This little trooper doesn’t seem to get much of a break in between bouts of teething. It seems like we just finished with her 4 molars a few days ago, and we’re already moving onto her canines. To date, Grae has 12 teeth fully in and numbers 13 and 14 (her upper canines) are well on their way.
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All in a Day’s Work
Today’s activities included quietly emptying an entire row of books from her bookshelf…
And happily drawing on her new chalkboard for a really long time. :)
Miss Independent
My little bookworm was thrilled with the discovery of my Mr. Men and Little Miss book collection today. Frustration came about shortly after she’d neatly stacked the 50+ books and realized that she wasn’t able to carry them all at once. I offered to help her, but that absolutely wasn’t a viable option. She wanted to do it by herself. End of story. As a compromise, I offered her this little bag to make carrying them easier.
She accepted the bag, but absolutely did not want help putting the books inside the bag. Instead, she sat there, completely insulted, and put them in one by one all by herself. It took a painfully long time, but she got it all done. That’s my independent little lady.
Bed Love
Brad and I were extremely spoiled this Christmas. And I mean EXTREMELY. One of our many gifts included a new bed frame with built in storage drawers, new sheets, new pillows, and a new duvet set. Our new set up is ah-mazing and Grae thinks so too. As soon as she enters our room, she wants to be lifted up onto the bed (it’s too tall for her to get up on her own now) so that she can roll around and smush her face into the pillows and blankets. It’s a lot like watching a dog roll around and rub themselves on the grass, only cuter. :)
Grae’s First Canadian Christmas
This morning Gracen awoke at her usual time of 6:30 a.m. and was thrilled when we gave her her stocking filled with little treasures to root through…
She’s been patiently eyeing up the pretty packages scattered along the living room floor for days now while we’ve been reminding her that they are “for looking, but not for touching”. Today was finally her lucky day and she took unwrapping her packages very seriously.
She carefully opened each little stocking gift, ripping off tiny bits of paper until each present was fully revealed.
After all of that hard work, she finally got to enjoy her gifts. True to our tradition, this year she got Christmas jammies (which she opened on Christmas Eve and wore to bed), a special Christmas book, a new ornament for the tree, a few stocking stuffers, and one bigger item – her vintage table and chair set. She’ll also be getting a few handmade gifts at our ‘Christmas in January’ in the Okanagan, but shhhh… She doesn’t know that yet.
Grandpa Dave, Grandma Charlotte, and Uncle Brett arrived to our place shortly afterwards and once everyone had a cup of coffee in hand, Gracen opened her packages from her grandparents and uncle.
Talk about being spoiled. She got some new clothes, shoes, winter gear, hair pretties, books, and blocks.
Of course she loved Papa’s Steve Jobs biography just as much as her own gifts. :)
After present opening, it was time for stories with Uncle Brett while Mama, Papa, and GC prepared brunch.
Christmas breakfast, complete with a tree-shaped egg and a brand new Christmas dish set from Great Grandma Shirley.
With a messy breakfast out of the way, Grae got dressed in her pretty little Christmas clothes and shoes.
The rest of our day pretty much looked like this. There was a lot of lounging, reading, snacking, and relaxing involved.
Of course there was also lots of playing with her new things for Miss G. She absolutely adores these photo blocks from GC and GD.
Back to eating! Last year, Grae wasn’t yet eating solids, so this was her first ever Christmas dinner. She even tried a few of the Ukranian foods Mama’s family always had at holiday meals while growing up and liked them all.
Our hope was to take a decent family photo dinner was cleaned up and put away, but unfortunately, that mission proved to be impossible. Five grown adults and a baby in one shot led to silly faces, hysterical laughing, crossed eyes, and a random Cabbage Patch doll joining the family. But you know what wasn’t impossible? Getting 15 great shots of a too-busy-to-sit-still-for-one-minute toddler. Haha! Weird how that works. Ogasawara crew, you’re a tough bunch!
Our night ended with a light tour walk around the neighbourhood, an overly excited little lady being tucked into bed, and a few generously-poured rum and eggnogs. All in all, it was a lovely first Christmas back in Canada and I can’t wait until we get to do it all again in the Okanagan with the other side of our family.
