Although we’re perfectly content living in a little house {just barely} on the east side of the city, there is definitely something magical about Vancouver’s westside. There’s just a different energy about it. Maybe it’s just that before moving to the Middle East I had spent the better part of a decade living there and it feels more like home… I don’t know. Either way, I know that I want to spend some time showing Gracen some of my favourite places from times past.
With that in mind, this morning we geared up, pretended not to notice the spitting rain too much, and headed down to an old favourite, Kits Beach. We walked along the oceanfront, visited with puppies, played at the playground, put our {gumboot-protected} feet in the water, collected seashells, ate lunch on a giant log, bird watched, and jumped in puddles. Okay…and took a ridiculous amount of photos. :) It was the perfect Vancouver morning with my little lady. ♥
Between talking and signing, Grae is a pretty awesome little communicator. But in instances like these, I wish she could tell me more. We were at home playing when she stopped, went to her room, got her fuzzy blanket, and laid it out on the floor just so. Then one-by-one, she started transferring her books from the baskets in the living room onto the blanket. She ensured that each book was fully on the blanket, and if one accidentally slid off a little bit, she’d go back and place it back on the pile until it stayed exactly where she wanted it. When the baskets in the living room were empty, she started retrieving more from the bookshelf in her room. By the end of it all, we had a mountain of books (and Sharpies) on a blanket in the middle of our house. What started this mission, I’m not sure…
A little while ago, we let Gracen try some plain stove-popped popcorn for the first time… And boy, oh boy, does she ever love it.
Apparently she also loves flinging it out of the bowl and all over the place.
Time for a smaller bowl and fewer pieces…
Uncle Brett works on Broadway, so we were hoping we’d see him when we stopped to peek in the window of his store. Sure enough, he was there! We popped in for a little visit, and lucky for us, he was able to escape for a bit and join us for an afternoon snack at the sushi restaurant next door.
Afterwards, we visited Kidsbooks (which was amazing as always) and a few other shops before stopping at Caffeé Artigiano for a hot drink. Even Baby G got a little steamed milk with cinnamon. She was beyond excited about it and slurped up her last bit before I had even had three sips of my coffee. That’s our little milk-loving monster. :)
♥
Well today, just before her guests arrived, she was happily drawing on her chalkboard when she stopped, pointed, and said, “Heart! Heart!” Now I know that every parent thinks that their child is a genius and I’m 100% guilty of thinking Grae is quite clever, but is it just me or does this really look like a heart?!
Here’s a closer look. Am I just crazy? Does anyone else see the orange heart? Now I’m sure it was just a fluke, but either way, this mama is impressed.
‘Have a colourful Valentine’s Day!’ cards with 
A bigger version of the same card for her cousins Korbin, Chayton, and Kinslee.
And also for the cousins – felt heart hair clips for the little girls…
And felt tic-tac-toe boards for the big boys.
And something special for Papa too…
A handmade card card stamped with her little hands and feet. 
In preparation for Little G’s Valentine’s Day tea, this morning we experimented with making our own finger paint. I found the 
Gracen carefully added all of our ingredients into a large measuring cup first…
And then enthusiastically mixed it up!
Then we warmed the mixture on the stove…
Separated it into small bowls, added a few drops of food colouring, and stirred it well. It looks pretty, right?
Hmmm… Has anyone seen my Gracen Girl?
Each time she popped out of the blanket she shouted an enthusiastic “BOO!” and let out a pleased-with-herself giggle. Come to think of it, I never really tire of this game either… :)
This morning Gracen helped me make one of our favourite ever breakfast dishes – Lottie + Doof’s baked oatmeal. (You can find the recipe 
We normally make it with blueberries, but this morning we decided to switch things up a little and made it with raspberries instead. Naturally, Gracen was the designated taste tester.
After all that hard work in the kitchen, this little lady ate and then asked for a washcloth. I gave her one and found her below her chair a few minutes later “cleaning up” her mess. :)
♥
Today we spent our afternoon doing a bunch of little art projects for Valentine’s Day.
Gracen happily drew a “picture” on the back of each of her little friends’ cards.
All we have to do tomorrow is attach the 
Our next project involved punching out hundreds of little paint chip hearts… Technically Grae wasn’t the one doing the punching, but she was a great assistant.
Her real job was getting each little heart into this container for safe keeping. Of course this job was right up her alley because it involved transferring objects from one place to another. Little weirdo.
And while all those paper hearts kept Miss G busy, I worked on some Valentine’s Day hair clips for Grae and her little cousin, Kinslee.
Our last project of the afternoon involved a wax / watercolour resist. First, Gracen scribbled all over white card stock with white crayons…
Then we cut out a bunch of hearts, taped them down to some plastic, and painted them using homemade watercolours.
It took a minute for Grae to really get into the painting part (at first she was squeezing and shaking the paint out of the brush), but once she got the idea, she went for it.
Tada! Another masterpiece by Miss G. :) We’ll let them dry overnight and tomorrow she’ll hang them up on her bedroom door. And just in time. Only 3 days left!