Love Day 2016

We have had so much fun celebrating Valentine's day (more like month for us). We kicked off February by making some new artwork to add to our V-Day decorations. It was super easy, I just cut up small pieces of tissue and fastened strips of clear tape across a matte from an old picture frame (you are to use contact paper, but I did not feel like spending the $). 

Max also painted red hearts on a piece of white card stock I had cut into a heart, using a empty toilet paper roll that had been shaped into a heart. I took this idea from Pinterest.. you can easily look it up.  It turned out pretty cute too.

I love having a fun activity or snack set up for Max when he wakes up from his afternoon nap. He is very particular about where everything goes in his environment, like his mama everything has it's place, and so he very quickly notices when anything is new or added in our home. The afternoon I put up our Valentines decorations he must have pointed and said "heart" about fifty times in ten minutes. Too cute.

Friday Max celebrated V-Day at daycare. He wore his festive shirt (see below) and gave strawberry applesauce squeeze packs to his four little friends there. Idea taken from Pinterest.. once again my scalloped paper punch saves the day!

For lunch the day before, because let's be honest we celebrate holidays for more than just the day it falls on, we had heart shaped cucumber, PB & J sandwiches and pink smoothies with festive paper straws.

On Valentine's Day we kicked off our morning with a tray of red fruit for breakfast. Max ate the raspberries and decided he wanted a banana instead so I finished off the watermelon and apple slices.

For his little treat I found a Valentine's monkey from the dollarstore (Max is currently loving Curious George, an Elmo colouring book with stickers, and Valentine's smarties. Let me tell you, he was SO excited for this gift. I put it on the living chair while he was still eating breakfast and as soon as he locked his eyes on it be yelled "out" meaning he wanted our of his booster seat asap. He was pretty pleased with his present, and I'm sure the fact that he got to eat smarties at 8am. It was Valentine's Day after all :)

We ended the day with cupcakes. Likely the highlight of his day. I believe I saw him lick his plate when he had managed to eat every crumb on his plate ;)

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I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and for my fellow Canadians, enjoyed spending Family Day with your loved ones today. My husband had to work so Max and I took a trip to Winners to get out of the house. We scored on adorable new running shoes for Max for the spring and a few new Easter decorations.. I can't help myself :)

~ K

The Cat in the Hat knows a lot about that!

Max is in love with the Cat in the Hat. It is the first thing he asks for each morning when he wakes up, other than his cup of milk. "go go"!? With his eyes squinting from the brightness of the television, thank goodness for on-demand!!

So naturally, Cat in the Hat was the perfect theme for his second birthday party. I did not go as crazy as I did last year with the decorations, which was much less stressful; however, I did make sure there were a few super cute key pieces that would stand out ... because as you all know.. I love a good theme :)

Max's birthday fell in the middle of the week this year. I took the day off work because i could not imagine not being with him on his special day. We celebrated by visiting an indoor playground and having a mini celebration for just the three of us in the evening complete with festive cupcakes and presents. Max opened a Mr. Potato head, a Leap Frog Junior reader and a little motorized fish. He also was successful in "sneaking" a bite of his cupcake before dinner time.

The following Saturday was the big party day.

For the decorations I made a welcome sign that I found from Pinterest for the front door. We had the party at our local YMCA, so this helped everyone know which room we were partying in!

My super talented friend, the one who creates the rock art, created this for us. I had seen this online and thought it would be so fun for the little ones to get pictures behind. To be completely honest, I'm not sure who enjoyed this more... the kids or the parents ;) I have seen many pictures surfaced of the daddy's getting their mug taken as the Cat in the Hat :)

For Balloons, I kept it simple. I found a Cat in the Hat helium balloon online and paired it with a couple of solid red balloons, and then I bought our traditional (well traditional since last year) massive number balloon, which always fills space well. I love being able to bring the balloons home afterwards and having them in our home for a week or so afterwards to remind us (or me at least) of how much fun the party was.

The two centerpieces I made came from pinterest as well. With Christmas just ending I was able to find a lot of the supplies in the Christmas section (box and ribbon). The wooden numbers came from Hobby Lobby.

I bought a package of Cat in the Hat party hats online. There was way more then I needed, so I used a few as part of the decorations. All of the kiddos looked super cute in their hats.  I found themed plates online as well which added to the table nicely.

I totally scored on the favours. I am not going to give away where I found them, but I flipped out when I came across these, and bought the store's entire inventory. I loved that each little person got to leave with a nice little thank you gift.

I was so pleased with the cake. It came from Isn't Life Sweet located in Wyoming. It was half chocolate and half vanilla and was absolutely delicious. I have definitely found my go to local bakery!

For food we kept it simple this year. For the kids I had cheese strings, yogurt tubes, mini muffins, gold fish crackers, veggie sticks, a platter with cucumber, blueberries and strawberries, juice boxes and water and then pizza for the parents and the older kids that came. I think everyone enjoyed the spread.

