A Day Outdoors

3 / 5 / 123 / 5 / 12

It was a chilly day here in Vancouver, but that didn’t stop us from spending the day outside… It started with an early morning walk around the block. Now that may not sound like a lot, but when you stop to splash in each puddle and visit with each picketing teacher, just one loop around the block takes a significant amount of time.

When we originally walked out the door, Gracen had bent over, tapped her pointer on the sidewalk and said, “Star. Star!” I asked if she wanted to draw stars on the sidewalk with chalk (she’s all about stars and hearts right now) and she enthusiastically nodded ‘yes’. I told her that we would do just that upon our return, and she certainly didn’t forget. The second we stepped up on our walk, she reminded me of my promise. We worked on our sidewalk art for a while, and then Grae focused her attention on expanding the size of her ever-growing rock collection.

We headed inside for a few minutes, but Gracen wasn’t done with being outdoors. As I tidied the kitchen and got started on lunch, she decided she’d have a tea party in the solarium. She played for a long while as I secretly snuck peeks of her pouring cups of tea and nibbling on plastic sweets. I got away with it several times, but eventually got caught. It turned out that being caught was a huge treat, because when I did, I got showered with ‘through the screen kisses’ and then got to enjoy this little show of funny faces.
It wasn’t easy, but I lured her in with a grilled avocado and cheddar sandwich (avocado being the key factor) and a banana almond oatmeal smoothie. But after lunch and a great nap, guess who was back outside having afternoon tea?
I took that as a hint and decided we better fit in some more outdoor time before winding down for the day. We got bundled up for the cold, jumped in the vehicle, and literally just drove around looking for a fun new playground to visit. Gracen was my little helper as usual, and every time she saw a play structure or open green space, she’d shout, “Par!” (park) from the back seat. We eventually found ourselves at an old school in the Marpole area and the playground was perfect.
We played until our hands were numb and our noses were red and then headed home to defrost with a hot dinner and a warm bath.

To the Beach with Manmaw

3 / 4 / 123 / 4 / 12

Today we headed down to our favourite beach to enjoy our last couple of hours with Grandma Charlotte. We played on the playground for a little bit and then made our way to the walking path (towards Cornwall Ave and Starbucks), to which Gracen immediately exclaimed, “Drink! Drink!”, knowing that a steamed milk with cinnamon was in her near future… Smart little cookie! Puppy kisses, puddle jumping, sea glass collecting, and extreme swinging were also involved. Here’s the proof:

Mondern merry-go-rounding.

A dreary day treat.

Splish splash.

Searching for something special.

With Papa’s help.

Taking it all in.

“Catching Papa”.

Extreme swinging, courtesy of Gma Char.

‘Hello down there!’

‘Wheeeeeee!’

Our morning ended with a tuckered out little lady falling asleep on the drive home (an hour before her usual nap time), therefore missing out on saying goodbye to her “Manmaw”. Oopsies. Although she didn’t wake up desperately searching for Grandma like we thought she might, she did remind us about where Grandma sleeps and where she sits at the table several times throughout the remainder of the day. Not to worry my sweet girl, Grandma’s last words were, “Make sure that foamie doesn’t go too far – I’ll be back at the end of March!” Days spent in the backyard gardening with Grandma are coming very soon, Miss G.

A Day with Gma Char

3 / 3 / 123 / 3 / 12

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.

Homemade Bird Feeders

3 / 1 / 121 / 6 / 14

Despite the incident we had at Granville Island a couple of months back, our little lady remains a dedicated bird lover (unlike her mama). So today we headed out into our sunshiny backyard, supplies in hand, to make a couple of simple, toddler-friendly bird feeders. Here’s what we did…

Seedy Bagel Rings:

For this project, we used wild bird seed mix, some wholewheat bakery bagels, some ‘just peanuts’ peanut butter, some jute (it’s biodegradable and can be repurposed by birds when building their nests), a spatula, and some scissors.

First things first, cover one side of the bagel with peanut butter.

You want it nice and thick so that the seeds really stick.

Then plop it, peanut butter side down, into the seed mixture.

Really push it down into the seeds to collect as many as possible.

It should look something like this.

Next, spread peanut butter on the other side.

And cover it completely with seeds.

Almost done! While you tie a loop of jute through the middle of the bagel, have your little one wash the gobs of peanut butter off of her hands.

Tada! Here’s the finished product.

Now tie them up in a tree and wait for hungry birds to flock your way.

Toasted O Loops:

For this feeder, we used jute, scotch tape, low-sugar toasted O cereal, and some scissors.

First thing, cut a piece of jute, tie a triple knot at one end, and wrap a small bit of tape around the other end so that it doesn’t fray.

Next, string the o’s onto the jute, one by one.

It’s a slow process… Especially if your munchkin eats five o’s for every one she strings!

When you’ve got a nice long string, make a loop and tie it at the top.

Then knot it onto a tree branch. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

I’m sure we’re inviting all kinds of scary crows and seagulls into our yard with these tempting treats swinging from our trees, but if it provides some entertainment for our little bird watcher, it’ll be worth it.

Grae’s Day

2 / 29 / 122 / 29 / 12

Just a regular day with Miss Grae today…

Early morning antics.

