Halle seems to be growing just as quickly as time has been passing by this summer!

Instead of doing lists like my last monthly updates (16 is a bit much, hey?) here are some stories and snippets of my little monkey's personality these days.

Friendly Friend

Girlie loves to smile and wave at others. All on her own. Whether it's passing someone at the grocery store or greeting people at a restaurant. It's super cute and strangers always comment on her friendliness.

I hope she is always friendly. Not like over-friendly and not aware of stranger danger kinda friendly, but always kind to others... That is honestly my biggest wish for my children, to be kind.

Side tracked.

OK, cute story time!

We have been frequenting Play-A-Latte lately. It's an indoor play place for young children with it's own little café. One day, a little girl, about the same age as Halle, and her mom had just started playing nearby us. Halle walked up to the girl and stood in front of her, all smiles, and waved her hand to say 'hi'. After a short stare down, the girl leaned in and planted a kiss right on Halle's lips! It was the cutest and funniest thing and me and the other mom cracked up laughing! Then Halle proceeded to back her butt up and sit in the other mom's lap! Something she has never done with someone she doesn't know. I guess she liked them ;)

On another afternoon, we were hanging out at a coffee shop that has a sweet kids play corner. Although that gets old quick and she prefers to walk around greeting other visitors. They have a couple sections with cozy couch settings and there was a group of teenage girls hanging out. Of course, little miss wanted to hang with the girls... so she walks over all smiles, casually making her way past the coffee table to lean up against the couch next to one of the girls, looking ready to join in on their chit chat. It's really so sweet, cause she does it so naturally. Curious and friendly and seems to just want to be around people.

Her new favourite word is...

UP! Except it usually sounds more like "um." Up, up, up! Up if your sitting on the couch or a chair and she wants to, too. Up for every stair she climbs. Up whenever she picks up a toy. Seriously, "up" like 100 times a day! Up, up, up!

Thankfully for me, she is also getting better at cleaning UP! It's a good habit I started to practice early on so she is used to observing it. We almost always tidy as we go after play. Mostly because if we didn't we risked Loki dog chewing up toys! Plus, I believe it's important for her to know how to pick up after herself, it's never too early to start modeling being tidy! And it's another way to narrate what we're doing and practice language skills, "up, up, up!" ;)

Phone Play

Everything has become a phone this month! Toys and random objects are quick to be held up to her ear as if she is talking on a pretend phone. So, that is definitely her play stage at the moment. She has a couple of actual play phones but it's been funny to see what other substitutes she comes up with. Even when we FaceTime family from our iPhones she holds it up to her ear and begins her babble :)

Big Sister Training

Last week I posted these pictures to my Instagram and Facebook because it was too cute not to share!

We went to the toy store one afternoon in search of a toy tool bench. I thought it might be a fun addition to the playroom since I had noticed Halle showing interest in this toy saw in the baby area of Play-A-Latte a couple of times when we have been there... Anyway, we didn't find what I had in mind... But I did get a new idea because she loved playing with this baby doll on display! There were two dolls actually. One bigger doll with long hair in a crib and another baby doll with a stroller. Halle took turns carrying the dolls and moving them between the crib and stroller. She gave the baby kisses and hugs. Then proceeded to walk around the store pushing the baby doll in the stroller. Which turned in to carrying the baby while pushing the stroller. I couldn't help but laugh to myself at how adorable it was and it made me so excited for her to be a sister!!

So today, we went to Target and picked up a less expensive doll. She came with a little high chair and food set and I got a dolly stroller for an extra $10!

Although she is still a bit young for this kind of play, she seems to be interested and we are hoping it will help her to have a baby of her own to somewhat prepare for her sister. We are planning to set up baby things like  our swing and bouncer in the next couple of weeks so that Halle will be used to seeing them before baby arrives. Now that she has her doll she can practice putting her baby in the swing... and hopefully this won't all back fire on us when the real baby arrives ;)

Other Noteworthy Randomness

- She still doesn't like the grass or sand despite the beach photo above...

