Our life in doodles...

I'm sure many of you are following the blog A Beautiful Mess...
It's actually one of my favorite, so when I learned they were launching an amazing app to edit pictures (perfect for the Instagram addict I am!) I got pretty excited! Have you tried it yet? I'm totally in love with it!

So here's a little recap of our week through pictures I've edited with the app! :)
Enjoy!

A girlie version of my tooth monster...custom orders are always fun!

My pointy baby bump!

Livia just loves her birthday balloons!

Cookie dough love...

I've treated myself to some good homemade cookies

Sipping an amazing smoothie...her favorite! The recipe is from a friend's blog called Trois fois par jour (it's in French but it's worth taking a look at!)

Finally ordered some Salt Water sandals for Livia...and they fir perfectly! Cutest little feet EVER!!!

What I woke up to one morning...

A picture my boyfriend took this week...what's not to love?

Early morning bath...Lots of fun!

My little helper...

We had fun picking out the plants for our veggie patch!

WHEN did she get so tall?!?! and so grown up...?

She loves her uncle's birthday gift!

She asked for painted toes just like mine....

Poor little thing...

Can't wait for this week to be behind us...

It hasn't been an easy one & I absolutely hate seeing my kiddo feeling this bad (don't we all?)
What started out as a little cold and runny nose last Friday began worrying us more when she started coughing like crazy, especially during the night! Yesterday, she wasn't feeling good at all & her fever was getting worst so we went to the doctor's office.Turns out she has an ear infection & throat infection! :(

Making funny faces, even with a fever! That was actually her face when she heard a baby cry in the room next to us at the doctor's office!

So today, I took a day off work...but it hasn't been an easy day!
We started the day off slowly, cuddling in bed watching cartoons...

So so serious...

Hate seeing her like this, especially when she cries & I can feel her pain but can't really do much about it! Luckily, it seems that the medicine started to kick in because during bath time, she seemed happy & relaxed!

Little mermaid...she loves water!

I was starting to miss this smile of hers! Glad to see she might be starting to feel better! The fever is down & we're off to what I wish is going to be a good night of sleep! We all need this! ;)

How was your week?
Can't wait for the weekend to be here!
Wish you all a good Friday!

Lately...

The last few months have been very busy & kind of ectic around here...at least, that's how I feel!
I'm already halfway through my pregnancy & things just seem to go faster than ever... Lately, I've had a hard time dealing with the fact that I wasn't able to keep up with my Etsy shops...I felt like I was letting things go, like I wasn't dedicating as much time as usual or as much as I would have wanted to to my little business! When you put so much hard work into something you love & you're proud of, it's kinda hard to accept that sometimes, IT'S ALRIGHT to take a little break, to slow things down a little...

It's alright if there are only a few items left in your shop even though you have hundreds of ideas fighting one another in your head...it's alright to take time for yourself, to relax in a hot bath after work or go to bed early if you feel like you need to instead of doing late night sewing like you were used to!

With our busy schedules ( and I'm sure many of you parents will understand exactly what I'm talking about!) it gets so easy to "spend" less time with our kiddos...I mean, I "spend" time with Livia, but running errands or being next to her in the living room while she plays by herself and I fold laundry is not what I call quality time...I've realized that I was often too busy with everything else that I didn't take as much time as I used to to simply sit down with her and actually play WITH her!

That being said, I decided that I wanted to start trying some Montessori activities with Livia on a weekly basis! Today, we tried out our 1st color sorting activity & it was a big hit!

She did this like a champ! Proud mama's moment!

More color sorting on the couch after dinner!

Montessori fun from Vanessa Giguere on Vimeo.

She had a lot of fun & I had fun too watching her play & learn all at once! In the end, all we needed was a few colored bowls with matching color items : fridge alphabet magnets, building blocks, crayons, plastic utensils...

 Margaux, a blogger friend, also recommended this amazing blog with plenty of ideas for Montessori activities! It's called How we Montessori and I'm pretty sure it will be a great source of inspiration in the upcoming weeks!

Wish you all a great Sunday!
Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've been with my boyfriend for a bit more than 10 years now and we have never really been the type of person to celebrate Valentine's Day...I guess that now that we are parents, we will unconsciously celebrate it a bit more, making crafts & sweets for friends & loved ones!

This year, Valentine's Day took on an whole new meaning... I had my 1st ultrasound & it was a real blessing to witness this little peanut in action! Tonight, I'll be going to sleep happier than ever! :)

Tiny hands...Precious!

How was your Valentine's Day?

Have a great night you guys!
Keep in touch!

The reason why...

Yep people!
We have a bun in the oven! :)

This tiny little human growing in my belly is the reason why I haven't really been around these last few weeks...It's also the reason why I've been so extremely tired lately & developped a real addiction for naps...the reason why my sewing machine has been collecting dust...the reason why my Etsy shops have been slightly put on hold (there's not much stock left & I've been simply too busy sleeping whenever I could, I didn't take time to make more listings!)...the reason why I have sugar cravings at night...the reason why I've been drinking chocolate milk instead of coffee ( I know I'm allowed to have a cup of coffee per day...I had even bought some decaf but somehow, with this pregnancy, coffee is a real turn off! )

Hopefully, in a few weeks, the extreme tiredness from the 1st trimester will be long gone & my energy level will be back to normal! One thing's for sure, this new adventure will most probably get my creative juices flowing like crazy! ;)
2013 is going to be an AMAZING year!
Cheers everyone!

Keep in touch!

Letter to Livia #1

"My sweet little Livia,

About 2 years ago, I felt you moving for the 1st time in my ever-growing belly! Since that day, this special bond between us just kept growing & growing!

I have to tell you how proud I am to be your mama! Each day, you amaze with your constant learning, you make me laugh with your cute little face, you make my heart warm & fuzzy with your kisses & hugs! Being a mom is not always easy, it requires patience (a great deal of patience sometimes!) & strenght, but I can assure that being your mom is the greatest experience of all.

Thank you for being my little sunshine,
Thank you for making me a better person (at least I hope so!!! ;) )
But most of all, thank you for reminding me each & every day that, in the end, love is what matters most!

Love you, big time!"

I'm truly hoping that this little letter to Livia will be one of many so that one day, she can read what I would have liked to tell her when she was simply to little to understand everything she means to me!

Have a lovely day you guys!