am i growing?

Yes you are! Now stop slouching...

I was here, now I'm there!

Wall sticker growth chart: Nouvelles Images

p is for pants

Okay, here's the deal with the pants. She's usually a size 5/6T now but.. they never fit on the bottom so.. I have to buy size 3/4T for pants/skirts/shorts. So, I told Keira that these are the super cropped pants!

Top by ZaraKids, Pants by H&M kids (not shown: hair elastic by Sophie&Lili).

Okay, weird weather this week. From super humid to pretty darn chilly this AM. Tried to get the Keikster to wear pants today. Say whut? Here's what I did to finally get her to wear it:
1. Told her that it was cold today and switched to the weather channel to prove it. Like she cared.
2. Showed her the darn pants.. they're pink for heaven's sake! She said she felt stupid they looked too short..
3. Told her she could eat the Aero slim chocolate bar for breakfast if she put them on..

Finally.. she put the pants on for some Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers (eaten in the car, on our way to the day camp). Whew!

Yes! One more birthday party invitation! This one from her cousin Caleb..

M&M's.. who doesn't like em?

I want that Hello Kitty tee too!

summer bento #3

Totally missed taking yesterday's summer bento pic but took one of today's. Hopefully these lunches won't stress me out this summer but make me look forward to learning more about bento and making them!

Someone tweeted and blogged about summer series bento-making but I totally forgot who. If anyone knows, please let me know!

Keira's bento lunch yesterday was plain tomato pizza cut into shapes plus the usual veggie/fruit suspects. I also added a slim Aero chocolate bar. It was her 'surprise'. My version of the Happy Meal. haha!

For today's bento meal, I had a hard time choosing. I wanted to add either chicken strips or the tomato & beef macaroni we had still in the fridge. I asked Susan of Hawai'i's Bento Box Cookbook if she heated up her musubi's and other meat bentos and she said they eat them cold or at room temp. I asked Keira last night if she could eat the macaroni cold but she said no. So.. I slept on it. lol.

This morning, I took out the new thermos container I had bought last year (and never used til today!), heated it up as per instructions, zapped the macaroni in the microwave and added that to the thermos. Hope it'll still be warm by lunchtime! I also added some cucumber hearts, grapes and sweet nectarines to my country bear box. So far.. these meals are a hit as everything is eaten when I check Keira's lunch bag after day camp.

Today.. I'm checking out Debra's blog, Hapa Bento and Bentozen for more bento meal ideas!

summer bento #1

Keira started her summer day camp today. It was really anxiety ridden! This is the first time Keira's shown any kind of apprehension when entering or starting daycare/preschool/day camp. Usually she enters a room a bit shy but takes over pretty quickly and makes friends in a snap. Lately, she's shown signs of thinking twice and wondering, 'who wants to be my friend here? does anyone want to be my friend??'. I think this year marked a turning point for her. She made a new best friend and these new cliques in her class has taken affect on all the girls and guys I think.

Anyhoo, Keira's eczema is out of control at the moment from all the unknown fears of being with the older kids at daycare at school to starting summer day camp without her best friend. I'm glad her best friend hasn't started this week. I want Keira to play with the other kids again.

And of course, what happens when summer day camp starts? I have to start making Keira's lunches! Super groan... I may be a designer but am totally clueless and without creativity when it comes to lunches. And most meals to be honest. So.. over the weekend, I frantically went through my Bento cookbook sent by Susan (see post here) plus her blog and also went through several of my go-to foodie blogs like Sheri's HappyLittleBento blog, Haejn's yobodish and Lia's Bentolicious!

Here's what I came up with, things I knew Keira would eat: Minced ham sandwiches cut out in sun and heart shapes.. some grapes, carrots and raspberries. And who doesn't like a Kinder chocolate? It's also supposed to be peanut free. I also added a packet of salt-free crackers and a juice box. She ate the whole lot except for the lettuce, raspberries and carrots. She also gave me a look when I was peering into her lunch box and said, "maaaam! I told you. I'm allergic to carrots!". hmf. And walked off. Uh okay.

About another gazillion summer lunches to go! Holy moly...

we ♡ mimimouse

I've already blogged about Mimimouse before.. but this time, I actually (and finally) ordered some tee's for Keira! I first saw Mimimouse on Bloesem Kids and I've been following both blogs ever since.

Keira is a funny little creature. One moment she's sitting pretty and the next, goes beserk over a detail on her shirts. Mostly.. she hates loose round-necked tees that she says keeps 'falling down' and then proceeds to stretch the shirt til it almost rips open. She also doesn't seem to like sleeves very much.

So when I saw Mimimouse's vest tee cut with a racer-back detail, I knew Keira would love it. I ordered the 'Lady' and 'Angel' wings tee.. Keira's been waiting for her package for the week and we finally picked it up yesterday at the post office. She loves it!

I loved the packaging and postcards!

I also loved the sweet personalized message.. Merci Nath!

I'm a sucker for beautiful and cute packages and this one was super cute! I also love the little floral tape Nath used and the extra post cards included with a sweet message. These tees are also high quality 95% cotton/5% elastane which gives the tee a great shape and stretch. This is really important for me as I don't want the tees to disintegrate in the wash & also, I have to keep to natural fabrics as Keira suffers from eczema & anything can flare it up (especially synthetics).

