Wordless Wednesday (Beach Baby Edition)

Milk

    Grace is signing 'milk' now! She's been doing it for a while, actually, but we wanted to make sure she was actually making the connection. She'll sign it when we say "do you want some milk?" and she always signs it when she sees her bottle. It's so exciting!
    I think she understands the sign for 'more' but has yet to sign it back. She's also waving bye now, and after she eats she'll often do a little wave; so I think she's picking up on the sign for 'all done.'
    My little smarty-pants :)

Hurricane Watch

I love a good storm. There's nothing better than sitting out on the porch during a thunder and lightening storm. Whenever I hear that there's a hurricane coming our way, I secretly hope that we get the wind, rain, and big waves without any of the damage hurricanes can cause.
We've got our flashlights and candles ready, extra batteries, bottled water, and propane for the BBQ. Apparently Irene is expected to be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hits Canada. Our part of the province won't be hit directly, but we'll still get lots of wind and rain.

Friday Night Leftovers

• I got home last night with Grace around 6:30. Surprise! We had no water. Our street has been ripped up over the last few weeks and they are replacing the water pipes. We had been on a temporary water hook-up and after a few phone calls I found out we were being switched back to the city water. Thankfully, our landlord just had to flip a switch downstairs and we were back in business!
• Auntie M and I took Grace to the beach yesterday. She's been to the lake many times, but it was her first time at the beach on the ocean. 
• I found it a little stressful having her at the beach. I let her play in the sand and tried not to be too uptight, but of course I had to spend the whole time trying to stop her from eating sand and beach rocks. At the lake she plays with the grass, but doesn't try to eat it that much, and I can sit her in the shallow water to splash around. 
• Plus, we're not geared up for a day at the beach. I knew we wouldn't be there long because I don't have an umbrella or anything for shade, or anything that she would sleep in. I suppose I could have dragged the stroller through the sand... 
• The lake we go to is so close to Grampers and Zilla's house that we just walk there when we need some shade or a nap. 
• This morning I put Grace down for a nap while Blankie was still in the dryer. I tucked her in with a cute monkey blanket that is nice and fleecy but not quite as soft as Blankie and hoped for the best. She fell asleep within a few minutes! 
• I'm thinking perhaps we should stock up on soft, fleecy blankets. 
• Need more leftovers? Head over here!

*Almost* Wordless Wednesday (The Animal Lover Edition)

Watching Daddy feed the horse.

This camel was not looking its best.

Feeding the miniature horses.

This is fun!

G's favorite

Grace's new family ;)

Checking out the Zonkey!

Zonkey!

A couple of monkeys.

Project: Sock Monkey

A few weeks ago we went to the Farmer's Market with B's parents. We stopped at the table for The Monkey Show and Grace was reaching for the sock monkeys, so Papa bought this sock monkey kit for me to make for her.

The Kit

In the kit: instructions, body and all its parts, stuffing, needle and thread.

I started putting it together and soon realized I would not be completing it in one sitting. The guy that sold it to us showed me a monkey that his 6 year old made so I figured it would be pretty easy. It wasn't hard, but I'm not very crafty and don't have a lot of patience for this kind of thing, so B helped me out when I got frustrated. 

The two of us took turns working on it and it eventually resembled a monkey.

Arms and eyes in place.

Ears are on. Tail is in place too.

Project complete. A sad little monkey ;)

It's definitely not perfect, but it was made with love! She's kinda cute, in a homely way. 

Summer Bucket List

Let's see how we're doing with our list of things we want to do this summer...

• Take Grace swimming in the lake
• Go to the camp (hopefully a few times!) - We've been once so far!
• Visit the Zoo
• Check out the Buskers
• Public Gardens
• Day trip somewhere in NS that we've never been
• Go to the beach
• Walks on the waterfront
• Picnic in the park
• Go to the fair and the parade
• Sandcastle Contest (This happened to be on the day after Uncle J's wedding. If you don't get there early you have to walk quite a ways or wait for a shuttle, and we knew we wouldn't up for that after a night out. Next year!)
• Live music on the waterfront 
• Go boogie boarding (Grace might have to sit this one out)

Cooking - Making Progress

I posted here that I wanted to start cooking more so that B isn't always the one making supper. Well, I've been trying! Last week I cooked pork chops with roasted potatoes and green beans, which was actually really good. Despite the fact that I don't like cooking, I love watching the Food Network. I like Michael Smith and he usually cooks meals that are simple and don't require a lot of ingredients that I wouldn't normally have, so I decided to browse some of his recipes and try something new.

