This phrase has been on repeat recently. It’s said when it’s time to get dressed, time to turn out the lights, time to go to the potty, and time to put on shoes. The thing is… She’s exactly like me when I was little. Independent. Determined. And more than willing to spend the four minutes it takes to wrangle her socks and zip-up boots onto her feet if it means she gets to do it on her own.
“Grae Grae do it… Grae Grae BIG GIRL!”
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Today, my munchkin and I escaped to a little piece of rural paradise, right here in the city of Vancouver. We spent our day out at Southlands Riding Club (just off of SW Marine Drive), at their annual Country Fair and it certainly did not disappoint. The fair, which raises money to support the club, as well as their summer riding program for underprivileged children and two other local charities that run programs for disabled riders, was wonderful… The perfect way to spend a day with little ones, really. Besides horse entertainment and demonstrations all day long, there were pony rides, hay rides, a petting farm, a vendors’ market filled with local goods, musical entertainment, a huge farm yard fun area bursting with old-fashioned activities for little ones, and more. Grae and I arrived in time for opening, stayed well past her usual nap time, and could have stayed for at least two hours more.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the day was the pony rides (and not just for Grae – it seems most families felt the same way). Though I’d read about how busy the pony ride area was in years past, I thought Southlands had a great system this time around. Basically, you visited a booth to sign up for your pony ride time slots, then went about your day and reported to the ring only once it was your designated time. Because the line was only for time selections, it moved fairly quickly despite its length. Luckily, I thought ahead and signed up for two time slots {an hour apart}, guessing that Gracen would love her first horse riding experience and want to go again. And thank goodness I did. The first thing out of her mouth after getting off her pony was, “More pony riding?”
Here’s a look at our day in photos…
First pony ride.
Wee cowgirl on a wee pony.
Puppy dog face.
Goats need hugs too.
‘Hello piggy!’
Back to the riding ring.
On the ‘BIIIIG’ pony, as requested.
Doesn’t get much better.
Cowgirl Grae.
Tractor driving.
Bouncy horse!
A giant sensory pit… the hay pile.
Yay for hay.
Ahhh… Comfy.
Future firefighter?
What a day. I’m not sure who had more fun… But one thing is for sure, we’ll definitely be back next year.
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While eating her snack at Thursday’s Strong Start class…
Gracen: (while gently patting my shoulder) Sanks (thanks), Mama taking Grae Grae school.
Just after getting into the car the other morning…
Gracen: Grae Grae in seat, Mama drive. Mama seatbelt too.
Mama: Yes, Grae. Everyone has to wear seatbelts.
Gracen: Safety first! Wear seat belts! Car open doors, Grae Grae no fall out!
While biking up a long hill Friday afternoon…
Gracen: No Mama (*insert loud panting noises here*). No tired, Mama! Bike faster!
On the drive to the pool this weekend…
Gracen: Mama and Grae wearing baving (bathing) suits. Papa wear baving suit?
Mama: Well, not really. Papa wears swim shorts.
Gracen: Mama and Grae Grae girls.
Mama: Yes, we are.
Gracen: Papa boy. Papa’s different.
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Grae’s new favourite game…
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Gracen had a wonderful time with her friends at her birthday party and has talked about having friends over to play every day since. So with my little lady’s wishes tugging at my heartstrings and our beautiful Vancouver weather continuing into September, I decided to host our first ever {outdoor} messy play date.
It’s been something Gracen’s been anticipating all week, and yesterday, she helped me pick out and put together our snacks, sensory bins, and art stations, and today we had four of her little friends over to play in the backyard. It was morning of ‘treats’, friends, hugs, and getting dirty, which suited Gracen just perfectly.
Though I tried to take photos during the play date, attempting to drink a hot coffee, engage and supervise a handful of one and two year olds, and visit with fellow mommies at the same time ended up being quite a lot on its own. Afterwards, however, once all of our friends had departed and Miss G was tucked in her crib for her nap, I couldn’t help but smile at the piles of mess all around me. Mostly eaten snacks, well played with sensory bins, almost empty juice cups, dried up paint, and little white plaster footprints across our backyard pad… All signs filled bellies, happy babies, and old-fashioned messy play.
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This little video is only 4 seconds long and I couldn’t love it more… Jammies, Crocs, and one very excited girl.
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After a particularly crazy registration day, filled with chaos, confusion, and papers carelessly strewn about the table and floor, I must admit I was a little nervous about our first day of Grae’s Strong Start Program today… The good news? Today was much calmer. The people were fewer, the atmosphere was friendlier, and there was plenty of fun to be had.
As part of our effort to use our car less and spend more time walking and biking, Grae and I walked to the school first thing this morning, parked our stroller outside (despite the secretary’s warning), and headed into the classroom. Gracen very excitedly put her things in a cubby and jumped into playing right away. Puzzles, paint, play dough, dolls, blocks, books, and games filled the class and begged for her attention. She slowly made her way around the room, playing at each station for a good long time before tidying up and moving on. After free play time, we all went to the gym, where Grae worked up an appetite throwing and chasing balls. We returned to the room to find a small snack set out at each table spot (each family contributes fruit for the snack) and Grae was extremely pleased to see the strawberries she had chosen especially for the occasion out and ready for her friends to eat. She happily gobbled up her fruit while visiting with friends, and then it was off to the carpet for circle time.
