Camping was a success and before saying goodbye to the Cochrane crew, we all headed into town for a sushi lunch. Grae gobbled up some sticky rice, nori, and tofu. Delish.

Today we rented a tiny little motor boat and headed out onto Echo Lake for a cruise.

Is it possible to be this cute while camping?

This morning Charlotte, Chayton, Grae, and I woke up early, threw our hoodies on over our pajamas, and went for a walk.

Gracen, Charlotte, and I arrived first and as I unpacked the vehicle, Grae and Grandma Charlotte headed out to explore our site.

It’s hard to believe that the doodlebug is just a month away from celebrating her first birthday. Here’s what she’s up to at 11 months old…

She loves to:
• Share her food (sometimes forcefully)
• Watch dogs
• Swim in her inflatable pool
• Empty her baskets of toys and the contents of our diaper bag
• Unravel full rolls of diaper liners and toilet paper
• Turn lights on and off
• Point to things and have you tell her about them
• Tease and trick people
• Have GC parade her around the yard while telling her about the flowers and plants

She dislikes:
• When Bella gets all up in her face
• Cheese

She now eats:
• Holy Crap cereal booster
• All kinds of beans
• Turkey
• Chickpea patties
• Cream cheese
• Homemade tzatziki
• Cucumbers
• Grapes
• Dehydrated fruit
• Multigrain bagels
• Spaghetti squash
• Turkey meatballs
• Tofu and veggie stir-fry
• Homemade pasta and cheese
• Spinach and berry salad
• Balsamic vinegar
• Sushi

She will never turn down:
• Tofu chunks
• Edamame beans
• Cottage cheese
• Raw baby carrots
• Dried berries
• Watermelon cubes

She now says:
• “Mama”
• “Papa”
• “Up”
• “Dis?” – this?
• “Hi” (once – with the phone to her ear)

She is now:
• Signing more (sometimes one sign after the other – when we say something like, “First we’ll have milk, then we’ll eat”)
• Waving hello and goodbye
• Clapping
• Standing up against a flat wall (without anything to pull up on)
• Climbing
• Lifting her leg to attempt to climb into the tub

I absolutely cannot believe that Gracen turns a year old in a month. We’re in full-on party planning mode right now because we’re celebrating a little early in order to have her party in the Okanagan. I’m actually really happy that it turned out that way because now, during her first birthday party, I can make myself feel better by telling myself that she’s not truly one yet. :)

Gracen has been without her Papa for 10 full days now. First he was in Los Angeles visiting a friend, and now he is in Vancouver doing in-store Apple training. Luckily he got done early today and he and Grae were able to sneak in a quick pre-bedtime Skype chat. Only 8 more days!

Today we were in full on packing for camping mode. Needing to get tons of stuff done, I blocked off the hallway, put out a few toys in both Grae’s room and our room, and bustled back and forth packing our things while Grae played between the two rooms. While I was packing Grae’s bath things, I realized that suddenly things had gotten too quiet. I came into our room to find Grae tucked in the corner of the room between the bed and the wall destroying a roll of toilet paper!

Today Grandma Charlotte and Grandpa Dave came home with all kinds of fresh produce. Lucky for Grae, it was her snack time!

‘Uh oh! How did I get myself into this predicament?’

After a great week with our family in Cochrane, we’re headed back to the Okanagan for a couple of weeks before heading out to California.

Gracen is fast. Especially when she’s trying to get away from a diaper change or a face wash. Silly little monkey.

Gracen seems to be learning things at warp speed right now… This is her latest trick:

Gracen is very intrigued by Magnum. This morning she spent a long while at the window talking to him and patting the screen while babbling at him. Perhaps they understand each other?

Today Gracen got to go to her first ever Calgary Stampede. Unfortunately, Bradley is away right now and my hands were full, so I wasn’t able to take many pictures, but Gracen enjoyed a day filled with people watching and live music. She even did well at the 4 hour rodeo finals, despite the crammed seating, blaring speakers, and screaming fans…