We very rarely eat out, so when we do, it’s exciting! Especially because it’s normally sushi, which Miss G absolutely loves.
Tonight, as usual, she ate her weight in miso soup, veggie rolls, edamame beans, and tofu.
She also tried this… (Try your best to ignore my machine gun laugh. Ugh.)
Apparently she’s not a fan. I don’t blame her. Yuck.
I don’t know what we’ve been up to, but we certainly haven’t doing our regular Friday mornings up at the Sunset Community Centre play gym sessions… Maybe it’s because the weather’s been getting nicer and we’ve been spending more time outdoors, or maybe it’s because the lovely teacher, Aggie, no longer runs the sessions, but either way, it was nice to be back today. Gracen loves it, it’s nice to chat with the same moms each week, and it’s just a few blocks up from our house. How can you go wrong really?
Gracen was very excited to be back. There was some regular play involved…
But she spent the majority of her time frantically running from one car/trike/bike to the next, climbing on, pushing the centre of the wheel/handlebars, and declaring, “Beep, beep, beep!”
I’m not sure what this is all about, but hopefully it’s not a reflection of her Mama’s driving. :)
This afternoon Gracen and I finally ventured out to a place we’ve been meaning to visit for a while – the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park. Grae was in heaven before making it anywhere near the dome. The surrounding area is home to sculptures, fountains, and endless room to run, which was more than enough for our easy-to-please little lady. We took our time, explored a little, watched the fountains again and again, and eventually made our way to the doors. Inside the conservatory is a little slice of the tropics. Exotic plants and tropical flowers fill the dome from ground to ceiling and birds fly freely over head. Mix that with the warmth, humidity, and sounds of running water and birds calling, and you feel like you’re on vacation in the rainforest. Of course, Grae soaked up every second. Birds, flowers, sunshine… This place was right up her alley. We slowly wandered along the paths visiting birds and stopping to smell flowers along the way. The absolute favourite of the day had to be a little cove inhabited by several small birds and one larger parrot. There was a puddle of water in front and Gracen was absolutely fascinated by the fact that the birdies were having a bath. She repeatedly signed ‘Bird. Bath!’ with big eyes and a look of disbelief on her face as we watched them and then requested that we go back to the bird bath several times later on. Here are some photos of our afternoon:
A little unsure of the fountains.
Much braver when they weren’t at full power.
Taking in the view of downtown Vancouver and the mountains.
Ruby, the bird that greeted us in the cashier station.
Macaw watching.
Carmen and Maria, green-winged macaws.
Flower sniffing.
The pink orchids were G’s favourites.
Must. smell. each. and. every. flower.
Kiwi, the talking bird. I think he fancied G quite a lot… He kept saying, “Muwah!” and “I love you” whenever she got near.
Clyde, an Eastern rosella parrot.
Very into Clyde.
Watching the birdies bathe. Completely captivated.
Bird talk.
Mmmmm… Flowers!
Grae told me that these leaves were “pretty pretty pretty”.
Casey, a yellow-headed Amazon parrot.
Copying Casey’s calls (scarily well actually).
Outside after a great visit with her birdie friends.
Soaking up the sunshine.
Our visit was probably only an hour long (and that was walking through twice), but it was so much fun. We’ll definitely be back again soon, and hopefully this time with a picnic to enjoy outside afterwards.
Taking time to smell the flowers while in Marpole today.
Today we got in a full day of quality time with Grandma Charlotte (a.k.a. ‘Gma Char’). It involved a Granville Island visit, some shopping, several tea parties, plenty of cuddles, and a giant Costco trip. All in all, I’d say it was a pretty great day. Here are a few photos I took along the way.
Captain Gracen.
Peek!
Ducks galore.
Mama’s worst nightmare.
Kisses for Calgary Stampedin’ Gido.
Greek for lunch!
Grandma, Grae, and Papa.
Tea for two.
Pretending to be a teeny tiny baby.
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.
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.
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.
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!’
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. ♥
Bradley had the day off today and since I didn’t get a call to sub until it was too late to actually make it out to Surrey on time, we got to have an unexpected family day… Yay for that. We’ve been kind of missing living on the westside of the city lately, so we decided to head down to Broadway to browse the shops and grab some coffee.
