Ava Grace's Closet: April 2011
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Friday, April 29, 2011

40 +1

It's official.
I am "in my 40's". 

Problem. 
I do not feel like I am in my 40's. 
And honestly, I don't want to be "in my 40's". 
Yes, yes, yes...I appreciate the fact that I'm healthy. Every day. Swear.
 But I want to be 27! 
Is that so wrong?


I feel blessed. Blessed to have 3 beautiful children. I never envisioned myself being a mommy of 3. Often times, I still talk about it in disbelief. But then I see our Ava girl...and realize it's true. And I wonder what I ever did before she came along. She is such a gift. And she brings such joy to our home.


I am truly thankful for...
  • 3 healthy, strong-willed, smart and beautiful children.
  • my folks still being with us and able to share the joy that comes with watching our Ava growing up
  • living in this amazing country that has given us so much opportunity (even though I often wonder why said folks couldn't have gone to Cali instead of Canada)
  • my fantabulous friends...you know who you are and you make a girl feel so loved today and every day.
I am also selfishly thankful for...
  • botox...have not had to go there yet but it is nice to know it's there if and when a girl needs it.
  • coffee and cosmos...not necessarily in that order.
  • no greys...yet. 'nuff said.
  • facebook. twitter. blogging. my connection to the outside world on what could have been a lonely mat leave.
  • and YOU...my readers. not even two months into this game and feeling pretty good about my following.

Happy Birthday to me. 

Monday, April 25, 2011

Happy "First" Easter

It was Ms Ava's first "real" Easter
Last year, she was just a few weeks old and sadly, neither of us remember a thing. 
Me because of my sleep-deprived blur, her because...well...just because. 

Dressing her up is always a highlight. 
This time around, the dress lasted maybe 30 minutes. 
Every time she tried to crawl she looked at me with that "are you kidding me with this dress?!" face. 
Here is my feeble attempt at a "with stuffed bunny" pose.


I must say, I have a whole new appreciation for child/baby photographers. 
Seriously. It is next to impossible to get a good shot, especially at this age where all they want to do is explore. 
Our entire family looks (and sounds!) like a bunch of crazy people just trying to keep her sitting and smiling. 
Lucky she's so damn cute you can excuse my lack of photographic skill...

She was the star of the day. 
Cautious first steps in fancy party dress = CUTEST.THING.EVER


While we're on the subject of cute, if you had an opportunity to check out Friday's post, (see it here) perhaps I should have mentioned that Baby S and Baby A are "featured babies" and not mine. 
Adorable as they are and all...

Friday, April 22, 2011

Fashionista Friday - Second Edition

Good Good Friday everyone! 
It's going to get really fishy around here soon so before it does...

I can't believe it's been a week already since the last Fashionista Friday post.
Where does the time go? Seriously. 
Sigh. 
Participating in my first Blog "HOP" this weekend - quite apropos considering it's Easter Weekend, non? 


Here is little miss in her outfit du jour. I'm kinda partial to the "standing all by myself" (insert CLAP) pose in the centre...
The entire ensemble is from Baby Gap. 
Not just for babies anymore. ;)
 The top almost qualifies as a vintage piece since it used to belong to the Original Baby Girl

Couldn't resist sharing another couple of budding fashionista's this week...
Check out what Baby S styled before heading out to daycare...
The coat is by Joe Fresh. Hat and mittens by Zellers. And the sunglasses were borrowed from daddy. (Thanks dad!!) Don't even get me started on the Hello Kitty bag. TOO.MUCH


And lastly, a final piece de resistance...
Here's Baby A on the beach during a recent jaunt to Cabo...
The one-piece swimsuit is by Zogg and the windswept hair comes courtesy of David Hasselhoff circa 1995. (Thanks Hoff!)

Way yummy all around.
Happy Easter everyone!

Monday, April 18, 2011

The King's Birthday Celebration

Happy Monday! 

I promised pics from The King's recent 9th birthday party and then, sadly, realized I had so few. Boys are funny that way. 
Every picture I was able to take has one (or more) boys making a goofy face. 
In many cases, it is my boy who is making the silliest face of all. 
As evidenced by...


As they get older, I find the whole birthday party thing becomes more and more challenging. Especially for the boys. 
This time around, he chose 3 friends and wanted to see the movie "HOP".
Sounded simple enough. 
But could I just leave it alone? Not so much.
First, the egg hunt...


The boys arrived and each got their own "hunting bag" and instructions telling them how many and what color eggs they were looking for. 
They went CRAZY. 
Running. 
Sweating even. 
And ofcourse, none of my treats would fit into those damn plastic eggs so turns out, they got more than they bargained for. 

Who would have thought this would be such a hit?
 Lesson 1 learned. The simple things are always the most fun.

