Logan walking up the stairs like a CHAMP!
Jas & Logan on our bike ride in Stanley Park!
Logan's "magic" trick
Chasing pigeons on Granville Island
Logan's taking over!
More Granville Island fun!
8 years ago
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Capilano Suspension Bridge!
One day on our trip, The Laubster's 3 ventured out to the Capilano suspension bridge! It's a must-see for tourists in Vancouver, and we were super excited to take our little climbing man with us on this day trip. Jas had come here on his solo trip to The 'Couv a few years ago, so we were excited to do it all together.
Logan did amazingly well here...he's been walking and clmibing like a champ (aka, 5 year old) since we arrived but we weren't sure how he'd do on a wobbly suspension bridge. We shouldn't have put even an ounce of worry in to it as Logan was a total rock star on everything.
The Capilano park has added a TreeHouse Adventure area beyond the suspension bridge which is pretty cool and totally reminds me of the planet Wookies live on in Star Wars (nerd alert). We all loved being there, and Logan did awesome. I think we honestly slowed him down and he would have preferred to Not have us with him! His independence kills us sometimes!
We have videos of Logan walking as well, but our internet connection isn't very fast so I'll do a post later (Maybe when we get home) of all of our videos :)
Logan did amazingly well here...he's been walking and clmibing like a champ (aka, 5 year old) since we arrived but we weren't sure how he'd do on a wobbly suspension bridge. We shouldn't have put even an ounce of worry in to it as Logan was a total rock star on everything.
The Capilano park has added a TreeHouse Adventure area beyond the suspension bridge which is pretty cool and totally reminds me of the planet Wookies live on in Star Wars (nerd alert). We all loved being there, and Logan did awesome. I think we honestly slowed him down and he would have preferred to Not have us with him! His independence kills us sometimes!
We have videos of Logan walking as well, but our internet connection isn't very fast so I'll do a post later (Maybe when we get home) of all of our videos :)
Teeth, Tantrums and Toddlers - oh MYYYYYY!
Wow. To say this last week has been challenging would be the understatement of the century. I'm sorry I haven't blogged much but both Jas and I have been exhausted, plus we had my Mom staying with us for a few days and now our good friend Huy is here through the weekend - so we've been a little preoccupied!
Aside from our fabulous visitors, we've had someone else stopping in that was an UNEXPECTED guest - his name is Teething Toddler and to be honest, he's not our favorite. Logan is currently cutting what seems like 1 million teeth which is making him a "wee-bit" cranky. And by wee-bit I mean insanely cranky. Our normally sweet, go-with-the-flow little love bug has turned into a screaming, punching, tantrum-throwing machine and Jas and I were at our wits end for a few days. Along with that lovely behavior, he also started the "MINE" phase - you know, that phase that (I assume) all toddlers go through where they claim EVERYTHING to be theirs by shouting "MINE!!!!" at the top of their lungs when they feel a possession being threatened. Everything includes power cords, cups, puzzle pieces, hair dryers, washcloths - E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. And when you try to explain to Logan that "no, that's not yours it's Mommy's" or "Yes, that's your fork, but we need Daddy to use it to feed you your dinner" all hell breaks loose and we are suddenly living in tantrumville. Add to THAT behavior, Logan's sudden irrational fear over anything that makes a noise and you have one dysfunctional household. We think the noise thing was being caused by his teething - 2 of the teeth he's getting are his fang teeth (Sorry, not sure the CORRECT term for those ones) which I've heard can cause some major discomfort in the ear area. There's a train that runs by our home each day, and every other day on our trip, Logan has loved it and asked to go outside so he could see it pass (And would get upset when he realized there was no 'boose!! (Caboose)) but suddenly, one day, as soon as he heard the whistle blow panic would run over his face, he would start shaking, screaming and crying and would scramble for higher ground. To be honest, it had Jas and I pretty freaked out for awhile because it was SO unlike him. Also any car that would go past (Which is basically happening CONSTANTLY) would freak him out - not as much as the train, but he would stop whatever he was doing, look around to make sure he was safe but still whimper and look concerned. I'm so glad my Mom was here during this because she was able to reason with us and help us figure out that it was more than likely just a phase which was even MORE likely caused by his teething. And it's true - after a few days, his teething seemed to settle down and his fear of noises did too. He seems to be 90% back to normal now, which is good for all of us. We have 1 week left of our vacation so we plan to get out as much as possible and see this amazing town!
Ok, now on to more updates about our trip!! stay tuned!!
