If you do one thing over the holidays, do this. Make this gingerbread (thanks to my friend Jess for sharing the recipe!). It’s delicious, easy, and makes the whole house smell amazing! Here are some photos of us making some.
spicy gingerbread
Category: at home
this boy is one
Ah! Our son is one. This year has been crazy busy and challenging, but also crazy beautiful. This boy. This boy and his fluffy little mohawk, his instant smiles, his attraction to vent covers, sockets, drawers, dirt, everything that isn’t a toy… or is the only toy that Sadie is currently holding. This boy and the way he lets Sadie lie on him / tickle him / poke him while he’s trying to play / eat / nurse / scoot / do anything. His chubby paw hands clapping, waving, cuddling me… This boy who loves to listen to songs, dance, play puzzles, try to talk and read books. This boy has taught me so many things about myself… about patience, perseverance, joy… and most of all, about love. This boy is Sadie’s beloved brother (oh man she loves him), he’s a cherished cousin, nephew and grandson… this boy is so, so loved. Happiest of first Birthdays to our ‘big mannn’ Wesley Wallace.
Wesley’s Birthday party had a teddy bear picnic theme! There were cupcakes with little bear toppers, picnic patterns on plates, napkins and banners, a layered carrot cake with bears picnic-ing atop delicious edible moss, and a scavenger hunt for the kids to find their loot bags. We had so much fun celebrating Wesley with our family. As I kissed his soft little head that night while putting him to bed, he smelled like hamburgers and buttery icing. The best. It was truly an awesome day.
Sadie’s 2nd Birthday
oh man. My little girl is two. I’m totally loving this age… all the talking, activities, cuddles, curiousness, singing, dancing, playing… she’s the best! And this party was way too much fun to put together for her. She was really pumped about it too and kept singing Happy Birthday! I went with a bunny theme since there was an abundance of Easter-related things at the stores right now. Here are some pics!
making valentines
What’s not to love about a holiday where you show those you love some lovey dovey? I’ve always loved this holiday (my engagement party was vintage-valentine themed… and here’s another post too) and I had a ton of fun helping Sadie make valentines for her classmates. They took several days to make since she would only focus for about 10 minutes each day, but I loved how the valentines turned out! I bought all supplies from Dollarama (those foam stickers are the best!) and kept things clean with just stamps and stickers. Sadie loved holding each valentine and saying her classmates’ names, and she was even more excited to show me the valentines from her friends at the end of the school day.
deck the halls – Sadie’s room!
I have a lot of Christmas decor that is white, mint and gold… which happen to be the colours of my daughter’s room. I thought it would be fun to decorate her room this year. She LOVES her tree. As soon as she wakes up, she wants to turn it on. I loved how everything came together. And those golden animals from my wedding continue to be a hit wherever they are!
Teacher gifts
Sadie has been absolutely loving her new school. I wanted to put together a little basket for her teacher with some homemade things that Sadie helped me with. Yes it’s probably a lot easier to find an already-made basket at HomeSense… But I wanted the gift to have a personal touch! Here’s what I included:
- healthy coconut cookies (recipe here, made with Sadie’s help!)
- Christmas Crunch popcorn (recipe here!)
- Celestial Seasonings gingerbread tea
- Starbucks hot cocoa
- Lindor chocolates
- …and tied with a homemade ornament painted by Sadie
trick or treat
Sadie and Wesley had their first party together on the weekend, a Halloween play date with friends! We had so much fun watching the kids run around and play while in hilarious, bulky costumes. Here are some photos.
Photo area: Sadie was a little mouse, and Wesley was her trusty cheese sidekick.
food and drinks and treats.
Colouring activity: Sadie takes a break to colour with her friend Snow White.
Wesley the Lion (yes he had two costumes!) and his buddy the dwarf.
hilarious group shots.
loot bags!
Above: Cutest spooky gifts from a friend.
And below: two photos from the Oakville event on Friday {lounging mouse, grumpy lion}.
second-hand back to school shopping
Yes I realize that my daughter is only 18 months and is nowhere near going back to school. However, she is going to a Montessori school part-time in September, so I felt like this warranted a few back to school items. I headed to both Value Village and Once Upon a Child in Oakville, and here are my finds, clockwise from top. $32.50 for 6 items!
1. deer-print sweater dress. $3.99 (VV)
2. light beige sweater sweater dress. $6.50 (Once Upon a Child)
3. navy blue polka-dot Fall jacket, Old Navy. $8.50 (Once Upon a Child)
4. polka-dot sweater, H&M. $3.99 (VV)
5. skinny jeans, Joe Fresh. $5.50 (Once Upon a Child)
6. All-Star Converse shoes. $3.99 !! (VV)
Sadie conquering the playground in her back to school skinny jeans and sneakers.
Couldn’t forget Wesley… I found this Hudson’s Bay sweater for $3.99 at Value Village. Currently retailing for $60 (!!)
#worldbreastfeedingweek
Happy #worldbreastfeedingweek. This is Sadie’s favourite place to hang out while I’m feeding Wesley.
When Sadie was first born, I thought breastfeeding would be so easy. It wasn’t. We struggled. I cried. She cried. She lost weight. I wanted to give up. Nestle sent me bottles of formula that I kept in the cupboard, just in case. They tempted me every single day. Then, day by day, it got easier. I kept trying. I held her little hand every time and we figured it out together. By her first month, we had turned a corner and something clicked. She chunked up like a champ and I was one proud mom; so happy that I persevered.
When I became pregnant with Wesley, I marvelled at my body’s ability to grow a baby AND keep feeding my other baby. Sadie barely fit on my lap with my growing baby bump. I knew I needed a little break between babies so I reluctantly stopped when she turned 1. The last night I fed her was heartbreaking. I held her little hand, sang her songs through my tears… I couldn’t believe a whole year had passed. My baby, my girl… The first glimpse of independence, the first of many things in her life where she won’t need me anymore.
And 2 months later, Wesley was born. Now I hold him close. I explain to Sadie that he needs his milk and she nods and points at him and makes little sucking sounds. Then she tries to get as close as possible to both of us and rests her head on his head as he nurses.
Every Mom is different. I know Moms who tried to breastfeed but couldn’t… Moms who struggled and stopped, Moms who struggled and persevered. Moms who had to pump and feed with a bottle, Moms who had to supplement. Every Mom is amazing; every Mom does what’s right for her and her baby; every Mom has a story, and we should listen.
6 second-hand finds for $30
With baby #2 I’m very aware of how quickly kids outgrow their clothes. We had a giant bin of 0-3 month hand-me-downs from my sister-in-law and my cousin, and I think Wesley only wore about 3 things before we were rummaging through the 3-6 month bin! Although it’s fun to buy a few items of clothing brand-new, I’m really trying to find things second-hand this time around. I recently did a little shop at Once Upon a Child (love this store!), and got some great clothes for even greater prices… 6 pieces for $30. Here’s what I found (clockwise from top):
1. little white bucket hat, Gap. $4.50 (currently selling new at Gap for $19.99!)
2. striped onesie, Carters. $1.50
3. skinny jeans, Gap. $5.50
4. white sneakers, Old Navy. $4.50
5. sailor pants, Tommy Hilfiger. $5.50
6. chambray jumpsuit, Gap. $8.50 (this was the best score… it’s currently selling new at Gap for $39.95!)
Here’s Wes… pretty serious about his skinny jeans and sneakers:
And loving his chambray jumpsuit…
wellingtonandgrey 