Summer Traditions: Strawberry Picking

Summer is finally here! (In Canada that’s a big deal) As a mom with a newborn and a toddler that’s an even bigger deal, it means I don’t have to be stuck indoors all day. This week I decided to take the boys strawberry picking. I took Landon to this very same place a year ago, you can read that here. So much has changed since then.

Strawberry picking was on my summer bucket-list so I am happy I got to go before the season is over. Taking both Owen and Landon actually went well. I am lucky that Owen was sleeping soundly the whole time and that I brought two sweet helpers along with us.

Landon was pretty calm on the wagon ride but once he saw the strawberries it was over. I lost count of how many he ate. He wasn’t doing much picking but would steal the already picked ones out of the basket. Owen slept soundly in his carrier the whole time. As I walked through the fields attempting to fill my basket all while carrying Owen I was constantly faced with the challenge of how car can I hunch over before he would be grazing the ground (lol). There were a couple of times I saw great big juicy berries but I didn’t feel comfortable enough trying to reach them while holding Owen. It dawned on me a lot of my summer bucket- list activities will need to be modified. I will either have to leave Owen with someone, or miss out. I know it’s just a stage and it’s a temporary one at that- but it just puts things into perspective how much change comes when raising children.

When I initially decided that I wanted to go, I wasn’t sure of it then-but now I am. I really want to make this a tradition for my kiddos. I know it is absolutely do-able with any age to take them, and I like being able to look back at similar places and see growing faces. The excitement of how each trip will bring new responses is also exciting to me. By next year Owen will be walking and Landon will be able to express in full sentences how much he loves strawberries.