Messy-haired and rosy-cheeked after a long nap.
Mobile phone family portrait.
Play dough queen.
Author: Jen
To the Beach with Manmaw
Today we headed down to our favourite beach to enjoy our last couple of hours with Grandma Charlotte. We played on the playground for a little bit and then made our way to the walking path (towards Cornwall Ave and Starbucks), to which Gracen immediately exclaimed, “Drink! Drink!”, knowing that a steamed milk with cinnamon was in her near future… Smart little cookie! Puppy kisses, puddle jumping, sea glass collecting, and extreme swinging were also involved. Here’s the proof:
Mondern merry-go-rounding.
A dreary day treat.
Splish splash.
Searching for something special.
With Papa’s help.
Taking it all in.
“Catching Papa”.
Extreme swinging, courtesy of Gma Char.
‘Hello down there!’
‘Wheeeeeee!’
Our morning ended with a tuckered out little lady falling asleep on the drive home (an hour before her usual nap time), therefore missing out on saying goodbye to her “Manmaw”. Oopsies. Although she didn’t wake up desperately searching for Grandma like we thought she might, she did remind us about where Grandma sleeps and where she sits at the table several times throughout the remainder of the day. Not to worry my sweet girl, Grandma’s last words were, “Make sure that foamie doesn’t go too far – I’ll be back at the end of March!” Days spent in the backyard gardening with Grandma are coming very soon, Miss G.
iPhoneography // Treasures & Cheese
Gracen, very pleased with the little treasures Grandma Charlotte and I found on our impromptu thrifting trip.
Costco shopping and G’s new ‘smile for Mama’ face.
A Day with Gma Char
Today we got in a full day of quality time with Grandma Charlotte (a.k.a. ‘Gma Char’). It involved a Granville Island visit, some shopping, several tea parties, plenty of cuddles, and a giant Costco trip. All in all, I’d say it was a pretty great day. Here are a few photos I took along the way.
Captain Gracen.
Peek!
Ducks galore.
Mama’s worst nightmare.
Kisses for Calgary Stampedin’ Gido.
Greek for lunch!
Grandma, Grae, and Papa.
Tea for two.
Pretending to be a teeny tiny baby.
Play Dough Prints
♥ Gracen & Mama ♥
Homemade Bird Feeders
Despite the incident we had at Granville Island a couple of months back, our little lady remains a dedicated bird lover (unlike her mama). So today we headed out into our sunshiny backyard, supplies in hand, to make a couple of simple, toddler-friendly bird feeders. Here’s what we did…
Seedy Bagel Rings:
For this project, we used wild bird seed mix, some wholewheat bakery bagels, some ‘just peanuts’ peanut butter, some jute (it’s biodegradable and can be repurposed by birds when building their nests), a spatula, and some scissors.
First things first, cover one side of the bagel with peanut butter.
You want it nice and thick so that the seeds really stick.
Then plop it, peanut butter side down, into the seed mixture.
Really push it down into the seeds to collect as many as possible.
It should look something like this.
Next, spread peanut butter on the other side.
And cover it completely with seeds.
Almost done! While you tie a loop of jute through the middle of the bagel, have your little one wash the gobs of peanut butter off of her hands.
Tada! Here’s the finished product.
Now tie them up in a tree and wait for hungry birds to flock your way.
Toasted O Loops:
For this feeder, we used jute, scotch tape, low-sugar toasted O cereal, and some scissors.
First thing, cut a piece of jute, tie a triple knot at one end, and wrap a small bit of tape around the other end so that it doesn’t fray.
Next, string the o’s onto the jute, one by one.
It’s a slow process… Especially if your munchkin eats five o’s for every one she strings!
When you’ve got a nice long string, make a loop and tie it at the top.
Then knot it onto a tree branch. It doesn’t get any easier than that!
I’m sure we’re inviting all kinds of scary crows and seagulls into our yard with these tempting treats swinging from our trees, but if it provides some entertainment for our little bird watcher, it’ll be worth it.
Grae’s Day
Just a regular day with Miss Grae today…
Early morning antics.
Laundry “helper”.
Little swimmer.
Post-nap routine. Milk, snack, blanket, and quiet time.
Single pony.
Play dough play.
Before dinner walk.
Crackers and cheese at the park.
Frozen blueberries for dessert.
Emergency sink bath.
♥
Play Dough Day
Today I had barely finished mentioning making play dough and my little Lulu had already retrieved her apron.
Now, I have always been a fan of the 2:1:1 recipe (2 parts flour to 1 part salt and 1 part water). It’s fast, it’s easy, and it really only requires having two ingredients on hand. I’ve used it through many, many years of babysitting, nannying, and teaching without even considering giving another recipe a try. That is, until I decided to give this “fussy” recipe a go this Christmas. Yes, it requires both oil and cream of tartar – not to mention cooking – but if you’ve got the ingredients, extra time, and patience to let it cool, it’s totally worth it. It’s soft, super pliable, and lasts for a ridiculously long time. Plus, it’s really not that hard.
Here’s what you need: Some flour, salt, cream of tartar, vegetable oil, water, food colouring, and a cute little sous chef to help you along the way.
First things first, pour your water in a large pot.
Next, add your salt. Preferably into the pot. But hey, whatever works.
Then, add your cream of tartar.
And your food colouring. (Of course for this little one, purple was the colour of choice.) Give everything a little stir.
Then, over medium heat, warm the mixture until hot, but not boiling.
When hot, add your oil and your flour, cup by cup.
Don’t worry if it looks all chunky and gross. We’ve used this recipe several times and we’ve always experienced this stage. It’ll all work out in the end.
