Tag Archives: firsts

Bath Time for Bubba

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Another day, another first for our little NICU babe.  Tonight, at 38 days old, Bubba had his very first bath. He wasn’t sure about it at first, but as soon as he adjusted to being in the warm water, it was like this sense peace came over him, leaving him perfectly calm and content while ultra alert at the same time.  We snuggled skin-to-skin afterwards as we do each night, and then it was time to tuck him in and say goodbye.  Leaving at the end of the day is always the hardest part…  Here’s hoping that it won’t be for much longer.

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Boating at Sylvan Lake

Growing up, we spent a lot of time out on the lake.  My dad barefooted, my mom slalomed, and my brother and I loved to tube, kneeboard, and spend time ‘swimming’ in the middle of the lake.  I can’t count the number of times Gary and I cocooned ourselves in dry towels and spent the bumpy ride back to the marina tucked right under the dash after a long day of sunshine, wind, and water.  Oh, the days… Some of my favourite childhood memories, without a doubt.

Well today, we got to begin creating those same with our own little ones.  After wanting one for many, many years, my brother finally bought himself a boat a few days ago.  A beautiful one.  A big wakeboard boat with a great sound system and room for plenty of munchkins and friends.  And though the weather forecast looked terrible last night, we decided to stick with our original plan of heading to Slyvan Lake for the weekend and I’m so glad we did.  We spent our afternoon and evening on the water soaking in the sunshine, blue skies, and fresh air {yay for inaccurate weather reports!} and paused only for a moment to pick up some dinner from shore.

The highlight of the day?  My very cautious, very sensitive water-loving little lady went tubing for her very first time ever.  I was a wee bit surprised when Uncle Gary asked who would like to try tubing and Miss G immediately responded with a loud, ‘ME!!’, but after hearing about the possible outcomes and watching her cousins try it first, she was still raring to go, so she did.  And she loved it too.  She loved it so much, in fact, that she spent a good part of her time behind the boat singing ‘Let it Go’, complete with the dramatic arm movements. Hah!  The day ended with a very proud Captain Grae taking us home for a very late bedtime, but it was absolutely worth the tired grumpiness that will undoubtedly ensue tomorrow morning.

Here’s our day in {a ridiculous number of} photos…

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The First Puppy

IMG 9743Recently Grae’s interest in drawing and colouring (especially colouring) has absolutely taken off.  While she’s really into drawing people right now, today she drew her first ever dog.  I get such a kick out of these things! ☺

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A Delicious First {& a Recipe}

IMG 8998IMG 9007IMG 9020IMG 9019This happened tonight…  Miss G’s first ever ice cream cone.  And oh my goodness, did she ever love it.  Before we knew it, all that was left was sticky fingers and a drippy chin and dress.  

She’s already planned our next two flavours too – pumpkin with cinnamon first, and then strawberry afterwards.  There’s bound to be plenty of ice cream in our future.

 

{Healthier} Creamy Coconut Ice Cream with Candied Coconut Sprinkles

Ice cream:

  • 1/2 cup of whipping cream
  • 2 cans of coconut milk (we used full fat)
  • 6 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla

Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl, then place in fridge to cool for a couple of hours.  Process in an ice cream machine for 20 minutes and put into the freezer for a few hours to set.

Sprinkles:

  • 1/2 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 teaspoon of pure maple syrup

Put both ingredients into a jar or bag and shake well.  Spread coconut out on a baking sheet in a thin layer.  Roast at 250 degrees until crunchy and golden brown.

Enjoy!

For more healthy-ish desserts, click here.

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A Seat

IMG 8450“Mama, I made you a seat.  You’re sitting on it and I’m sitting in your lap.”  

This was brought to me while I was getting ready this morning.  Miss G thought of the idea, retrieved her supplies, cut and folded her paper, and did the drawing 100% on her own.  My mama heart is still melting. 

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Big Sharp Scissors

IMG 0037IMG 0039This morning Gracen asked to help me cut out some new activity cards for her weekly calendar, but was quickly becoming frustrated.  Her toddler scissors (the ones that pop back open between each snip) just were not getting the job done and she was ripping the paper more than she was cutting it.  It was then that she said very matter-of-factly, “Mama, I need BIG, SHARP scissors.  I’m big enough now.”  With that, my pink poodle hopped off the couch, helped herself to a new pair of scissors from my desk drawer, and began cutting like it was her job.  My baby is growing up.

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Sharp Knife Practice

Sharp Knife Cutting Practice | Mama Papa BubbaI’m well aware that many people may think I’m crazy, but recently, I’ve been helping Gracen learn how to safely use sharp knives while cooking.  She’s been helping in the kitchen since shortly after her first birthday, and is becoming an expert pourer, mixer, peeler, and grater, so this felt like a natural next step.  I fully subscribe to the notion that children, even wee ones, are very capable little human beings… More so than we often give them credit for.  So, given her kitchen experience, her ability to follow instructions, and her generally cautious nature, I felt like she was ready.  Plus, I sort of feel that being handed a cucumber to cut and a butter knife to do the job must feel a little insulting.  

IMG 9761Wouldn’t you trust this innocent little face? ☺

IMG 9762When she’s practicing her cutting skills, I like to give Grae my favourite tomato knife.  It’s quite sharp, but it doesn’t have a pointed tip and it doesn’t seem to easily puncture the skin – perhaps because it’s serrated?   I also make sure to give her soft foods that have at least one flat side (no rolling) and are long and thinnish (more space for holding).

