Brrrrr! This morning we bundled up and headed down to Second Beach in Stanley Park to enjoy the sunshine. It was absolutely freezing and the wind was so strong that my ears felt like they were on fire from the cold, but Miss G didn’t mind one bit. She had two new playgrounds to explore and discover, plus many, many warm layers, so the cold was the last of her worries.
Here’s our morning in photographs…
Bundled up for the cold.
Super excited.
‘I thought we were just having a leisurely swing, Papa?’
‘Everyone hold on!’
Mama and G.
Slide race!
The perfect hiding spot.
Moccasin feet.
‘Uh, Papa? What are you doing?’
Wheeeee!
♥
For extra fun, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
Since being selected as one of Vancouvermom.ca’s Top 30 Mom Bloggers, I’ve gotten to know some really incredible and inspiring local ladies. Over the course of the last several months, we’ve turned to one another for advice and support time and again, and have become fast friends because of it all. I’m beyond grateful to be part of such a wonderful bunch of mamas, and it goes without saying that I will miss them dearly while away in Kuwait.
Today Miss G and I were lucky enough to meet up with several of my lovely blogger friends – Tairalyn of Little Miss Mama, Amy of The Connection We Share, and Erin of Erin at Large – as well as their adorable munchkins for a Granville Island play date. The weather wasn’t completely on our side, but the company certainly made up for it.
♥
For extra fun not always on the blog, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
After a morning downtown and a nap at home, we headed down to the River District to finish off the day with one last dose of fresh air. Tricycle riding, dog watching, playground jumping ensued, and quacking at ducks ensued.
♥
For extra goodies, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
This morning as we were having our usual wake up cuddle in the ‘big bed’, Grae poked her head through the curtains, turned to me with big eyes, and exclaimed, “Mama, it’s a SUNNY day today!” Then she immediately asked to go to the beach. I explained that it was Thursday morning, which is our usual Strong Start day, then let her know that she could make the decision. She thought about it a moment and said, “Mama, we go to the beach instead of school. We walk…. We play… We see birdies… We see the ocean… aaaaaand… we get hot drinks!” So the beach it was.
Some days are just too beautiful to spend indoors, even if it is at school… (Shhh… Don’t tell.)
♥
For extra goodies, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
Though it feels like we’ve had a good, long winter vacation already (because we have), we’re lucky enough to have one more week to spend in the Okanagan before Bradley’s return to work. And while we’ve been doing more than our fair share of relaxing (and indulging – oy!), we’ve also been trying to make the most of our time with the snow, because before you know it, we’ll be back to our city of rain, rain, rain.
Today we tried something new – snow spray painting!
In order to make the paint, all I did was pick up a couple of cheap spray bottles (I made sure to give the triggers a little squeeze in store first – some are little hand-friendly, and others are not) and filled them with some cold water and food colouring.
Then we headed outside {in pajamas} to decorate the freshly fallen snow.
We played with the nozzle on our spray bottles to get the flow just how Miss G liked it – in a steady stream in order to achieve maximum distance. ☺
Her goal? Covering as much of the snow in snow spray paint as possible.
“A new spot now!”
Though using a fine mist is a little trickier (because you need to be quite close to the snow for it to show up well), it makes pretty cool results…. Pink snow anyone?
Of course when you’ve painted your little heart out and you’re ready for a break, you can always topple over in a snowbank and have a rest. ☺
Snow Spray Paint
3/4 cup of cool water
10 drops of food colouring
Pour the water into a small spray bottle and add the food colouring. Repeat for multiple colours/bottles. Spray the snow. Have fun!
♥
Keep up with all the Mama.Papa.Bubba. fun, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
While last year’s NYE was a quiet evening at home as a family of 3, this year we were lucky enough to spend it with some of my very favourite people. We arrived back in Cochrane early this afternoon to fireworks on the countertop and plans of a bonfire in the works (thanks, Gar!) My NYE contribution was picking up some groceries and putting together some homemade {wholewheat} thin crust pizzas while Miss G got her nap on. Mix in some s’mores, noisemakers, and late night science experiments with my nephews {after the girls had gone to bed}, and you’ve got yourself a pretty awesome New Year’s Eve.