For the first hour we munched out and sang Happy Birthday to our sweet boy, and for the second hour the kids ran wild in the gym, complete with a bouncy slide and castle. Max was a tad intimidated of these, but in true Max fashion with about 10 minutes left he decided they were not so scary and started having fun on them.

We had a complete blast at Max's 2nd Birthday party and are so appreciative of all who joined us. Celebrating our boy with our family and friends was so special to us.
Until next year!

~ K

Stuffin' the stocking!

Finding little trinkets to fill Max's stocking was so much fun this year. It is SO easy to fill a little one's sock! I tried hard to find items that are perfect for his age so he could have fun with them now and not have to wait until he is older. I thought I would share what Max will be finding in his stocking this Christmas morning in case you are finding it difficult to think of ideas for your little one.

I have felt lately like I am a totally lame bath time mom, as Max always seems bored at bath time. So for Christmas, I tried to find some new and fun activities for Max to do during bath time. Boon has a "Water Bug" game that comes with a cute scoop and three bugs, and Munchkin has bath crayons. Fingers crossed these do not stain our tub. 

Up until now I have just been using water to brush Max's teeth, so I figured it was time for him to have some fun toddler toothpaste. Not cheap, but it will likely last a long time. 

A barrel of Monkeys!!! Rememba these!? I loved mine. I can totally already see Max carefully linking the moneys together as I hold the chain for him. 

Crayola finger paints. I have not taken on the challenge of painting with a toddler yet. Wish me luck. 

Chocolate! Our traditional marshmellow bar that I have received in my stocking since I was a little girl, and a Santa Kinder egg, because the child loves "ho ho" and chocolate. 

Yesterday I went to the One of a Kind Show in Toronto and picked up the cutest hand painted wooden matching game for Max. There are four other matches as well, but these are my favs :)

And there you have it! I can't wait for those cute little hands to dig through his stock and discover his treats. The chocolate will be going at the bottom or else it might be game over once those are discovered ;)

In other festive news, celebrating the holidays has been so fun so far. Max went to his first parade and he loved it! He waved to Santa and was memorized by the lights and sounds of the floats. We put up a few Christmas lights along our porch and brought good old Frosty out of his box :) Max greets him each evening when we get home from work/daycare. We have been watching the old school Frosty the Snowman movie every morning at 6:30 in the bloody morning (yawn) and I also made a felt tree for Max that we can use for years to come. I also made a snowman to attach to a basic grapevine wreath for our front door. I used white denim and found a simple tutorial online explaining how to make fabric roses.

Next weekend we are taking Max to see Santa, and the following week we celebrate Christmas with my family up north. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday traditions and festivities with their families as much as we are! 

~ K

It's been awhile... but for a good reason

I have been waiting to write this post for about two months now. October, which is typically my favourite month of the year was a very interesting month for me this year. 

Let's begin with the good news :)

We are going to be adding to our family May 2016 and Max is going to be a big brother!!! 

I am so excited to be able to hold another sweet little baby in my arms and call him/her ours. I just recently had my three month ultrasound, which eased my mind and finally allowed me to be excited and yell from the rooftops that I'm pregnant.

Too bad for me this pregnancy so far has literally been the polar opposite of my experience of being pregnant with Max. The month of October saw me feeling extremely nauseous and ill, morning. noon. and night. Especially night. I'm now on Diclectin which is my new best friend. I don't know why I did not start taking it earlier, I supposed I was living in the clouds thinking it would pass, or maybe trying to be a warrior. Nonetheless, the. shit. works. my friends, so if you are ever struggling with first trimester symptoms as awful as I have been, take it.. your body (and husband) will thank you :)

Bare with me, I'm taking you back to Halloween because I still haven't posted from then! We were still able to make the most out of thanksgiving and Halloween. Thank goodness for helpful mothers and mother-in-laws who bring the meal to you! 

We had such a special moment on Halloween. We took Max to the neighbourhood where I grew up, and my next door neighbour who I baked Christmas cookies with every year when I was little still lives there. Taking Max to see her, and using my old pumpkin bucket was so special, and he did so well!! 

Also in October the year anniversary of the blog passed! Thanks to everyone who has followed me this last year, I have had so much fun dreaming up posts and sharing with you all. Unfortunately time does not allow for me to post as often as I'd like, but I am still enjoying it so much :)

I'm looking forward to filling to blog with nursery and big boy bedroom ideas in the coming months, along with Max's Cat in the Hat themed 2nd birthday party!!

Happy weekend everyone!

~ K

Grateful for carousel rides and floating shelves

This past weekend was one with feelings of accomplishment! Max went on his first midway rides at a local fall fair, something I have always been excited for...


and...

 we hung our new floating shelves! One of my good friends has a very talented father who can pretty much make anything you ask him too, and he is so meticulous, so his final products are always beautiful. Last year he made us our dining room farm table which we love so much. 

