Miss G definitely has opinions and preferences when it comes to things she wears. Today she put together this little outfit with some of her new favourite things from last week’s Christmas celebration. She loves her Tippyknits wool scarf and rubs her face on it while announcing how “pretty, pretty, pretty” it is. The quilted pink sweater is from her Grandma Sue and she won’t let you forget that. While wearing it, she constantly points to her sleeve while saying, “Manmaw” (grandma) and nodding her head very matter of factly. The green bag is made of recycled chocolate milk tetra packs and she adores it. She fills it up with whichever goodies are in need of being totted around and wears it on her elbow like a designer purse. Throw in a crocheted hat, her party shoes, and a giant carrot, and you’ve got an outfit! Strangely, it kind of works. You go, Grae.
Month: January 2012
Sneaky Little Doodle!
This little lady seriously cracks me up. This morning we were hanging out in the the living room. She was reading books and I was doing laundry. Suddenly, she got up and disappeared around the corner. Not a moment later, she zoomed back through the living room with her arms full and her eyes lowered to the floor. I walked into her room and turned on the light to find this. A little monkey with a snack, bowl, and mouth full of dried figs. Apparently she was hungry!
Headed Home
Well, after a lovely week in the Okangan, it was time to head back to reality today. The good news was that the Coquihala was open this time around, but the bad news was that the roads were ROUGH. It was slow going pretty much the entire way down and they ended up shutting down the highway shortly after we had passed through. Luckily for us, Gracen did better than we ever could expect her to do on such a long trip. Being strapped into a rear-facing car seat for 8 hours is no fun, you know. As much fun as our trip was, it’ll be nice to get Grae back into her own crib and get back to our little routine.
Ya Ya’s Play Centre
Being that today was Auntie Rozi’s birthday and our last full day in the Okanagan, we wanted to take the kids to do something special. We had originally planned on taking them to the pool (they all loved it last time), but that was before our good friend Hayley mentioned Ya Ya’s Play Centre. I’m so glad we checked it out because we all had a blast. It’s basically a big indoor play centre that has a little something for kids of all ages. The giant climbing apparatus has 3 levels, is fully padded, and has all kinds of ball pits, slides, tubes, and obstacles to climb. The really cool part is that wherever kids can go, adults can go too, so you never have to leave your little one to explore on their own if you don’t want to. The older boys loved the interactive games that were projected on to the floor and the little girls loved the toddler play area that was filled with learning toys and building blocks. Check out our visit:
Bradley and the bubbas in the ball pit.
Gracen was in ball HEAVEN!
Gracen playing with the alphabet blocks on the side of the wooden school bus.
Bus driver Kins and climber Grae.
Papa built Gracen a little hideout in the toddler play area.
She was more than willing to test it out.
Where’s Grae?
There she is!
Here come Papa and Grae down the giant slide!
Wheeee!
We had a great time this morning and will be very sad to have to say goodbye to Uncle Gary, Auntie Rozi, and the kiddos later this afternoon…
Christmas in January
This afternoon we all got together at Grandma Sue’s house to celebrate a belated Christmas together as a family. It was the picture perfect day for it too… The weather was crisp and giant snowflakes filled the sky and covered the ground. Mom had saved her Christmas tree and the house was still decorated for the occasion. Here are a few shots of Grae’s second Christmas this year…
Christmas dinner complete with homemade perogies!
Grae had a little help polishing off her desert.
Grandma Sure and her grand babies.
Notice how Miss G is the only one not loving the pre-present photo session? I blame it on a bedtime drawing near…
Gracen opening her very special (and very large) gift just from Uncle Gary.
I wonder what it could be… Keep unwrapping, Grae.
Wow! Her very own wooden art easel! I can already see many finger painting sessions in this little artist’s future. Spoiled girl.
After opening her easel (and many other gifts she was spoiled with), she moved on to helping Papa with his.
After a wonderful day spent with family celebrating Christmas, this little lady was ready for bed. We tucked her in, and once her cousins were all down for the night, Bradley, Gary, Roz, and I met up with some friends and went out for the evening to celebrate Roz’s birthday. Grandma Sue had generously offered to stay home with all 4 munchkins while we enjoyed a night on the town. It was the first time Bradley and I had been out together since having Gracen, so we were a little nervous about how the night would go, but everything went great. When we tiptoed into the house at midnight, everyone was sound asleep and Grandma Sue hadn’t heard a peep.