Making a bonfire with wet wood in freezing temps isn’t easy.
Four excited little munchkins.
Chay Belly and Miss G having a good laugh together.
Fire success!
Auntie Roz made sure we were a noisy bunch.
Someone went to bed for the last time in 2012 with a noisemaker in hand. ☺
♥
Keep up with all the Mama.Papa.Bubba. fun, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
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…
♥
Keep up with all the Mama.Papa.Bubba. fun, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
Though not a lot, Miss G has definitely seen snow before. But today, when she woke up and I whisked her off to the window to show her the surprise that had arrived overnight, she said to me, “Mama? What’s dat white stuff?”
With that, we promptly layered on some winter gear on top of our pajamas and headed outside to play in the {barely there} first snow of the year.
“Dis is snow? Santa likes snow.”
Perfect snowball making snow.
“Yook, Mama! Yook what Grae Grae has.”
Snowballs.
A collection.
Attempted snow angel.
For the freezer.
♥
To keep up with all the Mama.Papa.Bubba. fun, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
Today my little lady and I headed down to Stanley Park for our second year at Bright Nights. Last year, Miss G was just a tiny little thing still riding around in the Ergo, but this year was a whole new ballgame. She rode the train and pointed out things with one hand while holding my hand with the other, she cruised around the displays taking in the lights, she made friends with the Frosty the Snowman mascots that were strolling around the park, and enjoyed a warm milk and a bag of popcorn as a special treat.
Here’s our evening in photos…
All aboard!
Beautiful light displays.
Through the tunnel.
Chillin’ with Frosty.
Firefighter Grae.
The happiest little girl.
Taking it all in.
Magical.
“Mama, take Grae Grae’s picture!”
Warm milk to end a lovely {and chilly} night.
♥
To keep up with all the Mama.Papa.Bubba. fun, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
Grae and I were at home today without a vehicle, stroller, Ergo, umbrella, or bus pass (Brad had the vehicle and accidentally took everything else along with him – oopsies!), so we decided to use the the dreary rainy day to get some yard work done {quite possibly in pajamas ☺}.
I was raking leaves like a mad woman when I noticed that Grae had invented her own little game in the pile of leaves she was playing in. She played round after round as I sat back quietly chuckling to myself as I watched. First, she’d toss her little rake into the pile somewhere, then burry it with leaves and call out “Where’s Grae Grae’s rake? Hmmm… I don’t know!” while holding her hands out up to the sky wandering through the pile…
Then she’d sort through the leaves, eventually find it, and retrieve it.
Then proudly stand up and announce “There it is! There’s Grae Grae’s rake!!!”
And when there wasn’t a leaf pile treasure hunt happening, there was a whole lot of this…
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…
Okay, so we didn’t actually mean to do it in the dark, but then again, we didn’t plan on making a leaf maze in the first place. We had actually headed outside so that Gracen could play and I could rake up and compost our mounds of leaves and tidy up the yard, but meh – making a leave maze just seemed like more fun.
We headed outside around 4 p.m., and with it getting dark here just before 5 o’clock, we really didn’t have much for daylight left by the time we’d constructed our maze. (You’ll have to excuse the terrible photos… I really have no idea how to take decent pictures sans flash and tripod in the dark.)
I’ve seen this idea on Happy Hooligans and other blogs around the net, and I knew Grae would love it. With a rake, our hands, and some gardening gloves, we created a very simple maze in no time.
Grae found her way through several times and then asked, “Make maze more tricky, Mama?”
So with a few minor adjustments, we had a new, trickier maze for her to try.
It met her approval and then she decided she’d try driving her tractors through for something different… A fantastic idea if you ask me!
I don’t know how it will last overnight, but I have a feeling there will be several “more tricky” mazes in our day tomorrow.