A few snapshots from a morning spent at Granville Island with my little Vancouver girl…
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A few snapshots from a morning spent at Granville Island with my little Vancouver girl…
♥
I’ve long been a lover of summers, so I’m not sure if I’m just feeling especially appreciative of autumn in Vancouver, or if our 4 years spent in the scorching, sweat-dripping-down-your-back-the-instant-you-step-outside desert has skewed my preferences, but man, I’m loving fall this year. Crisp air, overcast days… The crunch of leaves beneath your feet… Puddles to splash in. Cozy sweaters paired with boots. And the colours… The amazing, AMAZING colours!
So when Grae and I passed by Queen Elizabeth park {filled with rainbow-coloured trees} this morning, we had to pull over. And I’m so glad we did. Watching our little one frolic amongst the leaves while declaring “Deez trees soooo beautiful!” is like nothing else.
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Today we woke up to the first dry morning we’ve had in days… So though we already had plans for a lovely indoor day, we put them on hold, layered up, and headed down to the beach for a morning of fresh ocean air. It’s been quite a while since our last beach day, but our routine little lady didn’t skip a beat. Our visit went as all of them do – playground time, a walk to Starbucks for a hot drink, actual beach time to collect treasures in the sand and dip our toes in the ocean, and then back to the playground for a second round of play before heading home for lunch and a nap.
Here is our morning in photos…
Uncovering treasures in the sand pit.
Cashews and a steamed milk while making friends through the window.
Driftwood collector.
“Mama takes a picture of Grae!”
“A little bit farther?”
Running from waves.
“Here birdie. Have dis green leaf.”
Sand drawings.
Water watching.
Admiring our autumn-coloured city.
Hand wash.
“No almost time for home. Grae Grae naps on the log!”
“It’s cooooooomforble, Mama.”
Suddenly she can do this.
“Spin it, Mama! Spin it!”
Little adventurer. (She climbed to the very top of this play structure and went down the giant tube slide all by herself. THREE times.)
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Zoos are one of those things I love and really dislike all at the same time. (Well, unless we’re talking about the Kuwait zoo, that is… Sadly, that one would have to fall into the category of ‘really dislike’ more than anything else… Animals from all over the world all kept in dry, desert-esque habitats with school children harassing them and visitors feeding them ice cream and popcorn is just not my idea of animal-friendly.) So when I found out that we were staying outside of downtown Seattle this weekend, very close to the Woodland Park Zoo, I had mixed emotions about going. On one hand, I knew Gracen would love visiting. She’s a true animal lover and it would be a chance to see many of the animals in person for the very first time. On the other hand, I knew that leaving feeling terribly for animals kept in small, non-natural confines was a real possibility (I obviously hadn’t done much looking into the Woodland Park Zoo beforehand).
I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised. The Woodland Park Zoo is the least zoo-ish zoo I’ve ever visited. And I mean that in the very best way possible.
Because it spans 92 acres, its {more than} 1000 animals have tons of space to live and roam as they would in their true habitats. And the best part? There are no tiny plexiglass confines or cages in sight. In fact, most of the animals live in fields and forests so giant that visitors can only see small parts of them (though many can be accessed from several sides and have designated viewing areas). It’s hard to describe, but it felt as though we were visitors to the animals’ environment, rather than them being the visitors in our environment. It was peaceful. And beautiful.
And we had a wonderful time.
Here’s our morning in {a ridiculous number of} photos (try to ignore the fog and smudgy fingerprinted glass)…
It may be the first of October, but the flowers in our front gardens would never let you know it. Today Miss G took some time to sniff her way around our yard and comment on each of the flowers she found – “Dis one soooo beautiful, Mama!”.
Soaking up the last signs of summer around here…
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Photos of me and my girl are so rare that having just one is noteworthy… (But that’s all about to change very soon because we’re having our first EVER professional family photos taken in just a few weeks – yay!) This one was taken just before leaving the lovely Granville Island this morning. It was cool and dreary and quiet… Which was perfectly fine with us.