Silver Star
Late last night, the Kossowan crew arrived in town from Cochrane and this afternoon we all met up at Silver Star for some tubing and ice skating. Here are a few snapshots from the day…
Gracen and Korbin are bundled up and ready to hit the slopes.
Grae and Kinslee in their twin sleds.
The crew.
“Skating” while cozied up in her stroller.
Dinner in the warmth of the cantina.
After thawing and grabbing a snack, we all headed back outside for round 2 of skating. Gracen loved being pushed around the ice in her chariot and we stretched our time as far as we could before packing up and heading down the hill for bedtime.
Our Second Snow Adventure
It was a lot cooler today than yesterday, but that didn’t stop us from heading out on our second snow adventure.
We got Grae bundled up and snuggled in her sled…
Then headed down the lane…
And up “the hill”.
We found a nice little path and with Brad at the top and me at the bottom, sent the little lady down the slope.
Apparently we were a little too ambitious with the length of our sled run because poor little G took a tumble about halfway down. Oopsies! Parenting fail. She’s such a little trooper that she just laid there until we came and rescued her.
We did a couple more runs and then headed back down the hill.
By the end of it, we were all chilly and Gracen was unimpressed that she had to wear Mama’s mittens when she didn’t even want to wear her own. Time to call it a day.
Loving Lumby
The one thing we really hoped for when preparing for our trip to the Okanagan was snow. Lucky for us, Lumby has plenty!
After a lazy morning, we layered Gracen up, put her in the sled Grandma Charlotte had borrowed from a friend, and headed out for a walk.
Gracen LOVED being pulled in the sled. Especially when Papa ran and her little sled zoomed down the icy road.
Although she’s terrified of Bella when she gets too close, she quite likes when she’s nearby.
When we went to head, Grae frantically started signing “More! More!”
So we found a snowy little slope…
Here she goes!
Wheeeeeeee!
So much fun.
Despite the cold, our little snow bunny enjoyed every minute. I’m almost certain we’ll be doing the same thing again tomorrow afternoon. :)
The Long Road Home
Well, the roads didn’t want to cooperate with us today… We checked the highway reports early this morning to find out that the Coquihala had been closed due to a huge accident and they weren’t expecting to open it for a long while.
Our options included heading home in the usual direction and taking the detour route (which seemed to be the longest, busiest option), or heading home on the slow and windy Crow’s Nest highway and hoping for the best. Of course, we picked the Crow’s Nest. The roads were snowy and slippery in some parts, but all in all, they weren’t terrible. By the time we made it to Princeton, we’d gone through the worst of it and decided to stop for a little break.
Saying that Gracen was ecstatic to be out of the vehicle is an understatement. Sadly, after letting her cruise around the snowy parking lot for a good long while, we had to strap her back into her seat for the rest of the trip. She was not a happy camper to say the least.
The rest of our trip consisted of clear roads and a couple side of the highway potty breaks. It took us well over 8.5 hours to get here, but at least we have no where we need to be for the next 7 days. Yay for that.
Preparing for Christmas: Round II
In preparation for tomorrow’s trip up to Vernon for Christmas: Part II, Grae and I dropped off the vehicle to have winter tires put on this morning. We walked home with Little G in her stroller, had some lunch and a nap, and now we’re backpacking back down to pick it up. Winter roads, here we come!
Sunday Family Social & Gym
Today Grae and I decided to check out the Sunday Family Social held at Hillcrest Centre. It’s just like the regular Play Gym sessions they usually host throughout the week, but with more kids and more daddies.
They also have a “quiet play & snack room” where they provide healthy snacks for the little ones and coffee and tea for moms and dads.
Gracen had a lovely time with the other kids and it was nice to find something new to do on the weekends. We’ll definitely be back.
Itty Bitty Bookworm
This is how our little lady can be found during the quiet moments of the day…
Just Right
Apparently someone’s porridge was just right this morning…
I don’t think an oatmeal-smeared face and bed head has ever looked so irresistible.
Top Pony
Everywhere we go, I see little girls with ponies coming straight out of the top of their heads. Although this is not a style Grae normally rocks, she was a good sport about letting me try one today. This was the result. Hahahaha! Never again, sweet girl. I promise.
Playground Girl
The sun was shining this afternoon, so Miss G and I headed out to one of our favourite parks to soak up the nice weather.
She’s becoming such an independent little thing on the playground. Today she was walking up the stairs on the own and sending herself down the slide time and time again.
And there may have been some rolling on the ground too. That’s just how this little lady rolls.
She may have had a little help getting up on this rock, but either way, Grae’s the queen of the playground. ;)