Uncle Brett works on Broadway, so we were hoping we’d see him when we stopped to peek in the window of his store. Sure enough, he was there! We popped in for a little visit, and lucky for us, he was able to escape for a bit and join us for an afternoon snack at the sushi restaurant next door.
Afterwards, we visited Kidsbooks (which was amazing as always) and a few other shops before stopping at Caffeé Artigiano for a hot drink. Even Baby G got a little steamed milk with cinnamon. She was beyond excited about it and slurped up her last bit before I had even had three sips of my coffee. That’s our little milk-loving monster. :)
This morning we packed up our things and headed out to Granville Island bright and early.
The air was crisp, but we layered up and did some exploring.
Naturally, we ended up at the Kid’s Market. It was Grae’s lucky day. We were there so early that she was asked to test drive this ride to make sure that it was working well for the day.
After riding in a corvette, we popped in and out of stores until we came across this guy. She patted his leg, said “neigh”, and desperately wanted to climb on his back.
All of the rides caused Grae to work up an appetite. (Have I mentioned that she’s been a bottomless pit the last few days? I think she’s making up for all of the days she spent sick and not eating last week.) We headed to the market area where Gracen devoured a Terra Breads cheese flute and half of my souvlaki platter. This little lady is all about Greek food right now. Tzatziki? She LOVES it.
After a yummy lunch, we headed back outside to enjoy some more fresh air. Gracen is all about being able to let loose and run around without having to hold someone’s hand.
Of course, Gracen walked right up to the local musician who was performing and started dancing to his music. (Side note – If you look closely, you’ll see a couple with a dog and a stroller sitting on the bench behind Miss G… You’d probably think that they had a baby as well, but no. That wasn’t the case. The stroller was actually for their four-legged furry friend! I’m all about loving your pets – I did miss a funeral for a human being on the day I found out Titan had died because I couldn’t get my butt out of bed after all – but a doggy stroller? Really? Anyways, moving on…)
Besides enjoying local musicians, Grae’s other favourite Granville Island activity is running amidst the birds.
I’m not going to lie. This freaks me out. Sometimes I think that one of these human-sized seagulls is going to pluck my little girl up by the sweater and fly away with her. Of course, Gracen doesn’t seem to be the least bit worried.
We had a lovely morning {mostly} outdoors, which will make up for the afternoon we’re about to spend indoors watching the Super Bowl… Go, Patriots, go!
The weather was gorgeous today, so Gracen and I decided to head down to Stanley Park to visit the aquarium.
First stop – the beluga whales.
Next stop – the sea otters. This little guy was totally performing for Grae and she was just soaking it in. Sea otters have to be one of the cutest creatures ever.
After being outside for an hour and a half, we headed inside to warm up a little bit. Grae loves the giant tank by the entrance way that is filled with all kinds of sea creatures.
Next we headed to the dolphin underwater viewing area.
This dolphin was very playful with Grae and provided all kinds of entertainment by doing flips and twists, touching her nose to the glass, and diving in and out of the water.
After seeing most of the main exhibits, we parked our stroller and headed into Clownfish Cove for some playtime.
Gracen explored, played, and made some new friends before it was time to head downtown and meet Bradley for dinner.
We’re enjoying finally being well enough to get out and do the things we normally do. This morning we headed over to the Hillcrest Community Centre for their Sunday morning family social and play gym session.
After coming home and having a GIANT 3 hour and 15 minute nap, Gracen and I jumped on the Canada Line and headed downtown. We walked around for a little bit, visited Chapters, and then picked up Bradley from work when his shift ended. It feels good to be well again!
Today we headed out to New Westminster to check out the Royal City Kids Fair. Although the fair wasn’t great, the Quay did not disappoint.
The boardwalk was beautiful! We walked up and down the walk, greeting people and puppies along the way. Grae loved watching her pinwheel twirl in the wind.
We stopped every now and then to pop in the markets, watch the birds fish from chunks of ice, and watch the tugboats come and go.
One of the highlights was definitely this boat playground. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a shot from the outside, but it is basically an old boat that’s been anchored into the boardwalk and converted to a children’s play area.
Gracen loved it. We’ll definitely have to bring Papa down here sometime soon.