This afternoon, while I was brushing my teeth and throwing on some lipgloss in the bathroom and Miss G was watching at the doorway, Grae announced that she was going to tell me a story. This is it, word for word (giant pauses and all).
Once upon a time…. There was a nice mum mum. She was brushing her… teeth. And Grae Grae loved her brushing her teeth. But theeeeeen… Gracen sat on her head!!!
Such a strange little doodle I spend my days with.
♥
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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Today our first ever bandaid was needed… Miss G slipped her finger into the door of our lazy susan just as I was closing it and the end result was not good. The incident took the tip of her nail off, as well as the skin off of the top of her little finger. To make matters worse, she despised her bandaid, but after taking it off, hated seeing the blood and raw skin underneath. Ugh. Not fun for my sensitive little lady.
♥
Gracen and I went skating for the second time today (see our first try here) and it was pretty great. We still rotated rounds of skating with the support with the extra fun chair rides, but Grae was a lot more confident today and skated for most of the time without me holding the support behind her.
Here she is in all of her skating glory…
That little clippity clop of her skates on the ice makes my heart melt.
♥
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While on Christmas vacation in the Okanagan, I finally came across something I’d been on the lookout for for a while now… Old-school double-bladed skates. ☺
And though we didn’t get around to a family skate session while on vacation, today my little lady and I stopped by Hillcrest Centre for their weekly preschooler skate.
Gracen was really excited about trying skating, so we got suited up and hit the ice. At first, we skated hand in hand, her taking quick small steps on the slippery surface and I doing my best to balance the both of us. After a few minutes, I realized we’d both be better off starting with one of the plastic support apparatuses (thank heavens for them!) It was so much easier, especially with my rusty skating skills involved. Grae stood in front with me behind her and all was good. In fact, we happily made it all the way down the ice and halfway back again before she took her first spill. That’s when things started going downhill a wee bit. While she’d been confident and happy for the first bit, after the fall she was anxious and much more cautious. Though I got her up and having fun again, she told me several times ‘Dis ice is soooooo slippery. Too slippery, Mama!’
In an effort to turn things around, I offered to push her on a chair for a bit like many of the other parents were doing with their kids. Needless to say, with the risk of falling removed and the fact that she could glide across the ice at super speed without really having to put forth any effort added in, she loved it.
With spirits boosted from a good long chair ride, we hit the ice again and tried holding hands and using a cone for support.
It was short, but overall I’d say our first ever skating session was a success. Gracen left happy and she says she’s excited to go again next time. Can’t ask for much more than that. ☺
♥
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Grandma Charlotte and Auntie Judy have had plans for a gingerbread house decorating afternoon in the works for several weeks now. While Auntie Judy took charge of making the gingerbread pieces and assembling the house, Grandma Charlotte collected all kinds of {healthier} decorations so that Miss G could decorate and snack a little along the way too.
With all of the prep work already done, today, we popped over to Auntie Judy’s house {conveniently located just down the farm’s lane way} to let Miss G decorate her first ever gingerbread house.
After Auntie Judy whipped up a quick batch of frosting, Gracen got started with ‘painting’ the icing onto the house using a popsicle stick.
Her decorations included all kinds of dried fruit and nuts, as well as sesame sticks and breadsticks, and while not the most traditional of decorations, Grae didn’t mind one bit.
She completely covered the roof and two sides of the house, then decided that doors and windows were required on the front and back.
Afterwards, with the help of Papa, a fence was added to the backyard.
Tadaaa! The finished product.
♥
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Those of you who know Vancouver, know that snow around these parts is a rarity. It barely makes an appearance, and when it does, it’s for a very brief amount of time. Before long, it begins to melt and the city is a slushy rainy mess in no time. This time around, however, we were lucky enough to hang onto much of yesterday’s snow, plus get a fresh batch early this morning. To make the most of it, this Grae and I spent the morning outside playing, walking, and sledding in it, plus we shovelled our walkway and sidewalk, as well as those of the neighbours on either side of us.