IMG 9763So far, we’ve been focusing on holding the food at the far end and really being aware of where the knife is in relation to her little fingers.

IMG 9767This morning, while we were at the grocery store, I let Grae pick out what she wanted to cut.  First on her list was cantaloupe.

IMG 9769She also selected a dragon fruit and a couple of kiwi fruits…

IMG 9777Perfect for a fruit salad!  Overall, she’s doing really well with it.  I still always stay close to her and monitor her chopping carefully, and I did ask her to slow down a little bit today, but for the most part, she can safely use a sharp knife on her own.

IMG 9778The best part is how proud she is of herself.  Chopping up all the fruit for a big bowl of fruit salad while using a sharp knife = official big girl status.  

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Miss G {in Manual}

IMG 8858Today I was lucky enough to spend the morning with some blogger friends soaking up the photography wisdom of Justine from B Life Photography and Amy of The Connection We Share.  They took us through the basics of using our cameras on the manual setting and helped us learn the balance between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.  Being the slightly stubborn person I am (though I prefer the term ‘determined’ ☺) , from here on out, my camera will remain on manual, despite it being freakin’ hard (so much to think about, and so little time while chasing a busy toddler).  

It’s far from a perfect photo, but  here’s my very first manually-shot picture of my little love.  

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iPhoneography // Gracen Types

Gracen TypesThough we aim for very little screen time in our house, this afternoon Grae asked me if she could spell some words on my computer.  Because there was so much potential learning involved, I just couldn’t say no.  She cozied up under the covers of our big bed, selected her font colours, and typed her name first.  Since she already knows how to spell ‘Gracen’, she did it on her own, even though hunting for each letter was {painfully} slow.  After completing her name, she asked to type other words.  She selected a new font colour each time, told me her word, and I spelled them aloud while she searched for the letters.  Needless to say, her newly found skills left her as proud as a peacock.

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iPhoneography // The Day She Got $10

For the last 19 months that we’ve lived in our little old house, we’ve collected mail for the previous tenants and messaged them each time there’s been enough to warrant them making the trip into the city to pick it up.  Because there were 6 adults {plus a baby} living where the 3 of us do now, the mail stacks up quite quickly.  I honestly don’t mind one bit, but every month they apologize profusely for inconveniencing us.  A couple of weeks ago, when the father/grandfather of the family popped by for a pick up, he handed me a pretty red envelope and said, “For the kid”.  I smiled, thanked him, and set it aside for when Gracen woke up from her nap.  

Later in the afternoon, she opened it up to find two crisp 5 dollar bills.  I explained that it was money (poor girl can operate a debit machine like nobody’s business, but has barely seen dollar bills in her lifetime) and asked her what she’d like to do with it.  We brainstormed ideas and came up with these options:  put it in her piggybank, keep it in her purse, deposit it in her bank account, give it to someone, or use it to buy something.  In the end, she decided that she wanted to buy something with her money (“a bath bomb would be nice”, she told me) and Superstore was the place to go.  So off we went. 

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When we arrived, I explained that she had $10, so whatever she wanted to purchase would have to be less than that.  She carefully browsed the aisles, inspecting items while asking “Is dis one 10?”

When she announced that she was ready to make her decision, she had 6 options to choose from… A Hello Kitty Easter book, a small collection of bath toys, 3 bottles of glittery paint, a group of squishy dinosaur toys, a bracelet making kit, and a ride-on bouncing ball.  We lined the choices up down the middle of an aisle and she slowly started ruling things out.  “Not dis one…”, then she’d go and put it away.  When she’d cut the selection down to just 3 items, she confidently shouted “I pick the bouncy ball!!!”  With that, we tidied up the rest of the stuff, and headed to the self-serve checkout where she scanned her item, deposited her money in the slot, and collected her receipt.  

With my little lady having completed her first ever shopping purchase, we headed home to blow up her new bouncer and play in the backyard.  She’s bounced around the yard every time we’ve been outside since, so I’d say she’s pretty pleased with her decision. ☺

$10a pretty little envelope // headed to the store (panda hat required)

happy with her choice // bouncing bubba

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Island Bound

Gracen’s been talking about ‘riding a ferry boat’ everyday since we told her we’d be taking one over to Victoria for part of spring break, and today it was nonstop.  While we were getting ready, while we were packing up the vehicle, while we were driving to Tsawwassen, and while were were waiting for our scheduled departure, it was constant ferry boat talk.  Mostly of the ‘I want to go on the ferry boat riiiiight now’ variety.  

When we were finally aboard the boat, it was all about exploring.  The restaurants, the arcade, the kids’ play area, the viewing decks – she wanted to see them all.  So that’s just what we did.  
IMG 6777IMG 6783IMG 6778IMG 6805IMG 6789IMG 6801The trip flew by quickly and before we knew it we were off to find the apartment we’ll be staying at for the next few days.  Here’s to spending the week in Victoria.  I’m hoping that there is plenty of exploring, relaxing, and outdoors in our near future.  ☺

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A First

IMG 6725First ever juice box.  Slightly baffled at first (juice?! orange juice?! in a box?!), but after the surprise wore off, she was pretty thrilled about it all.

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