Keeping Busy and Having Fun!

Fall is here in full force and even though we are sad that Summer is over we are taking Fall head on! September has always felt somewhat of a New Year and fresh start for me. Back to a routine with scheduled activities and classes, my business really picks back up, we start looking at the year ahead for travel plans and commitments, etc.

With a new fabulous nanny three days a week who likes to take the children to activities and with our regular scheduled activities on the other days we definitely needed a calendar this September to keep track of where we are going and when!

Here are some of the fun activities that Dominic is participating in throughout the Ottawa area……

1. Ontario Early Years Family Literacy Centre
This is a wonderful place that Dominic has been enjoying as part of his every Monday morning routine. They go to the one at Cambridge school. Set up like a preschool or kindergarten classroom children are welcome to go around to various stations or free play. For ages 0-5 and available 9-2 Monday to Friday it is enjoyed by many.

Swim lessons- With numerous swim lesson options with the City of Ottawa and Gatineau we decided to take part in both for twice the fun! Monday’s evenings Dom participates in a low ratio swim class. With only 3 children and one fab teacher it has been well worth the extra money!  Thursday mornings he also participates in a parent and tot swim class with our wonderful caregiver. The class is en francais and he has tons of fun.  Because Gatineau programs are soooo cheap (well in comparison to what we are used to paying in the past for other programs) we have also noticed that classes fill up very very fast. We were lucky to get in to a class!

Making Music Together – Tuesday mornings at the Old Town Hall is a popular spot for children ages 0-4. With the first class filling up they quickly added a second due to the demand.  Dominic enjoys play with instruments, exploring music and singing in songs.  According to our caregiver he also enjoys playing with the other children and sometimes flirting a little bit with another little girl!

Monkey Rock– Wednesday mornings the kids and I head over to Monkey Rock in the Glebe for 45 minutes of singing, dancing, moving, drumming, shaking and more!  Their are smiles on the kids faces the entire time and even little Bella really enjoys the class. This is a fantastic class for children of all ages.

Gatineau Library- The Gatineau Library offers a fantastic program for toddlers that Dominic has been enjoying for almost a year now. They enjoy 30 minutes of story time, a craft that connects to the story and then some songs and an activity. He always comes home with a wonderful craft, an extra colouring sheet to do with the story and excited about the stickers he has received.

Gymnastics– Jumping today mommy? Time for gymnastics? This is quite often a question heard in our home as we love the program at the Ottawa Gymnastics Club.  I have taken children to various gymnastics programs and centres and the one at the Ottawa Gymnastics Club in Westboro has been the best. Structured so the children are learning new skills while still having fun.

Soccer- who wouldn’t want to run around in a room with 2 year olds and a hundred soccer balls being kicked around?! ha!  This 45 minute program is held at an outdoor park on nice fall days and inside a community centre if the weather is not cooperating.  For under $40 this has been a program enjoyed by the whole family as its time for Dominic to socialize with other children, be active and have fun as we participate together.

We are already looking at Winter registrations (gah! Already….I know!!) and are excited for some new programs.  So what programs do you enjoy with your little ones?

ARRRR

Lately in my house life is about pirates.  Playing with pirate playmobil, watching Jake and the Never Land Pirates on Disney Jr and imaginary play with pirates (who somehow always end up driving some truck through the sand).

So of course there was much excitement when Little Tikes sent us this wonderful Little Tikes Play and Scoot Pirate Ship.

We received the delivery after a long day of playing, swimming and eating dinner out but when Dominic saw the picture on the box waiting on the front step there was no way we were going straight to bed. “Pirate mommy, play mommy, pirate!”

The box was ripped open in 2 seconds. Okay well about 5 minutes as it was packaged well and I had a 2 year old jumping all excited, a 2 month old wanting to be fed and just go to bed and me with a pair of scissor jabbing through packing tape. Daddy was driving in his own car since we had two vehicles at dinner. His car is without air conditioning but sometimes I think about trading my air conditioning for being able to play my music as loud as I want or having extreme quiet while I drive without 2 littles in the back! and…..I have gotten off track of this posts topic 😉

The pirate ship was assembled with little hands eagerly “helping” and there were many shrieks of excitement.  Luckily it did not take long for daddy to put together.

Dominic immediately was intrigued that he could actually ride on it.  On he got and away he went! To the kitchen to get his nightime bottle! He was quite creative and found a nice little holder for his bottle on the front of the ship.