When you’ve added all of the flour, give the dough one final stir and plop it out onto a well-floured counter. Sprinkle some extra flour on top if the dough appears sticky. Be careful – it’ll be very hot still.
Once it’s cooled, kneed the dough well, incorporating all of the extra flour.
Then give your munchkin a chunk and let her go to town.
Fun for hours!
Here’s our slightly tweaked version of the recipe if you want to give it a try:
- 5 cups of water
- 2 1/2 cups of salt
- 3 TBSP of cream of tartar
- 5 TBSP of vegetable oil
- Food colouring
- 5 1/2 cups of flour
Mix water, salt, cream of tartar, oil, and food colouring in a large pot. Cook on medium heat, stirring regularly until mixture is hot.
Add oil, then stir in flour a cup at a time, mixing in between each addition. Mix until playdough pulls away from pot and is no longer sticky.
Dump dough on a well-floured counter, let cool a bit, then knead.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for several weeks.
Enjoy!
18 Month Check Up
This afternoon we had Miss G’s 18 month wellness check up. Although I love knowing that she’s growing, gaining weight, and reaching her milestones as expected, I absolutely dread the vaccination part. I’ve always disliked it (especially in Kuwait at those terrifying government clinics), but now that she’s older, it’s worse. Afterwards, she looks up at me with these big tear-filled eyes with a ‘Mama, you knew that was going to happen’ expression. Break my mama heart. The good news is that this time around it was only one shot compared to the four she had to get at twelve months. And getting to choose an animal sticker and play with toys afterwards seemed to pretty much make up for the poke.
The other good news is that our nurse was really happy with all of her measurements, skills, and progress. This months measurements may be a little off because it was the first time she was weighed with clothes and shoes on, and it was the first time she was standing when her height was measured, but close enough. Here are her 18 month stats:
- Weight – 25 pounds (up from 21 pounds at her 12 month visit, jumping her up from the 50th percentile to the 65th)
- Height – 80 centimetres (up from 76 centimetres at her 12 month visit, moving her way down from the 95th percentile to the 45th!)
- Head Circumference – 48 centimetres (up a half centimetre from her 12 month visit, moving her just a tiny bit from the 90th percentile down to the 87th)
When we originally pulled up to the clinic, my unsuspecting little lady saw the playground at the school across the street and started bouncing with excitement. Of course, little did she know, we weren’t there to play. I told her that we were going to visit the nurses, and afterwards, we’d go to a park. So that’s exactly what we did.
It was freezing cold and we were the only ones there, but she was pleased none the less.
We played, ran, slid, and hid and then headed home to have dinner and a warm bath!
Baby Love
Gracen absolutely loves our friends’ little man to bits. To the point where it’s an obsession. Today Steph and Tate came over for lunch and a visit, and she literally could not leave his side. The poor little guy just wanted some peace and quiet to slumber in the sunshine, and Grae was all up in his business the entire time. And imagine her dismay when it was nap time! She was utterly insulted by the fact that I would even consider making her sleep while there was a baby in our house. She fell asleep crying “Buubba… Buuuuubba…” (baby) and woke up 30 minutes later pointing out her door and calling “Bubba! Bubba!” in desperation. I guess we have to make sure we see Tate more often!
Star
This afternoon, as I tidied up the kitchen, Miss G sat at her little table happily colouring and drawing. That is, until she came into the kitchen with narrowed eyes, a furrowed brow, and a serious, “Mama?” She held her pudgy little hand out to me and looked at the floor.
In my most serious mama voice, I said, “Gracen, what is this?” After a short pause, she looked up at me with bright eyes and upturned lips and proudly announced, “Star!”
How can you be upset with that? :)
iPhoneography // Out
A Superstore ritual.
Serious in Starbucks.
Let it Snow
This afternoon, for a brief time, little dancing snowflakes filled the sky. Gracen sat on a cushion in front of the window, sipped her milk, and took it all in. ♥
Sunday
Oh, how I love Sundays… And today’s was just as they were meant to be. Bradley had the day off and we were able to spend the day together, just the three of us, for the first time in what felt like a long while. Our day was filled with a morning at the beach, a leisurely walk for tea lattes, a lazy lunch, produce shopping at our favourite market, and fresh vietnamese spring rolls for dinner. Of course, the beach was the highlight… I know it seems like we’ve been a little obsessed with Kits Beach lately {we have!}, but it’s just so beautiful down there. There’s a little bit of everything – a seawall to walk along, one of the best playgrounds we’ve visited in the city, and a giant beach to explore. Not to mention, there’s a Starbucks across the street (this makes Mama very happy) and you can’t walk 3 steps without seeing a dog or a bird (this makes Gracen very happy). Overall, it’s a win-win! Plus, it’s only 15 minutes from our house and Papa had not been since well before our overseas adventure… So basically, we HAD to go {and take 150 photos while we were at it}. Here are some of my favourites:
Little Miss Animal Lover on her way to offer the seagull her muffin.
Carefully selecting a few new items for our ocean discovery box.
Smitten with blankets.
Almond-filled pockets.
Sittin’ with the seagulls.
Deep in conversation.
“Papa, you’re sooooo funny!”
Showing off her shell.
Impromtu beach snuggles for Mama. ♥
Giggles.
Stealth snack style by Papa.
Little admirer.
Serious about boots.
Log walking.
Papa & his little lady.
Dismount.
“Manmaw” Charlotte Visits
Grandma Charlotte was in town this weekend doing some professional development and visiting a friend, so we got to spend afternoon with her today. Gracen kept her busy with colouring projects and countless storybook requests. Grandmas don’t need rest, do they?