The downside to having an early potty trained toddler? Hearing a little voice from the backseat of the car announce, “Mama, Mama! Peepee, peepee!” while driving over a busy bridge during Vancouver rush hour. Ugh. Not fun. Slightly panicked, you turn on the calm mommy voice, coach your little one not to pee just yet, and reassure her that you’re going to find a safe spot to pull over ASAP. Luckily, during the 7 months Gracen’s been diaper-free, we have had a pretty good success rate in situations like these. Our saviour has definitely been this potty from Ikea. We always have it in the back of our vehicle and we’ve used it countless times, especially when traveling to and from the Okanagan. The beauty of it is its simplicity. It’s super lightweight, relatively small, and so inexpensive, you could have one in your car and every room in your house if you wanted! Lucky for us, the fluorescent green car potty saved us once again today. ☺
Category Archives: in photos
Saturday Morning Fort
An early morning fort filled with tea and stories to start our Saturday…
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The Perfect Way to Spend an Afternoon
A Granville Island Playdate
Let me tell you, it’s not easy coordinating the schedules of 5 busy mamas, 3 on-the-go toddlers, and 2 adorably smushy babies. But we finally did it. And on a gorgeous day no less. Gracen and I met up with several of my good friends and their munchkins at Granville Island this morning and it was wonderful.
Grae and I arrived early, grabbed our usual Terra Breads treat (her) and coffee (me), and headed outside to visit with the birds. I don’t know if it’s because of the increased traffic or not, but since the weather’s picked up and the island’s been busier, the seagull situation has been much better than this winter when the bird incident happened. In fact, they were so scarce today that we took out a little bag of bird seed I had tucked away and Grae fed the pigeons. It was the first time she’d fed birds and she was beyond excited about it. She’d shove her little hand into the bag and slowly pull out a fist stuffed full of seed. Food in hand, she’d carefully walk to an open area, crouch down, release the seeds, and purposefully brush her hands against one another, ridding her palms of the extras. Then she’d take a few steps back, wait anxiously, and when the pigeons would start feasting on the meal she’d provided, she’d proudly run back to me shouting, “Bird! Eat, eat, eat! More! More!”
Once our friends arrived, it was off for a little stroll along the seawall. We made our way to the playground where the “big kids” had a blast getting filthy and soaking wet in the sand area. Gracen went down the slide on repeat and playtime ended with all 3 toddlers smushed together on the saucer swing. Adorableness at its best.
Gracen loved the fact that they were setting up for the upcoming Children’s Festival… Especially because it meant serious chats with a bookworm and a fist-clenching ride on a pirate ship.
After a picnic lunch under the shade of a tree and a little more playtime, it was time to head home. There’s really nothing like a day filled with friends, fresh air, and sunshine…
♥
Surprises
Surprise #1 – Waking up to a text saying that Manmaw Sue was on the island and would be passing through Vancouver in a couple of hours.
Surprise #2 – Manmaw showing up with a hydrangea for our flower-obsessed, purple-loving little lady.
And this is what we did for much of our afternoon:
Gracen sat up on her chair, hydrangea right beside her, and told me all about how it was “Grae Grae’s” flower (as she did her little sniff sniff nose), how it was purple, and how it was from her Manmaw.
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Penguins!
Although I really wanted to take Gracen to the members only penguin premier last week, events that start at 5:30 p.m. don’t really work for our 6:30 p.m. to bed gal. But that’s okay. I’ll happily skip evening events order to continue having a little lady that sleeps 12 hours through the night and another 2 during the day any day of the week. In our house, a well-rested munchkin equals a happy mama. We meant to get to the aquarium the day after the premier, but play dates and days-too-gorgeous-to-not-spend-at-the-beach got in our way. We finally made it there this morning though, and let me tell you, the penguins are ridiculously cute. They even wear beaded bracelets around their flippers. The penguin show was good {from what I could hear over the audience chatter} and the new habitat is pretty cool, albeit smaller and less grand than what I was expecting. Gracen’s favourite part was a little kids’ area they had set up in a corner where they were offering penguin bingo sheets and mini pencils. The only thing I was a little disappointed about was the fact that there is no seating or standing area where children can see the penguins when they’re up on the rock area of their environment (which is where they were both times we visited). Of course, you can just hold them up for a better view, but it makes for tired arms and a lack of good photo opportunities if you’re the only parent accompanying your child. A little inconvenient, but not a deal breaker. We enjoyed seeing the penguins enough to stop by twice during our visit and will definitely be back again. 
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Popsicles on the Front Porch
Goodness gracious, have we ever been blessed with beautiful weather recently! And today was no different. What better way than to celebrate with afternoon popsicles on the front porch?
Our popsicle stash has taken a major hit these past few days… If this weather is going to continue like this {and hopefully it will}, we’d better get on replenishing our stock asap.
Grumplestiltskin
Today was just one of those days… Despite her usual 12 hour nighttime sleep and usual 2 hour midday nap, Gracen was out of sorts. Unfortunately, we had a beach play date planned for the day, and not even that cured it. Being little miss routine, she wanted the morning to go as it always does when we visit the beach (playground, walk, optional hot drink, beach play) and that’s just not how it happened today. Grae’s little friend was actually getting over a sickness and she wasn’t quite her usual self either. Not going to lie… It wasn’t a great combination. Luckily, we did manage to have many good moments too.