After a great morning, circle time was the only part of the class that was a little too much. Though the teacher has a great repertoire of songs and action poems and stories to share with the kids, it’s difficult to have the kids quiet and engaged when the adults in the room are not demonstrating good listening skills themselves. I must admit, the mix of visiting, cell phone talking, and toy playing all happening while the teacher was trying to run a fun, but structured carpet time for the kiddos made my teacher skin crawl a little. We stuck it out for most of it, but near the end (after nearly 3 hours at school), Gracen was reaching her limit and it was becoming increasingly difficult to explain why she couldn’t have toys to play with although many others did. Rather than dragging it out longer than necessary, we very quietly dismissed ourselves before the end of class, as did a couple of other parents and tots.
Other than the circle time being a little disappointing, the only other thing I found a bit surprising was how little English was spoken throughout the morning. Not a terrible thing… I think it’s great that Grae is exposed to different languages, and living in the Middle East for four years certainly got me used to situations like these where I have no idea what people are saying around me… Yet it definitely makes it harder to connect with other parents and it is a little surprising in a program that {I think} is intended to prepare children for what will eventually become their public school education. Oh, well… I think it’s still going to be a great experience for Miss G, English or not.
Overall, I’d say it was a pretty good morning. Better than expected actually. Gracen had a great time and left with a couple of new art projects in hand and a couple of new friends to come back to next week.
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Today, after a trip to our fruit and vegetable market, Grae and I came home and put together some fun mini fruit skewers. We washed the fruit together, I did the chopping, and Gracen did the assembling. Grae had a ton of fun poking the fruit pieces onto the toothpicks and sliding them along to make room for more. As she created her snack masterpieces, she counted the pieces and named the fruits in her singsongy voice, adding each skewer to the plate when finished.
Now although we could have just mixed up our chopped fruit and eaten it as fruit salad, everything is better on skewers, right? Not to mention, making them was the best part – just look at that proud little face. Plus, they’d be great finger snacks for a play date or party… Or just as dessert for a mama and a babe. ☺
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With fall soon approaching, I knew that I wanted to get Gracen in a couple of organized activities. Though our days visiting parks and beaches and playgrounds will continue through the winter months, it’s nice to have more than just our usual play gyms, pools, and libraries to sneak away to when we want to escape the cold. When I came across Ballet with Billie, a parent and tot class held at our local community centre, I knew Gracen would love it. Music, dancing, singing, and little friends… It sounded perfect for our little lady.
So today, the first day of classes, we got her dressed in her little leggings, her brand new leotard, and the tutu she’d specially selected for the occasion. As I packed up our bag, she came to me with the handmade scarf she received for her birthday and said, “Mama, Grae Grae wear scarf. Windy day. Sooooo windy, Mama.” I explained that it wasn’t really all that windy, but she desperately wanted to wear it, so out the door we went.
We arrived to the class and met several lovely mamas and babes right off the bat, the teacher was beyond fantastic with the little girls, and Grae really enjoyed herself {once we got passed the loud stomping part that left her feeling a little frightened and clingy}. The best part? She left the class, star sticker on hand and first ever goldfish cracker in belly, asking when we’d be going back.
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7 times out of 10, if you ask Gracen what she’d like to do, she’ll answer “Bike ride!” or “Park!” Guaranteed, the other 3 times you’ll get a very enthusiastic “Paint!” So that’s just what we did today. With G on my lap, we browsed my Toddler Activities Pinterest board looking for a fun and new painting method to try. There were many options – wellie boot painting, muffin tin painting, fizzy sidewalk painting, salad spinner painting, bubble painting, and more – but the pin she selected? This homemade puffy paint recipe.
Though we stuck to the recipe fairly closely, we used a slightly different method to make it. Here’s what we gathered to get started… Water, salt, self-raising flour, food colouring, a zip-close bag, an ice cube tray, and some paint brushes.
I of course had the help of this monkey too. (I asked her to do something funny and this was her immediate reaction… Good to have a solid go-to funny face on deck for moments just like these.)
Though you really don’t need it, we used a mason jar to hold our bag upright and open for us (a cup would work just as well) so that Grae could add ingredients without having to hold the bag open at the same time. First, she added the salt and flour to the bag.
Then we zipped it closed and she gave it a good shake.
The three of us were sitting down together today and I yanked out these two supplies for a little activity I’ve had in mind for a long while now.
I originally saw these velcro building sticks at Tot Treasures and loved the simplicity of them.
With our sticky velcro dots attached to each side and firmly pressed down, we were ready to try them out.
We begun attaching them to one another and quickly realized that they would be 10 times more fun with velcro dots on both sides of the sticks (more dots on our list for next shopping trip!), but Grae didn’t seem to mind.
