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. ♥
Category Archives: in photos
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?
Science World
This morning we braved the crazy torrential downpour / sleet / snow / hail combo Vancouver was receiving and spent the morning down at Science World with some friends we originally met in Kuwait, but who are also from the Lower Mainland. Although a lot of it wasn’t really age-appropriate, my friend, Sue, is a regular there and knew exactly where to take the girls. Gracen and Ava had a wonderful time exploring, playing, running, and splashing their way through the Eureka and Kidspace sections and by the end of it all, they had tired themselves out so completely that they were perfectly happy to climb in their strollers and be pushed out to the parking lot. Here are a few shots from our visit:
Greeted by a Lego horse and knight.
Splish splash.
Ball hoarder.
Watching the start of the snow.
One of Gracen’s favourites. (Mama’s too.)
Snow in full effect.
Loving the gears.
Tired and headed home.
Mail from Mexico
Okay, so not actually from Mexico, but Gracen’s Auntie Roz and Uncle Gary just recently got back from a trip to Mexico and sent her a sweet little package of things they had picked up for her while on their trip.
The parcel arrived bright and early this morning, and of course, Gracen was excited to open it up.
Inside, she found a colourful little Mexican doll…
And a beautifully embroidered dress.
She loves both!
A Hidden Gem
Today was a bit of a rough day for Papa and Grae… The power was out for several hours in the morning, Gracen didn’t want to eat what Papa had prepared for lunch, and then when nap time rolled around she coughed and coughed in her crib until the kids who live downstairs came home for lunch at freight train volume and ended all hopes of an afternoon sleep. Needless to say, there were no videos for this working Mama (whew – two work days in one week!)… I was, however, surprised when I found this little gem on my camera tonight:
Apparently snack time took place in a basket today? Who knows, but I’m sad I missed out! It looks much more fun than scrambling around in a day plan-less classroom of 21 anxious-eyed first graders.
The Crankiness Cure
This morning was a little rough. Gracen had a great sleep, woke up happy, and gobbled up her oatmeal with milk and berries as usual, but things quickly went downhill after that. Before long, she was an unhappy, whining, I-need-my-mama-to-carry-me-all-morning-long mess. (I think it must be this little bug we’re trying to fight off.) There’s only one fix for a morning like this. What is it, you ask? Getting outside and getting some fresh air, asap! I swear, it’s the cure for all Gracen issues. Teething? Get outside. Tired but not yet time for a nap? Get outside. Feeling yucky? Get outside. So that’s just what we did. We quickly got ready, packed some snacks and our gumboots, and headed down to Kits Beach.
Saucer swingin’.
Steamed milk with cinnamon along the seawall (she’s signing ‘drink’).
Seashell inspecting.
Wave watching.
Wet toes.
Newly collected ocean items.
Bumblebee boots on the beach.
Snacks on a log.
Puddle jumping.
Making friends with passersby.
The perfect perch.
Voila! Grumpiness gone. Fresh air is magic, I tell you. Pure magic.
Accessorizing
Apparently Gracen’s outfit needed a little something more today… She found Papa’s winter scarf and some hideous knee highs I used to wear for crazy sock spirit days and asked for help putting them on. Very fashion forward, I must say.
Little Artist At Work
Our Valentine’s Day tea mural wall has served us well…
We literally scribbled / drew / coloured for over an hour today.
Child Labour
Gracen LOVES jobs. And by that, I mean she actively searches them out. She finds the tiniest pieces of paper and promptly delivers them to the trash can, retrieves your orange peel before you’re even done peeling and marches it to the compost bucket, and reorganizes her books in a neat and tidy fashion just for fun. (Whose child is this anyways? I don’t know where she gets this stuff!)
So today, during Mama’s second day of subbing, Papa taught Grae how to do laundry… The clean, dry laundry comes out and goes in the bin…
And the clean, wet load goes into the dryer.
Pure heaven for an object transferring nut.
Papa Style
You know it’s a Papa & Grae day when…
Gracen is dressed like this.
St. George’s Playground
Sometimes I wonder if a person could make living as a playground and park reviewer… Cause that may just be the perfect job for me and my pint-sized sidekick. Today (after our usual Sunday morning play gym / lunch / nap combo) we hit up another new playground on the westside of the city. We were actually out and about doing a few errands near Dunbar and somehow found our way to St. George’s, an all boys private school. Although intended for older kids, the playground was pretty amazing. Gracen enjoyed exploring the campus and making friends with two other little girls who were playing on the playground also. Here are some photos from our adventure…
Crusin’ along.
Entering the campus.
Spinning the ‘log’ by hand.
The climbing apparatus and a peek at the school.
A sideless slide.
Just hanging out with Mama.
A view of the playground.
Snooping around.
Gracen crossing. (Don’t worry – the gates were all locked shut and the campus was vehicle free.)
Snacking on the steps.
Gigglefest.
‘Hi, Mama! I see you hiding behind that gate you know!’
Sans Pants
Today we left the park like this… Sans pants, sans boots, and sans socks.
The reason? This irresistible mud-filled contraption. :)
We Heart Kits Beach
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. ♥
Book Mountain
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…