I made his Kung Pao Chicken. It was good (not great), but I think I can tweak it to make it better. 

B likes prosciutto and we both like pesto, so a few nights ago I tried Pesto Stuffed Chicken wrapped in Prosciutto. I cheated a little and didn't make my own pesto, but it was still good, and really easy. 

The meal planning kind of fell by the wayside because we were busy with family visiting from out of town and all the wedding festivities. I do still plan on trying a weekly meal plan and see how it works for us.
I'm hoping to try a couple new dishes this week. Wish me luck!

Friday Night Leftovers

• I think we have a little animal lover! We took Grace to Oaklawn Farm Zoo on Wednesday. She loved it! She stayed awake the entire way there (almost 1.5 hours) talking to Auntie M in the backseat. She got really excited looking at the lions and the other big cats, and at the snakes in the reptile house. She was so happy the whole time we were there; we all had a lot of fun. Needless to say, she slept the whole way home. 
• We finally got to do our photo shoot with Grace in her tutu! (We had to postpone it several times due to rain). We met up with my photographer friend at my mom's house, and she took some beautiful shots of Grace in the garden. I'll post some soon!
• After the photo shoot we all went for a swim. I sat Grace in the water near the shore and she splashed away and tried to eat sand. 
• We had a lovely visit with my cooperating teacher from last year and her daughter, who is 8. She entertained Grace with some of her toys, funny faces, and a puppet show! 
• We've been feeding Grace purees, and fruits and veggies in the mesh feeder. We gave her some steamed carrot sticks and pieces of baked sweet potatoe the other day and she did really well with it! She loved feeding herself, and ate more than I expected. We're going to try more finger foods and see how she does. 
• Still no crawling, but I think we're close! She's also started to pull herself up on things, not quite to standing, but she gets her bum off the ground and sometimes gets up on her knees. 
• Find more leftovers here!

Wordless Wednesday (Wedding Edition)

(*These were all taken before the wedding so we don't have any pictures with the bride!)

8 Months!

It's hard to believe how quickly 8 months have passed! Grace turned 8 months old on the day of Uncle J and Auntie B's wedding, so we're a few days late posting this monthly update.

Grace is certainly mobile, but has yet to start crawling. She will push herself backwards on her belly and she can roll pretty quickly so she has no trouble getting where she wants to go. She is sitting strongly on her own and we don't put a pillow behind her anymore. She loves sitting up in the bathtub and splashing around. She babbles all day long and we love listening to her 'talk!' We're still signing to her and she has been signing 'milk' when she sees her bottle, although we're still not sure if she's made the connection but we like to believe she has!

She is still a good sleeper, and has started dropping her third nap some days. She does well picking up and eating wheat puffs from her high chair tray, but is still working on perfecting her pincer grasp. She is eating solids twice a day and loves fruit of any kind. She loves drinking water and is doing great with her sippy cup, and she really likes getting sips of water from Mommy or Daddy's glass.

She still loves her Jolly Jumper, exersaucer, and going for walks. She loves to swim and doesn't mind the cooler water of the lake. She likes her little tube, but prefers to be held in the water so she can splash more.

She gets excited when she sees Cuda at Zilla and Grampers' whereas before she hardly noticed her. She also loves Duke, her Great Aunt and Uncle's dog. 

She weighed 18lbs, 5oz as of two weeks ago. She is wearing some 6-12 month clothes, but mostly 12-18 month sizes. 

