Carpe the heck out of these diems

Mid January already, oh how the time flies! So far 2015 has been busy as every as a family of four, our fiercely independent toddler has me on my toes with her every growing curiosity of the world around her and in awe daily of the new things she has learnt. She still surprises us every morning with her vocabulary and it seems to be in the am that she could tell us stories for hours…is your toddler more chatty at a certain time of the day? Nap time has changed with the migration to the big girl bed, she refuses to nap upstairs and I was done with arguing over it. I mean, I really have a difficult time disagreeing with a toddler who straight up says to me “mama I don’t want to sleep upstairs, I not tired…I just want bottle on the couch and relax”. Wouldn’t you? I am so proud of her speech and how she truly expresses herself well verbally and I do not want to steer her away from that? If she communicates so clearly to me that she really doesn’t want to go upstairs for a nap and doesn’t feel tired (and isn’t throwing a ton of I-am-so-tired-toddler-tantrums) then why force her. So, nap times have been going strong now for a week on her Dora pull out couch in the living room…they begin about half way through Frozen, last a couple of hours and she wakes up happy and rested. I am sure I am not the only mama with a little that has a special napping spot and I am sure as she gets older we will have a new system to adapt to – I feel lucky that these are my only hurdles…my babies are healthy, I will not complain. Noah is growing quickly and SUCH a smily boy, I feel like he is hitting milestones so quickly however his sister was 3 weeks early and much smaller. We are so blessed, he is always in a great mood and sleeps well. He wakes up to nurse once or twice in the night but I can handle that. I know what I signed up for and love breast-feeding, this part goes by far too quickly. Our #asmoothieaday challenge has been going strong, I haven’t missed one at all since the new year, I love switching the recipes up for creamy shakes to green smoothies and it gives me the fuel I need during the day to be alert and carpe diem. I do not nap during the day when the kids do, I’ve tried it and I just can’t…there is too much I need to get done in a day to keep this house tidy and be sane. Just to sit and enjoy a coffee in a quiet house is a beautiful thing and to perhaps squeeze a good blog read or write up in there too.

Here are some more shots in our toddler room we designed for Ella featuring an awesome new Canadian brand Little Citizens Apparel born & raised in Vancouver. This refreshing brand is full of comfy essentials for your little ones, organic comfy essentials! Their stylish pieces are on point and incredibly soft, they also seem to have a lot of room for the kids to grow into which I love. I am a sucker for plaids and pine tree prints this season so I of course swooned over their leggings, if only they came in big girl sizes!! You will be seeing a lot of this brand in our features this winter and I hope you enjoy their ensembles as much as we do. PS You see that stellar owl duvet cover? Well stay tuned for a GIVEAWAY on the blog this month with Ooh-Noo where someone will win the owl toddler duvet cover! xo

Hello Sweater: ℅ Hello Apparel
Up North Bib: ℅ Bean Pad Bibs
Black Hoodie: ℅ Little Citizens Apparel
XO leggings: ℅ Little Citizens Apparel
Pouf: ℅ Little & Luxe Decor
Infinity Scarf & White Top: ℅ Little Citizens Apparel
Pine Leggings: ℅ Little Citizens Apparel 
Moccasins: ℅ Minimoc
Owl Duvet Cover: ℅ Ooh-Noo
Flamingo Print & Neon Dog Pillow: ℅ Basically Bubbly {Use Code BONJOUR for 20% off}
Animal Shaped Pillows (Deer, Elephant & Flamingo): ℅ Pretend with Poppins
Photography: Allison Milne