First day of school already!

So once again it has been a little while since posting, but I have filled the past 2 weeks with enjoying every last moment of holiday time with my family and relishing in not having a schedule for either myself or Ewan! We also had a wonderful last day of summer celebration dinner out at the Keg - always phenomenal food. As a side note, it was also the first time we brought Ewan and I was blown away with what a great 'family' restaurant it is. For $9.97 Ewan had a drink, a plate of strawberries, carrots, celery and dip as a starter, followed by a full chicken breast and mashed potatoes (actual real food for children is always a bonus as opposed to pizza or grilled cheese), and ice cream for dessert! Anyway, it was a great end to a wonderful summer.

I have also been taking some time to prep for Nursery School and Music and Gym classes - which I am always very excited to bring in new ideas each year, hosting a 'Meet the Teacher Night' and knocking some things off my 'to-do' list at A Gym Tale. The Meet the Teacher night was wonderful and we had such a fantastic turn out, it is really nice to see so many families so excited for their little ones and so ready to get involved in their learning!

And today we had the first day of school (for some children - we are doing 3 first days of school so that all the children start with only about 10 children in the class as opposed to 24). And I have to say it was one of our most successful first days! We did not have any children come in crying and only 2 moments of slight teariness when children realized half way through that mom had left. Now at this age it is many of the children's first time leaving mom and dad and so some adjustment and tears are expected - it is a big transition for both children AND parents. Myself, Miss Linds and Miss Megan are prepared to ease the children in as gently as possible and usually once we get them in they are distracted by the many activities, the ball pit or the trampoline. But we all had to admit what a nice 'first day back' it was for us with no tears! We are all very much looking forward to meeting all the other students this Friday and on Monday.

Well it is 9:55pm and I am falling asleep at the computer - going from no routine to waking up at 5:30am  is going to do me in. I will be lucky if I make it to Saturday. It is shocking how quickly my bedtime has changed from midnight and 1am to 10pm!!! Now if only Ewan would sleep in past 5:30am - the child has a sixth sense and wakes up within five minutes of me being awake! Any advice would be appreciated!

Summer Fun!

It is only the second week of summer and it has been absolutely wonderful so far!

Last Monday was my first official day of summer and we started the week off by taking a family day trip to Calypso Waterpark! If you have not been to Calypso yet, it really is a phenomenal day out. Although the entrance fee is very steep, it is a full day of fun and in my opinion is comparable to any large amusement park. You are encouraged to bring your own picnic lunch and there are more than enough picnic tables in a shaded location. There are tons of sides for the older kids and tons of fun for the younger ones - Ewan had a great time last year at 16 months and an even better time this year at 2 years being able to go on all the little slides. It was a great day to start out our summer.

 Later in the week I also set up a science table outside and tried a few messy experiments with Ewan. Ewan is now in the stage where he must do absolutely everything by himself and so I set all the ingredients up in a way that he can manipulate them. For example squirt bottles with the colored water and vinegar, little scoops for the baking soda and corn starch and lots of spoons and bowls for mixing and pouring. As difficult as it was to not direct him, I was able to just let him go on mixing trying different things and he lasted for over an hour just mixing and pouring! We experimented with volcanoes using baking soda, colored water and vinegar and then making magic mud with corn starch and the colored water. And afterwards I just hosed Ewan down. It was a great messy afternoon! For more messy and creative play ideas visit 'Play at Home Mom' blog http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/. It is a wonderful blog emphasizing all sorts of indoor and outdoor play activities.

I also have to highlight that we are so thankful that the water ban has been lifted. Almost every day before dinner I have the sprinkler on and Ewan will run around the yard for at least an hour. It gives me time to prep dinner and he cools down and my grass and gardens are finally starting to turn green and bloom!

This week we have some playdates lined up and a trip to Toronto to visit some family, Wonderland and the Zoo!

Ice cream and watermelon days...

The last few weeks have brought beautiful weather and I have been trying to take advantage of every free moment and spend my time outside. Although if is doesn't rain soon - and a lot - my backyard paradise is going to be dried up and brown!

Ewan is absolutely loving spending so much time outdoors - especially with the abundance of watermelon and mini ice cream cones that I continually bring out to him! But how can you not with such an adorable little face!

