picnic dinner for 3 // swooping in to munch on Papa’s corn on the cob
Determined to make the most of our rain-free day, this evening we all headed out into the backyard to put our new barbecue to good use. While our asparagus, corn, potatoes, and chicken were grilling, Gracen enjoyed appetizers straight from the garden. Actually, to say that she enjoyed them would be an understatement… She ate everything in these photos, plus an additional 2 carrots. How she had room left for dinner, I’m not sure. But she did. And of course, Papa’s corn on the cob was even more delicious than her own.
♥
Photos edited using Instagram. Find me under ‘jkossowan’.
I had planned to sub today, but late last night, we decided that I’d skip what would have been my final work day this school year, and we’d head over the bridge to North Van as a family instead. And I’m so glad we did. With me working the weekdays that Brad has off, our one day a week as a family often becomes a ‘to do day’ instead of a day to get out, do something fun, and enjoy one another’s company.
A trip to Maplewood Farm as a family was just what we needed. The sun shone all day, we all had a blast, and Gracen got to show her Papa all of her animal friends she met on our last visit. We brought along with us a picnic lunch, a bag of bird seed, and by recommendation of North Shore Mama, some fresh mint for the rabbits (best tip ever seeing as the rabbits are so well fed that they turn away carrots and lettuce left and right, but gobbled up our mint leaves!)
Ooh! And did I mention that our visit cost a whopping $5?! When I got an email from Groupon advertising 2 adult admissions and 2 child admissions all for $10, I jumped on the deal. Little did I know, Groupon was having a deal of their own – $5 off any Groupon. Whew! Doesn’t get much better than that, now does it? Especially since admission for the 3 of us would normally cost about $20. (Have I mentioned that becoming part of the Ogasawara family has made me a sucker for a good deal?!)
Always looking for new, fun sensory bin ideas, I stumbled upon this webpage last week. Since Grae is such a little bird lover, I knew that a bird-themed sensory bin would be a total hit. We already had huge bag of bird seed on hand for our feathery friends who live in the backyard, and throughout the week, I went about collecting little extras. Everything needed was very inexpensive and was found at our local dollar stores, but would be available at craft stores too. The little birds are called ‘Mushroom Birds’ (I have no idea why, but they are) and can be found where fake flowers are sold. The nests are formed with faux moss (also found in a fake flower section), the flower branches are held in place by folding the branch over and anchoring it in the seeds, and the pinecones were borrowed from one of Gracen’s many collections. The little wooden bird house was painted by the little lady a few days ago, which was a fun activity in itself. With all of our items collected, I assembled everything during today’s nap and had it ready to go as a fun little afternoon surprise.
Gracen literally couldn’t get out the door fast enough when I told her I had something fun for us to do outside. And when she saw the birds? There was a serious squeal of excitement. She immediately set about exploring the nests, moving the birds from place to place, and filling the bird house with seed.
Shortly after, the birds started flying! Accompanied by little ‘whooshing’ sounds, they zipped through the air doing dives, spins, and figure eights. Hilarious.
Then it was time to empty the bin so that there was plenty of space for hand burying.
After selecting the very best peanuts from the mix, Gracen took the time to hand feed each bird. She tapped the peanut onto the birds’ beaks, and naturally, each responded with an enthusiastic “nom-a-nom-a-neh”.
With all of the birds properly cared for, it was time for the real fun. Gracen’s sensory bin finale of sorts. Off came the shoes, and in went the munchkin! Needless to say, we had seeds everywhere.
And then this happened. Perhaps she’s working on a new grand finale? I don’t know, but all I can say is that I’m happy she chose to break me in with this new maneuver on a bird seed day instead of a cloud dough day.
♥
Feathers, small pretend eggs, and anything found around the yard (sticks, leaves, flowers, etc.) would make great additions to this sensory bin.
Gracen and I had a regular little day planned out, but when the sunshine popped out and we received an early morning text from my good friend Steph, it was off to White Rock for a morning along the ocean with friends. We explored the beach, dipped our toes in the water, drew G’s in the sand, strolled the seawall, grabbed iced coffees, and had a picnic lunch on the grass. And one of my very favourite parts? Waving to our shadows and making them jump and dance along the beach. Seriously – is there anything more entertaining than watching a toddler discover the wonder of shadows? I’ve been soaking up moments just like these for the last couple of weeks and just can’t get enough. Today she even crouched down to touch her shadow… Gosh, I love this girl to bits.
After a busy weekend with Gracen’s Grandma and Grandpa (a.k.a. ‘Manmaw’ and ‘Poppop’) here, we headed out for a relaxing afternoon at the park. We decided to visit one of our favourites a little ways from home, and on the drive over, Gracen spotted a different playground out the window and asked to visit. It was too late for me to jump into the lefthand turn lane, so I quickly decided we’d do both. Why not, right? We went to the original one as planned first, then stopped at the other one on the way home. A mini playground crawl to end our weekend was just what the doctor ordered.
