Trendy Tuesday v9

(on Wednesday)

Mmmmkay,
so it's wednesday, not tuesday.
What can i say?!?  Call it a total blogger fail, call it a day that got away.
Call it what you want, whatevs, i can take it.
We'll just pretend it's still tuesday, and we'll make it trendy....

Inspired by our recent trip out west as well as the upcoming Stampede in Calgary
(which i totally LOVE and miss):

Oh yes, i did.
Do you think he'll hate me when he grows up and sees this?

Maybe i just won't show him...

Maybe we'll take a poll on that....
check the side bar to vote on this super pressing issue later today : )

Let it Grow

Dear summer,

now that you are officially here we can finally break out our summer to-do list:

bbq, drink lemonade, roast marshmallows, watch satellites, blow bubbles, go camping, wakeboard, watch for whales, beach it, eat outside, string lanterns, swat bugs, swim, go on road trips, lay in the grass, sniff flowers, wear flip flops and shorts and tanks, drive with the windows down, breathe deep, feel free, tan, spit watermelon seeds, watch sunsets, go island hopping, smell like coconuts, shell hunt, dip toes in the ocean, eat ice cream, visit friends, have bonfires, play washers, spend all day outside, 

garden, shoot fireworks, walk further, play harder, sleep better, dream bigger,

and watch things grow.....

Please tell your friend Spring that it sucked and it can take its rain and shove it.

Oh wait, Jake's already called....

( Can you believe this kid is seven months old already? )

Button Up

As my little blog approaches it's one year anniversary,

I am astounded with how much it's grown, and how much i have grown along with it.

From our humble roots with only a few friends and family reading along to share 

our journey of building a huge addition to make room for our littlest addition,

to the hundred or so(!) of you who come here on a daily basis to watch our rockin' little family grow,

we have certainly come a long way!

So what started out as a small personal venture into the wonderful blogosphere

has turned into something that i could have never predicted.

I only really went public in February 2011, once i got a handle on this whole mommying business.

Since then we have watched as each month more and more of you showed up to witness our adventures,

and are totally stoked that all of you are here!

Seeing as we are experiencing such a rise in readership (over 2300 views already this month!), 

I decided for the rest of the summer to try to do a FREE sponsor swap!

 I'll display your button for your blog, etsy shop, or whatever site you wish to promote

and you display my button on your sidebar!

I will also do a feature post of all my sponsors mid month, to get you lots of exposure

and show my readers what you're all about.

Nothing too fancy, let's just try to get out there some more!

Yup, totally free.  July and August.

That's just how i roll.

So contact me if you are interested, and we'll get things lined up for July. 

Oh, and I'm only offering a limited amount of spots, so hurry up!

gillybeano@eastlink.ca

Rock on my dear readers, rock on.

I'll be back later today!

Photo of the Week

Week #21

For some reason i love the composition of the first one,
but Dr. Nails chose the second one because you can see his face and more of his
awesome muscle shirt.

I can't decide, so you get both.  For now.  I might change my mind later...

Linking up to Little Somethings photo challenge

Five For Friday

Cue Julie Andrews, 

I've had that 'favorite things' song in my head all flipping day...

Well, around here you might not find raindrops, roses, or kittens,

but pretty much at any given moment you will find the Little in various stages of play.

"Any given moment?" you might question my phrasing, but i would not lie to you dear friends.

This kid rarely. ever. stops. 

And somedays (like today) naptime cannot come soon enough.

But at last, it is finally here.

oh happy times....

So without further ado: These are just a few of the Little bit's favorite things:

Bathtime is total happytime

Tuck the Truck is his fav peek-abo friend

playing? eating? you decide.  whatever it is he really likes it.

'Moosh' his snuggy monkey banket

And his absolute fav - hanging out with his mom

Oh the fun we have!

And just 'cause it's friday, my favorite shot of the sunset over the bay last night:

(courtesy of Dr. Nails)

Happy Friday!

Color My World

The miracle of paint blows my mind, every time.

And every time I paint I wonder why I didn't do it sooner, like seriously.