But after a long day, I must say that I’m perfectly happy having the evening to clean my house, work on some Littlest Lulu orders, and unwind while my wee one peacefully sleeps the night away (and hopefully the grumpiness off). Days like today sure make me appreciate the “easy” days with my happy-go-lucky little lady. Here’s hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Set on Red
This little girl never ceases to amaze me. This morning, she chose to wear red glittered Dorothy shoes, but after having them on for a minute, we realized that they, like many of her other shoes, are now too small (sad day). I asked her to go to the closet and pick out another pair, and this is what she came back with… Of all pairs, Mama’s red ballet flats.
I guess she was set on having a splash of red with her cream and navy dress today. Good call, Grae. Good call.
Ordinary Days
Sometimes ordinary days are the best kind. Don’t get me wrong, Little G and I love to get out, go on adventures, and visit fun places, but sometimes normal, everyday kind of days equally wonderful. Today was one of those.
Some H2O and an energy bite post-swimming lesson. (I’m happy to report, by the way, that our submersion day went well. It was presented in a way I was comfortable trying and Miss Grae did not come up choking, crying, or looking at me like I had betrayed her. In fact, she seemed just fine. Yay for that.)
A playground stop was in order afterwards. Shhhhh… Don’t tell Mama Gracen’s hiding.
Strolling in the sunshine.
In the words of Grae, “dig-a-dig-a-dig-ah”.
Backyard antics.
A quiet moment in the shade of our plum tree.
Tricycle tricks.
Sandbox play with the little girl from downstairs.
Itty bitty bookworm.
An afternoon treat – frothy raspberry milk.
Just like Mama. (Grae loves this ring I had custom made in Kuwait. It says ‘Brad and Jen’ in Arabic, so I love that she loves it.)
A homemade popsicle for dessert.
Double-fisting. (Of course Mama’s desert looked just as yummy as her own.)
Oops. That’s not the popsicle hand.
Freshly bathed and ready for bedtime stories.
I’m so lucky to spend my days soaking in these magical little moments.
♥
Mama’s Mini Model
My miniature model did her Mama a big favour this morning by sitting pretty for a few new Littlest Lulu photos… 
Does it get any sweeter than this? If I could look a quarter as cute as this with a giant butterfly fluttering atop my head, I’d be rocking one every day of the week. ☺
Little Fishy
We took our little fishy to her third swimming lesson this morning, and since Brad and I were both able to go, I took the opportunity to take a couple of photos. This little lady LOVES the water, and although our instructor is a little brash, our lessons have been really fun so far. To date, she’s practiced splashing, blowing bubbles, dipping her ears and chin in the water, doing front and back floats, and doing front and back wall push offs. Next lesson’s skill? Submersion. And us moms have already been told that it would be better if dads attend the session because dads have no qualms about putting their babies under water… Should be interesting!
It may just be the protective mama in me talking, but all I have to say is that I won’t do anything that might jeopardize my little fishy’s love for the water… We’ll see how it goes. ☺
Mother’s Day, Just Me and My Girl
With Bradley at work again this Mother’s Day, my little lady and I got to have a special day, just the two of us. It started out with a low-key morning of puzzles, stories, and tickles at home while sipping tea and slowly getting ready for our day.
When we were good and ready, we ventured out to do something we rarely ever do – eat out, just the two of us. We went to Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company, a little restaurant on Main Street that is carbon neutral and offers an organic menu. Despite the fact that it was incredibly busy and they could have used another server, we loved it. The menu was filled with local, organic foods, their juices were fresh-squeezed, they gave Gracen crayons and a colouring page (which she was thrilled about), and there was a kids’ corner, complete with two wooden play kitchens, several tiny aprons, and an assortment of pots, pans, and felt food. We ordered an organic fresh-squeezed orange juice (Grae even got a few sips and loved it this time around) and a Bradner Farms flatbread pizza, topped with local organic free-range chicken, nut-free pesto, roasted red bell peppers, and red onions. It was a delish. And to top it off – all moms got a complimentary fudge brownie topped with fresh whipped cream, raspberry coulis, and mint leaves… Who could ask for more?
After lunch, we headed home for Gracen’s nap. She slumbered peacefully while I prepped and packed for day two at the beach. When she awoke a couple hours later, we climbed into the car and made our way to Spanish Banks for another beach adventure. The afternoon passed quickly as we frolicked in the sand, splashed in the water, and collected all sorts of drift wood, and before we knew it, it was time to head home for dinner, bath time, and bedtime. 
Although I’ve already had the perfect day with my wee one, tomorrow we get to do it all over again, as Brad is off and we’ve officially marked the day as our family Mother’s Day. Bring on more beach time any day!
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Happy Mother’s Day, Grandmas!
Gracen sends her love to all of her wonderful “manmaws”…
Grandma Sue, Grandma Charlotte, Great Grandma Routhier, Baba, and Great Grandma Shirley, we’re thinking of you today.
xoxox
Vitamin D
I am so, so lucky to have a wee one that loves being outdoors as much as I do. We spent our morning at Granville Island playing on playgrounds, watching birds and boats, strolling the seawall, and taking in live performances, then came home just long enough for a nap, and headed right back out the door. Our afternoon adventure took us down to Jericho Beach, where we played in the sand, dipped our toes in the ocean, and collected ocean treasures.
Captain Grae.
Water collection.
Cruisin’ around the water park (can’t wait ’til it opens!)
Running with the birds.
Paddle boarders passing by.
Unicycle excitement. (Grae was more interested in the rocks.)
Tuckered out.
First visit to Jericho Beach.
Sand scooping.
Collecting.
“Gifts” for Mama.
And at the end of the day, after a healthy dose of vitamin D, we reluctantly headed home, hoping for another sunshiny day outdoors again tomorrow.
♥