Aside from our fabulous visitors, we've had someone else stopping in that was an UNEXPECTED guest - his name is Teething Toddler and to be honest, he's not our favorite. Logan is currently cutting what seems like 1 million teeth which is making him a "wee-bit" cranky. And by wee-bit I mean insanely cranky. Our normally sweet, go-with-the-flow little love bug has turned into a screaming, punching, tantrum-throwing machine and Jas and I were at our wits end for a few days. Along with that lovely behavior, he also started the "MINE" phase - you know, that phase that (I assume) all toddlers go through where they claim EVERYTHING to be theirs by shouting "MINE!!!!" at the top of their lungs when they feel a possession being threatened. Everything includes power cords, cups, puzzle pieces, hair dryers, washcloths - E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. And when you try to explain to Logan that "no, that's not yours it's Mommy's" or "Yes, that's your fork, but we need Daddy to use it to feed you your dinner" all hell breaks loose and we are suddenly living in tantrumville. Add to THAT behavior, Logan's sudden irrational fear over anything that makes a noise and you have one dysfunctional household. We think the noise thing was being caused by his teething - 2 of the teeth he's getting are his fang teeth (Sorry, not sure the CORRECT term for those ones) which I've heard can cause some major discomfort in the ear area. There's a train that runs by our home each day, and every other day on our trip, Logan has loved it and asked to go outside so he could see it pass (And would get upset when he realized there was no 'boose!! (Caboose)) but suddenly, one day, as soon as he heard the whistle blow panic would run over his face, he would start shaking, screaming and crying and would scramble for higher ground. To be honest, it had Jas and I pretty freaked out for awhile because it was SO unlike him. Also any car that would go past (Which is basically happening CONSTANTLY) would freak him out - not as much as the train, but he would stop whatever he was doing, look around to make sure he was safe but still whimper and look concerned. I'm so glad my Mom was here during this because she was able to reason with us and help us figure out that it was more than likely just a phase which was even MORE likely caused by his teething. And it's true - after a few days, his teething seemed to settle down and his fear of noises did too. He seems to be 90% back to normal now, which is good for all of us. We have 1 week left of our vacation so we plan to get out as much as possible and see this amazing town!
Ok, now on to more updates about our trip!! stay tuned!!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Tomohawk BBQ!
The other night, we were invited "up" to dinner by the couple who own the home we're staying in. They live upstairs in the main house, and are a very sweet Vancouver couple. They invited us up for dinner on Sunday and we were treated like royalty. We were made amazing martini's by Jon, treated to gourmet appetizers with Liz as Jon cooked a gourmet Spanish meal with chicken, pasta and seafood and finally we were delighted to have a delicious dessert of cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries. We enjoyed our company all the while Logan slept sound as could be downstairs in our apartment. Love it!
While we were in the company of some locals' we thought we'd grill them on what the best things to do and see in The Couv are! First up - Breakfast! Where should we go? Where is the best? Without hesitation, Jon said "Tomahawk" - he was solid in his response so we took him up on it...
The next morning, after waking up and getting ready we headed out for Tomahawk BBQ. Jon told us it had been featured on the Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives so that publicity paired with the fact that we ended up there on Victoria Day (Canada's equivalent to Memorial Day) meant we were in for a bit of a wait for a table. Thank goodness they had fun hats for Logan, a "Rubber Ducky" pond and friendly patrons who were willing to entertain Logan (And give him a Native name of Running Water) to make our wait a bit easier!
While we were in the company of some locals' we thought we'd grill them on what the best things to do and see in The Couv are! First up - Breakfast! Where should we go? Where is the best? Without hesitation, Jon said "Tomahawk" - he was solid in his response so we took him up on it...
The next morning, after waking up and getting ready we headed out for Tomahawk BBQ. Jon told us it had been featured on the Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives so that publicity paired with the fact that we ended up there on Victoria Day (Canada's equivalent to Memorial Day) meant we were in for a bit of a wait for a table. Thank goodness they had fun hats for Logan, a "Rubber Ducky" pond and friendly patrons who were willing to entertain Logan (And give him a Native name of Running Water) to make our wait a bit easier!