After our grasshead hairstyling session this afternoon, we headed out into the warmth of our solarium to explore something else I had set up during nap time… A new sensory bin! Truthfully, I wanted to create a construction sensory bin, but didn’t really have the materials I needed. I improvised and included some ‘building cups’, a shovel, a rake, a pumpkin scraper, and the one and only actual construction thing I could find – a little front loader. Of course, Gracen didn’t mind a bit that there wasn’t the variety of construction vehicles, workers, and signs that Mama had wanted. She got busy taking apart the towers, rebuilding them, scooping up pebbles, dumping them, and driving her little front loader up and down the rock hill. She did of course get into the bin and even tried laying down and rolling around in the pebbles this time around… Silly girl!
After a quick torrential downpour and a whole family nap (amazing!) the sun decided to grace us with its presence. After a string of rainy days, we wasted no time heading out into the backyard to soak up a little dose of vitamin D. We gathered up some sidewalk chalk, bubbles, our cloud dough sensory bin, a water sensory bin, a tricycle and a bicycle, multiple blankets, and homemade popsicles and enjoyed a laid-back afternoon outdoors, just the three of us. Here are a few snapshots…
Despite the weatherman’s prediction of a sunny day, in true Vancouver style, we woke up a healthy dose of liquid sunshine this morning. Instead of putting our plans on hold though, Gracen and I decided to throw on our gumboots, brave the rain, and head down to Granville Island for the Vancouver International Children’s Festival as planned. And I’m glad we did. Gracen really enjoyed the Twist & Toddle activity tent, as well as the shadow puppetry tent, face painting station, and the musical performances, and the rain really didn’t bother us in the least. I’m looking forward to attending again next year when more of the activities are age-appropriate for this little lady…
puzzle play // water table fun
firefighter Grae to the rescue // mama’s baby bird
colouring // shadow puppetry (Grae was the fish)
face painting pro // sweet cheeks
lunch in the rain // puddle jumping
♥
If you’re a Vancouver mama heading down to the festival to partake in the activity zones, be sure to bring cash, as that’s the only form of payment accepted. Also, something to be aware of is that everyone has to pay to enter the activity areas, including mamas supervising their little ones and the teeniest of infants, which is a little unusual.
I’d been waiting a long time to show Gracen the magic that is moon dough, and today was the perfect day. It just so happened we had white flour in the house and I randomly came across a half bottle of baby oil when organizing the bathroom cabinets… So it was kind of meant to be. Plus, it was plenty warm to be outside doing something messy, but not so beautiful that you wished you were sitting on the beach or beside an outdoor pool. Gracen helped me make the moon dough first, and then I transferred it into one of our empty sensory bins, gathered some fun stuff from around the kitchen, and brought everything into the backyard.
Gracen had wanted to get her hands into the dough from the time we started mixing the oil into the flour, so she was more than ready to get started.
She began by filling up the bowl and silicon baking cups one spoonful at a time and patted each one down when full, just as she does when making sandcastles at the beach. She quickly decided that the straws were the perfect ‘cake’ toppers. She’d carefully place them in one container, take a sideways glance, then move them to another, as if she were trying to get it just right. Turns out, the big bowl was the best place for all of them.
And though filling up the containers was fun in itself, she was extremely pleased with the discovery that she could tip them over to make little moon dough castles. (While the plastic bowl was harder, the silicon baking cups were perfect for this because she could give them a little squeeze and the castle would pop right out.) Of course smashing the castles was just as much fun as making them.
Next, we tried making some balls. She loved the finished product, but got frustrated with the fact that she couldn’t make them independently.
It didn’t matter too much though because in no time, she’d pushed all of the moon dough over to one side of the bin and started playing one of her very favourite sandbox games – ‘Where are Gracen’s hands?’
While the dough was all over on one side, we tried something else too – making imprints. Gracen pressed in the spoons and cups, and then we tried the same with our hands.
The best part though, happened when she got busy with the cookie cutters. She was fully enjoying pressing them into the dough and seeing the outlines they created when this happened… Puzzling! It took her a second, but she figured out. She tried to make it happen again afterwards, but sadly, no luck.
Of course, she ended the sensory box experience in her usual way… You should have seen the look on her face as the silky smooth dough smushed up in between her toes. Pure delight!
This sensory bin was ridiculously fun. Grae played with it for almost an hour and I can see us revisiting it very soon. The only thing I might do differently next time is either add more moon dough or use a smaller container so that there is a thicker base in the bin. And although I may be brave enough to try it indoors on a very rainy day (on a giant blanket in the kitchen), I think I’d rather keep this one outside as it’s just as messy as it is fun.
You can see Gracen’s beach, ocean, and gardening-themed bins by clicking on the links.