Her favourite? Making ‘snakes’ and ‘zigzags’.
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I originally made these muffins as a healthy alternative to the sugar-filled, buttercream-topped Pioneer Woman vanilla cupcakes I made for Miss G’s 2nd birthday party, and they’ve quickly became a favourite. Gracen loves them, Brad gobbles them up, and I often pack an extra in the diaper bag to eat while on the go. So this morning, on the first football Sunday of the year, Miss G and I whipped up a fresh batch.
Here’s our line up of ingredients…
*To make a chia or flax egg, put one tablespoon of ground chia or flax seed into a small bowl and add 3 tablespoons of warm water. Mix it well and let it sit for approximately 10 minutes before using it.
First off, add your bananas and the other wet ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
Mix until mostly smooth and only slightly chunky.
Next, place all of the dry ingredients, except the nuts and or chocolate chips, in a separate bowl.
And give them a good stir.
Once mixed, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture.
Mix just until blended.
If you’re adding nuts to your muffins, crush them up a little bit…
Add them to your muffin batter… If you’re adding chocolate chips, no need to crush them first obviously.
And give the mixture a stir.
Lastly, grease a muffin tin with some oil (or use silicone muffin liners) , scoop the mixute into the cups, and top with a walnut if desired.
Bake until cooked through and golden brown.
The BEST {No Sugar Added} Banana Muffins (adapted from Bob Ewing‘s recipe)
Preheat oven to 350° . Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan by brushing it with oil or using silicon baking cups.
If you’re using a flax or chia egg, mix 1 tablespoon of ground chia or flax seed with 3 tablespoons of warm water in a small bowl and allow it to sit for 5 or 10 minutes to thicken. Mix the bananas and other wet ingredients until the mixture is mostly smooth and only slightly chunky. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients (save the walnuts and chocolate chips) well. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in walnuts and/or chocolate chips if adding them. Fill the prepared muffin tin with the mixture and top each muffin with a whole walnut. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool.
Enjoy!
This song has been on repeat in our house for days now… Miss G calls it “Eva, Eva, Eva” and happily bounces around for the duration of the song every time it’s played.
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We’re hanging on to every last bit of summer we can around here, and have spent the last two days at the beach. Today, I packed along with us a few simple materials to try out a very cool beach project I saw long ago on Honest to Nod. It went surprisingly well for our first attempt, and we’ll definitely be trying it again before the summer’s vanished completely. Here’s how Miss G and I made our very own sand casts…
First of all, we retrieved a few buckets of ocean water and created a little plot of firm, mouldable sand. You could easily do this project near the shoreline where you normally find perfect sandcastle sand, but since the tide was high and the shoreline was littered with seaweed and shells, we opted for this method instead. (You can also do this project at home by mixing play sand water in a baking pan or shallow dish of some sort.)
Next, using the bottoms of our sand buckets and a plastic cup, we made several wells in the sand approximately 1 to 2 inches deep. (You can also use drift wood, feet, hands, and beach toys to make wells of different shapes and sizes.)
Then, using shells we collected around the beach, as well as a few glass stones we brought from home, we created designs and patterns in the bottoms of the wells. One thing we did learn about this is that in order to show up well in the finished product, the decorations need to be pushed down quite firmly into the sand – otherwise they just get completely buried in plaster. (At this stage, you can also use your finger or a stick to draw designs in the wells. Just remember that if you choose to write something, you need to write it backwards so that it faces the correct way on the cast.)
Next, using a container from home, a couple of cups of plaster of paris powder (readily available at art supply and hardware stores), some ocean water, and a piece of drift wood, we mixed up our plaster according to the directions on the box (2 parts powder, 1 part water).
Then we filled our wells almost to the top. At this point, we experimented with adding a couple of straws to two of the wells in order to have a hanging hole at the end. Turns out, it worked great. The only thing we’ll do differently next time is add the straws before the plaster (much easier when you can see the stones and shells, rather than digging around trying to avoid them ☺).
Easiest step? Playing and eating snacks while waiting for the plaster to set.
After about 30 minutes, I gently poked the plaster to find out that they were dry and hard, so I gently scooped up one of the casts, along with some of the sand below it. Sure enough, it was fully solid. Grae helped me scoop up all of the casts and place them gently in a bucket.
Next, we took the casts down to the ocean for a quick bath to remove the excess sand.
Here’s what we ended up with.
These two are Grae’s favourites… The octopus was made with the bottom of one of her Melissa & Doug nesting pails and ‘happy face guy’ was made with glass stones and a chunk of a shell.
Grae and I are hosting a messy play date this week and this just may have to be one of our outdoor crafts for the day. Fun, simple, and the perfect way to hang on to summer long after it’s gone.
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What does an afternoon outdoors, a big blanket, a toddler, and a mama attempting to read the newspaper equal? Impromptu newspaper collages… Bust out the scissors and the glue!
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Photos edited with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.