I love the detail and high quality..

Obviously Keira finds them super comfy..

Super comfy watching Thalassa..

The details are perfect on these! I think next up, I will get Keira this scarf.

Thank you Nath for sending the tees super fast! And for creating these.. they're going to be a summer fave!

You can check out Mimimouse's site here: www.mimimouse.com
And her blog here: http://mimimouse.canalblog.com
You can also check out the wonderful Bloesem Kids blog here: http://bkids.typepad.com/

we'll be just a minute tooth fairy! hold on..

It finally happened! This morning, while Keira and Miss B were watching morning cartoons, Keira came scrambling to me all panicky yelling, "my tooth is stuck! it won't go back up!". Lo and behold, it was practically out. The root of her tooth was stuck on her gums. So I plucked it out. haha! And it just came out.

Now here's the glitch: Miss B told Keira that she now could put her tooth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy, to which Keira replied (rather upset mind you): "I not going to put my tooth under my pillow. I don't like her that Tooth Fairy!".

Ye-ah. Only my kid...stay tuned..

UPDATE: Ok, so Keira finally relented and let me put her tooth in a tiny clear container under her pillow. She already got some $ from Miss B's mom and after alot of debate.. I printed out a personalized Tooth Fairy certificate for her. Will slip it under her pillow tonight! Btw, she took the tooth out of the container and tried to put it back in its place in her mouth. lol. Then she sighed when it wouldn't stay put and said, "i miss it". Gah! Tearing up here...

sleepover weekend

Matching jammies.. oh course..

Can there be any better way to start off summer than to spend 2 whole days with your best friend? Well, that's what Keira did! Instead of spending her last day at her school's daycare, Keira got to spend the day with Miss B whose nonna looked after them all day! I'm so grateful to her. She fed them, made sure they didn't get into trouble and let them have fun.

Lots of giggles and 'friends' in bed..

What do two little girls do behind closed doors? A gazillion wardrobe changes!

Yesterday, we had Miss B over and it turned into a sleepover! The first of what I hope will be many.. and it went so well! Of course, the girls had on matching Tinkerbell jammies (Keira's was a gift from Miss B), 'read' a Princess book together and then.. slept! I guess after 2 big days, they were pooped out. I didn't hear a peep from them until they woke up this morning. After pancakes for breakfast, we headed out to the park for a quick playtime and then Miss B had to go home to make it for an afternoon birthday party. Ah.. Keira was so sad she was going.

Uh yeah, a single seat chariot is a super tight squeeze!

Tomorrow Keira starts her summer day camp and it'll be one whole week before she and Miss B will see each other again til Miss B starts the same day camp. You know what they say.. absence makes the heart grow fonder! And less bored with each other. heehee!

KLTworks

This is my kind of people! Sayer & Keira would be a disco dancing match in heaven!

Here's the thing I love about the internet: You get to meet so many fantastic people online from around the world!

Now, I love kids stuff. Toys, clothing, accessories, design. If it's kid-related, I just love it. It's about the only thing that really piques my interest at the moment.

KLTworks incredible plushies and mobiles. Check out the incredible fabric choices & colours!

I'm sure you've heard or seen KLTworks handmade mobiles, plush toys, bags and tees. You might not know the name but you've probably seen the products. They're gorgeous and all handmade! It was what caught my eye and I am so happy to have been able to converse with Kristin via facebook and twitter. Kristin is the proprietor/artist/creator of KLTworks! She's so personable and warm and I'm in awe of her creative talents. She also writes and curates her blog which is fabulous! I must admit, I eagerly await her Fabric Fridays and Music Mondays. I love her choices and I love knowing that with each post, my brain might explode. She's just creatively out there and real!

Check out the whimsical way she marries printed fabrics to each character!

Occasionally, Kristin will choose a fabric that makes me go, 'what was she thinking??' until I see how she marries it with other fabrics to create her one of kind works of wonder. That's where the genius happens. She's able to see past the single and onto the whole.

I get inspired by Kristen every single week. I hope now, you do too!

You can peruse her website here: www.kltworks.com
and purchase her one of a kind goodies here: KLTworks on etsy
and enjoy reading her blog here: http://kltworks.blogspot.com/


All photo credits: KLTworks, Kristin L. Theiss

hey toothfairy, are you there?

Showing me her loose tooth.

Well, the tooth fairy is going to come and visit us soon! The Keikster has been flipping her loose tooth on the bottom for a few weeks now and today.. it's leaning waaaaaaay out! She wanted me to yank it out but I got all grossed out and it still hurt when I tugged on it (gag). We'll let it get sorted out naturally.

Meanwhile, how much does a tooth go for these days??

la fête nationale

    Credit: infodimanche.com

Happy St Jean everyone! June 24 is Québec's national holiday and is celebrated.
Seriously. Occasionally if a holiday falls on a Thursday, the day we get off from work/school is pushed to the Friday to make it a long weekend. But not this holiday! If it falls on a Saturday, then you're stuck with no day off. If it falls on a Thursday, you get that day off only to come into work on the Friday (dementedly confused about the day). Unless you take a personal/vacation day to turn it into a full version long weekend. What-ever.