16 Months Old!
Today our little self-feeding, yogurt-loving, mess-making monster turned 16 months old. I truly have loved every stage, but she just seems to be getting more and more fun as time goes on. Here’s what she’s been up to this past month…
Gracen loves:
- Pillows (they automatically make her roll around and rub her face into them)
- Being read to (she’ll often sit with you for 10 consecutive books if you’ll keep reading)
- Being in the bath (splashing is her new thing)
- Music and dancing (she often requests that music be turned on by doing an enthusiastic fist pump dance)
- Oranges (especially the baby sugar mandarins that seem to be everywhere right now – by the time we check out at the grocery store, she’s normally already eaten 3)
- Being a little helper (whether it’s making dinner, folding laundry, or unpacking groceries, she’s ready and willing!)
- Putting random things in bags and carrying them around the house like a purse
- Eating crunchy foods (crackers, seeds, and nuts are her favourite)
- All shoes (especially her gumboots)
- Lift-the-flap books (although we almost always have a couple “off limits” and in need of repairs)
- Bowls (filling them, stacking them, emptying them, and just carrying them around)
- Birds (despite her run in with one earlier this month)
- Dancing (especially to Papa’s music)
- Sitting at her table and drawing or colouring
- Picking people out in photos
- Delivering things to the garbage and compost bucket
- Her Papa (everything is about Papa in this house – Grae wears her hat like Papa, dances like Papa, puts on her sweater like Papa, eats bars like Papa…)
- Watching Baby TV (ugh.)
She doesn’t like:
- Having to hold someone’s hand while walking
- Being told that she’s not allowed to do something
- Having her mouth pried open to brush her teeth
- Potatoes (so weird…)
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
- You put her in a plastic bin and zoom her along the tile floor
- You bend down to do something and she sneaks up behind you, lifts the back of your shirt, and blows bubbles on your back
- Someone is chasing her
- You hide around a corner and pop out just as she’s about to walk by
Grae’s new foods include:
- Baked yam fries
- Homemade chicken tenders
- Swiss chard
- Mediterranean chili
- Dill pickles
- Homemade tortilla chips
- Artichoke pesto
- Garlic scape pesto
- Homemade perogies
- Cabbage rolls
- All-natural turkey kolbassa
- Sour cream
- Red Thai curry
- Yellow Thai curry
The new words she regularly uses include:
- “No, no, no” (often while shaking her pointer finger)
- “Pillow”
- “Bowl”
- “Diaper”
- “Owah” – owie
- “Ummmm…” (the sound she makes while making a decision)
- “Dirty”
- “Kitty”
- “Owl”
- “Man-ma” – grandma
- “Pompost” – compost
- “Moo”
- “N-yeah” – thank you (I’m not sure how this one came about, but it’s been around for a long while now. She started off saying “n-yeah” as she signed ‘thank you’, but now she often leaves out the sign. If you say, “Grae, say thank you”, she immediately responds with “n-yeah”. Nobody else knows what she’s talking about, but I guess what really counts is that we do.)
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
- Thank you
- Pencil / Pen / Crayon
- Mouse
- Kitty
- Bee
- Airplane
- Steam
- Sleep
- Pacifier
- Phone
She now:
- No longer wears diapers during the day (and has only had one accident in the past couple of weeks… Cross our fingers it continues this way because she is very sensitive if she does have one )
- Does the actions to ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’
- Loves being asked to point out different objects in books
- Regularly says/signs please and thank you
- Regularly asks for help instead of getting frustrated and whining
- Can follow multi-step instructions (like “go get your shoes and bring them to Mama” or “pick up your books and put them in the basket”)
- Can be transferred from the car into her crib if she falls asleep while out
- Chooses her pajamas and parts of her outfit everyday
- Loves milk (this took a while for us, but she regularly asks for it now)
- Is very sympathetic if she hurts you or makes you upset (immediate kisses to follow)
- Runs
- Has 12 teeth (8 in the front plus her 4 molars)
- Blows her nose when asked
- Blows on her food when it’s hot
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
- She knows all about camels (thanks to our Kuwait Christmas ornaments) and can pick them out anywhere
- She’ll also tell you that a camel says “t-puh, t-puh” (her sound for spitting)
- She shouts “Mama!” when looking for me in a loud voice with a French-sounding accent
- She acts like a little mommy to all of her dolls and makes sure each gets a turn being held, fed, burped, etc.
