we are so thankful!