This pirate ship has been a toy of interest since it came through our front door.  With the seat of the ship lifting up and allowing for some storage of small toys underneath it I am continually finding new things that have been hidden inside. It continues to amaze me how kids can put something somewhere and a week later go right back and remember where they had “hidden” it.

I am also a big fan of toys that “grow” with the child.  Baby girl, 6 months, is already enjoying leaning against it as she learns to stand.  I can see her sitting on it in another 4-5 months and her big brother pushing her around!

Disclaimer: The Play n Scoot Pirate Ship was sent to me. I did not purchase the product. I was not compensated in any other manner for this review and post and all opinions are my own!

Portable DVD Players = Sanity for Long Car Rides

So we took our first long car ride as a family. It was 6 hours. I know for some of you that is not long but for my family, especially me who (even though I love the earth and protecting it) much prefers to fly!  Ha, and we want to maybe drive to Florida with TWO kids 😉

We stocked the car with cheerios, bagels, water bottles and movies and we were off! Hubby had bought a portable dvd player a few days before our trip and it definitely was well worth its price!  As baby boy was still in a rear facing car seat for this trip we (well the hubby) came up with a solution to tie the dvd player to the head rest of the chair so baby boy could still see it but not play with all the buttons.

The contentment on his face as he watched Cars was perfect. It made the drive a lot smoother and he also had a nice little nap and we only stopped one time each way.

Absolute best part of the moving watching in the car? Listening to baby boy giggle at various points of the movie.  Hubby & I looked at each other and asked if the laughing was actually coming from our son in the back.  Of course we had heard him laugh numerous times when we play and goof around but had never heard him laugh while watching tv or a movie.  The giggling then was followed up by fighting type noises as he mimicked the Cars movie for one of the scenes.

Watching our child grow up and learn new things everyday is absolutely amazing. We are so blessed to have him in our life!

So, what are some of your sanity saving tips while taking long drives?  I want to know because, yes, we are seriously considering a drive to Florida in Winter 2013.  Unfortunately there will be no warm beaches for us this winter as baby #2 is due in March.

Another Day, Another Big Boy Accomplishment!

As baby #2 is on the way we knew we definitely were not going to be purchasing another crib. Baby boy didn’t even make an attempt to sleep in his until at least 6 months and was not in his crib “consistently” until well over a year. I say “consistently” lightly as what I mean is he would go to sleep in his crib around 7p.m. and by 10p.m. one of us was sleeping on his floor with him in his room until morning so we could snuggle and baby boy could be in comfort. We know that with this next baby we will not be using a crib for quite some time and I thought we would work on making the transition of baby boy from his crib to a bed later on.

Hubby was keen on trying it out and I finally agreed that we could put the queen size mattress on his floor and give it a try. We already knew that baby boy slept better on the larger mattress and would wake up less during the night. I was concerned over how he would go to sleep and how long it may take for him to go to sleep at night.

 

Well, it has just been over a week and we have already disassembled the crib because we have had great success with this transition! Baby boy goes down around 7p.m at night. Usually hubby lays with him for a while and leaves once they get their snuggles in.  Baby boy sometimes rolls around and plays a little in his bed and goes to sleep!!  Yes, he has ventured out of bed and played a bit in his room (we have secured all his dressers and bookshelves to the wall) and today when it was the start of nap we even heard a little knock on his door as he was kindly getting our attention 😉

He is still getting up usually once a night, the odd time we will get a sleep through until 5:30/6, and hubby goes in to give him cuddles and sometimes some warm milk.  Usually he is right back asleep and some mornings has even been sleeping until 6:30!!

I am so proud of my little boy!  Sniff, sniff…he is growing up though 😦

Have you made the transition to a bed with your children? How did it go?  Thinking of making the transition soon?

 

Moving & Grooving

Wow, how our little man has changed over the past year!  From a little babe who depended on you for warmth, food, comfort and to go to sleep and now a little toddler who can say words, make specific noises on purpose, walk, get into mischief and knows exactly how to make you smile or laugh!

Mornings are a blast with his smiles and playful self.  Watching him lick almond butter off of toast before chewing it with his 6 little teeth is a joy.  Then spreading the almond butter all over the table making art as he is creative.  Daycare drop off is easy peasy these days with all the friends he has made and the wonderful staff there.  He has learned so much already from being within the french environment!  To see his eyes light up when a squirrel runs by, a bird flies into the backyard or a big truck drives down the road is amazing!

His curiosity for what is out there in the world continues to grow each day.  The world is his to explore!