My last BikeBrampton signoff from Brampton

As we get closer to moving to Mattawa, I had a chance to reflect on the last 10 years of cycling advocacy in Brampton, courtesy of Dayle Laing at BikeBrampton.

On Wednesday, January 25, I joined my last BikeBrampton Zoom meeting. I said my goodbyes to colleagues and friends that I’ve spent many hours within the trenches of City Hall, trying to make the city experience a little better outside the automobile. Many of them were supportive when Toby was diagnosed with cancer. I’m going to miss them dearly.

I’ll try to make it back to Brampton when I’m able. But it could be a while before the twins are big enough to hold themselves upright and can sit in a bicycle trailer or cargo bike.


Update: Twins, and Papineau Homes

My first update post of the year — So, Happy New Year, everyone!

Christmas 2022

Last Christmas, we were still feeling a little raw at our first Christmas without Toby. We didn’t do much. But with newborn infants this year, we didn’t want to let “doing nothing” become a habit. We had recently purchased Costco memberships in anticipation of our move north and decided that our first purchases were going to be movie theatre confections.

Christmas Eve was kicked off with decorating cookies and watching a holiday classic: Die Hard

On Christmas Day, we were going to watch the Marvel cinematic universe in chronological order — Toby’s favourite — but chickened out for Star Wars instead.

2023

I’ve been taking parental leave since the twins were born in November. January is my last month off before returning to work. In that time, my goal is to get our house ready for sale and move so that our primary residence Mattawa, Ontario with Emily’s parents, before returning to work in February — no pressure!

We’ve already started moving some of our non-essential stuff, and it’s definitely looking like winter up there, compared to the dry ground of Brampton (as of this writing).

This move, when finished, will mean that everyone in the Papineau Homes project will be located close to where we will be building. I expect updates will come more readily at that time, and I already have topics I want to record content for. I’m hoping it’ll be easier to provide context by recording on location.

We’re excited to feel like our move is picking up momentum again.

Anyway — here is Em and the twins!


Welcome, Enid and Asher

Here’s a long-overdue post.

On November 3, 2022, at 11:30 am, my wife and I welcomed Enid (7lb 0.2oz) and Asher (6lb 4.9oz) Montgomery into the world.

As is common with premature twin deliveries, theirs was not without issues — which we are still managing now and is the cause for the delay in this update.

The primary concern was that they both lost more than 10% of their birth weight. Because they are primarily breastfed, it has taken more time for that weight to recover. Though I’m pleased to report that they have recovered that weight.

That recovery was due to Emily and I working simultaneously to feed the twins every 3 hours at the latest, earlier if either expressed a desire for it. This means that for the last 3+ weeks, neither Emily or I have slept through the night, which hasn’t been pleasant. Fortunately, I’m taking parental leave until February, so there’s no rush to be anywhere in the morning.

The twins are growing. Their faces are filling out, and their appetites continue to increase. We’re hopeful that they’ll soon take on more supplementation at a time, further apart, to allow us more than 1.5-2 hours of sleep at a time. 😉 But in the meantime, there are worse things than waking up with these two.


Waking up to these two. ❤️