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Today, my munchkin and I escaped to a little piece of rural paradise, right here in the city of Vancouver. We spent our day out at Southlands Riding Club (just off of SW Marine Drive), at their annual Country Fair and it certainly did not disappoint. The fair, which raises money to support the club, as well as their summer riding program for underprivileged children and two other local charities that run programs for disabled riders, was wonderful… The perfect way to spend a day with little ones, really. Besides horse entertainment and demonstrations all day long, there were pony rides, hay rides, a petting farm, a vendors’ market filled with local goods, musical entertainment, a huge farm yard fun area bursting with old-fashioned activities for little ones, and more. Grae and I arrived in time for opening, stayed well past her usual nap time, and could have stayed for at least two hours more.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the day was the pony rides (and not just for Grae – it seems most families felt the same way). Though I’d read about how busy the pony ride area was in years past, I thought Southlands had a great system this time around. Basically, you visited a booth to sign up for your pony ride time slots, then went about your day and reported to the ring only once it was your designated time. Because the line was only for time selections, it moved fairly quickly despite its length. Luckily, I thought ahead and signed up for two time slots {an hour apart}, guessing that Gracen would love her first horse riding experience and want to go again. And thank goodness I did. The first thing out of her mouth after getting off her pony was, “More pony riding?”
Here’s a look at our day in photos…
First pony ride.
Wee cowgirl on a wee pony.
Puppy dog face.
Goats need hugs too.
‘Hello piggy!’
Back to the riding ring.
On the ‘BIIIIG’ pony, as requested.
Doesn’t get much better.
Cowgirl Grae.
Tractor driving.
Bouncy horse!
A giant sensory pit… the hay pile.
Yay for hay.
Ahhh… Comfy.
Future firefighter?
What a day. I’m not sure who had more fun… But one thing is for sure, we’ll definitely be back next year.
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Grae’s new favourite game…
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Gracen had a wonderful time with her friends at her birthday party and has talked about having friends over to play every day since. So with my little lady’s wishes tugging at my heartstrings and our beautiful Vancouver weather continuing into September, I decided to host our first ever {outdoor} messy play date.
It’s been something Gracen’s been anticipating all week, and yesterday, she helped me pick out and put together our snacks, sensory bins, and art stations, and today we had four of her little friends over to play in the backyard. It was morning of ‘treats’, friends, hugs, and getting dirty, which suited Gracen just perfectly.
Though I tried to take photos during the play date, attempting to drink a hot coffee, engage and supervise a handful of one and two year olds, and visit with fellow mommies at the same time ended up being quite a lot on its own. Afterwards, however, once all of our friends had departed and Miss G was tucked in her crib for her nap, I couldn’t help but smile at the piles of mess all around me. Mostly eaten snacks, well played with sensory bins, almost empty juice cups, dried up paint, and little white plaster footprints across our backyard pad… All signs filled bellies, happy babies, and old-fashioned messy play.
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We’re hanging on to every last bit of summer we can around here, and have spent the last two days at the beach. Today, I packed along with us a few simple materials to try out a very cool beach project I saw long ago on Honest to Nod. It went surprisingly well for our first attempt, and we’ll definitely be trying it again before the summer’s vanished completely. Here’s how Miss G and I made our very own sand casts…
First of all, we retrieved a few buckets of ocean water and created a little plot of firm, mouldable sand. You could easily do this project near the shoreline where you normally find perfect sandcastle sand, but since the tide was high and the shoreline was littered with seaweed and shells, we opted for this method instead. (You can also do this project at home by mixing play sand water in a baking pan or shallow dish of some sort.)
Next, using the bottoms of our sand buckets and a plastic cup, we made several wells in the sand approximately 1 to 2 inches deep. (You can also use drift wood, feet, hands, and beach toys to make wells of different shapes and sizes.)
Then, using shells we collected around the beach, as well as a few glass stones we brought from home, we created designs and patterns in the bottoms of the wells. One thing we did learn about this is that in order to show up well in the finished product, the decorations need to be pushed down quite firmly into the sand – otherwise they just get completely buried in plaster. (At this stage, you can also use your finger or a stick to draw designs in the wells. Just remember that if you choose to write something, you need to write it backwards so that it faces the correct way on the cast.)
