Now that we’ve settled in a little more, we’re working getting outside for a walk each morning. Today we ate breakfast (have I mentioned that Gracen loves grapefruit?), tidied the house, put our hoodies on, and headed outside with our sippy cup of water / travel mug of coffee in hand. Afterwards, we sat in our yard and soaked in the perfect Vancouver morning – overcast, slightly breezy, with the possibility of drizzle. Gracen watched the kids across the street playing games during their recess and found it hilarious to caw at the crows who were minding their business up in the trees.

Long ago, I was getting ready and Grae got into my bag of make-up. I ended up giving her a tube of chapstick (the least dangerous item I had) and pretending to put it on her lips while saying, “Pretty, pretty, pretty”. Well guess what – Grae now loves chapstick. One little tube can occupy her for a surprisingly long time. She can’t really say “pretty” yet though, so she says “peh-t, peh-t, peh-t” while enthusiastically rubbing it in the general area of her lips/mouth. :)

Our mornings normally start off pretty quietly. We eat breakfast together (sharing a big pot of stove top oatmeal with flax seeds, bananas, and cinnamon is our favourite) while listening to some music, I tidy up while Grae watches the people out walking in our neighbourhood, we read a couple of books, and then make a plan for our day.

First of all – does this look like a baby that just turned 12 months old to you? ‘Cause she certainly doesn’t to me. Sometimes I feel like I have a full blown toddler on my hands.

Second of all – today we went down to White Rock beach to meet Auntie Steph for a walk and a coffee. I had put a few little snacks on top of the stroller to save for throughout our walk, but the little lady discovered them before we even left the parking lot. Nothing gets past her. This Mama needs to learn to be sneakier. :)

Gracen’s Auntie Rozi and Uncle Gary gave her this adorable personalized shirt at her first birthday party. I carefully tucked it away and decided that it would make its big debut on her real first birthday. Of course, in between, we packed for California, then unpacked our California bags, and then frantically packed up all of our belongings in a day and a half so that we were ready to move down to Vancouver when Bradley returned. So when August 24th rolled around, do you think I knew which *safe* spot I had tucked the shirt away into? Nope. I literally turned the house upside down searching for the thing. I tore through boxes, suitcases and closets without luck. Then I looked in the suitcases again because I was sure I had put it in there. Still no luck. Well, last night I was going through that same suitcase and guess what I found… The shirt. Shoot. Mommy fail.

This morning Papa and Grae got crafty and built a little fort in the living room. Gracen thought she was pretty sly in her hideout.

Apparently dinner was extra good tonight…

We met up with our friends Brandie and her little man, Jackson, and Silke and her little lady, Ainsley. We walked around the Public Market, grabbed some lunch, and ate outside with the pigeons.

Gracen doesn’t get these very often, but she sure loves it when she does. Today she polished off a full ‘just apples’ one after eating a big plate of dinner. :)

Today Gracen and I headed down to West Broadway just for fun. We cruised in and out of shops, Gracen people watched, and I got a latte from Caffe Artigiano (amazing!). The whole way, Gracen had her baby by the arm. Poor baby. We need to get something to cover that bare little bum. :)

Today we went searching for a tiny little outfit for Gracen’s baby (aka “bubba”) who has been naked for the last 30 years… We came across a tiny little newborn onesie and hat that Grae wore when she was first born. We put the outfit on the baby, but the hat didn’t stay on her head for long with our hat fiend nearby. Guess who wore it around the house instead…

Gracen’s is such a good sport about running errands all day long. Thank goodness, because there’s been a lot to do lately.

I blew them and Grae popped them as quickly as she could.

Living across the street from a school means that we visit the park A LOT. Gracen likes to swing, but her favourite thing to do is to climb. Give her a slide and she can climb it – doesn’t matter how steep it is.

Today we were running some errands at Oakridge Mall and passed by the kids’ play area. Gracen was so excited that we couldn’t just pass by.