This afternoon Miss G made a little congratulations card for her sweet playmate Ainsley, who became a big sister 11 days ago. She decided she wanted to draw Ainsley and her new brother on the inside of the card, which was a big undertaking seeing as she’s only ever really drawn circles, triangles, squares, and happy faces. When she asked for help, I walked her through the parts we needed to add to her start of two smiley faces (“Okay, now what does Ainsley have on her head?”, “What about feet? Should we add some?”, etc.) and this is what she created.
Pretty brilliant for a first real drawing, I’d say. ☺
♥
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After our morning adventure, Miss G and I spontaneously decided to head down to Broadway to get her hair trimmed. As usual, we went to Melonhead, and as usual, we had another great experience. Though this was Grae’s third haircut, it was the first that I had not prepared for by packing along very special sit still treats. ☺ Thankfully, it wasn’t an issue. We walked in without an appointment and got in immediately (which is always nice). Gracen chose where she’d like to sit (the pink car – again) and happily enjoyed some crazy Treehouse show while the lovely stylist snipped away.
Before.
During.
After.
A sweet little style.
Celebratory pony ride.
Before I knew it, Gracen was sporting a cute new do and we were on our way.
♥
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We had plans to attend a morning story time today, but when we woke up to no rain, I knew we had to make the most of it and get outside. Grae agreed without hesitation and immediately suggested going to the beach. In particular, the beach with the “biiiiiiig ladder and biiiiiig slide”.
It’s still kind of crazy to me that my baby girl can do all of the things she can now…
This morning, Miss G asked for a marker. I gave her one, she went to her little table, and returned with this paper a moment later and proudly announced, “Happy face!”
Yes, indeed… That’s certainly a happy face. The first one she’s ever done all on her own.
For me, a big part of being a mama is creating special memories and traditions that your children will hold dear always and perhaps one day, pass onto their own children. With that being said, a birthday tradition we are starting this year is conducting video recorded birthday “interviews” of sorts. As the years pass by the questions will change and grow just as our little girl will… Here’s what she had to say on the day of her second birthday.
From her interview, I put together this so we’ll have something a little more concrete to add to her baby book:
Tonight, on the eve of my little angel’s second birthday, I did my best to savour the seemingly insignificant moments that make up our everyday lives together. The little things… The squeal of excitement she lets out when jumping into the bath. The fact that she insists on running around the house naked and giggling as soon as she exits the tub. The way she received her new footie jammies as though she was the luckiest little girl in the world. The delight she got out of bursting into Grandma’s backyard in her pajamas when it’d normally be bedtime. The little gallop she’s mastered and saves for times of excitement. The tight hug I got in exchange for a little playtime as the sun was going down… All of the little things that make our happy, sweet hearted little lady her.
With a camera full of photos and the grass sufficiently brushed off her pajamas, we headed inside, and slowly made our way through her usual bedtime routine. Tonight, when she asked for just one more story, I read it to her more than happily. We snuggled a little longer than usual, sang our normal bedtime songs twice, and when she asked for “More kiss!” each time I had almost closed the door, I went back, again and again… Because tonight is the last night my little girl is one and these little moments pass by all too quickly.
Tomorrow the shiny new world of two opens up, and if it’s anything like this last year’s been, I’ll continue to wear my heart outside of my body, a proud mama watching her baby grow up into the most wonderful, kind-hearted little girl imaginable… And for that, I’m so very lucky.
I know that this doesn’t mean that she can recognize all of her letters, or that she knows what they mean, but I just can’t help myself… I’m having a proud mama moment over here. My baby girl can sing the entire alphabet song (save a little ‘R’ / ‘S’ confusion) all by herself now. Here’s what I got to listen to all day long today…
Miss G has been very aware of the feelings of others (and characters in books) for a long while now. She wants nothing more than for everyone to be happy, and if she thinks you’re anything less, she’ll have a hug and kiss coming your way stat (they fix everything, right?)
Just recently, she’s begun expressing emotions and announcing their titles. Here are the ones she’s mastered so far.
Goodness gracious. Our little lady is officially just one month from her SECOND birthday. I don’t know how that’s even possible. All I know is that time is flying faster than ever and no matter how hard I try, there’s no slowing it down.
