Holy heck. I just tucked my sweet little lady into bed with a teddy bear and Baby Tate‘s birth announcement magnet. The obsession just rose to a whole new level.
Month: April 2012
Afternoon Activities
A few photos from our afternoon at home…
Special delivery for Grae! A sweet little package from her cousins, Auntie, and Uncle.
In love with her new birdie dress.
Very carefully carrying around her cousin Korbin’s picture.
Tea for two in a basket.
My favourite photo I’ve taken of Miss G in a while. Makes my heart happy.
Teeny tiny french braids.
Headed out for a special sushi night with Mama.
Aquarium Date
Today Gracen and I got to go on a long overdue date with an old friend of mine and her adorable little girl, Jaiden. We met up at the aquarium and spent our morning visiting with creatures of the ocean and tropics. The highlights included being some of few who got to watch a seal training and feeding session, seeing a freshly-born monkey, and watching our little girls walk from tank to tank holding hands (melt my heart). Here are a few shots from our day:
♥
Miss Personality
Gracen was born expressive (you can see examples here, here, here, and here), but recently it seems that she’s begun exploding with personality. It’s just the sweetest thing to watch our baby growing up to be a little lady with a personality all her own. More than anything, she loves to please. She is gentle, kindhearted, and truly loves to share and make others happy.
She also knows just what she wants. And these days, that’s to do everything on her own (payback time, Mama). “Grae Grae”, meaning Grae Grae puts on her pants by herself or Grae Grae walks down the slippery wet steps on her own or Grae Grae puts the books away without help or Grae Grae picks out her own clothes, is heard countless times throughout our days. And in all honesty, although it means our little girl is growing up, I love it. I love that she wants to be independent. I love that she’s up for a challenge. And I love that she has likes and opinions of her own.
But perhaps the most entertaining part of her emerging personality is her newfound sense of humour. You can just see her trying be funny and then pausing to enjoy the laughter that follows. A prime example was today when I asked her to stop and smile for a photo. Here’s what I got instead:
What a silly little duck. I absolutely love our little girl and her emerging personality. ♥
Chocolate Playdough
Everybody loves play dough, but chocolate play dough?! Now that’s what I’m talking about. I actually meant to make this with Miss G over Easter weekend, but we were so busy hunting for eggs and spending our days outdoors, that we didn’t get around to it. So this morning we whipped out our ingredients and got busy in the kitchen. And I’m so glad we did. This play dough is so much fun. Not to mention that it smells delicious and is easy to make. Here’s what we did…
First, Grae helped me gather our ingredients – all-purpose flour, salt, cocoa, cream of tartar, oil, and boiling water (which is safely stored on a counter on the opposite side of the kitchen).
We decided to use our mixer this time around, but you could just as easily use a bowl, wooden spoon, and some elbow grease instead. Start off by adding your flour to the bowl.
Then dump in the salt. Close your eyes while doing so for an added challenge.
Next up -the magic ingredient… Cocoa!
Then add a little bit of cream of tartar….
And mix it all together.
When your dry ingredients are fully blended, add some oil.
Then mix again.
Now for the ‘mommy only’ job… Slowly pour your boiling water into the mixture.
Then mix until everything is well blended and the dough begins to come together.
At this point, the dough might appear to be a little goopy, but resist the urge to add flour just yet. Stop your machine and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure to incorporate any loose flour.
Now give it one more quick mix.
Dump the dough out onto the counter and pat everything together into a nice ball.
Voila! You’re ready to have some fun!
Mmmmmm… Smells so good too!
For some added fun, we took out a box of chocolates we’ve had around since Christmas, dumped the contents, and made some yummy play dough chocolates of our own.
Here’s the recipe (which I originally found here):
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil
- 2 tbsps cream of tartar
- 2 cups of boiling water
Combine all of the dry ingredients. Add in the oil and mix well. Then stir in the boiling water until fully combined. Dump out the dough on a clean surface and knead if needed. Enjoy!
The original recipe gives you the option of adding 4 drops of glycerine for added stretch and shine. We didn’t have any on hand, but I would definitely give it a try next time around. The dough is plenty soft as is, but not quite as stretchy as our purple “cooked” play dough is.
Toddler Food: What Miss G Eats {6}
I’ve received some really good feedback about these Toddler Food posts, so I’ll keep them coming for the next little while. There are two questions I’ve received several times each, so I thought I’d share the answers in case anyone else is wondering the same things…
Do you cook something new for every single meal / snack?
No. Absolutely not! We’re all about the leftovers in our house. None of us mind eating the same thing two days in a row and it makes my job a heck of a lot easier, so I’ll often cook a big dinner in order to have an easy lunch the following day. And as far as snacks go, there’s rarely any cooking involved. I keep them very simple (or extremely simple judging by this week’s photos of orange slices and banana chips) and most often I can have a snack on the table in 60 seconds or less.
Where did you get Gracen’s vintage-looking Peter Rabbit dishes?