Next, the movies...hubby ended up taking them. 
He said it was a nightmare. 
I believe him.

They were on what I can only assume is a junk food high when they arrived back at the house. So naturally, we sent them outside. We are smart people.
Dollarama bubbles. LOVE. 
Lesson 2 learned. Sometimes the simplest toys are the best ones.
And lastly, CAKE!!! (I did try to feed them btw. They weren't having any of it. Please note junk food high above)
Sonia at www.cakesbysonia.com worked her magic for me again with this cutie pie cake. With room for 9 single candles at the birthday boy's request. 
Yummy!

Final lesson learned, all the best days end sweetly.
Huge hugs before bed. "BEST DAY EVER MOM" said my boy.
Mission accomplished.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Fashionista Friday

Check out little miss' outfit. Fun for a Friday, non?
The top is by BabyGap and features a quilted "Chanel" style purse and sunglasses. 
It can get sunny in the family room.
The jeans are by Old Navy. 
And as always, she is rocking bare feet. Because she can.

Happy Weekend!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Nanny Diaries

The dreaded return to work date is coming sooner than I would like. 
I've been blessed to be able to stay home with little miss for an extra 6 months so I really can't complain. 

We've decided to go the nanny route and let me tell ya...it has been a N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E. 
First off, I'm not completely sold on the idea of leaving my precious baby girl with anyone. 
Big sigh. 
But, I've tried to be open-minded. The whole interview process has been not unlike what I do full time when I am at work. Not the most fun part of my job.
Bigger sigh.

So...we begin. And we "meet" nanny A. 
She seemed sweet enough. Cute. Friendly. Fantastic references. Numerous skype calls with her where she "met" our entire family including little miss. We thought it was too good to be true to like our very first candidate this much. We decided to move forward. 
She decided to go with another family. 

The search continued. 
Almost anxiously. 
We needed someone here by the July timeframe to ensure we had enough time to get comfortable with her and her with us. Most of all with little miss. 
And finally we "meet" nanny B. All the way in Hong Kong and sadly not being treated the greatest. Her sister was already here so we felt pretty good about being able to potentially reunite them. She seemed excited to come to Canada and was a good fit based on her experience. Outgoing enough. Energetic. Thoughtful. She even remembered The King's birthday this week. 
So sweet.

Until last night. 
All of the paperwork is ready to go. 
I am still uneasy but feeling good about my decision. I ask..."How long will the process take from here? Best and worse case scenario?". 
The reply "Well...if all goes well, she should be here in September sometime". 

I AM GOING BACK TO WORK THE FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER!!!!! (inside voice) 

So now...I am feeling like I am back at square one. Starting over. And doubting this nanny decision more and more. 

To be continued...

Monday, April 11, 2011

The KING turns 9?!

No time to post as April is one big birthday party around here...sigh.

My baby boy Julian turns 9 tomorrow. 
We celebrated yesterday with a few of his friends (felt like 100) and today I am somehow melancholy as I sometimes am when I realize how quickly my kids are growing up.
 I swear it seems like only yesterday that I brought the little bundle home. 
He was so sweet
My MIL swears I was so crazy about him I all but forgot about my original babygirl. I
 was. 
He rocked my world. 
A dear friend told me having a boy would change who I was. 
She was right.


Here he is just after we brought him home.

Look at him here...one of my fave's...so delicious.


He was ALWAYS happy. Always smiling. And he LOVED his momma. 
He still does. 
Most days. 

Will post BD pics soon.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Little Bobo...or is it?

This is Bobo. 
Ava's fave sleeping (now that's funny) companion.
 It used to be The King's and for some reason, she took a liking to it right away. 

I read someplace that non-sleeping babies can sometimes be put at ease if you introduce a "transitional object". 
So we did. 
Yeah soooo it didn't help, but she still digs hugging Bobo all night long. 
Awake or asleep.


I'm so blessed to have my folks living nearby and to sometimes help out during the day so I can keep my sanity. 
During a recent visit, my dad says to me as I'm leaving, "Where's Lucy?" (WTH is Lucy?) 
I say "Lucy?"
"Yes, her giraffe. It's not in the crib"
 I say "You call it Lucy? Her (I guess it's a girl at this point) name is Bobo". 
He still calls her Lucy.


When the hubby gets home, I'm still laughing about this.
 (Not sure why I found it so funny...could be the lack of sleep). 
I tell him the story and he says...
"Her giraffe? You mean Jaffi?". 

I die. 
And we wonder why she can't sleep?

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Nostalgia

How fun is this?


The Original Babygirl 12 years ago...

Little miss today...


Nostalgic? I think so.
I always said if I had one wish it would be to have my Original Baby Girl back as pictured above for just one day. 


Wish granted. ;)