Here’s what our little lady was up to from 22 to 23 months…
Gracen loves:
Being outside
Stickers (this is actually becoming a semi-problematic obsession)
Going on bike rides
Cooking with Mama
Visiting our mail lady (mostly because she gives her stickers)
Bella, Grandma Charlotte and Poppop’s dog
Being with her cousins and Baby Tate (she talks about all of them constantly)
Watching music videos on Papa’s iPad
Listening to She’ll be Coming ‘Round the Mountain in the car (repeatedly)
Eating goodies picked straight from the garden
Being in water (she’s a brave little thing)
Doing things on her own (“Grae Grae does it” is said multiple times a day)
Helping with household tasks (especially putting away groceries and laundry)
Being naked (this is new – perhaps heat driven?)
Books and reading (this is what you’ll find her doing during her independent play times more often than not)
Doing puzzles (and she’s good at them too!)
Beading
Looking at her own blog (she regularly says “See blog?” as soon as she wakes from her nap)
Popsicles
Going to the library to pick new books
Streaking after her bath (she does laps around the house)
Playing games (anything matching or colour based especially)
Music (listening to it, watching it, and making it)
Building and playing in forts
Trying new/sensory activities and games
Animals
She dislikes:
Anyone singing along to songs she’s listening to (you’ll be reminded once nicely with a “no sank you singing, Mama” and then it turns into a “No, no, nooooo singing, Mama”
When you do things for her (Miss Independent!)
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
Papa sings ‘the towel song’ (You’ll have to ask Brad to show you how it goes)
You throw things in the air and let them drop to the floor
After last month’s giant list of new words, I told myself I would no longer keep track, and thank goodness I did. It would have been impossible. From “breakable” to “pussy willow” to “octopus” to “library” and “rocking chair”, Gracen pretty much says everything now. She uses little sentences all day long and she’s constantly surprising us with the new words she busts out in conversation.
One thing she really loves doing is giving play-by-plays while we’re on bike rides. Riding on a bicycle with Grae sounds something like this: “Biking fun, Mama. Fun, fun, fun. See orange-y car! Haha – orangey car funny! Ohhh… Biiiiiig flag. Big red white flag. Clothes! Clean clothes hang-ing. See, Mama? See clothes hanging? People! People walking. Hiiiiiiiiii, people! Hiiiiiii! Ball! Soccer ball! Man plays ball. Biking fun. Grae Grae – pink seat. Mama – black seat. Aqua bike. Biking fuuuuuuuun!” And it goes on and on and on. Certainly keeps me on my toes.
I can’t explain how great it is to be able to communicate with Grae and have her be able to express herself as well as she can. We chat all day long day and I truly cherish the conversations we have {as crazy and repetitive as they sometimes are}.
She:
Now announces that she has to go to the bathroom, runs there, gets herself up onto the potty, and does her business (she even attempts to wipe if you let her)
Now counts up to 4 and loves having someone ask her how many objects she has (she counts them up and very proudly announces the number)
Names and points out all of her colours (including basic rainbow colours and more complicated ones like white, black, grey, brown, baby blue, silver, and aqua)
Sings Old MacDonald had a Farm
Can now open doors on her own
Is now much more comfortable around dogs and loves hugging and hanging on GC’s dog, Bella
Immediately gives you a hug and a kiss if she thinks you’re sad, then asks “Mama/Papa happy?”
Is a total fish and fearlessly bobs around in water that comes up past her chin – she even insists on us not catching her when she goes down the pool slide, which means she goes completely under water before we scoop her up
Can do proper, both-feet-off-the-ground jumps
Can answer basic questions like, “What is your name?”, “How old are you?”, “Who do you love?”, “What colour is our/Grandma’s/Uncle Brett’s car?”, “Where does Papa work?”, and “Who do you love?”
Now “reads” aloud simple books that focus on one or two colours/objects per page
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
She loves eating raw onions and herbs while Mama is cooking and begs for more
We now wake up to a little sing-songy “Mama, Mamaaaa! Morning! No more sleeping!”
Sings herself to sleep at night… Turn the monitor on and you’ll hear pieces of Twinkle Twinkle, Old MacDonald, Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes, and other favourites
Sometimes she giggles so hard that she snorts, which makes her giggle more
Well, that’s been our month… I can’t believe how in love I am with this little lady. She is truly such a smart, kind, and special little girl. I know I say this every month, but this stage is so much fun and our days together just seem to be getting better and better. Now to wrap my head around the fact that I’ll soon be a mama of a two year old little girl…. Ugh.
Well, our little lady is officially 22 months old… Just 2 months from her 2nd birthday – yikes. So hard to get my head wrapped around the fact that I will soon have a 2 year old little girl. And she’s definitely becoming a little girl. She’s communicating more than ever, expressing her preferences more than ever, and becoming more independent than ever.