For some time I have pinning variations of the Shanty 2 Chic floating shelves. I love the rustic, clean look of the shelves sans any type of bracket, and I have so many special items that I have been wanting to display. Let's see, there's my Grandmother's sixty year old sifter, cake pans and pie rack, a very special hand written recipe from an elderly neighbour from the neighbourhod where I grew up, and my fancy new metal measuring cups my mama treated me too in the summer. These items are on the kitchen shelf, and then for the dining shelf I displayed some of my favourite dishes; mainly white, metal and glass for a clean look. 

Here is the link to the step-by-step instructions. Again, I did not make these myself, but it seems as though so many people have tried their hand at them and so if you have the right tools (which I do not) don't be scared to take on this project yourself! 

http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2015/01/diy-floating-shelf-plans.html

SO pretty! :) Excuse the grainy photos I took the photos at night

I hope all my Canadian friends had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend spending time with loved ones.. and to all my American friends, I am thankful for you reading my blog ;)

Have a great week everyone!

~ K

October I'm in love

Yippee!! It's my favourite month as of tomorrow. Don't ask me why it's my favourite month, there is just something so warm and cozy about it.. especially before the craziness of Christmas season starts in November! Plus you have TWO holidays in one month! It doesn't get much better than that! We don't have many plans for this month other than meeting up with friends at a pumpkin patch, taking Max to a fall fair and getting Max on skates for the first time. We are going to look at used skates this weekend.. eeks I'm so excited!

Last year I blogged about the Fall / Halloween crafts I have made in the past, so be sure to check out that post for some easy ideas and inspiration for decorations around your home. I didn't add anything new this year, I just switched up some of my arrangements. Although, I was super excited to go on Pinterest and see that a friend had pinned a decoration idea that I had already thought of ON MY OWN. Seriously, this rarely happens. Mind you, it was only stacking a bunch of pumpkins in a glass vase.. but still.. to me it was a milestone ;)

I am going to try to make some of the fun Halloween inspired snacks and foods for Max this month that I have pinned on Pinterest. I also need to start gathering supplies for Max and his daddy's Halloween costume.. they are going as a duo and wait till you see it.. it's going to be too funny. Last year I bought a Halloween themed Mr. Potato Head set on clearance for pumpkins. This will be perfect for Max to decorate his own pumpkin, or "ball" as Max refers to every pumpkin he sees. 

 

The bar cart was also given a festive overhaul! 

Daycare has the festive art work covered. This is what Max has brought home in the last two weeks. Just ignore the lopsided / missing eye-balls.. we have a little issue with ripping them off of the picture with our mouths... this is Max's issue, not mine ;)

I finally busted out the Halloween PJs tonight.. here is my little glow in the dark festive babe. He doesn't stay still for long these days, so we have a lot of photos with blurry spots.. I think it is too cute.

Happy October everyone!

~ K

Daddy issues

Okay, so we have an issue. You will laugh, but for me it is a tad awkward and somewhat embarrassing. But I will share so you can have a giggle at my expense ;) 

Last weekend while Max and I were up north visiting my parents, Max referred to my Dad as "dada." This is what he calls his own Dad. We thought maybe he was trying to say "Grandpa" so we went with it, allowing him to point at my Dad and say "dada" all weekend. We return home on Sunday and then on Tuesday I took the day off work to visit a close girlfriend, her hubby and sweet (and most adorable baby girl ever!!) who was in town for the week. As soon as Max laid eyes on my friend's husband he pointed to him and exclaimed "dada!" Now, it would have been cute if he said it once or twice and then stopped after being corrected, that no, that's not dada, that's Eric, and your dada is at work, except he continued to point at him and say it over, and over and over and over again. Even when the poor guy left the room Max started searching for him immediately yelling dada!! dada!! It got old real quick.. lol.. for me at least. 

Fast forward to today... I pick him up from daycare and take him to the post office. A middle aged man looks at Max and gives him a nice smile. What do you think Max did!? Of course, to the gentleman's surprise, Max pointed to the man and exclaimed "dada!" Insert me melting into the cement floor from embarrassment as the man said to him "oh no, no" and then looked at me and smiled.. OMG dying. 

 So it's official.. Max has daddy issues and thinks everyone is his dada. Makes mama look real classy ;) Especially when I told my MIL tonight and she pointed out the coincidence of us being in the post office and how Max must then truly be the "post man's baby" Hardy-har-har. I'm sure this is the first of many times Max does or says something out in public that I turn bright red over.. he defiantly  keeps me on my toes that little boy :)

Now on a more serious note.. the reason we were at the post office today.. to pick up Max's Old Navy order :) :) A few fall essentials..

It's always fun picking out clothes for the upcoming season. It's hard to believe I am buying 3T shirts already! Happy Fall shopping!

 On a final note, thank you to my friends who sent me messages about my last post. It is always nerve wracking putting your emotions out there for everybody and anyone to read so I appreciate the positive feedback.. I have the most amazing girlfriends :)

~ K