This is the 1st St Jean here in our cityburb that we didn't go to the festivities in the big park. It was super humid and was going to rain so instead, Keira had her bff over for the morning. Shame really cuz Shilvi was supposed to entertain at the park and Keira really likes her show. Miss B's mom was going to take her to the movies today and since it was going to rain, we decided to all go (minus the Mister as he was home fixing up the car). We ended up watching Toy Story 3 in 3D! I was a bit nervous as Keira doesn't like going to the cinema (something about it being too loud) and likes 3D movies even less but since her bff was going..

Credit: impawards.com

Goofing around while I get the over-priced goodies

Waiting for the movie to begin...

It ended up being a great time! Little miss even sat through the entire movie (both girls were leaning on each other, it was so cute!).. sometimes with her 3D glasses on! It's a really fun movie everyone, if you have a chance, go and see it. Of course, the girls whispered excitedly to each other when Barbie came on screen. haha! Afterwards, they wanted to know who the Barbie boy was (i.e. Ken). The only creepy thing was the big toy baby. You'll know what I mean when you see the movie. I must admit, I was extremely weepy in the end when Andy goes to college.. made me think of the inevitable time when Keira will fly the coop. Gah! I can't think of it now, am going to start crying again..

All in all, not such a bad day. Bonne Fête Nationale!

baby kid space

Take a look at this! Keira's room is featured on Baby Kid Space! 

A few weeks ago, a wonderful new friend of mine Kristin of KLTworks that I met on twitter had tweeted that her son's room was featured on Baby Kid Space. I'd never heard of the site and I followed the link. It's an Aussi site and pack full of incredible kids/baby rooms and interiors! Kristin's son's room is seriously.. eye-googly fun. You've got to check it out! Check out the refurbished dollhouse! It's incredible.

I left a comment on that post and soon thereafter, received a lovely email from Bron (creator of the site). I'm not sure how she manages to keep up with the site as well as being a full-time mom, working at a non-profit organization and studying for her Master of Arts in creative writing! Whew. Am exhausted just having written that.

And here's the result! I never thought a little comment could lead to something that really made our week. Thank you Bron! And thank you Baby Kid Space! If you ever need inspiration for your home, please check it out. I've also got it bookmarked on my blogroll. You can also catch BabyKidSpace on twitter here.

keira impersonates...

I could not resist showing this pic. This is Keira doing her best imitation of Carl, the old man in the Disney movie UP while we were waiting in line to pay for some things at Sephora. haha! Not only that, she was walking around doing the 'old man walk' with that umbrella too!

our number one dad!

I just wanted to delve further into Father's Day. I can't begin to express how much I got lucky with Mr C. He is really an incredible man and an incredible Papa to Keira. There is a reason why this little kid feels she can boss her Papa around without any feelings of nervousness. Because he lets her! And because living by example is his way of doing things, her spontaneous dances, singing and all other kinds of goofiness starts with.... him. lol! Yes, they are really two peas in a pod. They eat alike, walk alike and even brush away crumbs alike.

Mr C has immeasurable amounts of patience and love for his kid. There is nothing he loves more than to just snuggle with her. He's let her put all kinds of make-up on him (then being paraded outside with it on), his hair mangled/styled, dance routines and tea parties led by his girl.. he gamely goes along.

He's my sweetheart, he's her daddy and he's our number 1 Dad! Bonne Fête des Pères Coco!

father's day shopping

Keira's Father's Day card.

Smooches for Papa!

Our weekend is gone but I'm still in the mode. We had our friends over this weekend as we were all attending the same party (see last post). I think Keira caught a cold from her friend cuz we only got some decent sleep last night. Otherwise, the past 3 nights had Keira keeping us all awake with her screaming, "my nose!! my nose is blocked! aaaaaaaahhhh!!!". Actually, it was more in french like this: "mon nez! mon nez est bloqué!!! aaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeaaaaahhh!!! wah!!!!".

Weather was fine when we got there & soon started raining while we were eating our lunch.

Hugs

She just spontaneously likes to dance on the spot!

That and the funky weather didn't stop her (or us) from having fun on Saturday or even yesterday. Sunday was spent shopping. It was Father's Day and I wanted to get the Mister some new running shoes he needed. We ended up at an outdoor shopping area but with the downpour, we decided to head to an indoor mall instead. Keira started out in 1 outfit and ended up in another. haha! She actually needed some clothes since summer day camp is starting soon.

Outfit #2 for Keira!

When it rains and kids are bored.. they keep us in stitches!

Emma Peel

Spontaneous dancing again! haha.

Playing in the rain..

The indoor mall and... ice cream!

Some kind of funky happening with the Keikster as she's not her usual friendly 'play with anyone' self. I think her friends are influencing her and she's starting to become a bit more selective and also, perhaps some growing pain involved (complaining about her knees at night). Either way, I wish the attitude would stop a bit so we can just relax. sigh..