Fun with the Little Americans

   My cousin has been in town for the past week with her four year old twin boys. They live in the US and came to visit for Uncle J's wedding. Grace met the boys on Tuesday and loved them immediately! She loved watching them run around and play and got very excited! They wanted to include Baby Grace in everything they were doing, so I followed them around while holding Grace and she was kicking her feet and talking away, smiling the whole time.
   Last night a bunch of family got together at my aunt and uncle's house to spend time with the little Americans before they left to go home today. They have great imaginations and were having a blast playing in the backyard. They asked Baby Grace if she wanted to go on an adventure, and of course she did! Aunt M-A took Grace along with the boys on an adventure (they were protecting her from the wild hyenas). The next adventure was "too dangerous for babies" so Grace had to sit that one out ;)
   It was so fun to watch Grace interacting with the twins. She just loved when they would talk right to her and she got so excited when they would laugh. I wish they lived closer!

Gracie and her cousins!

She loves her Ladybug Pillow Pet that her cousins gave her!

Wedding Weekend!

My little brother is a married man! I am so happy for the newlyweds. It was a gorgeous day, a beautiful ceremony and such a fun party!

Meme and Papa came up on Friday night to spend some time with Grace before babysitting on Saturday night. We took Grace down to the Public Gardens on Friday afternoon and had a nice walk around. Grace had a little snooze in her stroller while we had some lunch - yummy chip wagon french fries.

B and I took Grace to Zilla's early on Saturday so she could have a decent nap there before the wedding. We were hoping to spend some time with her twin cousins, but T was sick so both boys stayed home with their Nana. It was a hot day, but I'm glad it was sunny for the big day. Uncle J was such a handsome groom, and his bride looked stunning! Grace was great during the ceremony. She started to fuss a little bit so B took her for a little walk outside; she had a burp and was quite content when he brought her back in. Meme and Papa picked her up afterwards and B and I had a great time at the reception. I love partying with my family! We always have so much fun.

A group of us went for a swim this morning and it was lovely; so refreshing after a night out.

Gracie and B are both napping right now ... perhaps I will go join them!

Wordless Wednesday (Grace & Cuda)

Buskers

We headed downtown to check out the Buskers yesterday evening. I put Grace in the Snugli and away we went. She loved taking in all the sights, smells, and sounds. She loves music and was kicking her feet and babbling away!

Gracie and I with Theodore

Family Portrait Fail - Sorry we cut you off, Grace. Are you doing Blue Steel, B?

Friday Night Leftovers

• We went to my aunt and uncle's cottage on Monday, and Grace went on her first boat ride! She enjoyed it, but didn't like wearing her life jacket because her chubby cheeks got in the way. She was a little grumpy towards the end because she was so tired. 
• We officially have a baby who needs her blankie. What have we done?! I forgot to bring blankie to the cottage, and Grace refused to nap. She slept for about 45 minutes the whole day (hence why she was grumpy during the boat ride). She was content if she was with us, but would not settle in the playpen and would not sleep in my arms. 
• Blankie doesn't leave the crib (or playpen if we're not home) so I'm hoping we can just keep it as a comfort thing for sleeping, and not have her dragging a blanket around when she starts school.
• I don't have much to write this week! Find more leftovers here.  

Cooking 101

I'm a terrible cook. Well, maybe terrible is a bit harsh, but I am not a good cook. I don't enjoy cooking at all. Thankfully, I have a husband who loves to cook and is really good at it. He cooks supper and I do the dishes; this has been our routine for years. While I was pregnant, I said that I would start cooking supper since I would be home on maternity leave. Well... that hasn't exactly worked out. B often almost always cooks supper when he gets home from work. (I do help, I'm not just sitting around while he does all the work!) I need to change that. My plan is to start trying some different recipes, and find some dishes that can be my 'go-to' meals. I might even try a meal plan starting next week and see if that helps me.

Since it wasn't a very nice day today, I decided to make a big pot of spaghetti sauce. This is one meal I don't need a recipe for! Actually, I can make a pretty good spaghetti sauce.

Now that I've written it down, let's see if I can stick with this goal!

Wordless Wednesday (On A Boat Edition)