First picnic of the season

Today was warm and sunny enough to enjoy a nice picnic outside. It was the first one of the season and I'm pretty sure not the last one. 

It was very fun and cosy. We live close from the St. Lawrence river. Along the water, we have access to a nice park, so, that's where we installed our blanket. 

We finished the picnic at the ice cream place near by for some nice treats. It really felt good to hang out outside without freezing.

After being outside for a week in Cuba, it's been hard to hang and work inside. This weekend is all about sun and amazing weather, we will for sure take advantage of it. You, any fun plan for the weekend?

No more sleep

Since we came back from Cuba, Billie has decided to go on with a new sleeping routine. To be honest, I havent found out yet what is the new routine but all I know is that it's not the one we are used to.

I'm so sad that the bed time routine changed. It was so easy to put Billie to bed. I would first go with her in her bed room, rock her there while she was drinking a bottle of milk. Then, when the milk was finished, I would rock her a bit more and put her in bed with the pacifier and the very important, baby blanket. That was it! A charm!

Now, after drinking her bottle of milk, she almost fall asleep but as soon as I put her to bed, she suddenly wakes up and she is full of life, ready for a new day (while I'm ready for my bed, exhausted from work!). 

I took these photos last night at around 9pm. I decided to test her, to see how long she could go awake like this... Well, she could have gone all night I think. Jonas and I gave up an hour later, when I was ready to go to bed... Jonas finally managed to make her fall asleep while singing her lullabies in our bed. Maybe that is the new routine... 

Smallable wishlist- Tip Toey Joey Dolly Three sixty slippers

Do you know a girl who doesn't like shoes? Well, Billie and I aren't different. We love all kind of shoes. I feel your shoes dress your outfit. I explain; you could wear the most boring clothes, if you have cool, fun shoes, you then have the most amazing outfit. I think this theory applies to babies as well. I found on SMALLABLE these cute Tip Toey Joey Dolly Three sixty slippers in gold.

I think Billie would love their shinny color, plus, gold fit everything she owns. It would be so cute with leggings and a tunic.

Mess

Is it just me who can't keep up the cleaning with a baby in the house? I feel that's all we do here; organizing and cleaning but when I turn my head and look at our place, it still looks messy! 

Billie is at this age now where she opens drawers/doors and take out everything from it. And her fun is to make an actual mess! Sometimes I kind of ignore it and let her enjoy these moments of freedom. But, some other times, I follow her everywhere and feel annoying but I clean after her.

Even if we had a cleaning lady helping us out, I don't think I could let her organize Billie's toys and clothes. Clothes is another thing! We have so little space here now that we are three. I'm curious to know how you guys do it with the baby clothes organization? Or even yours? I know, I own a store, I should know better, but in French we have this expression "Un cordonnier mal chaussé". It means: a shoe repair man with bad shoes. Well, I feel like one. Maybe it's because I spend my days organising and cleaning clothes. When I get home, this is the last thing I feel like doing...

Anyway, all this to say that I can't keep up with the mess and wish I had more tricks and tips for a clean and peaceful organized house when you have a baby (this last part is important).

ETSY FINDS- just hatched

I'm very picky about the toys I buy to my daughter. To be honest, it's a selfish thought more than anything... I know, it sounds bad! But I can't picture our appartment looking like a day care. I want to keep a certain look, so I try to find toys that would match our style as well. It doesnt have to be boring for Billie. The truth is i'm not a big plastic fan. Here, I said it. I love wood toys. It has this organic look that appears to my eyes. On ETSY you can find tones of beautiful handmade wood toys.

One shop that produce them is JUST HATCHED.

I'm really looking to buy this love heart puzzle. I find the color beautiful and it would be a fun & easy puzzle to make with Billie. 

Billie in Cuba

I think Billie had an amazing time in CUBA. She spent all her days with her cousins Frédérique, Emmanuelle, Lohan & Nellie, she swam and had naps with the sound of the ocean, played in the sand (and ate a bit of it as well) and when she was strong enough to stay awake, she sometimes stayed up late and enjoyed the cuban night life. 

