T is for Truck

We have had the good fortune of seeing (on more than one occasion)  a total of 3, yes THREE cement mixers busy at work on Pacific Avenue. The kids always stare at the trucks and the workers in awe. I still remember a couple of years ago, mentioning to a construction worker that the kids thought of them as gods. The man turned to the kids in the wagon and said, "Stay in school kids. It's not as fun as it looks." No kidding! I don't envy them, working out there for such long hours on the coldest and hottest days of the year!

B. came out of school the other week with a paper Chinese lantern he had made in class. Noah was envious and begged to make one at home. B. gave us the general instructions. It was super easy! Here they are proudly showing off their work. (B. made a new one after someone sat on his original.)

We got the dress-up bin out one day. Oscar enjoyed trying on the backpacks, and then we switched the bag to the front so he could wear a baby carrier. He thought it was pretty cool that he was carrying his baby the same way I carry "La-la". 

Thomas is always donning our firefighter hat, but he found a firefighter jacket to go with it, in the dress-up bin. How adorable is he?!

Noah was king for a day - oh who am I kidding?! Noah is king EVERY day! 

On the March Break, we had the flexibility to do some different things. One day we went to Chapters book store in Bloor West Village, where they have a huge Thomas the Tank Engine train table. The kids also had fun looking at books and playing with other toys in the store. Oscar especially loved riding the plasma car down the ramp again and again. When it was time to give someone else a turn with the ride-on toy, he still enjoyed running up and down the ramp. We stopped for a little treat at Tim Hortons on our way home (a great incentive to finally leave the book store). 

Another adventure we had on the March Break was going to the High Park Zoo. On our way we encountered gigantic snowflakes. It was the best part of the trip, in my opinion! The other day I had been reciting "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" when we were trudging through the mud. This time we did the part about the snowstorm. B. kept asking me to say it again and again. Here are a couple of our little adventurers. If you're wondering where Thomas is, he is actually enjoying quite different weather, in a warmer climate, just for the March Break. 

The zoo was surprisingly not busy, considering it was the March Break. The kids enjoyed seeing the animals, and Noah is a lot braver than he was the last time I remember taking him.

Oscar enjoyed his view from the wagon.

When we got to the Llamas, there was an employee of the zoo feeding them through the fence. He let both B. and Noah feed them peanuts and carrots. The boys were excited to help out!

It didn't take long for the worker to pick up on Oscar's affinity for trucks (Oscar makes this quite clear wherever he goes). He proceeded to dig out a pile of photos and found a picture of the zoo tractor to give to Oscar. He asked B. and Noah what their favourite zoo animals were. B. said "bison" and Noah said "Wallaby", and the man gave them each a picture of their choice. This man really made their day. Apparently Oscar's parents had to post the picture of the tractor up in his crib, he just loved it so much. Whatever gets you through the night, Osc!

Since we were one man down (no Thomas) and I had my help with me, we let the boys go on the castle playground (with my helper shadowing Oscar). I hadn't seen the playground since it had been rebuilt. Wow! It reminded me how great playgrounds used to be before they tore them all down and put in those generic, plastic structures. This playground was one of the few that was better - wooden ones are, in my opinion. But the new section is even better than the old one because there is much more space; it used to be very narrow and a bit of a hazard for the very little ones.

Another day we went to Lithuania Park. It was fun but frigid! And yet another day, which was not as cold, we were able to enjoy one of the other playgrounds in High Park.

It was Leila's first time on the swings. I think she liked it!

Oscar kept going down one of the big slides. He'd get to the bottom, and then say "'gain!" (Again)

Here's to hoping things warm up with Spring officially arriving next week!