All of the dishes actually used to belong to Bradley when he was a little boy! The ones that are date stamped are labeled 1981 to 1984, making them actual vintage by most standards, I guess. I love the fact that our little lady eats off of the same plates that her Papa did nearly 30 years ago.
So with that, here are some of the things Miss G ate this week…
Breakfast // Wholewheat carrot walnut pancakes with all-natural almond butter and cinnamon yogurt drizzle.
Breakfast // Cream of Wheat with flax, blueberries, toasted almonds, and whole organic milk.
Breakfast // Plain organic whole yogurt with hemp hearts, chia, and fresh fruit. Toasted seedy multigrain with a drizzle of olive oil and avocado slices.
Breakfast // Toasted multigrain artisan bread with all-natural almond butter, organic raisins, and raw sunflower seeds (a combo Grae chose on her own). Mango cubes and strawberry slices.
Breakfast {a very lazy one at least} // Organic shredded wheat cereal with freeze-dried strawberries and blueberries and whole organic milk.
Easter Brunch // Fruit salad. Blueberry bran muffin section. Veggie omelet. Roasted potatoes.
Snacks {on the go} // Organic corn puffs, walnuts, dried apples, and organic dried cranberries.
Snack // Orange slices.
Snacks {on the go} // Avocado. Carrot sticks. Strawberries.
Snack // Multigrain melba toasts with all-natural cream cheese and cucumbers / strawberries.
Snack // Organic no-sugar-added banana chips (a new treat).
Lunch // Organic egg salad and red leaf lettuce wrap. Fresh veggies and all-natural dip.
Lunch // Turkey avocado sandwich (all-natural low-sodium turkey breast, avocado slices, pepper jack cheese, red leaf lettuce, and cucumber slices on multigrain artisan bread).
Lunch {on the go} // Ravioli avocado pasta salad. Organic cottage cheese. Mixed nuts. Apple slices and black grapes.
Lunch // Warm orzo salad (orzo, steamed asparagus, avocado, red pepper, green onion, black beans, cucumber, olive oil, and spices).
Lunch // Spicy black bean veggie soup with sour cream and fresh avocado. Organic sprouted grain sesame bread grilled with olive oil and herbs.
Dinner // Wholewheat pasta with steamed spinach, roasted garlic, toasted pine nuts, and feta cheese.
Dinner // Authentic Italian ravioli with homemade tomato basil sauce and seedy turkey and oat meatballs. Pan-seared zucchini with red peppers, onions, and cajun spices.
Dinner // Grilled wild Alaskan cod with garlic, onions, lemon, and fresh herbs. Steamed carrots with olive oil and dill. Mixed harvest grains (Israeli-style couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa).
Dinner // Hot and sweet chicken wrapped in turkey bacon (G does not usually eat turkey bacon, but this was a celebratory meal after getting some good news earlier in the day, so we made an exception). Red nugget potatoes with olive oil, sour cream, and fresh rosemary. Steamed broccoli and asparagus.
Dessert // Berry yogurt pop.
Dessert // Whole organic yogurt with banana slices and all-natural almond butter.
G’s Impression of her Cousin, Kinslee
Scarily accurate. But we ADORE the screechy little munchkin anyways. ☺
Taking Care of Baby
This morning as I was cooking up a pot of spicy black bean soup and Grae was playing, I heard an unusually loud sucking noise coming from the living room. I thought for sure that there was a tea party in full swing happening in the living room, but carefully poked my head around the corner to find this…
Our sweet and nurturing little lady nestled in the corner of the couch nursing her baby doll. I don’t know why, but this just kills me every time. Melt my mama heart.
An Afternoon Downtown
There’s something wonderful about downtown Vancouver on a sunshiny day. The crowds seem more laid-back, the people are friendlier, and the sidewalks are lined with performers, artists, and vendors, making it perfectly okay to saunter along leisurely. So, with yet another gorgeous Vancouver day upon us, Gracen and I packed up our stroller, jumped on the Canada Line, and made our way downtown. Despite Grae’s surprisely long 3 hour nap, we were lucky enough to make it in time to spend most of Bradley’s lunch hour with him. We walked along the sidewalks, sat on the art gallery steps, watched an amazing percussion group, and visited Grae’s favourite place – the kids’ section of Chapters.
Gracen enjoyed every minute and was such a little gem all afternoon that we ended up pushing it a little late, eating dinner on the train, skipping bath time, and arriving home to read a couple of stories and crawl into bed. ♥
Serious Cuteness Overload
Oh. my. god. My heart is exploding from the cuteness overload. Not only are my plaid-clad loves all matchy matchy with their button-ups, jeans, and sneaks, but Miss G has got Bradley’s silly poses and serious expressions down to a tee.
My heart melts. ♥
YMCA Playground
This morning we visited an adorable little playground at our local YMCA and I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more… Gracen or Bradley! The highlight was definitely when Brad toppled off his tiny perch on the digger into the bark mulch. Thanks to my cat-like reflexes and stealthy camera skills, it was caught on film – enjoy!
They’re Growing!
