Life Update (Arianna Goes to School!)

Hello everyone! Let's pretend it hasn't been like 5 months + since I last blogged. K?

So much is going on in our little world and we are making some changes to our routine. Arianna officially had her first day of "school" at the beginning of September. Of course it's not really school, but she doesn't know that. It's a part time daycare program at a Montessori school consisting of 3 half days a week. It's supposed to be 9-1 but she usually naps at 12:30 so I'll probably be picking her up at 12 for awhile. I was so excited to find a program like this! It's basically preschool hours but she can go a year earlier than most pre-schools.

official first day of school photo

So far she's been really good during drop off, we've had a few mornings with a little bit of wimpering and fussiness but I peek in through the window from the parking lot and she's already forgotten all about me. When I pick her up she gives her teachers hugs and says "bye, guys" to the other kids in the class.

exploring her new classroom on the first day

Part of my reasoning for putting Arianna in this program was so I could work a little bit more. I find I am happiest when I have at least one client in the morning. This summer I had several of my clients off training with me for various reasons and I was actually rather bored and I think Arianna was too. I was just starting to think about looking for more clients and due to a few referrals I'm already getting pretty busy which is great! I have also started a Facebook motivation/support group so if anyone wants to be added let me know!

playing with some new fun stuff

Another very exciting thing happening is that I have booked PAINTERS! I know that our place is only a year and a half old, but after living here for that period of time I can tell you that the colour the builders picked is truly awful. I haven't' decorated at all because nothing goes with it! When I had the paint estimator in, he looked around and was like "Wow, this colour was really popular like quite a few years ago, it's like gold!" It really is gold. I can't wait. I'll have to take a before and after to show you guys, haha!

It'll be really nice to have it done before the birthday/Thanksgiving/Halloween/Christmas season in our family! I'm already planning Arianna's birthday, of course. I can't believe she's going to be TWO! She is so much fun at this age, even though she can be quite sassy and demanding. I have a whole other post planned for her update.

finishing her lunch on the picnic table, everrryy day haha

Disney Hangover

We are finally home after our 6 day trip/3 days of Disney. Disneyland is so, so amazing. I seriously love it so much. I went years ago and I know I loved it but this time was even more amazing. Maybe it's having Arianna there with me or being with my family but it filled my heart up and I didn't want to leave. I found myself planning in my head when the next time I would return would be. I tried to soak up every moment.

A blogger I follow talked about vacation hangover and it's so true. It's so hard to get back into the real life routine. As my friend put it "Real life compared to Disney is garbage." However,our experiences after Disney make me appreciate real boring regular life.

No vacation is every completely perfect and ours was no exception. After a full day at Disney, I put Arianna to bed and all us kids went out with my Mom and Dad watching Arianna. Just as we were walking nack into the hotel my mom texted me that Arianna was throwing up. After that it was a bit of a domino effect. My niece got sick probably the worst, I ended up getting sick on the last night along with my parents, and the grand finale was Arianna and my two nephews in the row behind me all simultaneously barfing. The announced on the plane that there were sick kids and could everyone let us get off first. Then as my sister in law and I were gathering everything up with everyone watching us, they announced "Just till the ladies in pink get off, thanks everyone." So embarrassing! But it didn't end there, Arianna threw up again while I was standing at the front of the plane waiting to get off. It was literally a shit show. Everyone was so nice and kind on the plane, which was great. They told us we'll laugh about it later.

All and all I am so grateful to my amazing parents for this trip of a lifetime! So many amazing memories were made and I feel like we all got closer which is hard to do as adults. Us kids are busy with our families and its so rare to get to do something like this. It was a trip we will ever forget.

I have zero energy right now but I promise this week I will post some pictures and highlights from our trip!

Arianna Update!

What's that? Why was the last update 9 months? Well...if you've ever hung out with a toddler for a period of time, you'll know where they are. Floating somewhere with my ice cold coffee and half eaten breakfast. Besides people get huffy when you talk in months. Miss Arianna is now almost a year and a half!

Weight: 27lbs
Height: Around 32 inches
Clothing Size: 18-24/2T. She is tall but short arms and legs haha!

Words: Mama, Daddy, Layla, Nana, Grandma, Grandma, aunty, uncle, go, book. up (uppy), banana, baba (bottle), leash, keys, food, toast, lunch, walk, chair, avocado,(she says ack-odo haha) fun, potty, home and like a zillion more. Her newest things to say are 'Awesome" and "Hi Mom!" which means she's starting to speak in phrases.

Loves Paw Patrol, she can get on the iPad and get into Netflix by herself and open the episodes.

She's also really into Facetime, she loves to talk to her grandparents on there. A few times I've left her alone with the ipad for half a second and she's actually dialed people on Facetime. Whenever we call Leigh's parents and they're both on the screen, she always tries to swipe left and right so
she can see more of Nana or Grandpa.

She loves being outside, going for walks and to the park. If I say do you want to go for a walk she runs to the closet where we keep our stroller and bangs on it until I get the stroller out.

She's started doing this funny walk where she crouches down and walks.

She loves books just like her Mama! If I say go get me a book she'll grab one and like back up slowly into my lap and then snuggle in to read. The other day she brought me one of my magazines and sat down for me to read it to her.

She loves food but is getting into the picky toddler stage. Sweet potato and avacodo are always a hit. She loves smoothies so I try to cram as many fruits and spinach in as I can. Her favourite thing is white cheddar chipotle popcorn which I break into the tiniest possible peices.

She still has bottles but we are cutting those out after Disneyland. I've been reluctant to let go because I feel like that's the last "baby" thing. But she really doesn't need them anymore. I've put her down for naps and bed without them and she doesn't notice.

I could go on and on about her but that would make this post boring. The truth is, words can't even describe how much I love this girl. She is so funny and entertaining. She's sweet and cuddly which is so nice. A toddler hug makes everything better.

I'm trying to soak up these days because I'm really enjoying them but I know there's some toddler challenges ahead! I think they call this a "sweet spot" of motherhood because it is just that, so sweet.

We're Going to Disneyland!

I seriously can't believe I haven't posted on my blog at all this year. What have I been doing?! I love having this as a way to remember what I did and post pictures so I'm going to try starting today.

What's new so far this year? I've been getting into a great groove of balancing working part time and being a mom, thanks to my awesome babysitters (Grandma, Nana, and our awesome girl at the gym!). Arianna is at a super fun age and I'm loving it right now. I have a whole post on what she's been up to that I'll post tomorrow.

The most exciting thing I have to share and post about is DISNEYLAND! We are leaving in a week! Arianna and I will be joining my parents, my sister and brother in law, and my brother, sister in law and their 3 kids! It's going to be so much fun. I seriously cannot wait. I love Disneyland, I went eleven years ago so I'm kinda familiar with it but it's been long enough I don't remember most of it, haha.

I can't wait to stalk the princesses, take tons of pictures, go on all the rides, shop for fun stuff and eat the food! So excited. If anyone has any Disney tips please share! Arianna is used to sleeping in different places but it will be her first plane ride. I have a mile long list to pack, traveling with a child is no joke! I'm sure it'll be so worth all of the prep. Can't wait!

More tomorrow with my Arianna update, pinky swear!