Laundry “helper”.

Little swimmer.

Post-nap routine. Milk, snack, blanket, and quiet time.

Single pony.

Play dough play.

Before dinner walk.

Crackers and cheese at the park.

Frozen blueberries for dessert.

Emergency sink bath.

♥

18 Month Check Up

2 / 28 / 123 / 1 / 12

This afternoon we had Miss G’s 18 month wellness check up. Although I love knowing that she’s growing, gaining weight, and reaching her milestones as expected, I absolutely dread the vaccination part. I’ve always disliked it (especially in Kuwait at those terrifying government clinics), but now that she’s older, it’s worse. Afterwards, she looks up at me with these big tear-filled eyes with a ‘Mama, you knew that was going to happen’ expression. Break my mama heart. The good news is that this time around it was only one shot compared to the four she had to get at twelve months. And getting to choose an animal sticker and play with toys afterwards seemed to pretty much make up for the poke.

The other good news is that our nurse was really happy with all of her measurements, skills, and progress. This months measurements may be a little off because it was the first time she was weighed with clothes and shoes on, and it was the first time she was standing when her height was measured, but close enough. Here are her 18 month stats:

Weight – 25 pounds (up from 21 pounds at her 12 month visit, jumping her up from the 50th percentile to the 65th)
Height – 80 centimetres (up from 76 centimetres at her 12 month visit, moving her way down from the 95th percentile to the 45th!)
Head Circumference – 48 centimetres (up a half centimetre from her 12 month visit, moving her just a tiny bit from the 90th percentile down to the 87th)

When we originally pulled up to the clinic, my unsuspecting little lady saw the playground at the school across the street and started bouncing with excitement. Of course, little did she know, we weren’t there to play. I told her that we were going to visit the nurses, and afterwards, we’d go to a park. So that’s exactly what we did.

It was freezing cold and we were the only ones there, but she was pleased none the less.

We played, ran, slid, and hid and then headed home to have dinner and a warm bath!

Sunday

2 / 26 / 123 / 1 / 12

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.

The Crankiness Cure

2 / 22 / 123 / 4 / 12

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.

St. George’s Playground

2 / 19 / 123 / 1 / 12

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!’

Sans Pants

2 / 18 / 123 / 1 / 12

Today we left the park like this… Sans pants, sans boots, and sans socks.

The reason? This irresistible mud-filled contraption. :)

We Heart Kits Beach

2 / 17 / 123 / 1 / 12

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. ♥

Valentine’s Day with Miss Grae

2 / 14 / 129 / 22 / 13

Gracen and I had a jammed-packed fun-filled Valentine’s Day today and it all started out like this.

With heart-shaped pancakes, strawberry slices, and fresh whipped cream. Gracen was in heaven.

After breakfast, Grae opened her little Valentine’s Day bag from Bradley and I.

Inside she found a new photo book called Gracen Loves…

A pretty little shirt (that she helped pick out last week)…

And a new set of felt hair clips made with love by Mama.

With the help of her Papa, she got dressed and ready for the day while I zipped around the house doing a few last minute things for the tea.

This morning when she woke up Papa for breakfast, she marched into the bedroom and proudly presented Bradley with this card she made. (From the bottom of my heart…)

(To the tips of my toes… I love YOU!)

And before he left for work, Grae snuggled in closely and they danced around the living room for a few minutes. ♥

Before her guests arrived, Gracen tested out the mess-free finger paint station we set up on the front window.

After a wonderfully busy (and slightly crazy) Valentine’s tea (separate post to come) and a much needed nap, Grae had an afternoon snack of strawberries and fresh whipped cream.

And then we headed to the park to get some fresh air and enjoy the day’s last hour of sunshine.

When we got home, my sous chef and I started working on dinner.

This little lady loves helping in the kitchen. Not to mention that having her cook with me has solved our recent “witching hour” dinner making disasters.

For Mama and Grae – chicken, sundried tomato, roasted garlic, and feta pizza. (I’m embarrassed to say that Grae ate 5 – yes, FIVE – mini heart-shaped pizzas at her little party today and I had already planned pizza for dinner too. BIG helping of steamed green veggies needed on the side!)

And for Papa – prosciutto and caramelized onion pizza.

And if we hadn’t overdone the heart thing yet, heart-shaped bananas for dessert.

Overall, a wonderful day with my little valentine. ♥

Party Prep

2 / 13 / 129 / 22 / 13

Tomorrow morning Gracen is having a handful of little friends (and their mamas) over for a Valentine’s Day tea, so this afternoon was all about party prep. We ran errands, picked up some groceries, cleaned house, and got things ready for her pint-sized guests.

Gracen helped out by testing out the mural paper I hung on the wall while she was napping.

Then we headed outside to do our usual sidewalk chalk thing.

Gracen is all about hearts and stars right now, so she was quite pleased that we were filling our walk with all hearts of all shapes and sizes.

Now let’s just hope it doesn’t rain overnight!

A Granville Island Morning

2 / 5 / 123 / 1 / 12

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!

An Afternoon at the Aquarium

2 / 5 / 123 / 6 / 12

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.