This is the last week of play classes and although it is hard saying goodbye to everyone over the summer holidays, I am very much looking forward to spending more ice cream and watermelon days together with my little man!

Summer Vacation!

To kick the summer off, Alan, Ewan, my dad and I flew off to Disney World to enjoy a week away. Although it was super hot - the heat wave we are having now is nothing compared to Florida heat - we all had a really wonderful week. We went to each of the parks, and enjoyed Magic Kingdom the most. We also took advantage of the 'baby swap' pass and made sure that we went on every ride at each of the park's. We chose one of the food plans and enjoyed some great food  - ranging from African meals, buffets to all American classics, as well as some great entertainment at the character dining events in which we met the Disney Playhouse gang and Winnie the Pooh and friends. Ewan loved Winnie the Pooh and Tigger best!

Although keeping busy at the parks, we did take some down time at the resort, the Animal Kingdom Lodge to relax by the beautiful pool or to look at the animals (zebras, giraffe's, flamingo's - all on the resort right outside your balcony!)

Unfortunately, Ewan was not walking by our trip - but we had a great time all the same. It was just a really great work out getting around all of the parks with him! However, he is so very close now, he has taken up to 12 steps and he is so proud of himself! But it is so difficult to see him falling so much, I know I have to let him take risks and practice, but the poor boy has so many bruises from all of his walking attempts!

Now that summer is underway for Ewan and I - we are looking for things to do to keep busy. The local park is a favourite spot - but after going to the park almost each day last week - we (and by we, I mean me) are getting a little bored! What kind's of activities have you found around the city to keep a 14 month old busy - besides A Gym Tale play classes which are on a summer hiatus! Any suggestions would be great!

Dirt...and lots of it!

So I have decided to go ahead and make gardening my new hobby. After reading plenty of books and background info, I planned out 6 garden beds around the house, deck and yard and ordered the dirt from the depot. This is what I came home to on Friday:

Since Friday I have been working at A Gym Tale or digging in dirt. So far I have one bed completed and 3 more ready for planting. I am very happy with how the first garden turned out, which has given me some more motivation to finish the others - not to mention all of the plants sitting in my garage! Alan and I are so sick of digging in dirt and the last garden left is going to be the most difficult to prepare.

Now once all of these gardens are complete I am afraid of all the maintenance needed! The books don't really go into the maintenance aspect of gardening, they all make it seem like you just pick the odd week out as you stroll through the gardens and admire your work. Except one book that went into great detail about bugs and pests - but the pictures were pretty scary (I have a phobia of bugs), so I have chosen not to read into this topic further and just hope that I never come face to face with one of the monsters! But so many people have now said that gardens are very high maintenance. Have I gotten myself in over my head?

Other news, Ewan stood on his own twice today! He has not taken to crawling any more and is still very upset any time he is forced to, but there is now hope that he may walk some day or at least want to be mobile some time in the near future.

Also, with the beautiful weather that we have been having it really feels like summer is here. Which got me thinking about how fast this past year has gone by. There are only 3 weeks remaining of Play classes and 4 more weeks of Nursery School. This is a very bitter sweet time of year; it is nice that I have more or less the summer off of work, but at the same time I have been seeing and getting to know so many families once a week or more for the past 10 months! It is always kind of a sad time of year. I typically see many of the families the following Fall season, but lots of the children are also moving on to Kindergarden and so we see them much less frequently. Also, getting to know all of the families is my social time as well - and now with a baby it is also my adult time. What I am getting at is that I will miss seeing all of you that I have to come to known over the past year!

March Break camps - good times!

Today, the March Break camps have come to an end. After going on Space, Superhero, Princess & Knight, Pirate, Dinosaur, and Pop Star adventures, completing obstacle courses & crafts, as well as having a St. Patty's day party, it's back to the old routine on Monday. The week was very successful - both with the number of children attending the camps as well as simply having a great group of children to play with all day. We were lucky to have many 'old' faces returning as well as meeting many new friends this week. While it will be nice to get back to the regular schedule, we are very much looking forward to summer camps - which are now only 3 months away!