This evening, after picking up Papa from work, we decided to stay out and enjoy it just a little longer… This time by making Miss G’s first ever snowmen.
Meet Tess. A mama snowman (snowlady?) who is 2 years old.
Gracen loves her so.
And despite how it may appear, this is a kiss and not a nose nibble.
Tess’ plastic hat just wasn’t working for her. Time to switch it up. This one has Grae’s stamp of approval.
Meet Yess. Mama’s baby boy snowman who is 1 year old.
I’d say she had a great first snowman experience… Now what to tell her when her beloved Tess and Yess begin melting away…
♥
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Miss G, in front of the HR MacMillan Space Centre / Museum of Vancouver, after her very first day of being taken care of by someone other than Mama or Papa
Because we lived overseas for Gracen’s first year and we’ve lived here in Vancouver, five hours away from her closest grandparent, for her second year, Grae hasn’t really ever been taken care of by anyone but Brad or I. We have snuck out a total of FOUR evenings after she’s gone to bed thanks to the Grandmas and Uncle Brett, and she used to spend about 30 – 45 minutes at a time with our lovely nanny and housekeeper, Amita, when we were living in Kuwait and I had to leave for tutoring before Brad’s bus returned to the Dunes, but I don’t really count those… She was so young when she stayed with Amita, plus it was such short periods of time. And because she was already asleep, she didn’t know we’d even left the house on our evenings out.
But that all changed today.
Last week, I won a free ticket to Leading Moms: Inspiring Talks by Extraordinary Women on fellow Top 30 Mom Blogger Lisa’s blog, The Sprog. When I first heard about it, I had really wanted to go. They were even offering free onsite childcare by Nannies on Call – but with tickets being $100 and us having a couple of weekends away planned for October, I had decided to skip it this time around. Needless to say, I was thrilled to find out I had won the giveaway and even more excited when I learned that there was still space for Grae in the childcare room.
Despite my excitement, I must admit that I was a little bit nervous to leave Grae at the same time… I really liked the idea that she would be right there in the same building as I was and that she would be taken care of by professional, caring nannies, but I worried about how she’d react to me leaving her there and how she’d be about going to the bathroom. Questions that crossed my mind: Is she going to bawl when I say goodbye? Will she know who to tell when she has to go to the bathroom? If she does know, will she be brave enough to go up to one of the nannies and actually tell them? How will she do without having a nap? (I hope I’m not the only mom who thinks about these things the first time they leave their child…)
So yesterday afternoon, we began talking about our special day ahead. I explained that we would be going to a special place where there would be lots of mamas and lots of kids, and that I would be visiting with the mamas and she would get to be with all of the kids to play. We filled her new backpack with extra clothes and her family and friends photo book, and her new bento box with a yummy lunch and lots of easy to eat snacks, making sure everything was labelled along the way. Bright and early this morning, we talked some more about what a fun day it would be for both of us. I explained that there would be some ladies taking care of all of the kids and that they were like mamas – they would be the ones she could go to if she needed help or needed to go to the potty.
We arrived to the space centre nice and early, took our time registering and looking around, made sure to get in a good bathroom break, and went to meet the nannies in the childcare room. They were all very nice and Grae seemed happy to stay with them when I told that I loved her and that I’d be back later to pick her up. As I went to walk out the door, however, panic set in a little bit and she decided that she wanted to “clum wif Mama and Mama’s friends”, but the nannies were great, swooped in, and invited her to go and colour with them. With that, she said goodbye and was off.
The morning was lovely. I finally got a chance to reconnect with a bunch of the other Top 30 Bloggers in person again, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast by Nature’s Path, and spent a couple of hours listening to the stories of several very inspirational moms. At lunchtime, I poked my nose into the childcare room to check on my little miss. She was doing just fine, having fun, and had already been to the potty twice, so I left unnoticed to join the other ladies for some lunch in the sun.