Here’s what she was up to from 21 to 22 months…
Gracen loves:
Being outdoors
Being around other kids
Visiting the playground
Going down fast slides
Baking and cooking with Mama
Watching butterflies flitter around
Running laps around the house (one night this month she did 15 laps in a row)
Jumping, dancing, and spinning
Splashing in puddles
Helping with laundry
Riding the bus and sky train
Action songs
Tickling people
Giving ‘run hugs’
Watching Cullen’s ABC’s Youtube channel
Exploring new places
Drawing and colouring
Trying new games and activities
Having her nails painted (much to her Papa’s dismay)
She dislikes:
When she wants to go somewhere and you stop her from doing so
Having her bellybutton being covered by her nighttime diaper
Mama or Papa singing along with Cullen’s ABC’s songs
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
You spritz her with a spray bottle
You make silly noises
You chase her
Grae’s new foods include:
Bean sprouts
Hima melon
Unsweetened chocolate almond milk
Homemade kale chips
The new words/phrases she regularly uses include:
“lid”
“Milk please, Mama”
“peel”
“towel”
“Mommy” (so weird to be called that instead of ‘Mama’)
“new”
“doot” – do it
“good girl!”
“yellow”
“real”
“pop!”
“dump”
“drop”
“step”
“sleep”
“more muwah” (more kisses)
“wheel”
“mail”
“email”
“mirror”
“come”
“good job!”
“our car grey!” (our car is grey)
“uncle car red” (uncle’s car is red)
“stop”
“swing”
“sit”
“ice”
“apple sauce”
“apricot”
“feta”
“back”
“almond butter”
“high”
“higher”
“pick”
“idea”
“way”
“sock”
“wait”
“zoo”
“read”
“tail”
“beach”
“onesie”
“chicken”
“Apple store”
“mall”
“brella” (umbrella)
“stick”
“panties”
“hide-seek” (hide-and-seek)
“tickle tickle”
“whale”
“toot toot”
“roll”
“animal”
“come”
“money”
“red”
“arm”
“see”
“shoe”
“tea top” (tea pot)
“jamjams” (pajamas)
“black”
“fun”
“do”
“sweep”
“button”
“eyebrow”
“tock tick” (clock sound)
“truck”
“clean”
“school”
“pile”
“sun”
“train”
“snap”
“barn”
“egg”
“bead”
“pear”
“uncle” (yay! finally!)
“big”
“sock”
“Elmo”
“oopsie daiso!” (oopsie daisy!)
“tag”
“sticker”
“braid”
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
wait
wag
wheel
She:
Discovered shadows and loves making her shadow wave
Now points out A’s and O’s (as well as G’s)
Can now climb up the rock climbing wall on playgrounds
Now repeats almost anything you ask her to say
Is now pretty good at stopping and coming back when you ask her to do so (even when she’s desperately on a mission to go somewhere)
Automatically picks out a diaper, onesie, and pajamas on her own after bath time
Happily sits while her nails are cut (this hasn’t always been the case)
She doesn’t mind getting dirty, but likes to be cleaned as soon as she’s done with messy activites
Describes things by colour everywhere we go (“blue car!”, “red shoe!”, “yellow duck!”, “green tree!”)
Enjoyed potatoes for the first time EVER (baked on the BBQ)
Is still fairly easy to reason with (as long as you explain why she can’t have something / do something, she is normally pretty accepting of the situation)
Now does the actions to many songs (The Wheels on the Bus, Baby Bumble Bee, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, If You’re Happy and You Know It, The Hokey Pokey, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider are some of her favourites)
Can now point out and name almost all body parts
Continues to be extremely kind – she happily shares, greets little playmates with an enthusiastic “hiiii!”, and becomes incredibly concerned if someone is sad, hurt, or upset.
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
If we’re headed on the door and we haven’t yet put a hat on her, she reminds us that a hat is needed to go outside
She now signs wait Kuwaiti style – love it
She begs for raw red onion while Mama cooks and takes handful after handful, announces “Purple onion!” and then shoves them into her little mouth – weirdo
She calls Smart cars and VW Beetles “baby cars”
“Happy” is the opposite of all things bad (so if food is not hot – it’s happy, if something is not dirty – it’s happy, if a body part does not hurt – it’s happy)
Every time you mention going outside, Grae immediately exclaims, “Haaaaat! Flap flips!”