Note: I use the term 'i' loosely.  Let's just say my on-site-supervisory skills are still sharp.

Because that red was like, so two years ago.

(actually, I painted it that color two years ago before I even lived here. 

The entire house was BEIGE before, so any color was an improvement in my books, 

but hey, that's just me...)

So, with a shake of my magic wand and Dr. Nails' super-duper painting skills, viola!

And now I have a brand new (to-me) kitchen. 

New-to-me applies to kitchens as well as cars, right?  Yes, i think so.

Now if it would only stay that clean, cause I'm telling you it doesn't look like the picture right now...

I Moo for You

This is as trendy as we got this tuesday:

It's too nice to be sitting around in here getting all dressed up when there's not even any place to go!

we're going outside to play, you should too : ) 

A Wonderful Weekend it Was

A birthday and fathers day all in one!

I told Dr. Nails he could look at it one of two ways:

either feel totally ripped off because your holidays aren't spread out (which always sucks),

or embrace it as an extra special day and totally live in the now.

Naturally, he chose the second option : )

Somebody asked him yesterday why he didn't have kids when he was younger.

Cue the aaawwwws:  He answered "because i hadn't met Gill."  

He is truly an amazing dad and husband (to-be), and we are so lucky to have him forever.

xo

.............................................................

And much love to my own Dad,

who compels me to strive for more in my life everyday

and who made me into the positive person i am.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

............................................................

Linking up with Paper Heart Camera for 'Parenthood' : )

Photo of the Week

Week #20

aw yeah

Favorite Friday

Just in case you haven't noticed yet,

I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY.

lovelovelove

It's what i want to spend all my time on.  It's what i want to be when i grow up.

It's part of who i am.  It's quite simply my thing.

I have been fortunate enough to do numerous photo shoots, 

and am so looking forward to doing more!

When we were out west I had the honour and pleasure of shooting Justin & Kathy's Wedding

( You can see the photos HERE! )

It was such a beautiful day; 

the bride was stunning, the groom handsome, and the sun shone bright.

And i was so lucky to share it with them.

Thanks guys!

As you can so obviously see, photography is seriously my favorite.

And not just on friday :)

(interested in doing a photo shoot? Let me know! I'd seriously love to)

Happy Friday!

Artsy is NOT Fartsy v4

I don't sew. It's generally not very good for my blood pressure.
I haven't sewn much since home-ec class in junior high, mainly due to the temper tantrums and crying fits.

So why the hell i decided to make an ipad cover is completely beyond me.

Dr. Nails was saying how we needed a cover before we went away, to protect the precious toy,

and it was almost a conditioned response: I can totally MAKE that.

'Cause you see, i suffer from a condition called makeitis, 

it's where you feel strangely compelled to make stuff instead of buying the perfectly 

super cute one you saw on etsy for only $24.95.
Because really, I can TOTALLY make that, for way cheaper...

And dammit, I TOTALLY DID.
And it cost me like $2.00 or something ridiculous like that, just for the felt.
Okay okay, so it's not really perfect, and it took me a really long time to make it.
( have i mentioned that i don't sew? )
But it does the job, isn't too girly for the good Dr, and i didn't even cry once : )

in your face etsy

Trendy Tuesday v8

The Onsie Edition:

Clockwise from top left:  pure jakie, carters, old navy, carters

At first i called this onsies-r-us

but then decided that onsie-o-saurus was awesomer.

Oh I love him so....

Things We Learned

I guess you could say we had an educational weekend.

Here are some of the new things we learned over the past few days....

- We grow rocks. lots and lots of rocks. 

if rocks were good for anything, we'd be rich.  and not just a little bit rich, really really rich.

- The little can now pull himself up on things.

Don't get excited, it's not like he's going to be a walking prodigy or anything dramatic like that,

we just had to lower his playpen so he wouldn't heave himself over the edge.

But it was an important lesson to learn, as i would never have guessed he could do it.

- When making waffles, do not clip the waffle maker shut.

It prevents those (normally) delicious, fluffy and crispy squares of breakfastness from rising.

But then I learned that if you put enough butter and syrup on anything it's gunna to taste good.