Let me tell you, it’s not easy coordinating the schedules of 5 busy mamas, 3 on-the-go toddlers, and 2 adorably smushy babies. But we finally did it. And on a gorgeous day no less. Gracen and I met up with several of my good friends and their munchkins at Granville Island this morning and it was wonderful.
Grae and I arrived early, grabbed our usual Terra Breads treat (her) and coffee (me), and headed outside to visit with the birds. I don’t know if it’s because of the increased traffic or not, but since the weather’s picked up and the island’s been busier, the seagull situation has been much better than this winter when the bird incident happened. In fact, they were so scarce today that we took out a little bag of bird seed I had tucked away and Grae fed the pigeons. It was the first time she’d fed birds and she was beyond excited about it. She’d shove her little hand into the bag and slowly pull out a fist stuffed full of seed. Food in hand, she’d carefully walk to an open area, crouch down, release the seeds, and purposefully brush her hands against one another, ridding her palms of the extras. Then she’d take a few steps back, wait anxiously, and when the pigeons would start feasting on the meal she’d provided, she’d proudly run back to me shouting, “Bird! Eat, eat, eat! More! More!”
Once our friends arrived, it was off for a little stroll along the seawall. We made our way to the playground where the “big kids” had a blast getting filthy and soaking wet in the sand area. Gracen went down the slide on repeat and playtime ended with all 3 toddlers smushed together on the saucer swing. Adorableness at its best.
Gracen loved the fact that they were setting up for the upcoming Children’s Festival… Especially because it meant serious chats with a bookworm and a fist-clenching ride on a pirate ship.
After a picnic lunch under the shade of a tree and a little more playtime, it was time to head home. There’s really nothing like a day filled with friends, fresh air, and sunshine…
After teaching both yesterday and the day before, it was so good to spend the day with my girl today. (Two work days in a row was new for us… I missed her.) We spent the morning at the aquarium visiting sea creatures, and decided to try something new this afternoon.
Sidewalk chalk is a usual thing around here, and we’ve done mess-free sidewalk painting a few times recently, but we hadn’t yet tried sidewalk chalk painting. It was about time.
There are TONS of sidewalk chalk paint recipes floating around the internet, but we just went for it and mixed up our own version. I wanted more of a watercolour consistency rather than a paste in order to allow Miss G to make longer brushstrokes before having to reload her brush, so we used a lot more water than cornstarch. And since I’ve read that the paint dries a lot lighter than it looks when wet, we amped it up by using generous amounts of gel colouring {hence them looking so dark in the photos}.
(FYI – The cool paint swirls are courtesy of my little lady. Who knew a good swift bump of the paint tray right as the photo is being snapped equals awesome swirls?)
Gracen didn’t hesitate to get started. The second I gave her the okay, she got busy dunking her paintbrush and creating her sidewalk masterpiece.
She honestly LOVED it. She was so focused and content that she did not put down her paintbrush once the entire time until the paint was gone. And when it was? There was a prompt, “More, Mama! More!” directed my way. Sadly, I’d used all of our cornstarch and couldn’t whip up another batch, but I’m pretty certain that this will become a regular activity this summer.
The end result was a sidewalk {and toddler} covered in beautifully vibrant colours, a very happy little lady, and much needed bath.
Sidewalk Chalk Paint
1 cup of cornstarch
2 cups (or less, depending on desired consistency) of water
Several small globs of gel icing colouring
Using a muffin tin, put a little food colouring in each cup, varying the colour combinations and the amounts of dye. In a large measuring cup, mix together the cornstarch and water. Carefully pour a little into each muffin cup and mix well.
Take the paint outside {preferably on a tray to prevent spills} along with paintbrushes and watch your little one(s) create a sidewalk masterpiece. Give paints a little stir every once and a while to prevent the cornstarch from sinking to the bottom.
Goodness gracious, have we ever been blessed with beautiful weather recently! And today was no different. What better way than to celebrate with afternoon popsicles on the front porch?
Our popsicle stash has taken a major hit these past few days… If this weather is going to continue like this {and hopefully it will}, we’d better get on replenishing our stock asap.
Today was just one of those days… Despite her usual 12 hour nighttime sleep and usual 2 hour midday nap, Gracen was out of sorts. Unfortunately, we had a beach play date planned for the day, and not even that cured it. Being little miss routine, she wanted the morning to go as it always does when we visit the beach (playground, walk, optional hot drink, beach play) and that’s just not how it happened today. Grae’s little friend was actually getting over a sickness and she wasn’t quite her usual self either. Not going to lie… It wasn’t a great combination. Luckily, we did manage to have many good moments too.
But after a long day, I must say that I’m perfectly happy having the evening to clean my house, work on some Littlest Lulu orders, and unwind while my wee one peacefully sleeps the night away (and hopefully the grumpiness off). Days like today sure make me appreciate the “easy” days with my happy-go-lucky little lady. Here’s hoping for a better day tomorrow.