 This is when we left Montreal, waiting for the airplane. Billie enjoyed walking around holding herself on all the seats. She can't stay still... Good thing she walked a lot before sitting for hours in the airplane.

 Airplane napper. She found her comfy spot on maman and papa's laps. She slept almost all the flight. A dream!

 We brought many kind of hats for the beach. The sun is so strong there and it's very windy. She has light hair and wanted to make sure her soft fragile skin was protected all the time.

Thank god for our BUGABOO BEE. The resort was almost the size of a city. We used it more than we ever used a stroller since we had Billie. Good thing that it's light and easy to carry everywhere. It was also Billie's bed for napping by the ocean and her chair for eating at the restaurant.

 Billie had the chance to experiment the joy of playing in the sand. She ate a little bit of it but hard to stop her when it's everyhwere on her and around her! 

This little scarf from ZARA has been SO useful and very popular at the resort. People were stopping me to ask where I bought it. It was perfect to cover her ears of the very strong wind and protect her hair of the sun. We played with it a lot, trying different ways to put it on her head. A must have for sure if you are going to the beach with your little one.

This is how Billie end up all of her nights in Cuba- EXHAUSTED. So many new smells and new things to look at.

I really enjoy travelling with her. This wasn't our first trip with her. She is so easy to carry around and she adapts to everything very fast. She sleeps everywhere in all condition which makes it easy for us.

We are soon leaving again but this time to meet Jonas' family in CORSICA. Can't wait to be on the go again with Billie and all the family!

We also ♥ music- Veo Veo

This turned out to be the song of our trip to Cuba...

Travelling with kids and babies bring back different memories :)

And we're back!!

A little bit happy, a little bit sad to be back in our home, in our routine. We had so much fun with my whole family in this cubain world. 

We got spoiled with amazing weather, beautiful sea, lots of food and drinks and mostly lots of good quality time with my parents, brother, sister in law, nieces, cousins, etc. 

Now it's time to enjoy our life here in Montreal. It's nice to be back home. Going away makes you appreciate what you left behind... So, Billie, Jonas and I are back and we have tones of post coming up for you!!

Thanks Maman & Papa for this amazing trip! It will be in our memories forever...

Away

Billie, Jonas and I will be back in a week.

We are leaving today for a family vacation in CUBA.

More post when we get back!

Adios!

IKEA best finds

IKEA has its goods and its bads. We bought few things that we found very useful since Billie was born and I thought I could share our finds with you.

BARNSLIG RÄV Musical soft toy 

This soft toys makes music by pulling its tail. Billie mostly loved it her first 3 months. It's very colorful and the music is low so it's good for baby's sensitive ears. I still put her to bed with it. The music is very calming and doesn't last too long. It's a very good toy because it stimulates a baby's sight, hearing and sense of touch. 

LEKKA baby gym

Did you know that reaching out for toys stimulates a baby's development of hand-eye coordination? Well, this one is perfect for it. Plus, I really like its simple wood design. We just put this one to storage but, up until Billie was 8 months, she played with it every day. She used it different ways, depending of her age and development stage.

EKORRE toddle truck 

When walking by themself, a child develops motor skills and balance. Billie is not even 10 months and she almost walks. I can't say that it's because of this truck but it helped for sure. She love this toy. She could walk with it all day long if it would be so stressful and painful for ou our backs. It was my husband's idea to buy this one and oh my, he got the best idea. You should see her face when she plays with it. 

She doesn't only walk with the truck, here's what we found we could do with it that Billie also loves: 

EKORRE rocking moose

Rocking helps develop a child's sense of balance and the brain to sort sensory impressions. This one is still just a decoration in Billie's room but every kids who has come to visit us since we bought it, went crazy for it. It also looks very nice, all in wood with its bright red color.

What's your IKEA best finds for babies?