At the end of the day, after soaking in the tales and talents of several more influential mamas, I {quickly} made my way to the childcare room to scoop up my little lady. I opened the door, and there she was, in the middle of the floor, rolling around and giggling. Her ponies were disheveled, her lunchbox was empty, she was in the same outfit I dropped her off in, and most importantly, she was happy… A total success in my mind. She was full of wild energy (a telltale sign of tiredness), but that was to be expected. On the way home, I thought for sure she’d fall asleep, but instead, she told me {bits and pieces of } things that happened during her day – “Man and puppy upstairs”, “Laid on mamas’ laps at show” (they went upstairs to the planetarium to take in a show about seasons), “Played with yittle friends”….
It was a truly wonderful day. I left feeling refreshed, inspired, and thankful that I now know, without a doubt, that Grae can be fully content when cared for by someone other than myself. And at the same time, very grateful that she doesn’t have to be. Knowing the stories behind the bits and pieces of her days means the world to me.
♥
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.
♥
Although Gracen watches very little television, one thing that kind of slips under the radar is watching sports with her Papa. For the last couple of months now, they’ve been all about baseball. Brad gives her a simple play-by-play of the game, and she tells him what she sees and shouts “Run, run, run!!!” as the players make their way around the bases. We’ve even started singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ as a bedtime song. It’s pretty cute that she’s so into it.
With this newfound interest in baseball, we’ve been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to take Grae to her first live game. And today that day finally arrived.
Being that the afternoon games start at 1 and last a few hours, we decided that Bradley would go for the start of the game with Uncle Brett, Grae would have her usual 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. nap, and she and I would join halfway through. Of course, on the rare day that we planned something for right after her nap, my little consistent as can be 2 hour napper slept for an extra half hour. Not to worry though, we scored a sweet parking spot and arrived at the top of the 5th inning with plenty of game left to enjoy.
When we first sat down {in our very crowded row surrounded by people chanting and shouting} Grae was a little overwhelmed, but she quickly settled on my lap and enjoyed her bag of stove-top popcorn while watching the game as if it was what she does every saturday afternoon.
Although she was very interested in the game, she was equally interested in the bear mascots that came out in between innings. Motioning with her little pointer, she called out “Clum, clum bear!” (come, come bear!) in hopes of one coming our way. When they’d head off the field instead, she sadly say, “More bear. More bear, please, Mama.”
Despite the bears not complying with her requests, she contently took in the game, shifted from lap to lap, gobbled up ALL of the special ball game treats I’d packed for her (stove-top popcorn, 2 ingredient ice cream – both banana and mango, in-shell peanuts, and an energy bite), and made friends with other fans until the game came to an end.
Afterwards, we made our way down to the field for a few pictures and a closer view of the bears. Kids were actually invited to run the bases during this time, but it didn’t look like parents could accompany their munchkins and we were a little unsure that she’d know what to do. Next summer, maybe!
She did, however, get a close encounter with the Canadians bear, who was {of course} much cooler when looking much smaller from further away.
In the end, we left with a little lady begging for “More ball” and a promise to be back very soon. And that we will.
♥
While we’re on the topic of kids loving baseball, I recently had the opportunity to learn a little bit about a very special program the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation (VCBF) is hosting this summer. Built on the belief that every child has the right to play ball, regardless of conditions that are beyond their control, the VCBF, along with the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Coast BC, are bringing more than 300 children from across the Lower Mainland to the historic Nat Bailey Stadium to take part in the first mini league of its kind. The children will be coached and mentored by local sports personalities and community figures while playing weekly ball games in an atmosphere that promotes collaboration and fair play. In addition to this wonderful opportunity, the kids involved will receive free equipment, meals, transportation, and weekly talks by inspiring athletes and leaders geared towards promoting self-esteem and leadership skills. Not only will this experience create a magical summer for these kids, but it will also create new friendships and lasting memories.
For more information on this unique program, click here.