Next, using a container from home, a couple of cups of plaster of paris powder (readily available at art supply and hardware stores), some ocean water, and a piece of drift wood, we mixed up our plaster according to the directions on the box (2 parts powder, 1 part water).
Then we filled our wells almost to the top. At this point, we experimented with adding a couple of straws to two of the wells in order to have a hanging hole at the end. Turns out, it worked great. The only thing we’ll do differently next time is add the straws before the plaster (much easier when you can see the stones and shells, rather than digging around trying to avoid them ☺).
Easiest step? Playing and eating snacks while waiting for the plaster to set.
After about 30 minutes, I gently poked the plaster to find out that they were dry and hard, so I gently scooped up one of the casts, along with some of the sand below it. Sure enough, it was fully solid. Grae helped me scoop up all of the casts and place them gently in a bucket.
Next, we took the casts down to the ocean for a quick bath to remove the excess sand.
Here’s what we ended up with.
These two are Grae’s favourites… The octopus was made with the bottom of one of her Melissa & Doug nesting pails and ‘happy face guy’ was made with glass stones and a chunk of a shell.
Grae and I are hosting a messy play date this week and this just may have to be one of our outdoor crafts for the day. Fun, simple, and the perfect way to hang on to summer long after it’s gone.
♥
Over this past long weekend, we celebrated Gracen’s 2nd birthday with a backyard party in the sunshine. The afternoon went amazingly well… The sun was shining as hoped. There was just the slightest breeze. The decorations were handcrafted and colourful. The snacks were made of local ingredients and individually portioned for easy toddler chasing. The wee ones played until they were soaking wet and filthy. The sweets were plentiful. And Miss G had the time of her life… An afternoon filled with “yittle fwends”, tons of play, 2.5 “cupcakes”, Davison Orchard’s fresh-pressed apple juice, an endless supply of crackers and treats, and a generous sprinkling of hugs – for her, it just doesn’t get much better than that.
Since the party, she’s wanted to talk about it constantly. “Mama talk (about) Grae Grae’s birf-day party?” is a request I now hear more times a day than I have fingers. We discuss all of the details of the day, and inevitably end the conversation with a “More play yittle fwends, Mama?” Yes, Babygirl… We’ll have your little friends over to play again sometime very soon.
Here is Miss G’s special afternoon in photos… (Be prepared. This may be the most photo heavy post of. all. time. But I’m sure you already expected that, right?)
The Invitations:
These simple little invites {along with almost all of the decorations} were made while we were in the Okanagan on vacation. Using this free printable as a starting point, I sketched out what I wanted the invitations to look like and Bradley designed them using Photoshop. Once they were designed, we printed them on Grandpa Dave’s colour laser printer, cut them out by hand, created homemade pouches for them, and punched out some pretty confetti to tuck into the pouches.
The Decor:
This last minute little chalkboard greeted guests on our front porch and asked that they make their way around the side of the house.
I crafted a few of these ribbon chandeliers out of embroidery hoops and wide grosgrain ribbon, and hung them up around the yard to dance in the breeze.
Last year, I did a more traditional timeline of Gracen through the months, and although I loved how it turned out, this year I wanted something a little bit different… I ended up deciding on a ‘timeline tree’. We chose 2 photos for each month {from 13 to 24}, added the text using Photoshop, printed them, and hung them back to back using jute and curtain clips from IKEA that we already had on hand. And voila. Our plum tree instantly became a tree filled with memories of the past year.
Across the way, in our fig tree, I hung the felt poms we had made for last year’s party, giving it just a touch of colour. The beauty in not really having a colour scheme, is that everything goes. ☺
On the main food table, we displayed the letters T-W-O I crafted with cardboard letters, tissue paper dots and Mod Podge.
I also strung up one of the many fabric buntings I sewed for the occasion between two vintage apple crates that Grandma Charlotte’s family has had since she was a little girl. In the middle, I framed a copy of the birthday interview I did with Miss G on her real birthday so that guests could take a read.
For an added touch, we picked a couple of the beautiful dahlias growing in our front garden and popped them into vintage mason jars that used to belong to Gracen’s Great Grandma Amy.
Our photo booth backdrop consisted of a plain sheet {not very glamourously duct} taped up to the wall of our house, and a handmade fabric bunting strung across it.
