There’s something wonderful about downtown Vancouver on a sunshiny day. The crowds seem more laid-back, the people are friendlier, and the sidewalks are lined with performers, artists, and vendors, making it perfectly okay to saunter along leisurely. So, with yet another gorgeous Vancouver day upon us, Gracen and I packed up our stroller, jumped on the Canada Line, and made our way downtown. Despite Grae’s surprisely long 3 hour nap, we were lucky enough to make it in time to spend most of Bradley’s lunch hour with him. We walked along the sidewalks, sat on the art gallery steps, watched an amazing percussion group, and visited Grae’s favourite place – the kids’ section of Chapters.
Gracen enjoyed every minute and was such a little gem all afternoon that we ended up pushing it a little late, eating dinner on the train, skipping bath time, and arriving home to read a couple of stories and crawl into bed. ♥
We took them out to the solarium this morning so that Gracen could take a better look…
‘Mama’ has a few hairs growing from the top of her head (and a few growing out from behind her eyes too – oops!)
Poor ‘Papa’ only has one single tiny hair growing atop his head…
And ‘Bubba’ has little hairs growing all around her head and all over her face too!
Our day started with Gracen waking up to all sorts of goodies from the Easter Bunny. She carefully went through her basket, spending a little time with each item before moving on to the next…
Inside, she found several books…
An egg shaker…
A new sunhat to fit that ever-growing Kossowan head of hers…
A beautiful new dress…
A button-up perfect for spring… (Plus new stamps and ink pads, stickers, cookie cutters, bunny ears, a baseball cap, a summer dress, and more!)
After enjoying all of the Easter Bunny’s treats, it was onto opening her gifts sent down by Grandma Charlotte and Grandpa Dave.
Again, she opened each item carefully, pausing to investigate them before moving on. She especially loved her new wooden caterpillar puzzle.
Grae kept busy by strategically placing her new stickers all over herself (and the house) while we prepared Easter brunch.
Soon after, Uncle Brett arrived and we all sat down to eat.
With brunch cleaned up, it was time to pull out some of her new goodies! This little lady is all about stamping right now.
When she’d had plenty of stamping, we put on her pretty new dress, got her egg collecting basket, and headed into the back yard.
Some spots were a little tricky…
And some were not.
Either way, she collected those eggs like it was her job!
And when she had found most of the ones out back, we headed out to the front yard to see if there were more there…
Team Ogasawara was there to give pointers, just in case.
And then it was off to find the really tricky ones. Sometimes you just have to throw your hands up into the air!
Problem solved with the help of a shoulder ride!
When we sat down to take a closer look at Grae’s findings, we realized she had collected a new little friend in addition to her eggs.
A little wet slug!
Grae patiently opened each egg and placed the treats into her bucket.
Opening eggs is tough work.
Inside, she found all of her favourite treats – all sorts of nuts, raisins, freeze-dried berries, banana chips, and fruit leather strips. She was thrilled.
Out front, she picked out her first treat and sat down to enjoy it.
Of course she shared a little with Unky Brett.
And then it was off to do a little exploring…
One of the other things Grae found in some of her eggs were these very weird little mystery Easter pills. We brought out a bowl of warm water, popped them in, and waited…
Some waited more patiently than others… Uncle Brett just couldn’t stand the suspense any longer, and helped the surprise arrive in a more timely fashion.
Easter-shaped sponges – woooooooooow!
We spent the rest of the morning outside and only went in when it was time for Miss G’s nap.
When Grae woke, the three of us headed down to Stanley Park to partake in more Easter festivities.
And guess who was there! The Easter Bunny himself, that’s who!
It’s a good thing our little doodlebug is a collecting machine, because she participated in yet another egg hunt.
The only problem was that the baskets were so small that her eggs kept spilling out when she’d bend down to retrieve more.
Not sure what it is about these things, but I just can’t seem to pass them up.
And with that, we boarded the Stanley Park miniature train.
We rode around, watching closely for animals and Easter eggs – both of which, Miss G pointed out plenty of.
On the way into the park, I had spied a little organic popcorn station hosted by Whole Foods, so after our train tour, we stopped in a grabbed a bag as a treat.
Gracen was all over it and kept saying, “Moore. Moore!” the way she does in her little accent.
We stopped and played at this crowded playground for a bit before heading down the hill.
Grae found herself a flower patch that kept her entertained for a while…
And when she had exhausted herself with flower picking, she bounced on Papa’s tummy instead.
With it nearing dinnertime, we headed back up to the hill to our car.
The best ending to a busy, fun-filled day? Deciding that stopping at Cactus Club for dinner is the way to go. Yay for a night off from cooking!
Can you tell that stickers are the new object of Miss G’s affection? Our house (and daughter) is currently covered in them.
Squeeeeeeeze…
Spread it around…
Marvel at the beauty of your artwork while whispering ‘wooooooooooooow’…
Then fold it over and smush!
Open it up to reveal your beautiful butterfly!
Over and over if you wish.
Tip: Don’t put the nylon sock over your head robber-style. It may scare the socks off your little one.
Lesson learned and ready to go. Put the toe of your nylon sock into your container and roll the top portion over the container. The toe should be dangling just above the base of the container.
Scoop a few spoonfuls of grass seed into the toe of your nylon.
Make sure all of the seeds get down to the very bottom of the sock (otherwise your grasshead will be a grassface also).
Fill the sock with soil, pushing it down every now and then to create a nice round head shape.
When your head is the shape and size you desire, make a knot as close to the soil as possible in order to keep the contents of your grasshead nice and tight.
Next, using a permanent marker, draw your grasshead’s mouth. Remember that the nylon’s toe will be the top of your grasshead’s head, and the knot will be the bottom.
Next, pinch a little bit of soil, along with the nylon, up from the centre of the face to create a nose. Tie it off with some jute. (An elastic or pipe cleaner works just as well for this job.)
Now choose some googly eyes.
Put eyes into a couple of dabs of hot glue and apply pressure to ensure they’re secured well.
Voila! You have a hair-less grasshead!
If you’re feeling silly, you can celebrate with a grasshead kiss.
Bathtime! But first, chop off the excess nylon leaving about 3 inches of nylon dangling from your knot. This will serve as a straw of sorts later, helping your grasshead slurp up water from its jar. Fill a sink with lukewarm water and fully submerge your grasshead for about 1 minute. Afterwards, gently squeeze the excess water out of the grasshead, being sure to keep the seeds at the top. This is a good time to mold your grasshead a little if you wish.
Fill a cup or jar with lukewarm water, place the grasshead’s ‘tail’ in the jar, and rest the head on the rim of the jar. Add water as needed and watch your grasshead grow a wild head of hair! Once the grass hair has really come in, you can cut and style it as you wish. Mohawk anyone?
For some reason, every time I do laundry this mysterious miniature little ghost makes an appearance…
Gracen and I were making a birthday card for Grandma Charlotte today when I noticed something strange about her outfit… She was wearing panties over top of her pants! What a silly little girl we have. Perhaps she’s trying to start a new trend?
What started out as a sunny morning turned into a drizzling day as we pulled up to the park and a full-on hail storm as we got out of the car. Serious picnic fail. So home we went with our food-filled basket to set up an indoor picnic on our living room floor. What can you do? Here’s hoping for some good picnic weather soon!