Watching: Strangely enough, this video. Brad and I laugh about it all the time. Not only is about all things spooky {and our little girl has been known to be frightened of a loud sneeze}, but the song itself is hilariously odd. It’s slow and soft, yet surprisingly upbeat all at once. “Spooky things doing a spooky dance….” Kills me every time.
Singing: Right now, every song she hears. This little lady is a total music lover who chooses to watch music videos over television and can often be found dancing and singing while doing other activities. New favourites added to her repertoire include Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Rock-a-Bye Baby, Spooky Spooky, and I’ll Love You Forever.
Playing: Dress-up. Constantly. Poppop recently made her a wooden dress-up centre and she got all kinds of costumes and accessories for it for Christmas. It’s not unusual for us to have a fairy, jester, or cat roaming around the house nowadays. In fact, yesterday I took a pink poodle out for a walk around the neighbourhood.
Talking about: Everything. Non-stop. Our days are question after question after question. “What’s that?”, “What’s it called?”, “Why for?”, “Who’s dat?”, “What his name is?”, “What dat sound is?”, “What’s Mama talking about?”
Reading: Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex. She and Papa picked it our at our latest library visit, and despite the fact that she can be ultra sensitive and the book is about a ‘cold gray tomb with a black lagoon, and two slimy claws, and a couple of jaws’ etc., we’ve read it every day before both nap time and bedtime since we checked it out.
Eating: During our 3 weeks of vacation, I think she ate her weight in pistachios, cashews, and other fancy nuts we don’t normally keep around. Now that we’re home and getting back into a routine, we’ve been making smoothies each morning (which has been great for getting a good amount of green veggies into our breakfasts) and she loves the whole process – gathering ingredients, making the smoothies, and slurping them up.
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Danielle from Sometimes Sweet, a blog I’ve followed for a very long time now, does regular Currently posts which inspired my Gracen-modified ones. ☺
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”. 
Where have I been and why does my girl suddenly look so grown-up?
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. 
These simple little invites {along with almost all of the decorations} were made while we were in the Okanagan on vacation. Using 
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 grosgrain, 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 the idea, 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 modge 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 
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.
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.
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 
And for the wee babes – purée pouches in a variety of flavours.
For the adults, I decided to try out these mini 
For the munchkins, I used 
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 
A 
A 
An 
And a coloured spaghetti sensory bin for the mini sous chefs.
On the top of the grass knoll, there was a 
Up on the cement pad, we set up a 
And on the other side of the yard, we used a hot water heater drip pan and this 
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.
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.
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…
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.
As the party went on and the bubble solution got handled more and more, the better the bubbles got (just like 
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.
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. 
Yes, indeed… That’s certainly a happy face. The first one she’s ever done all on her own.
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Mama. Papa. Bubba. 