Cute Toddler Giggles
You can’t get any cuter than two toddlers laughing hysterically at themselves just by shaking their heads:
Aiden’s Scooting Around
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!
Cates Park Beach
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.
Aiden and Coley: Matching Buddies
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.
Aiden Knows His Friends
Aiden loves to play with his little friends, and as he gets older, it looks more like playing with rather than alongside his friends. He loves to talk about the people in his life – me, Ianiv, his grandmothers, his friends.
He knows the names of all of his closest friends, though he’s most hesitant with Elizabeth – sometimes he’ll say something that has 3 syllables, other times he makes a weird rowing-like sign that I’m assuming means Elizabeth in Aiden’s world. Zayden is also “Nee-na” right now, though it’s slowly morphing into a more accurate sound. Cole he can say perfectly.
Often when we’re in the car, Aiden asks about people, presumably to ask if we’re seeing them or just to know where they are. Anyway, that’s how our interactions go.
I think it’s wonderful for Aiden to have a set of close friends, even at this age. I can’t wait to see them all grow up together!