Despite the fact that I can barely move anymore, I decided to throw a little Easter party. I don’t consider Easter a major holiday of any kind, but it was a fun opportunity to get a little crafty. I love organizing parties of any kind!
Aiden was the perfect age this year to appreciate the fun of an Easter egg hunt. I didn’t really play up the ‘Easter bunny’ aspect, as I could care less about whether he buys into this particular mythology or not (and yet I’m sensitive about Santa?), but instead focused on making the day fun.
We made some coloured eggs the day before (BTW, the dye is not super toddler friendly), as well as some cupcakes, and on Easter we laid out various chocolates and some little toddler-friendly surprises in the courtyard. I don’t really see the point of presents on Easter (where the heck did that come from?), but I wanted some non-chocolate goodies, so we put out bubbles as well as big eggs with stickers and whistles and animals that grow from pellets. The toddlers just wanted the chocolates, of course.
While Easter did create a few moments of tension (I want a cupcake! More chocolate!), it was well worth it. Aiden loved the Easter egg hunt and has continued to be sad that we can’t do it again. Sometimes we hide things around the house now just so he can ‘hunt’ for them.
I think Aiden’s really going to get into scavenger hunts this summer!!
Aiden is learning how to ride a scooter. One of the neighbourhood kids gave him her old three-wheeled scooter last week, so he’s been out with the lot of them trying to scoot around. He understands the concept of pushing with one foot, but doesn’t get very far very quickly yet.
Thankfully, the kids seem more than excited to help him, so I’m not always the one leaning over to keep him steady!
There are 5 neighbourhood kids that Aiden plays with in our back alley. Because our alley is one-way, it’s fairly quiet and the lane offers ample space to play on bikes, scooters or with water toys. The kids are out there every day, particularly in the afternoons before or after dinner.
I used to feel bad when Aiden wanted to play with them, since I didn’t think they’d want to be interrupted to play with a little guy, but as he’s gotten older they’ve seemed to become quite fond of his company. Aiden is definitely going to miss them when they all return to school this Fall!
Although I’ve reviewed Cates Park for its playground, and Little Cates as well, I’ve not talked about the beach. Since it took Aiden so long to get over his dislike of being “dirty”, we only started taking him to the beach this summer. And the days of sun have been few and far between until lately!
Rarely brave enough to sit in traffic for some of the sandier beaches, we’ve stayed close to home. Cates Park beach is one such beach, which we’ve been to on our own and with a bunch of the other wonderful families we know. Both times we went the days were overcast, so we didn’t swim in the ocean, but rather looked for shells and crabs under the rocks, played in the sand, and threw rocks into the water. What more could a toddler want?
Access to the beach is easy from the park and there is at least some sand to play in. The waves are more gentle here than at Ambleside, though the view is not so nice as Deep Cove, as far as North Vancouver beach comparisons go.
We have spent a lot of time in the past year with Michelle and her son Cole, who is about 6 weeks younger than Aiden. We met them at Gymboree class and became fast friends. The boys have always been very close, developmentally, and Michelle loves going out as much as we do! I think I can credit Michelle with help keeping me sane through the dreary Spring, though my sanity is another story.
Our two boys are growing up too quickly. Perhaps Coley a little faster than my little Aiden ;)
When I was digging through my Flickr stream to find all the park photos for my reviews, I came across these two gems of our matching boys. So adorable.