Well, that was our month. I can’t believe that our little lady will soon be two years old. Must get my head wrapped around that in the next couple of months…
Watching Gracen (and kids in general) pick up language is nothing short of fascinating. In the past couple of months, she’s begun learning and using new words at an explosive rate. I try to keep track of them by quickly punching them into my iPhone Notes app once they become part of her regular everyday chatter, but I’m nearly at the point giving up that endeavour. With well over 200 words in play and my mommy brain factored in, it’s just becoming too difficult for my scattered brain to keep track of what’s old and what’s new.
What I’m finding more fascinating than new words, however, is the little phrases she’s recently begun putting together. She’s been using pairs of words for a while now (“more please”, “tea pot”, “Mama Papa Bubba” – her name for our family, hence the blog name), but she’s just really started to string multiple words together to convey meaning and describe the world around her. She doesn’t have all of the pronouns needed to properly link her words and she sometimes pauses for more than a usual amount of time between words, so the result is adorably awkward little sentences.
Here are two from tonight…
Upon noticing a man in a blue turban walking down the street:
“Mama – blue hat on hair!” (while pointing of course)
After I told her that we were skipping bath time tonight and getting ready for bed right away instead:
“Mama-Papa-Bubba-allllll-sleep!”
♥
And on a completely different note, guess what I spied while brushing Miss G’s teeth tonight… Yup, two big bottom molars forcing their way up through her gums. Hello again, teething.
Welp, our little lady turned 21 months old today, and apparently that’s just the motivation I needed to get my tush in gear and get her 20 month post done. Darn time. It’s not always my friend. My goal is to have her 21 month one done sometime this week, and my even bigger goal is to have her first year photo book completed by her second birthday. Wish me luck.
Anyways, that’s enough about me. Here’s what our darling little girl was up to between 19 and 20 months…
Gracen loves:
Digging in the dirt and finding worms
Being dragged around the house while laying on a blanket (still)
Stickers and stamps
Balloons
Reading while on the toilet
Her hoola hoop
Jumping on beds
Discussing the day’s highlights before bedtime
Visiting her blog and having you tell her about the photos
Snuggling
Helping others
Sharing her things
Going on adventures
Reading
Having someone ask her questions so that she can show what she knows
Helping with jobs around the house
Putting her laundry away
She dislikes:
When you don’t let her try something on her own first before helping
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
You throw grapes up in the air and catch them in your mouth
Grae’s new foods include:
No-sugar-added vacuum-fried banana chips
All-natural blueberry bran muffins
Arugula
Turkey bacon (not a regular food, but she did get to try it during a special celebratory dinner)
Wholewheat tortilla chip (not a regular food, but she did get to try one during Papa’s 30th birthday dinner)
The new words she regularly uses include:
“snap”
“wow”
“ya”
“dirt”
“baaaaa” (sheep sound)
“sssssss” (snake sound)
“ohhhh”
“quack”
“car”
“meow”
“treat”
“play”
“bird”
“Tate”
“poop”
“deer”
“meow”
“meh” (goat sound)
“cheep cheep”
“train”
“out”
“step”
“peepee”
“apple” – happy (strangest thing ever)
“rararararah” – read
“knee”
“dot”
“yay!”
“tape”
“ring”
“carrot”
“pocket”
“all-mo” – almond
“edmama” – edamame
“poop”
“milp” – milk
“cut”
“glue”
“flap flip” – flip flop
“hat”
“papta” – pasta
“melon”
“watermelon”
“Ornia” – California
“plap” – splash
“hole”
“flap”
“touch”
“oh dear!”
“cloth”
“babe”
“home”
“clothes”
“bra” (don’t ask)
“pay”
“hand”
“top”
“two”
“Lulu” (her nickname)
“draw”
“arm”
“dab”
“tight”
“down”
“door”
“tights”
“oh, Grae Grae!”
“oh, baby!”
“pull”
“please”
“chair”
“auntie”
“Quatchi”
“me”
“rawr!!!” (when asked what dinosaurs, lions, and tigers say)
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
Snake
Cereal
Want
Basketball
Family
Come here
Alligator
Right now, she:
Makes a chomping noise whenever she sees alligators and crocodiles
Points out dots whenever she sees them
Talks about her little friend, Tate, all the time
Lays all of her animals and dolls on their bellies for story times
Puts animals on the toilet and pretends they’re peeing
Does a crazy mad face where she holds her fists up in the air and shakes (but not when she’s mad – just randomly)
Announces she has to use the potty, runs to grab a book, and then heads to the bathroom
Leads you by the finger to wherever she needs help or wants to show you something
Walks up and down stairs without a railing or hand to hold on to
Is putting words together in simple phrases more and more (for example, I told her that we weren’t going to be seeing her friend Tate because his mom wasn’t feeling well, and for days she’d say, “Tate Mama Owah?”)
