Today we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous Vancouver weather and hit 4th Avenue.

Lucky for us, the times worked out, and we we able to meet up with Bradley for a very quick visit on one of his breaks.

Today, my good friend Brandie had a bunch of mommies and babies over to her place for a baby play date. The mommies enjoyed a sandwich bar and all kinds of delicious treats while chasing around a pack of curious, climbing munchkins. This is our best attempt at a group shot. Ainsley is in the front, then there’s Connor, Gracen, Claire, and Jackson. Aren’t they precious?

Well, this little doll has become one of our official family members… She goes on walks, shops for groceries, visits friends, and enjoys a good scrub down in the tub now and then. Seeing as she’s out and about a lot, we figured that we’d better help her maintain at least some dignity by covering up that bare bum of hers!

I don’t know what it is, but every morning that we head out for a walk around our neighbourhood, Gracen polishes off her entire cup of water in one sitting. Sitting in a stroller while being paraded around must be tough work! Either way, all that water makes for a very well-hydrated baby and a very wet bed during nap time…

Baby Grae had a bit of an oopsie this morning and fell down and bonked her face. It’s hard to see in the photo, but she definitely has the start of a purple cheek.

The fun part of this little monkey’s appointment today was seeing her new measurements (which are increasing more slowly now) and percentiles (which have pretty much remained the same the last few times). Here they are:

Age: 12 months + 3 weeks
Weight: 20 lb 13 oz – 50th percentile
Height: 76.4 cm (over 2 and a 1/2 feet!) – 95th percentile
Head Circumference: 47.3 cm – 90th percentile

So today we got dressed and prepared ourselves to tackle another thing on our GIANT to do list. Todays errand? Meeting with a public health nurse to go over the vaccinations Gracen received in Kuwait in order to determine whether or not she is on schedule with BC’s recommendations. Gracen was obviously excited about the appointment and getting out of the house!

Now that we’ve settled in a little more, we’re working getting outside for a walk each morning. Today we ate breakfast (have I mentioned that Gracen loves grapefruit?), tidied the house, put our hoodies on, and headed outside with our sippy cup of water / travel mug of coffee in hand. Afterwards, we sat in our yard and soaked in the perfect Vancouver morning – overcast, slightly breezy, with the possibility of drizzle. Gracen watched the kids across the street playing games during their recess and found it hilarious to caw at the crows who were minding their business up in the trees.

Long ago, I was getting ready and Grae got into my bag of make-up. I ended up giving her a tube of chapstick (the least dangerous item I had) and pretending to put it on her lips while saying, “Pretty, pretty, pretty”. Well guess what – Grae now loves chapstick. One little tube can occupy her for a surprisingly long time. She can’t really say “pretty” yet though, so she says “peh-t, peh-t, peh-t” while enthusiastically rubbing it in the general area of her lips/mouth. :)

Our mornings normally start off pretty quietly. We eat breakfast together (sharing a big pot of stove top oatmeal with flax seeds, bananas, and cinnamon is our favourite) while listening to some music, I tidy up while Grae watches the people out walking in our neighbourhood, we read a couple of books, and then make a plan for our day.

First of all – does this look like a baby that just turned 12 months old to you? ‘Cause she certainly doesn’t to me. Sometimes I feel like I have a full blown toddler on my hands.

Second of all – today we went down to White Rock beach to meet Auntie Steph for a walk and a coffee. I had put a few little snacks on top of the stroller to save for throughout our walk, but the little lady discovered them before we even left the parking lot. Nothing gets past her. This Mama needs to learn to be sneakier. :)

Gracen’s Auntie Rozi and Uncle Gary gave her this adorable personalized shirt at her first birthday party. I carefully tucked it away and decided that it would make its big debut on her real first birthday. Of course, in between, we packed for California, then unpacked our California bags, and then frantically packed up all of our belongings in a day and a half so that we were ready to move down to Vancouver when Bradley returned. So when August 24th rolled around, do you think I knew which *safe* spot I had tucked the shirt away into? Nope. I literally turned the house upside down searching for the thing. I tore through boxes, suitcases and closets without luck. Then I looked in the suitcases again because I was sure I had put it in there. Still no luck. Well, last night I was going through that same suitcase and guess what I found… The shirt. Shoot. Mommy fail.

This morning Papa and Grae got crafty and built a little fort in the living room. Gracen thought she was pretty sly in her hideout.

Apparently dinner was extra good tonight…