Canadian is...

I may not be the most patriotic person in Canada, but any chance to dress Samantha up in something cute and seasonal and I'm all for it! I even got Josh in on it too! His inner Daddy spirit has come alive and he donned the Canadian flag with his family!

There are many great things I love about being Canadian. First, are my choices. Such as the choice to stay home with my baby for up to a year! I still don't think this is long enough, but it is one of the longest paid maternity leaves in the world! I would never have given up these last few weeks with Samantha. She has really bloomed into her own personality and is now literally running circles around me! My legs are officially her personal jungle gym...lol...and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Next, is ice cream...ok...so this isn't exactly a "Canadian" thing, but who else would go out in the middle of winter to DQ for a Blizzard? I'm pretty sure every almost husband has had to do this for his pregnant wife...at least twice! Good thing for Josh, my craving was Menchie's...and it wasn't winter; though I did make him drive to Swiss Chalet once at 9 o'clock at night for a baked potato in the middle of the winter!

Well, Samantha, with a little persuasion from some family, finally got to try her first ice cream cone. OK...calm down...I know, I'm simply terrible for denying my daughter this amazing delicious wonder...but let's be honest, she also just got cake for the first time too! And that took a lot of convincing from Grampa Dave! And I have given her sugar-free, dairy-free ice cream (if you consider that ice cream) and some sherbert too.

But this time, she got the real deal (OK...it was frozen yogurt...so half deal...) but she got the whole cone all to herself!

She had a white-knuckled death-grip on this cone! We barely could wipe the melted sticky liquid off her fingers and face without a minor breakdown of "How dare you try and take my cone away from me!" when we tried to get a nice Canada Day family photo!

After she finally finished, cone and all...we were off to the sugarland races! This girl was literally trying to climb the walls! Holding onto Daddy's hands, she climbed everything he would let her. Up the stairs, down the stairs...up Daddy, down Daddy...oh look, there's a wall! I bet I could climb that too...or at least hide in it! And if she couldn't climb up it, she would climb under it or in it!

Thankfully, with every good sugar rush comes the sugar crash and she slept from 8pm-9am, only waking around midnight for some milk!

Oh Canada...what have we started? Hopefully a super cute tradition! 

Paint Smash Birthday Celebration

For Samantha's first birthday, I wanted to do something fun and different. Plus, I still wasn't the happiest about the thought giving my baby girl, who wasn't even a year yet, cake. Not that she eats the most organic diet, but the thought of her eating, what is basically pure sugar, wasn't my favorite idea either.

So, I searched and searched and searched and came across this awesome picture on Pinterest and thought to myself...that is exactly what I have been looking for and contact the photographer immediately!

I mean, Samantha had already "finger painted" her LOVE picture, so I knew this would be a fun and colorful way to celebrate her birthday!

The start of the shoot was amazing! Serious Sam was smiling, having fun and the pictures were turning out amazing. Once she was comfortable, we poured the paint and placed her in front of it... But, what I forgot to remember was that recently Samantha has hated having anything on her hands, unless it's food that she has picked up herself.

So, as her curiosity got the better of her and she slammed her entire hand into the orange paint...the meltdown started. In all honesty, as a mother, I thought this was pretty funny. Everytime she tried to stand up and walk over to me, she would touch more paint. I know, I know...I'm a terrible mother for laughing at my poor baby's melodramatic breakdown...but then you're probably not a mother.

What you don't see in these pictures are that I probably have more paint on me from holding her than she does on her! Now that is motherly love.

Either way, the pictures are amazing and I'm looking forward to hanging her "artwork" on the wall! But, for my future babies...I might wait until you're at least 2 to try this with you.

Shark Attack Fruit Salad

Ok, you've all been asking and since Samantha is finally asleep for the night, I can give you the directions, tips and tricks to making this awesome Summertime centerpiece!

This was the centerpiece we used at Samantha's Pirate Fundraiser Party and it was a huge hit!

Materials
1 Watermelon (the longer the better)
Dry Erase Marker
Large Knife
Smaller Utility Knife (or one of those tiny pumpkin carving sets)
Melon Baller or Large Spoon
1 Large Bowl
1 Large Cutting Board
2 Blueberries
Toothpicks
Garnish (fresh fruit, swedish fish, etc)

First off, remember to thourghly wash your watermelon. Many people often overlook this important healthy step! After, your watermelon is washed, cut off the bottom third at a slight angle (so that it looks like the shark is leaning forward) Tip Lay the watermelon down flat and draw a line, using the dry erase marker, down and slightly towards the front. Then slice!

Next, draw and cut your mouth. (Save this for later) Using your melon baller or large spoon to carve out the flesh inside the watermelon. Tip Put the balls or chunks of watermelon in the large bowl to use later. To cut the teeth, use your small utility knide, and gentle make an insicion around the mouth. Be careful not to go all the way through, you just want to cut the surface of the rind. Then, carve off the green rind around the mouth. Tip A peeler works really well here!

