Sunset Centre Play Gym

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It’s Friday, and true to our old routine, we headed up to Sunset Community Centre’s play gym. It was a bit of an interesting day (a father decided to inform a mother nursing her 6 month old baby – with a cover no less – that it was inappropriate to breastfeed her child in public…yikes…poor guy sure knows how to get a group of predominately stay-at-home-mamas riled up!), but Grae had a wonderful time none the less. Here are a few photos from our visit:

Baby jail.

Teetering.

Dancing and twirling in the centre circle.

Stacking.

Visiting her pony friend (this was taken just after she planted a kiss on his nose).

Mama’s Model

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I finally got my Etsy shop set up the other day and slowly started adding items to it last night.

I’m so very lucky to have a mini model who’s as cooperative and patient as she is.

iPhoneography // Kicks

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Favourite kicks. Mine a million years old and G’s, brand new.

Car-less Craziness

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Today Bradley took the vehicle to work, which left my little adventurer and I car-less for the first time ever. Of course there were a couple of walks in between bouts of rain, the usual stories, and some favourite games, but not having wheels definitely sparked some silliness… Just check these out:

In the backyard caw-ing at crows.

Buckling Quatchi for safety.

Attempting to walk in Mama’s shoes.

Bottoms up while smelling the flowers.

Hanging out in the dryer.

Hahaha! Hopefully it’s business as usual tomorrow.

“Smile”

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I don’t know how on earth this came about, but a little while back Gracen started making the most hilarious scrunched up face whenever I’d say “Grae, can you show Mama your smile?” while taking her photo… Let’s hope it’s a quick stage.

Little Poser

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This morning I asked Gracen if she’d stand by the tree and let me take her picture… She immediately marched over, put her hands in her pockets, and made this face. Goodness gracious! Is this her new go-to pose?! Please say it isn’t so.

Silly Sticker Girl

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Grae found this scrap piece of paper on the table this morning and immediately swiped it. She got the stickers our mail lady had given her yesterday, plopped her nearly-naked self down on the floor, and got to work.

(Don’t ask about the outfit… Panties, socks, and a hat seem to be the only necessary clothing items nowadays. This look is also often paired with just one purple sneaker or pink gumboot. And don’t you dare offer to help her put on the other one. She certainly doesn’t want that.)

Peeling and sticking stickers is serious business and this was the first time Grae was really able to do it all by herself.

The second her last sticker hit the paper, she jumped up, ran to her room paper in hand, and held it up to the wall above her pillows. I asked if she wanted me to stick it up in that spot and she nodded her head with utmost certainty. I have a feeling that framing Monday’s finger paint project has given her the idea that all artwork immediately gets plastered to her walls.

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Chickpeas

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This afternoon Gracen and I whipped up a quick and delicious snack that I pinned a few days ago – roasted garlic parmesan chickpeas. We eat beans all the time and Grae really loves crunchy snacks (nuts, seeds, crackers, crostini, biscotti), so I figured this recipe would be a hit. And it was! Here’s what we did:

Get started while your little one naps by draining and rinsing a couple of cans of chickpeas.

Then lay them out on a towel to dry.

When your munchkin wakes up and has had her quiet time, ask her if she wants to bake and watch her run to the kitchen to retrieve her apron (happens every time). Then get her to transfer all of the chickpeas from the towel into a large bowl.

Get started by adding a splash of your favourite oil.

Then shake in a little bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Sprinkle in some basil and oregano too.

Then add a few cloves of minced garlic.

Lastly, add a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Give everything a really good stir.

All of the herbs and seasonings should be evenly distributed.

Dump the contents of the bowl out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread the chickpeas out into a single layer.

Sneak a few just to make sure they taste good.

Then pop them in the oven and try to wait patiently while they crisp up for the better part of an hour.

When they’re crispy and slightly browned, take them out of the oven to cool.

Then give your highly impatient toddler a little bowl…

And watch her devour them.

If you want to give these a try, the original recipe can be found here, and this is our slightly modified version:

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Chickpeas

2 cans of no salt added chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 of a cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 TBSP of avocado oil
1 1/2 tsp of basil
1 1/2 tsp of oregano
1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp of sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain the chickpeas and rinse them well. Lay them on a towel to dry for 30 minutes to an hour.

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Spread mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until crispy and slightly browned. Let cool and enjoy!

iPhoneography // Pleased as Punch

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We, quite possibly, have the sweetest mail lady ever. She adores Gracen, and each time we visit her little ma and pa shop to send off a parcel or pick up some stamps, she spends time talking with Grae, complimenting her, and showing her her special ‘mail lady things’. Before we leave, there’s always a treat of some sort. Normally it’s a set of stickers just like these. Can you believe that each time our mail lady uses up a set of stamps, she takes the 5 little decorative stickers from the tops of the pages and places them neatly where the stamps used to be in order to make little sticker collections?! She does. And then she hands them out to little ones, just like Grae. Gracen is always tickled pink with her present and showers our mail lady with thank yous.

On Top of the World

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Papa getting off work early + picking him up at the Canada Line station + stopping at a new park on the way home = Pretty much the best thing ever in Miss G’s books

Kinder Cafe in Port Coquitlam

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Today Gracen and I ventured out to Port Coquitlam to meet up with a bunch of other mommies and munchkins at Kinder Cafe, an indoor playground geared towards preschool-aged children and their coffee-loving mamas. It was a bit of an adventure getting there (we missed our exit amidst the construction and ended up having to go into Surrey, loop around, and come back over the Port Mann Bridge with rush hour traffic), but it was well worth it. The play structures were engaging, the coffee was delish, and the company was wonderful, as always. Gracen had a great time playing and hanging out with her friends and was still talking about it tonight during dinner. Overall, I’d say that it was a hit. Here are a few photos from our visit:

Thrilled to be in a bouncy castle just for little kids.