- She tries to wear Mama’s earrings by hooking them inside her ears
- She kisses random objects all around her bedroom before going to sleep
- She can point out the location of a washroom in a public place in a matter of minutes (it’s like she has bathroom radar)
- She loves to make choices and normally hums “ummmm…” while curling her hand below her chin while making them
- She kisses any “owies” you may have
- She’s ridiculously kissy and loves on you all day long
Big things that have happened this month:
- She was bit by a giant seagull while visiting Granville Island
- She visited the dentist for the very first time
- She met Canadian Santa (too many times possibly)
Let’s hope things slow down soon because if they keep up at this rate, she’ll be moving out soon and her Mama will be sitting in a heap on the front porch watching her drive away…
Christmas Eve
Today we celebrated Gracen’s first ever Canadian Christmas Eve… Here are a few snapshots from our day:
Snuggles and Christmas stories with Grandma Charlotte.
Building inspection with Grandpa Dave and Papa.
A visit to Van Dusen Botanical Gardens for the Festival of Lights.
Mistletoe kisses for Mama.
Christmas Eve pajama opening.
Trying out the new potty seat Grandpa Dave bought.
Stockings hung from the chimney with care and a little vintage table refinished and ready for Miss G’s Christmas morn.
Christmas Eve’s Eve
This morning Gracen proudly took her Grandma Charlotte and Grandpa Dave to the last Play Gym session of the year to show them what’s it’s all about…
She had to show them how she and her Papa drive the little pink Plasma Car, of course!
As soon as we got home, she slipped into her favourite purple sneakers and donned her Mardi Gras-esque beads. She’s fashion forward like that. She doesn’t look too happy in this photo, but rest assured that she quite enjoys sitting in bins while being slid across our tile floors. It’s almost always her idea.
Later in the day, still wearing her purple sneaks and beads, but with sunglasses now added to the mix, she tried pistachios for the first time. It was love at first bite.
Doesn’t get much cooler than this, now does it?
Our evening included skirt-less love for a diaper-less Bubba…
And relaxing by our very dead Christmas tree. Not quite sure what we did wrong, but it’s been that way for almost a week now. It gets more and more droopy / sad looking each day, so let’s just hope it holds out until Christmas.
Anxiously Waiting
Tonight Grandma Charlotte and Grandpa Dave arrived for the holidays. Gracen very anxiously awaited their arrival in front of the window and luckily they made it just in time to have a good visit before she had to go to sleep. I have a feeling that this is going to be a Christmas full of spoiling. :)
Bear Bum
Gracen adores these new tights from Grandma Charlotte. The only problem is that she has a very hard time seeing and kissing the little bear when they’re actually on her body.
Baby Wearing
A future baby wearer in the making…
G’s New Playmates
Gracen’s never really had a thing for stuffed animals, but today she discovered a collection of them tucked away in her bedroom and she’s had them with her ever since.
Bear even had to have lunch with us. He needed to have his own chair at the table and be hand fed by little G herself.
States Stock Up
We’ve recently starting doing big grocery shopping trips in Bellingham… There’s a ton of selection, the prices are insane, and Trader Joe’s is right up our alley. Today we headed down, lists in hand, to stock up for the Christmas holidays. Woo-weeee! It was a big one! Luckily we had this Cadillac of a cart. Grae was riding in style.
Relaxing
Moments like this are so rare for our little busy body that they must be documented…
Growing Up
I’m not quite sure what happened here, but today we went to Play Gym up at Sunset after missing it last week, and suddenly my little lady can do all kinds of things she couldn’t do last time we were there…
Today she was getting in and out of the little cars without any help…
Positioning herself in front of the slide and sending herself down all by herself…
And got down off of the trampoline on her own… How did this happen so quickly?
And yes, I am completely aware of the fact that my one year old looks like she dressed herself… In fact, she sort of did. Every morning when we get ready for the day, I pick out part of her outfit and she picks out the remaining items. I had already picked the striped leggings and teal cardigan this morning, but the problem was that there weren’t many viable t-shirt options. As much as I hoped she’d pick the plain white tee, she opted for the canary yellow one instead. And don’t even get me started on the purple dotted shoes. She’s in loooove with these shoes right now. Most days she wears them around the house too and cries when I tell her that they have to come off for nap time, so there was no convincing her that other shoes might better suit this outfit. :)