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| Lookit Daddy! Duckies! |
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| In the parking lot, making a speech... |
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| Totem Poles! |
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| Hi Uncle Dave! I'm YOU...30 years in the past... |
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| Friends watching rubber duckies |
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Bike Ride at Stanley Park
Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and headed down to Stanley Park to rent some bikes and take a ride along the well known SeaWall. I can't even express how great this little excursion was. We rented a cruiser for me. and a mountain bike for Jas which was equipped with an I-Bert Seat for Logan up front. I've had my eye on of these I-Bert seats for a LOOOONG time. I think I first learned of them when Logan was about 4 months old and I've wanted to get one for him ever since. They're pretty expensive so I was able to easily talk myself out of getting each time I would look around for them...but after our trip yesterday I'm not sure if I'll be able to resist much longer. Logan absolutely LOVED being up front and seeing all of the action. He was waving to people making friend after friend as we zoomed by rollerbladers, walkers and dogs, kids and geese. We had so many people shout to us "I love your child!" or "Oh my! That kid is so cute!" it was hilarious. The whole ride took us about 90 minutes and it was so great. We only paid $36 to rent all three units and we will absolutely do this again before we leave (as long as the weather cooperates!).
Enjoy the photos and videos!
Enjoy the photos and videos!
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| Outside of Spokes Rental |
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| Lions Gate Bridge (We cross this every time we drive into Vancouver from our home) |
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| Me, giving the most awkward Thumbs Up on my bike |
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| Dada and Logan! |
Big Water
We can see the Howe Sound from our balcony and Logan refers to it every day as "big water"...I'm not quite sure what he thinks "little water" is, but maybe that's bath water or faucet water and he knows that whatever is out THERE beyond our deck is MUCH bigger, and therefore he calls it Big Water. He knows that MoMo (Nemo) lives there, and maybe some sharks and crabs and duckies on occasion. Recently, we took a walk down to the Big Water and had a blast. Jas and I were amazing at how easily Logan made his way through the logs and jagged rocks of the beach we were on. He also climbed a rock without much effort. blew dandelion seeds for the first time and determined that pine-cones are "Yuck Yuck" (I totally disagree by the way). I was hoping we would find some crabs under some rocks, but we weren't so lucky. We did find some seaweed "bulbs' that Logan threw into the sound, but only because I forgot to show him what happens when you step on one (*POP*!) - we'll do that next week :)
here are some photos and videos of our latest outing...enjoy!
here are some photos and videos of our latest outing...enjoy!
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| Family photo at the beach |
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| The boys walking back to the car |
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| Jas and Logan at the Berensteins Bear table |
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| Making wishes |
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| He danced the whole way back to the car...Silly Logan |
Friday, May 18, 2012
Momo! Big Momo!!
On our second day in Canada, we decided to take Logan to the Vancouver Aquarium! He had an absolute blast and Jason and I had a blast watching him run from fish-tank to fish-tank shouting "MoMo!! Big Momo!! Ooooh woooow! Momo!" the whole day. It was hilarious and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely! For those of you who don't know, Momo is Nemo, as in the fish from Finding Nemo. Only, in Logan's mind anything except for Turtles and Sharks that swims in the water is a Nemo - so it made for a pretty exciting afternoon at the aquarium because he thought he was surrounded by his little buddy from the movie!
My cousin and I took Logan to the zoo back in January, but he wasn't as in to it as he was the Aquarium. I'm not sure if that's because he's a few months older now and understands things more, or if it was just a better time of day to take him, but whatever the reason he was ecstatic from the moment we entered the Aquarium and he was tuckered out by the time we left...the pictures and videos below speak for themselves!
My cousin and I took Logan to the zoo back in January, but he wasn't as in to it as he was the Aquarium. I'm not sure if that's because he's a few months older now and understands things more, or if it was just a better time of day to take him, but whatever the reason he was ecstatic from the moment we entered the Aquarium and he was tuckered out by the time we left...the pictures and videos below speak for themselves!
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| The Momo's in this tank were as big as Logan! |
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| So excited to "touch" the Momo's! |
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| Touching the fish! |
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| The aquarium had a whole toddler section that was ALL ABOUT CLOWNFISH (that's what Nemo is) when we got to the end where they actually have a tank of clownfish (round area in the upper right) Logan wanted NOTHING to do with it and instead wanted to sit in the cubby...huh? |
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| Large aquarium with many many different fish |
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| Otter!! He looks cute and innocent here, but a few minutes after taking this picture Jas realized the otter was attempting to be VERY innapropriate with that tube which we're pretty sure he thought was his girlfriend...naughty otter! |
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| Logan and Daddy (I have no idea who Jason is mean mugging here...) |
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| Final tank with SHARKS and TURTLES! |
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| His best attempt to "Stop and smile for mommy!" I'll take what I can get |
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| SOMEONE wasn't up for picture time on our way back to the house... |
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| There's that smile! |
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Oh, Canada!
We Made It! We Made It! We Made It!
It's been a long day but a good day and Jason and I are relaxing in our new "home" while our baby sleeps in the master bedroom and we enjoy a cocktail (or 2) in our lounge chairs before we get ready to take a dip in the hot tub...life is gooooood.