She went absolutely nuts in here. There was a lot of shrieking, running, clapping, jumping, and ball throwing involved.

Who knew that 10:30 a.m. = bubble time at Kinder Cafe?! The munchkins LOVED it.

Little mommy in the playhouse.

Swinging.

Hanging out with her little friend, Keagan while Baby Tate snoozes on Auntie Steffie.

Tunnel crawling.

Apparently she thinks she’s a little smaller than she actually is.

Firefighter Grae taking a little break.

Toddler Food: What G Eats {1}

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I’m always a little bit shocked to find out that people outside our friends and family visit our blog now and then. I mean, of course I find Miss G irresistibly adorable, even when copious numbers of photos are involved. I can even understand that our friends and family members may feel the same way… But people whom we’ve never met? (Okay, let’s be honest – it’s not very many people whom we’ve never met, but I’m still a little surprised that they find what’s posted here interesting enough to visit.) Either way, it’s very flattering. That being said, imagine my surprise when I was contacted last week by a fellow mommy who asked if I’d be willing to share more about what Gracen eats throughout the day after stumbling upon one of my ‘Cooking with Miss G’ posts…

As a little back story, I subscribed to several ‘mommy blogs’ when we first learned we were expecting and reading about other people’s journey through mommyhood has now become a part of my daily routine. I know that sounds kind of creepy, but reading mommy blogs has allowed me to learn from other’s experiences, be comforted by other mama’s stories, and come across all kinds of great toddler-friendly activities, projects, and recipes. And since little ones seem to be constantly eating, I’ve always enjoyed finding new meal and snack ideas to prepare for G.

So… I figure since I obviously already make the food, and since I already take a minimum of 100 photos a day (crazy, I know), why not share some of the things Grae eats? It keeps with the theme of this blog being a modern day baby book of sorts and if it gives just one mommy one new idea, then why not? So here it is… Our first Toddler Food post.

Breakfast // Organic yogurt with chia, hemp hearts, seeds, and dried fruit. Grapefruit sections.

Breakfast // Wholewheat flax waffles with stewed berries.

Breakfast // Avocado on toasted farmer’s bread. Banana slices with all-natural peanut butter.

Special Saturday Brunch // French crepes with berries and fresh whipped cream.

Breakfast // Oatmeal with walnuts, blueberries, and organic milk. Banana berry flax smoothie.

Snack // ‘Lulu Mix’ (walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, organic raisins, organic o’s).

Snack // Cranberry Almond Biscotti.

Snack // Banana Almond Oatmeal Smoothie.

Snack // Fresh veggies. Multigrain seed crackers. Organic artichoke pesto for dipping.

Lunch // Grilled avocado and cheddar on multigrain flax seed flat bread. Fresh veggies and sun-dried tomato humus. Banana almond oatmeal smoothie.

Lunch // Wholewheat shells with cheddar, white tuna, peas, and herbs.

Lunch // Chickpea patty. Quinoa salad. Broiled jalapeño havarti on multigrain flax flatbread.

Dinner // Wholewheat spaghetti with turkey spinach tomato sauce. Roasted asparagus. Ice water. (G LOVES ice!)

Dinner // Salsa and cheddar baked chicken. Orzo with feta and toasted pine nuts. Steamed broccoli with lemon. (This meal idea was stolen from my sister-in-law!)

Dinner // Mulligatawny with chicken and brown wild rice. Multigrain flax flat bread for dipping.

Dinner // Wholewheat pesto pizza with roasted chicken, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes. Spinach salad with avocado, dried cranberries, and seeds.

Dessert // Mango chunks. Strawberry slices.

Dessert // Orange slices. Greek yogurt for dipping.

iPhoneography // Pizazz

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While I was cooking dinner and doing dishes tonight, I heard an awful lot of grunting coming from the living room. Shortly after, Gracen marched into the kitchen sporting a proud smirk, her ballerina skirt, and her fuzzy red footie pajamas on her arms only while the body and legs of the pajamas floated behind her like a cape. Apparently the shirt and leggings combo we decided on earlier in the day lacked the pizazz she was looking for…

Finger Paint Fun

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Today was a freezing cold, wet, windy day in Vancouver. It was miserable, really. But it couldn’t have been more perfect. Gracen and I had a wonderful day. We stayed in our pajamas until afternoon, played games and acted silly, read book after book, ate a delicious lunch, and got messy with some serious finger painting action. I don’t know what’s taken so long… We’ve painted her hands and feet and stamped them, we painted with brushes, we’ve done mess-free finger painting in zip-close bags, but we’ve never done full-on finger painting. My poor girl’s 18 months old and she’s never finger painted before! Bad mommy. So today we got started. And Grae loved it.

Ready and waiting.

Cautious in the beginning.

Getting into it.

Woohoo! This is fun!

Amidst a masterpiece.

Tie-dyed hands.

Le pièce de résistance.

So proud. (It turned out so beautifully that we headed out to Ikea to pick out a frame for it. There’s something special about having your little one’s artwork up on the walls…)

I told Grae she could choose its spot and showed her several potential places on her bedroom walls, but she simply shook her head at each suggestion. She took the frame from my hands and placed it on top of her little shelf where she insists on keeping all three of her other frames (I’ve tried moving one to a new location while she’s in another room on several occasions, but I always come back to all three back on the shelf).