Summer Bucket List

Last summer was a blur for me.  We had just moved into our new build home, and we were dealing with living in a mud pit.  Over the course of the summer we did a lot of work both inside and outside our home.  I was also hugely pregnant with Zack, but determined to make our first summer in a new town a great one for the girls, and I think overall, it was.

This summer I'm hoping to just take it easy and have a ton of fun with my family.  Ive made a bucket list of all the things I'm hoping to do this summer,

I think she may be confused.

Ever since I had my youngest daughter Ive been trying to make sure to find one on one time with my toddler. In the beginning it was almost impossible to plan my days but now that things have settled down and Vanessa is taking something resembling a nap on a semi regular basis, Ive been able to devote a few specific times a day to Sophia.
Every day we have our little rituals. Nap time stories, emptying the dishwasher and making the bed have become something we both look forward to.
Our favorite ritual by far though is Sophia's massage. I used to give S. a massage when she was little, every night after her bath. We both loved it. But as she got older and bath time became play time and after bath time became chase-the-wriggling-wet-screaming-toddler-through-the-house-time, our quiet massage ritual became a rarity. Then came the chaos of two under two and for several months we had no routine or schedule at all.
Ive now carved out a piece of (almost) every morning just after Sophia wakes up, and while Vinnie is down for her morning nap, for massage time. We use pretty smelling cream and rub her toes,legs, back, tummy and arms.
Ive been trying to use this time to teach Sophia the names of her body parts. Last week we talked about funny bones. Sophia thought this was the funniest name ever and every opportunity she got she would point her elbows and yell "funny elbows" while laughing uncontrollably.
This morning i spent a little time talking about her feet. I showed her her heels, her arches, the balls of her feet, and her toes. We also talked about the muscles in her feet and legs and how they all work together to help her run. She was very quiet all through our little lesson and when we were done she ran off to play.
Ten minutes later daddy came downstairs. Sophia ran up to him, sat down with a thump, lifted her feet in the air and declared loudly enough for the neighbors to hear.

"Look at my balls daddy! Look at them"

I couldn't help bursting out with laughter at his face. I rarely see my husband speechless so this was a treat. Of course Sophia saw my laughing and kept at it, spinning in circles and singing "dancing on my balls dancing on my toe-toes dancing on my balls"

I think she may be a little confused.

You really cant predict what a toddler will take from anything you teach them, i just hope she gets all the ball talk out of her system before we go to her grandmothers house tonight for dinner...

Lazy Saturday

As different as every mommy is, theres one thing we can all agree on. Lazy days,the kind where you can just kick back,relax,and let the world fly by, are very few and far between. Im not talking about the days when you spend your time cleaning, cooking, and running errands and yet it still seems like nothing gets done. Im talking about thebtimes when nothing gets done ON PURPOSE.
It is now almost lunch and I have done nothing. Me and the girls are still in our jammies and my only plansbfor the day is a whole lot more of the same. Even the baby is on it!
I love days like this.

Our Maternity/Family Photos with Michell Collis Photography

Me, the hubby and Sophia were recently lucky enough to get together with Michelle of Michelle Collis Photography for a combination maternity/family photo shoot.
I desperately wanted to have maternity photos done when i was pregnant with Sophia but we just never had time, and with all the complications we had at the beginning/middle of this pregnancy I am so happy to have made it to a point this time around where we could do it.

Michelle is an amazingly talented photographer and her suggestion of a conservation area just north of Toronto was perfect for the vibe we wanted. Here are some of the pics she took for us, you can see more on her blog here. While you're there take some time to check out her work, especially the sweet little babies, you'll be glad you did.









I want to send a huge thank you to Michelle for these pics, they came out so amazing and I can't thank you enough! If you're in the GTA and looking for a photographer I highly recommend you check her out.

Too adorable

A weekend away and A great new store

Me, the hubby and little Miss S. jumped on the opportunity to spend a few days away at a friends cottage this past weekend. Its been a pretty stressful few weeks and we needed a break. Its funny, but I don't think we noticed how stressed out we both were until we were able to let go of it for a bit.We had a great relaxing weekend.
Normally I would have planned out every minute with fun "activities" for us but this weekend I decided to just go with the flow. I am so glad we did. We played board games, went to a craft fair in the adorable little town(more about that in a bit) , watched some kids jumping off a bridge into the river, we even spent an hour on the dock just watching the sunset. It was so nice to just be able to relax and not worry about anything but whats for dinner.


Oh, did I mention my hubby cooked ALL WEEKEND. It really was a treat.

I even managed to score some amazing deals this weekend. For those of you readers who happen to be in southern ontario, Im sure you know Vaughan Mills. Its the super shopping mall recently built right across from Canada's Wonderland. I stopped there on Friday while my hubby finished up a little bit of work he had to do.
Im not a huge fan of the majority of the stores but I always make a point of stopping by The Childrens place. This trip didnt dissapoint they were having a great sale and I managed to pick up the most adorable bathing suit for, get this, $2.99! Its perfect for our upcoming trip to The Mayan Riviera. They had a lot of great deals so I highly recomend checking it out.
While I was at Vaughan Mills I also stopped by Babies R us and picked up some Baby Legs for 4.99 a pair!
My best discovery though came form the Craft Fair we visited on Saturday. I am not normally a fan of crafts. I figured the stalls would be full of things like this little jewel. I am so happy that i was wrong, there was some seriously cute stuff, ranging from flavored honeys, really cute dishwear, some adorable baby clothes and a lot more.
The best stall though was called Penelope Picklebottom. The name made me giggle, it was somehow familiar...
The wares however were not the knock off diaper bags and blankets I was expecting but the most adorable hats and headbands! I was like a kid in a candy shop, poor Miss S. was forced to try on about twenty different hats and she was not happy about it. She hasnt really picked up her mommas love of shopping yet I guess.
My faves though were an adorable blue flowered headband and brown crocheted beanie with a bow. I was happy to learn that she has a website you can shop from and also does custom orders. I will definitely be ordering a few more.
You can check it out here.
Heres Miss S modelling her newest headwear.
All in all, It was a really great weekend. I am so glad we took the time to reconnect as a family, and just spend some time together.
Happy Shopping
Jaymi