Our day started early - 6am for Jas and I to get ourselves ready and do some last minute packing. Logan woke up at 7 and our chauffeur, "Uncle Huy", arrived promptly at 8:45 to take us to SFO for our 12:15 flight to Vancouver.
We arrived in plenty of time (Which was a blessing in my mind because the airport stresses me out), and boarded our plane after eating a delicious lunch with no problem. Logan did fairly well on the plane, and thanks to a kind woman who was across the aisle from us, he did better than he would have if it was just up to Jas and I to entertain him. This very kind woman took a liking to Logan and once we hit our cruising altitude, she handed me her iPad (!!!) and told me there was a fun kitty cat game that her grand-kids love to play and that Logan was welcome to check it out. This game provided HOURS of entertainment for our little laubster - literally. One flight attendant kept walking by us and just laughed that our child had been laughing for 2 hours straight. Hilarious. He definitely had moments of TODDLER-TIME (pouting, shouting and some minor screaming) but for most of the time, he was either watching the kids cartoons on the monitor in front of him (go, AirCanada for having one of Logan's favorite cartoons, Caillou on their TV Show rotation) or laughing hysterically at Tom the Cat on the iPad.
We landed at 2:30 and made it easily through customs. The customs area was divided into two sections - the first for Canadian citizens and the second for non-Canadian citizens. Jason joked at one point that he was going to leave Logan and I to fend for ourselves in the Non-Citizen line and use his ID from when he was 7 to get himself through customs faster in the Citizens line...that theory lasted all of 2 seconds ad he joined his wife and child in the longer line. :) .
We grabbed our 2 large suitcases, 2 medium suitcases, 1 Pak-N-Play, 1 carseat and 1 toddler and made the long walk to the Enterprise shuttle. Once there, we hopped on board and took a 5 minute drive to the rental car office. We were all set to rent a minivan which I was SO excited about (Do not read sarcasm there as I am genuinely excited about the prospect of driving a minivan one day) - but Jas was easily persuaded into renting the fully loaded Ford Edge for the same price...hurumph (At least he asked if I would be crushed if we DIDN'T rent a minivan before jumping on board with the nicer car). Our first stop was Starbucks (of course) as both Jas and I were exhausted and feeling the need for a pick-me-up...nevermind the toddler in the backseat who was 4 hours past his nap and in a state of absolute delirium...he probably could have gone for an iced Americano too...if only he'd known how to ask for one...It was at this point that Jas and I had the same thought at the same time: "Aren't you glad we aren't in Italy? Can you imagine feeling this tired and having to communicate in another language while driving on the other side of the road and having absolutely no idea where you are going?" We are probably the only 2 people who have ever said "Aren't you glad we aren't in Italy" in their lives...That's why I love him...we're meant to be!
It took us about 1 hour to get through Vancouver traffic and to our new home...all the while Mr. Logan was in the back seat either hysterically crying, or laughing to himself...the kid was beyond help by this point.
We got to the house and instantly fell in love with our new home (Sorry, no pictures yet!). The woman who owns the house helped us get settled and showed us around. The view is unbelievable and the size of the space is just perfect for our family of 3 and the few visitors we'll have throughout our stay. And a side note to my Mom and Dad- our host and hostess here in Canada (The couple that owns the home we're staying in and lives upstairs) is NOTHING like the woman whom we rented a basement from during Expo '86...Liz is delightful and i have complete confidence that she will give us privacy and we won't hear a peep from her unless we need to...I don't anticipate having to leave in the middle of the night on THIS trip to Canada! Hahaha!
We learned today that the Nanny Agency we contacted to set up some childcare for Logan so Jas and I can have some nights out together while we're on vacation confirmed all EIGHT of our dates so we are ELATED that we get EIGHT DATE NIGHTS over the next three weeks (And that's not even counting the 1 or 2 nights we'll get while my Mom is here!) I kind of can't believe I get that much alone time with my husband and I'm absolutely giddy over the thought of it!
Tomorrow we're going to hit up Stanley Park in Vancouver and take Logan to the Aquarium - he's going to be in heaven since we just saw they have an entire exhibit on Clown Fish...aka NEMO!!!! Or as Logan calls him, MOMO!!! It appears to be geared towards kids Logan's age or a little older, and there is a ton of hands on stuff so he's going to have a blast.
Jas and I are so excited for the next 3 weeks and feel so blessed to be able to take this time together and enjoy our little family.
More updates to come! Stay tuned...
