Category Archives: iphoneography

iPhoneography // The Perfect Playground

With the number of parks we visit around Vancouver, Gracen and I may as well be labelled playground connoisseurs.  And while Grae has fun wherever we are, there is one playground that seems to be her clear favourite.  It’s not big and it’s nothing over the top fancy, but it’s just perfect for her.

It’s the playground at the Langara YMCA on 49th at Alberta.  

It’s one of those playgrounds that is perfectly suited to littler kids (I’d say probably ages 1.5 to 5).  With the exception of getting in and out of the swings and climbing onto the airplane bouncers which are still a little too high, Gracen can do everything on her own at this playground.  What makes it even better is the big firetruck apparatus she pretends to drive, the drums built into one of the climbing structures, the plastic bubble she loves to curl up in, and the covered area, complete with mini picnic tables for snacks and lunch on the go.

YMCA PlaygroundIMG 5345If you’re a parent to a toddler and you’re not too far away, I’d say a visit to this little playground would be well worth the trip.

Vancouver parents, which park/playground do you and your little one(s) enjoy most?

♥

Photos edited with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.

iPhoneography // Blackberry Picking

Yesterday, while at a park in the Riverside area, Gracen and I were reminded that blackberry season is in full swing in the Lower Mainland.  We quickly picked enough for dessert, then continued on our way, and agreed to come back the following day to get more.

Unfortunately, we’re still dealing with some nap issues, and Gracen didn’t end up sleeping this afternoon.  After giving her a good hour and 45 minutes to try to fall asleep, we hopped in the car and headed out to go blackberry picking.  She was all gung-ho, but after being in the car just 5 minutes, I turned around to find this.  My nap-needing little monkey fast asleep in her car seat.

IMG 5296(As a side note, I know that her leg positioning looks a little awkward in this photo, but having her feet propped up like this isn’t her usual riding position. Normally her legs are either criss-crossed or down to the sides, and because she’s never known any different, she doesn’t mind one bit.  Our plan was to keep her rear-facing until her second birthday, but as the day looms near and I continue to read articles like this and this and watch videos like this and this, I’m starting to feel like we should wait longer. We’ll have to see.)

IMG 5343Luckily, I was able to find plenty of bushes right along the road to pull up to and pick from while Grae snoozed peacefully with the car doors open. Let me tell you, it worked out for the best that she fell asleep.  Blackberry picking is dangerous work.  

Here are a few things I learned:

1. Wear gloves. Judging my glove-clad fellow pickers, most people already know this.

2. Wear long sleeves.  Blackberry prickles are ruthless and the more protection you have from them, the better.

3. Wear jeans instead of a sundress. See reasoning above.

3. Don’t discriminate based on size. As long as their dark in colour and slightly soft, small berries are every bit as delicious as the big ones.

4. Bring a tall friend. Let me tell you – if I were only 6 to 8 inches taller, my collection would be much, much larger.

5. The industrial area just south of Marine Drive between Cambie and Kerr is absolutely overflowing with blackberry bushes just waiting to be picked.  Buying blackberries at a grocery store seems crazy right now. 

♥

Photos edited with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.

iPhoneography // Afternoon Sprinkler Session

I’m not going to lie… It wasn’t all rainbows and sprinkles in Mama.Bubba.land today.  Our morning was pretty good, save the minor screaming incident that occurred when leaving the toy section at Superstore… (Ugh. Must admit, these occurrences are brand-spanking new to us and I have to come up with a plan to better handle/minimize them asap.) But our afternoon? It was rough.  

I’m not sure what it’s all about, but in the last couple of weeks, nap times have started getting tricky.  Not all days, but some.  The majority of the days of the week, I lay our little lady down in her crib, give her a kiss before closing the door, and she puts herself to sleep and stays asleep for 2 to 3 hours. She wakes up rejuvenated, happy, and ready for the rest of our day’s adventures.  But the other days? She just doesn’t fall asleep.  She talks and plays in her crib for a good long while, then the jumping and chucking things out of her crib begins, and then crying, calling for Mama, and “No more sleeeeep! Play – yaaaaaa!” stage kicks in after that.  This all could be driven by one of about a million things… Our house regularly being 30 degrees during the day, her two year molars just finally finishing pushing up through her gums, her sleep needs changing…. Who knows?  I’ve {very reluctantly} given thought to the fact that she may be starting to get ready to drop her nap, but her behaviour sans nap tells me otherwise.   Although she’s happy to be retrieved from her crib, without a nap, she’s off for the rest of the afternoon.  She’s less independent, quicker to tears, and a little irritable, quite frankly.  

Today was one of those days.  I knew she needed a nap {despite what she was telling me} and I was feeling up to the challenge, so we tried for 3 straight hours.  THREE. WHOLE. HOURS.  I thought for sure that we’d succeed in the end… We didn’t.  Instead, I was exhausted, she was upset, and the nap didn’t happen.  Frustrating.  But what do you do?  I brought her out of her room, fed her a snack, she played while I cleaned house and made dinner, and then we ate. Life goes on.  

Both needing a little pick-me-up after a long afternoon indoors, we retrieved a treat from the freezer and headed outside. I sat on the front porch and she ran circles around our yard, popsicle dripping everywhere, before we turned on the sprinkler. 