Our grassheads are officially sprouting their first few hairs! They’ve taken a little longer to grow than usual (we went a little overboard with the seeds and they’re hard to keep moist), but we’re finally seeing some progress! 
We took them out to the solarium this morning so that Gracen could take a better look…
Upon careful inspection, this is what we noticed…
‘Mama’ has a few hairs growing from the top of her head (and a few growing out from behind her eyes too – oops!)
Poor ‘Papa’ only has one single tiny hair growing atop his head…
And ‘Bubba’ has little hairs growing all around her head and all over her face too!
iPhoneography // Mini Model
When Grandma Sue was in town last, Gracen got the sweetest little package filled with pretty purple tops, a belt, and a new pair of jeans (of course the sparkly purple kitty belt is her ULTIMATE favourite). So when we tried her jeans on for the first time this morning, I snapped a couple of quick photos to send to “manmaw”. Little did I know that we had a little model on our hands!
Happy Easter!
Our Easter Sunday
I don’t think we could have asked for a better Easter Sunday. For starters, Bradley had the day off work and the weatherman was wrong in the way you always hope he’ll be wrong… Despite the forecast for clouds and rain, the day was sun-filled and warm, which meant a healthy dose of fresh air and vitamin D for our little family.
Our day started with Gracen waking up to all sorts of goodies from the Easter Bunny. She carefully went through her basket, spending a little time with each item before moving on to the next…
Inside, she found several books…
An egg shaker…
A new sunhat to fit that ever-growing Kossowan head of hers…
A beautiful new dress…
A button-up perfect for spring… (Plus new stamps and ink pads, stickers, cookie cutters, bunny ears, a baseball cap, a summer dress, and more!)
After enjoying all of the Easter Bunny’s treats, it was onto opening her gifts sent down by Grandma Charlotte and Grandpa Dave.
Again, she opened each item carefully, pausing to investigate them before moving on. She especially loved her new wooden caterpillar puzzle.
Grae kept busy by strategically placing her new stickers all over herself (and the house) while we prepared Easter brunch.
Soon after, Uncle Brett arrived and we all sat down to eat.
With brunch cleaned up, it was time to pull out some of her new goodies! This little lady is all about stamping right now.
When she’d had plenty of stamping, we put on her pretty new dress, got her egg collecting basket, and headed into the back yard.
Some spots were a little tricky…
And some were not.
Either way, she collected those eggs like it was her job!
And when she had found most of the ones out back, we headed out to the front yard to see if there were more there…
Team Ogasawara was there to give pointers, just in case.
And then it was off to find the really tricky ones. Sometimes you just have to throw your hands up into the air!
Problem solved with the help of a shoulder ride!
When we sat down to take a closer look at Grae’s findings, we realized she had collected a new little friend in addition to her eggs.
A little wet slug!
Grae patiently opened each egg and placed the treats into her bucket.
Opening eggs is tough work.
Inside, she found all of her favourite treats – all sorts of nuts, raisins, freeze-dried berries, banana chips, and fruit leather strips. She was thrilled.
{Yup, this one’s especially for you, Gar and Mikey. Go on and make fun. At this point, I may as well participate in the daily ‘make fun of Jen and her parenting choices’ sessions… It’s more fun that way, right?}
Out front, she picked out her first treat and sat down to enjoy it.
Of course she shared a little with Unky Brett.
And then it was off to do a little exploring…
One of the other things Grae found in some of her eggs were these very weird little mystery Easter pills. We brought out a bowl of warm water, popped them in, and waited…
Some waited more patiently than others… Uncle Brett just couldn’t stand the suspense any longer, and helped the surprise arrive in a more timely fashion.
Easter-shaped sponges – woooooooooow!
We spent the rest of the morning outside and only went in when it was time for Miss G’s nap.
When Grae woke, the three of us headed down to Stanley Park to partake in more Easter festivities.
And guess who was there! The Easter Bunny himself, that’s who!
It’s a good thing our little doodlebug is a collecting machine, because she participated in yet another egg hunt.
The only problem was that the baskets were so small that her eggs kept spilling out when she’d bend down to retrieve more.
Not sure what it is about these things, but I just can’t seem to pass them up.
And with that, we boarded the Stanley Park miniature train.
We rode around, watching closely for animals and Easter eggs – both of which, Miss G pointed out plenty of.
On the way into the park, I had spied a little organic popcorn station hosted by Whole Foods, so after our train tour, we stopped in a grabbed a bag as a treat.
Gracen was all over it and kept saying, “Moore. Moore!” the way she does in her little accent.
We stopped and played at this crowded playground for a bit before heading down the hill.
Grae found herself a flower patch that kept her entertained for a while…
And when she had exhausted herself with flower picking, she bounced on Papa’s tummy instead.
With it nearing dinnertime, we headed back up to the hill to our car.
The best ending to a busy, fun-filled day? Deciding that stopping at Cactus Club for dinner is the way to go. Yay for a night off from cooking!
For a little trip down memory lane, you can see how we celebrated Gracen’s first real Easter here and see how we spent last year’s Easter Sunday here.
♥ Happy Easter from the Kossowaras! ♥