It's been a long day but a good day and Jason and I are relaxing in our new "home" while our baby sleeps in the master bedroom and we enjoy a cocktail (or 2) in our lounge chairs before we get ready to take a dip in the hot tub...life is gooooood.
Our day started early - 6am for Jas and I to get ourselves ready and do some last minute packing. Logan woke up at 7 and our chauffeur, "Uncle Huy", arrived promptly at 8:45 to take us to SFO for our 12:15 flight to Vancouver.
We arrived in plenty of time (Which was a blessing in my mind because the airport stresses me out), and boarded our plane after eating a delicious lunch with no problem. Logan did fairly well on the plane, and thanks to a kind woman who was across the aisle from us, he did better than he would have if it was just up to Jas and I to entertain him. This very kind woman took a liking to Logan and once we hit our cruising altitude, she handed me her iPad (!!!) and told me there was a fun kitty cat game that her grand-kids love to play and that Logan was welcome to check it out. This game provided HOURS of entertainment for our little laubster - literally. One flight attendant kept walking by us and just laughed that our child had been laughing for 2 hours straight. Hilarious. He definitely had moments of TODDLER-TIME (pouting, shouting and some minor screaming) but for most of the time, he was either watching the kids cartoons on the monitor in front of him (go, AirCanada for having one of Logan's favorite cartoons, Caillou on their TV Show rotation) or laughing hysterically at Tom the Cat on the iPad.
We landed at 2:30 and made it easily through customs. The customs area was divided into two sections - the first for Canadian citizens and the second for non-Canadian citizens. Jason joked at one point that he was going to leave Logan and I to fend for ourselves in the Non-Citizen line and use his ID from when he was 7 to get himself through customs faster in the Citizens line...that theory lasted all of 2 seconds ad he joined his wife and child in the longer line. :) .
We grabbed our 2 large suitcases, 2 medium suitcases, 1 Pak-N-Play, 1 carseat and 1 toddler and made the long walk to the Enterprise shuttle. Once there, we hopped on board and took a 5 minute drive to the rental car office. We were all set to rent a minivan which I was SO excited about (Do not read sarcasm there as I am genuinely excited about the prospect of driving a minivan one day) - but Jas was easily persuaded into renting the fully loaded Ford Edge for the same price...hurumph (At least he asked if I would be crushed if we DIDN'T rent a minivan before jumping on board with the nicer car). Our first stop was Starbucks (of course) as both Jas and I were exhausted and feeling the need for a pick-me-up...nevermind the toddler in the backseat who was 4 hours past his nap and in a state of absolute delirium...he probably could have gone for an iced Americano too...if only he'd known how to ask for one...It was at this point that Jas and I had the same thought at the same time: "Aren't you glad we aren't in Italy? Can you imagine feeling this tired and having to communicate in another language while driving on the other side of the road and having absolutely no idea where you are going?" We are probably the only 2 people who have ever said "Aren't you glad we aren't in Italy" in their lives...That's why I love him...we're meant to be!
It took us about 1 hour to get through Vancouver traffic and to our new home...all the while Mr. Logan was in the back seat either hysterically crying, or laughing to himself...the kid was beyond help by this point.
We got to the house and instantly fell in love with our new home (Sorry, no pictures yet!). The woman who owns the house helped us get settled and showed us around. The view is unbelievable and the size of the space is just perfect for our family of 3 and the few visitors we'll have throughout our stay. And a side note to my Mom and Dad- our host and hostess here in Canada (The couple that owns the home we're staying in and lives upstairs) is NOTHING like the woman whom we rented a basement from during Expo '86...Liz is delightful and i have complete confidence that she will give us privacy and we won't hear a peep from her unless we need to...I don't anticipate having to leave in the middle of the night on THIS trip to Canada! Hahaha!
We learned today that the Nanny Agency we contacted to set up some childcare for Logan so Jas and I can have some nights out together while we're on vacation confirmed all EIGHT of our dates so we are ELATED that we get EIGHT DATE NIGHTS over the next three weeks (And that's not even counting the 1 or 2 nights we'll get while my Mom is here!) I kind of can't believe I get that much alone time with my husband and I'm absolutely giddy over the thought of it!
Tomorrow we're going to hit up Stanley Park in Vancouver and take Logan to the Aquarium - he's going to be in heaven since we just saw they have an entire exhibit on Clown Fish...aka NEMO!!!! Or as Logan calls him, MOMO!!! It appears to be geared towards kids Logan's age or a little older, and there is a ton of hands on stuff so he's going to have a blast.
Jas and I are so excited for the next 3 weeks and feel so blessed to be able to take this time together and enjoy our little family.
More updates to come! Stay tuned...
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