After the rind is gone, it's time to give that shark some nice pointy pearly whites! I also carved out some eyeholes and gills. Place your blueberry inside the eyeholes and hold in place with a toothpick.
Finally, using a piece of rind from the mouth, carve it into a dorsal fin. You may have to slightly round the bottom so it fits nicely on the bottom of the watermelon. Again, hld this in place using toothpicks.

Finally, using the melon balls/chunks and other fresh fruit, stuff your melon a bit and scatter around on the platter.

This really is apretty easy process, as long as you have some time and patience

Pirate PARRRTY!

Well, party #1 is done and was a great success!

Together with one of Samantha's best baby friends, we held a Pirate Party Fundraiser to celebrate their first birthday's. Since they both have the same baby friends, we thought it would be easier to host a duo party for all of their friends, and in lieu of gifts, asked for a small donation for KidsAbility.

Everyone looked so cute all dressed up in their pirate gear and everyone had so much fun!

But, now where to start...well how about with Samantha! She looked SO freaking cute with her little pirate tutu (custom made by Clippity Clop Toddler Shop) and pirate head band Daddy got for her for Christmas! Though she wasn't in the outfit long...the Mermaid Lagoon was far too tempting...I got some great shots of her!

The next most important item on the list was food! We had so much fun creating fun and piratey themed grub for our guests to eat!

We also had the Catch of the Day (gummy fish), Salty Bones (veggies straws), Polly's Crackers & Pirate Gold (Cheese & Crackers), Pirate Bones (yogurt covered pretzels), Peg Legs (pretzel sticks), Fish & Chips (Gold fish & chips), cookies and chocolate covered rice krispy squares! But, my favorite and most popular Pirate Grub was the Shark Attack Fruit Salad, which I carved myself! (It's was actually pretty easy, with the right tools!)

Next, we set up a fun little photobooth, where everyone could have fun taking pirate mug shots of their tiny pirates! There were 2 cameras available, in case their own camera didn't make it into the diaper bag, hats, jewellery, sun glasses, masks and foam pirate swords! We even had a cute pirate head cut-out for the kids to play with! 

Thankfully, Mother Nature finally decided to let the sun shine through and we were able to set up a fun play area for the kids outside too! We set up a few tents for shade and the kiddies played and played and played! We had a Mermaid Lagoon, which was just a baby pool with some water and pool toys. Then placed the slide...I mean the plank...so that babies could "walk the plank" into the lagoon! The kids loved that! We also had the Shark Pit (ball pit), Pirate Book Nook and the Lost Treasure Island (minus the sand for the safety of the babies bellies!)

After everyone had their fill of Pirate Grub, we sang Happy Birthday, served some sand cake and then invited everyone to drop their gold to get their booty! 

Thank you to everyone for their generous donations! With your help, we were able to raise $200! 

It truly was a jolly good time for everyone, including Captain Daddy! 

First Celebrations!

This year has been full of firsts! And as a first time mom I had to celebrate and share even the small ones! First hiccup, first laugh, first kiss and even the first pull-yourself-up-on-your-own!! And of course there were the major milestone celebrations too! First roll over, first step, first full walk and now first birthday!

I think a first birthday is a huge milestone, not only for Samantha, but fore me too. We got through the first year together! I didn't die of exhaustion and you didn't die of my motherly mistakes (cough cough...we all know they happen) due to my exhaustion!

Some may say I'm going a little overboard for Samantha's first birthday celebrations, but I beg to differ. This is something, yes, she will never remember but I will. And like I said, this isn't just about her turning 1, this is a celebration of family, of success, of tears and of laughter!

As I have been building Samantha's first year video montage (I'll post it after her birthday) I am filled with emotions I never even knew existed a year ago. That overwhelming sense of love and pride and those indescribable motherly feelings as well.

So, as Samantha turns one, I am celebrating! 

First, we did a Paint Smash (since I don't want her eating cake until her birthday). I'll blog about this amazing idea next time! A must do for all children over the age of 1!

Next, this weekend we are celebrating with her baby friends! Since her best baby friend is also turning 1, we decided to host a duo party. This Pirate Themed party will be amazing and in lieu of gifts ask for donations for KidsAbility! I can't wait to blog about this party!

Then, we are celebrating on her birthday! Friday (her actual birthday) we will celebrate with a small family dinner and Stuff-a-Bear gift from Mommy and Daddy. Saturday we are going to do her cake smash and then go to a carnival. And finally, Sunday is the big Monkey Birthday Party for all our friends and family!

So, do I think I went overboard...the event planner in me say no, the mother in me says no and the party enthusiast in me says no! And when baby #2 comes along, guess what, I'll celebrate just the same!

So, Baby Girl "Happy Early Birthday"!