The Snacks:
Here’s a peek at the food table… Since the party was from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., we stuck with snacks only and tried to keep them as portable as possible so that parents could munch and chase after their wee ones at the same time. Also, although we had a separate table to baby/toddler friendly treats, I wanted to make sure that everything we served was Gracen friendly (save the desserts)… Nothing more insulting than not being able to eat the food served at your own party!
On top, a layer of hummus topped with fresh veggies, many from Grandma Charlotte’s garden. On the bottom, individual layered bean dip cups {with homemade pita chips on the side}.
Fresh berry cups.
Okanagan cherry cups.
Plums picked straight off our tree the night before.
Besides these snacks, we had individual fruit salsa cups with homemade maple cinnamon crisps, as well as brown paper bags of stove-top popcorn.
For the adults, we served chilled lemonade and citrus iced tea in mason jar cups.
We also had an ice water station, which the kids quickly discovered and had a blast playing with.
At the toddler table, we served toddler trays (which included a variety of healthy bite-sized snacks), as well as fresh-pressed apples only apple juice from our favourite place in Vernon – Davison Orchard.
And for the wee babes – purée pouches in a variety of flavours.
The Sweets:
Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the desserts on the day of the party… Not sure how I managed that one, but I’ll blame it on being busy I guess. Fortunately, I took a is a couple of crumby photos the night before while I was baking into the wee hours of the morning.
For the adults, I decided to try out these mini mason jar cheesecakes and I’m so glad I did. They were easy to make, easy to hand out, and out of the 20 I made, we were only left with 2 at the end {at a party with a total of 12 adult guests}.
For the munchkins, I used Pioneer Woman’s vanilla cupcake recipe (I made them using 1/2 wholewheat flour), baked them in flat-bottomed ice cream cones (a trick I learned early in my Kindergarten teaching days – no wrappers to mess with and much easier for little ones to hold), and topped them with this {ridiculously rich} buttercream frosting, candy sprinkles, and fresh raspberries. I also baked some regularly (sans the cone for adults that preferred cupcakes to cheese cake).
For Miss G, I whipped up this sugar-free banana muffin recipe (and added an extra banana, skipped the salt, and replaced the melted butter with grapeseed oil), baked some in a flat bottomed cone so it would look like the ones many of her friends were eating, and topped it with fresh whipped cream (made without added sugar – just a touch of vanilla) and a fresh raspberry on top. I baked up the rest of the batch as regular muffins, and topped several of them with whipped cream and fresh raspberries for the other babes who don’t do sugar yet.
The Play Stations:
Since first birthdays are often more about the adults than the wee ones, I wanted to make sure that this year’s party was all about play. Messy, fun, noisy, old-fashioned play, just the way Miss G likes it. I set the stations up all around the yard, making sure there was plenty of space and a little something for all different tastes.
A big bucket of sidewalk chalk sat at the beginning of the path.
A construction bin filled with pea gravel , tower building supplies, scoops, tractors, and a hardhat for the little builders.
A cloud dough sensory bin for the wee ones who don’t mind getting messy.
A gardening bin for the aspiring green thumbs.
An ocean-themed bin for the little water lovers.
And a coloured spaghetti sensory bin for the mini sous chefs.
On the top of the grass knoll, there was a music making station that incorporated Gracen’s purchased music instruments, as well as several instruments that we’ve made together.
Up on the cement pad, we set up a sidewalk chalk painting station using homemade paints.
And on the other side of the yard, we used a hot water heater drip pan and this homemade bubble solution to create a ‘baby in a bubble’ station.
We also had Grae’s pool blown up and filled with water and toys, as well as the sandbox filled with all sorts of moulds, buckets, scoops, and plastic dinosaur bones.
The Birthday Girl:
After having a good hour and a half of quiet time in her room, we decided that the birthday girl was probably too excited to nap. We got her up, lathered her with sunscreen, and she picked out a party dress and decided how she wanted her hair done. Then it was time to head out into the backyard and get started on playing while we waited for her friends to arrive.
The Action:
Gracen was beyond thrilled when her guests started to arrive. Hugs and playmates = one very happy little girl in our house.
