Another beautiful family on my blog today! Meet Fiona and Andrey (and future baby Theodore!)!
Andrey and I go way back. Our parents somehow knew each other back in Vladivostok in the 90s, and when my family immigrated to Canada in 2001, they were a huge part of our new community here. I was closest in age to Andrey’s younger brother Greg, and I’ve spent hundreds of hours at their house, playing board games and pool and MarioKart and neopets and runescape.
We all really looked up to Andrey, he was the fascinating older kid. I remember there was a time where he got a job reviewing videogames for the local newspaper, and that meant he could get all the newest games for free, which basically made him the coolest person we knew. Plus he was always so quick and witty.
At some point, many years ago, Andrey and Fiona found each other. And we are all so lucky that they did, because Fiona is an actual sunshine of a person. She is kind, thoughtful, creative, and so freaking funny. She sends beautiful Christmas cards, and bought me the best-smelling candle I have ever smelled (it’s clementine vanilla).
Andrey and Fiona are both writers, and actually, the first ever Fringe Festival show was one of theirs. I don’t remember the title, but it was to do with Cthulhu and also a love story I think? In any case it was weird and whimsical, staged in a small downtown Vancouver theatre, and it planted a lifelong love of the Fringe in my heart. Now I’m the person buying 10-packs of Fringe tickets every year. This past year, I saw a total of 12 shows. If you haven’t ever been, I highly recommend this brilliant festival.
When Fiona and Andrey wanted to do a maternity photoshoot with me, I was so excited. I was even more excited when they told me they just wanted to have photos of them being their real, silly selves. We met in Pacific Spirit Park, and took advantage of the fall weather and scenery. Fiona, being the imaginative lady that she is, crafted wreaths for herself and Andrey to wear. After seeing them, I simply don’t know why every maternity photoshoot doesn’t have head wreaths.
What I remember the most from this shoot is how much we were all laughing. The wit, love, and creativity of this couple will make them amazing parents.