Is very into the emotions of story book characters
Puts away her own laundry {in the proper places}
Believes that everything can be fixed with tape (because that’s how I fix her ripped books)
Wants to do everything herself (Miss Independent!)
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
While shopping in the States this month, I announced that our blender was crap. Well guess what my little parrot took from that? “CRAP!”
If you ask her what her cousin Kinslee says, she’ll reply “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!” in her loudest, screechiest voice
She constantly points to my {naturally dark} joints and says, “Owah. Mama owah.”
When she comes across a group of items, whether it be food on a plate, rocks in the garden, or poop in the toilet, she points to them and calls them “mamas”, “papas”, and “bubbas”, based on their size
Pretends she’s a baby and crawls around the house
When you ask her where her Apple onesie came from, she’ll respond with “Ornia” (it was bought at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, California)
Well, that was our month. This little lady’s language is exploding and it’s becoming nearly impossible to keep up with her new words. She’s developing such a great little sense of humour and seriously keeps me laughing all day long. But more than anything, she’s got the BIGGEST heart. She wants nothing more than to make others happy. She’s kind to kids on the playground who aren’t so kind to her, she’s happy to share even the most special of treats, she shows genuine concern for others’ feelings, and she doles out hugs generously when they’re needed. I’m so proud of her that it’s sometimes a little overwhelming. She’s certainly a special little girl.
I love this video for so many reasons… Between the cracker chomping, the newly acquired “no”, the fuzzy post-nap hair, the worrying about something being dirty, the exceptional pot belly, and outgrown outfit, this video is all Grae.
Gracen doesn’t have a ton of hair (possibly part of the reason why she’s mistaken for a boy so often). But in the last few weeks, she’s grown some wildly long wispy hairs at the front, and her mullet has become even more mullet-y. It was time for a trim. Since we had such a good experience with Gracen’s first ever haircut, we headed back down to Melonhead on Broadway this morning. We snuck in without an appointment, and although we had a different stylist this time around, she was every bit as lovely, quick, and gentle as the one we had last time. In the comfort of her pink covetable, Gracen pretty much sat perfectly still the entire time and just let the stylist do her thing. I love this place. I’ve been witness to many crying, wiggling kids {with moms frantically trying to bribe them into sitting still with juice boxes and fruit snacks} in regular hair salons, and without a word of exaggeration, every child having their hair cut this morning was happily sitting still, enjoying their visit.
Here are some photos of my little lady before, during, and after her second ever haircut…
She left the salon with the sweetest little bob I’ve ever seen, an inverted pony, and a teeny tiny clip.
This afternoon Miss G made a little congratulations card for her sweet playmate Ainsley, who became a big sister 11 days ago. She decided she wanted to draw Ainsley and her new brother on the inside of the card, which was a big undertaking seeing as she’s only ever really drawn circles, triangles, squares, and happy faces. When she asked for help, I walked her through the parts we needed to add to her start of two smiley faces (“Okay, now what does Ainsley have on her head?”, “What about feet? Should we add some?”, etc.) and this is what she created. 
During.
After.
A sweet little style.
Celebratory pony ride.
We had plans to attend a morning story time today, but when we woke up to no rain, I knew we had to make the most of it and get outside. Grae agreed without hesitation and immediately suggested going to the beach. In particular, the beach with the “biiiiiiig ladder and biiiiiig slide”. 
Where have I been and why does my girl suddenly look so grown-up?
Yes, indeed… That’s certainly a happy face. The first one she’s ever done all on her own.
♥
With a camera full of photos and the grass sufficiently brushed off her pajamas, we headed inside, and slowly made our way through her usual bedtime routine. Tonight, when she asked for just one more story, I read it to her more than happily. We snuggled a little longer than usual, sang our normal bedtime songs twice, and when she asked for “More kiss!” each time I had almost closed the door, I went back, again and again… Because tonight is the last night my little girl is one and these little moments pass by all too quickly.
“An-gee.”
“Sad.”
“Hap-PEEE!”
“Sur-pised.”
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