Although the whole ‘baby in a bubble’ thing was really hard to do in the beginning, the solution did make great big bubbles using regular wands, so I was glad I had picked them up the night before.
All of the sensory bins, with the exception of the gardening one (which I don’t think even got touched), were a pretty big hit.
The kiddos enjoyed digging for dinos in the sandbox.
And the birthday girl made her rounds all afternoon.
This little corner was put together with our littlest guest and Grae’s beloved friend, “Baby Tate”, in mind… Away from the action, in the shade, and filled with all of Grae’s favourite toys from when she was a baby.
Before long, it was time to bust out the bikini and make a splash in the pool.
Judging by our now beautifully decorated cement pad, the sidewalk chalk paint was one of the favourites.
The snacks, hugs, and company weren’t bad either…
Time for Cake:
As you can see by Grae’s face, she wasn’t so sure about her ‘2’ sparkler… Luckily she had her little friend Jaiden nearby. I think her excitement and lack of worry made everything alright. What did go over very well with Miss G, however, were the “cupcakes”. Yes, cupcakeS. She ate every single last bite of the one I’d baked in the cone for her, then demolished a second one, and made her way through half of another. Two and a half muffins?! Hey, when it’s your party, you’re allowed.
Better with Time:
As the party went on and the bubble solution got handled more and more, the better the bubbles got (just like Jackie from Happy Hooligans said it would). Our resident bubble expert, Jordan, was not only able to put both Gracen and Jaiden in bubbles, but he was also able to make bubbles that were seriously HUGE.
The Photo Booth:
Before leaving, we asked each of our guests to have their photos taken in our makeshift photo booth using the felt props I’d created for last year’s party. Here they are…
Ava and Jordan (somehow their parents made it without being in the photo… sneakers!)
Auntie Brandie, Jackson, and Kevin.
Auntie Silke and Ainsley.
Grandma Charlotte and Uncle Brett.
Tracy and Keagan.
Auntie Steffie and Baby Tate.
Jaiden and Cheri.
The Goodie Buckets:
This was probably the part of the party Gracen looked forward to the most… Handing out her goodie buckets to her friends. We’d collected little items for them for a long while and Grae was so excited about them that I’d made sure to really prep her about the fact that we’d be giving them away. Thankfully, it worked like a charm and she was very happy {and proud} to hand them out at the end of the party.
To go with our backyard theme, the buckets were filled with a watering can and sidewalk chalk (all bought at Michael’s), as well as a big beach ball (purchased at Superstore), a mason jar of Bouncing Bubbles, and a bubble wand (purchased at our local teacher’s store). The best part? (And I totally blame me being excited about this on the Ogasawaras, because before them I never really got that excited about a good deal…) At regular price, each of the 8 buckets would have cost well over 16 dollars, but because we started collecting early and found some great deals, each only cost around $4! (Crazy, right?)
And that was our afternoon. Miss G loved it and we did too. It was the perfect way to celebrate our little girl turning two.
♥
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Brad has officially left the tech world (for now at least), and is back to teaching (yay!) Lucky for Grae, that’s meant several recent visits to Papa’s new school. Her absolute favourite part? Exploring its magical forest and discovering new playgrounds, teepees, stages, stump seats, and hideaways.
Oh. And practicing her stellar yoga moves in the woods.
These two…
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Tomorrow we’re celebrating Gracen’s second birthday with a backyard party. We’re so lucky that Grandma Charlotte was able to come down a couple days early and help us out, because between all of the weeding, pressure washing, pruning, and general cleanup (all things that have needed to be done for some time now), we’ve been busy! Grae’s of course been loving every moment of extra grandma time, hours outdoors, and “helping”… Not to mention the accidental discovery of the odd ‘surprise’ here and there (much like this awesome little bubble machine I found on clearance)… Oh, the joy of bubbles!
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Tonight, as I was finishing up dinner, I looked out the window to see this…
Gracen adores her Papa and they always find little things to do together that I would never think of (see photo number 2).
As I was back at the stove, a little voice called into the house, “Mama, Mama! Clome!! Grae Grae rolls.” I went outside to see what all the excitement was about and received this demonstration…
These two. They just kill me.
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Photos edited with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.