- The earlier the little goes to bed the earlier he wakes up.  dammit.

-  Farmers markets are over early.

When it takes you hours to get ready and out the door with a little one, 

it's a good idea to put him to bed early the night before, give yourself a fighting chance.

- The Hannah Dog's drool is slippery. ew.

- Haricots Verts are really just green beans.

Okay, so I knew this, but did you know they tasted yummy with rice cereal and formula?

Betcha didn't.

He is 18lbs 10 ounces (normal) & 28 inches long
(which is tall. or long.  oh whatever, it's good and he rocks)

Hope y'all had a good weekend!

Photo of the Week

Week #19

Thanks so much for your votes!

Favorite Friday

Today i'm taking you to one of my favorite childhood places.

When I was 5 or 6 my parents started building a log cabin just outside a little town called 'Water Valley'.

It's about an hour's drive northwest of Calgary, in the foothills of the Rockies.

I spent much of my childhood breezing through the forrest, building tree houses, catching frogs and floating down the river in life jackets or inner tubes ( whichever we could find first. )

It was is the bomb.

Soooo Pretty!

The Liquor store and the Saloon (neither of which i have ever been to of course)

There's still an old-fashioned general store.

Tons of stuff in an antique/junk store called 'Feeling Used' in a nearby town.

The coolest tub in the hills!

(This photo was b.b. - before babe, hence the lack of cuteness...)

In short, it is one of the coolest places around,

and i love the fact that i grew up out there with the beavers and the frogs and the horses.

I'll always remember those starry starry nights roasting the perfect marshmallow

and spotting satellites with my mom and dad.

It's totally my happy place.

It's Friday!  Now go find your happy place...

It's a reset day on the top baby blogs, please vote for us today to keep us in the top 100!!!  

Thanks so much for all your votes, you guys rock our socks! xo

Guest Post: Suzanne Covey!

While I was away I asked my lovely and talented sister-in -law to do a guest post for me.

I have been trying to convince her to start her own blog,

and am hoping this might convince her to finally take the plunge...

Salut!

For those of you who don't know me, I'm the Auntie!

Auntie Sue, Auntie Suz, Auntie Suzanne; we, well, Jake hasn't decided yet.

This makes me the sister of Dr. Nails (lucky me or lucky him?)

While Dr. Nails and the majority of the Penkala-Covey clan are out west,

the boyfriend and I were asked to babysit our beloved niece, The Hannah Dog!

And I (lucky me) was asked by Gill to do a post here on Building Bumps!

You can imagine my excitement!Although I don't have a blog of my own, 

Gill thought I was interesting enough to be here,so thank goodness for Gill!

There really isn't much to know about me, I love my family, I love my boyfriend,

I love to be outdoors, I love to be crafty (especially for little nieces and nephews) I love to travel,

I love animals and I love to take photos of all of the above!

While I was trying to come up with an idea to blog about,  I thought to myself, what could be more relevant than the Hannah Dog!  So here you have it folks, a day in the life, of the dog we all love, Hannah!  8:30 am: Sleep in! Until the sound of breakfast hits the dish. Relax for the day. 4:30 pm: Short game of tug-o-war. 5 pm: Take myself for a walk. 5:10 pm: Auntie walks me. Then dinner! 　 6:30 pm: Hang out with friends. 　 She is definitely living the life.  Well it's been fun, maybe I'll see you all again out here in the blogging world! Less than a week until I get to smooch those cheeks!

Even though this didn't get up in time, it still rocks,

and it's always awesome to have a little help around here!

Thanks so much Suze!

Trendy Tuesday v7

We are finally home from our vacation out west,

and i assure you i have soooo many pictures and adventures to share with you,

as well as an amazing guest post that was supposed to air last week

that my shoddy computer skills screwed up.

For now though, i bring you another Trendy Tuesday

our first summer edition!

Top:  Oshkosh

Shorts:  Carters

Wifebeater ahem, muscle shirt:  H&M

Overalls:  Oshkosh

So on to my least favorite thing about vacations:

I'm off to unpack : ( 

Have a trendy day!