SprinklerThere’s something about a little girl clad only in a hat, panties, and popsicle drips, happily splashing through sprinkling water that can turn your whole day around…

And thank goodness for that.

♥

Photos edited with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.

iPhoneography // Seaside Silhouettes

Over the course of the past few weekends, I’ve participated in an Instagram photo challenge hosted by awesome fellow mommy and vancouvermom.ca Top 30 Blogger, Natalia, who blogs at natnanton.com.  The series, entitled Through Mama’s Eyes, provides moms with a creative challenge and cultivates community amongst inspired mamas.  

On Friday, Nat presents a theme in the form of a hashtag via her blog.  Throughout the weekend, participating mamas take photos that show their interpretations of the theme and include the hashtag in their photos’ captions.  Then, on Monday, Nat showcases a few of her favourites on her blog (Grae’s photo was featured in her #inmidtwirl showcase here). It’s fun, it’s easy to participate in, and the photos can be of anything – not just your child(ren).

This weekend’s theme was #TMEICsilhouette.  I wasn’t sure I’d be able to capture a good silhouette of Miss G as she goes to bed early, and often the evening {just as the sun is beginning to set} is the best time to catch crisp silhouette photos. (I know I could take photos of other things, but let’s face it… Grae is the only thing I really take photos of these days. ☺) But tonight, when we found ourselves on an impromptu visit to White Rock Beach, the lighting was perfect, and so was Miss G’s position.  Here are a few my favourites…

IMG 5154Ocean-dipped toes.

IMG 5147Papa and his girl.

IMG 5148Wading in.

If you’re an Instagram-loving mama, be sure to join in next weekend.  Everyone is welcome!  Just visit www.natnanton.com on Friday to find out the theme, and then tag away.

♥

 Photos edited with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.

iPhoneography // Sunday Fun Day

As I mentioned yesterday, we’ve been bu-sy lately…  So today we put away the paintbrushes and screwdrivers and had a little family fun day.  Here’s our day in iPhone photos…

Sunday Funday

 

first family seawall ride in stanley park // i spy a water park

brave until close // heat relief

beach stop // picnic lunch

papa and his girl // beach exploring

wild water baby // biking makes a girl tired (oopsies!)

sleeping beauty on the sky train // thirsty

popsicle holder // mmm… peaches!

backyard pool // well-fed belly

double fisting // dessert

♥

All photos edited using Instagram. Find me under ‘jkossowan’.

iPhoneography // A Little Girl in a Field of Flowers

Photo 3Photo 4
Photo 1Sometimes I miss Kuwait. 

Like, really miss Kuwait.

I knew I would (I may have sat in the back of the taxi with silent tears streaming down my face as we drove away from our baby girl’s first ever home and made our way to the smoke-filled airport for the very last time), but I miss it more than I expected to. No, I don’t miss the insanity of the highways, the snail’s pace at which government processes happen there, the nearly impossible task of finding black beans on grocery shelves, or the dust storms that turn the sky orange and coat your apartment in a thick layer of sand.

What I do miss though, is the community we had there. I miss being constantly being surrounded by friends and fellow stay-at-home-mamas. I miss impromptu baby play dates that were as easy as taking an elevator a few floors up or down. I miss walking over to the building next door for take out and homemade wine with friends. I miss our door being knocked on by people just stopping by to say hello.

But then I see photos like these {taken by Bradley while out for a walk with Miss G this morning}… And they remind me of why we’re at home in Canada right now. Because a little girl meandering through a field of flowers surrounded by fresh air and tree-covered mountains just doesn’t happen in Kuwait…

♥

iPhoneography // Accidental IKEA Morning

Somehow a quick fan stop at Home Depot became a morning at IKEA. Oopsies! I blame it on Grae… Clearly she’s the one that loves the place. ☺

Untitledmoving in // lounging

bed tester // “blankie, Mama?”

no hands // soup taster

hiding // new fabric

convinced Mama to buy restaurant food // first ever white flour pancake

♥

Taken with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.

iPhoneography // Vacation Bound

IMG 4265We’re attempting my brother and sister-in-law’s famous travel-at-night-so-the-kids-sleep-in-the-car tactic tonight…  We’ve done Miss G’s bedtime routine as usual (dinner, bath, potty, jammies) and we’ve tucked her into her carseat with her usual bedtime blanket and bears just in time for her normal 6:30 bedtime.  Something tells me that our routine little lady won’t be zonking out any time soon, but we shall see…

Wish us luck!  Vacation, here we come!

♥

iPhoneography // Garden Goodies & An Outdoor Dinner

Outdoor eveninggarden goodies round 1 // garden goodies round 2

picnic dinner for 3 // swooping in to munch on Papa’s corn on the cob

Determined to make the most of our rain-free day, this evening we all headed out into the backyard to put our new barbecue to good use.  While our asparagus, corn, potatoes, and chicken were grilling, Gracen enjoyed appetizers straight from the garden.  Actually, to say that she enjoyed them would be an understatement…  She ate everything in these photos, plus an additional 2 carrots.  How she had room left for dinner, I’m not sure.  But she did.  And of course, Papa’s corn on the cob was even more delicious than her own.

♥

Photos edited using Instagram. Find me under ‘jkossowan’.