- Our upstairs sectional couch has become her jungle gym! I use cushions from our sofa bed as stepping stools for her to climb up on to the couch and she makes her way climbing and crawling around the large corner couch. It's my trick after bath before bed to burn off all that last bit of energy before the end of the day ;)

- Lately she is loving small spaces. She has been sitting in the small storage baskets from under our coffee table. And recently figured out there is enough space for her to crawl inside my bathroom cupboards under the sink.

- She's still fairly picky about eating but has come such a long way with trying new foods! She is eating more things and more as in quantity! And she has really taken a liking to spaghetti this past month...

... As in she can't get enough of it some days ;)

Sometimes I mentally step back and look at where I am in life at this point in time. It can happen on a drive, in a moment alone, when I’m surrounded by a group of people or even just watching Halle.

It’s like “Whoa! THIS is my life.”

Sometimes a good whoa that makes me smile, sometimes an I’m not sure whoa… As in did I think this would be what my life is like at this point in it? Some things: yes, some things: no, and some questionable?

Am I happy with my life right now? Yes!

Am I thankful? Yes.

Do I still want more? Yes.

What do I want?

What would/should/can I change?

What can I MAKE of this life?

Then, the challenges… Things you cannot control. Circumstances. They could include money, time, commitments, resources, etc. But what’s really an excuse? What could you change if you wanted to?

Maybe things can happen but just not right now?
Or maybe never...
or maybe exactly right now?

The one thing you can control, well for most people, is your thoughts. Your ideas, your feelings and your attitude.

What do you think about your life? What do you want? What’s stopping you from making that happen right now?

When I write that, it seems like it’s so much easier to say than do. I guess that’s why I have been thinking about it so much rather than thinking about how to make the things I want in life happen.

Or I think about things like “I need to wait until the baby is born before I start that.” And maybe that’s true for some
things, maybe it’s not…

But then there are those that might laugh at the idea of “life is what you make it.” Thinking along the (bigger) lines of “oh I
need to wait to win the lottery to do the things I want to do.” Well, chances are, that ain’t happening. So, what do you want in the meantime? What can you make happen?

I’m not sure I’m getting anywhere with this post…

I think my next step is to make a list.

A life list of things I want to do and try.

And maybe a goal list, too.

Measurable and realistic goals. Things I can make happen, or at least get on track with right now.

I need to write down what I want and make it happen.

But first, to figure it [what I want] out…

I’ll leave you with this quote for now and continue this ramble another day ;)

Last month I wrote a "New Things" post. It's part monthly recap and part inspiration for me to try/read/do new things, big or small, each month. Here's a look back at July.

Reading:

The One and Only by Emily Giffin

I found this book at Superstore on a best sellers table with a big 40% off sticker! The turquoise cover caught my eye but the inside description hooked me in. It's a fictional story about "about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself... the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living."

It was the first I have read by the author and I really enjoyed it! Girly novels are my favourite fictions. This is probably one of the first I have read, by my choice, that is about a young woman in her early thirties, rather than a teen novel. It was an easy read and I plan on checking out some of her other stories soon!

#GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso

I LOVED this book! So much so that I read it in just a few days during Halle's nap and at bedtime. It's cover had been popping up all over my Instagram and book lists, so I checked it out online. I've always been interested in business, and girls kicking butt ;), so after viewing the description I knew this was next on my reading list!

I related to some, learned more and finished reading it thinking exactly what she said I would which was wanting to run and find work. It was a great read, probably not for everyone, but totally my style of inspiration. And now I'm one step closer to my journey of becoming a #GIRLBOSS *bam*!

Following: Three Little Crowns

I am constantly finding new blogs and IG's to follow but this one I wanted to share! It's a new blog for the modern mama written by first time mom's Natalie and Britt. They share their journey in motherhood as well as fun DIYs, style and all things baby! What really excited me about finding this blog is that they are Canadian mommies!! So many of the bloggers I follow are based in the US, which is great, but I was happy to find this one is written closer to home :) Check them out!

Thinking: About life with a new baby!

A few times this month I caught myself scrolling through my camera roll, reminiscing about Halle as an itty bitty baby. It's hard to believe in just two months we'll have another one! She is sure to make Halle look so big! Here's a couple throw back photos to this time last Summer with a three month old Halle Kay :)

Drawing: Chalkboards

And just for fun, here's a chalkboard doodle from early July! I've been slacking since... Trying to find the right quote ;)