Keeping the V-man entertained

Now I know why parents are constantly talking about being exhausted. It really is exhausting trying to keep a 16 month old busy and entertained. We always try and plan our weekends in advance so we have things to do with him. This past weekend we thought we'd take him to the arboretum at the experimental farm. We'd taken him to the animal barns two weekends in a row so this time we figured he would enjoy just running around the park. It is true he did enjoy it but it involved a lot of falling due to being trussed up in his winter clothing and still getting his toddler legs underneath him. So for us it involved pulling him up endlessly (winter clothes=difficulty getting up on one's own). So, fun for him not so fun for us lol. He was none to happy when we decided it was time to go, but to be fair to us he was spending more time lying on the cold ground than actually walking. Life can be tough for a 16 month old. Here is a picture montage of his time walking, running and of course falling:











After his afternoon nap we decided to check out a small craft fair and then take a walk around Chinatown. It was a beautiful late afternoon with the sun setting and fresh, fat snow flakes falling. Van sat back in his stroller and enjoyed a fortune cookie he received from the owner of one of our favourite Asian fusion restaurants where we popped in for an order of spring rolls for dinner:



The new arch also looked amazing. It just seemed magical:


A new development in Van's life is that he has suddenly developed an interest in children DVD's. We had been hoping that he would eventually show interest. Not that we are looking for a "babysitter" in the form of a t.v., but you have to understand how "active" our little man is. We had tried a few different varieties such as "The Big Comfy Couch" and "Bob the Builder". No luck. He really did not find it interesting at all. So we did a bit of research and discovered "The Wiggles". It seemed to get rave reviews from kids and parents alike (well, parents liked the content for the kids but of course the songs do become mind numbingly ingrained in your brain! I have woken up many times recently with a few of the songs running through my head). Well, he loves them! As soon as dinner is done he runs into the living room and looks at the t.v. doing his "uh uh uh" demanding noises. I think we may have created a monster! We wanted him to like a watchable program but didn't want him to be obsessed! He does continue to play and interact with us which is good but he is definitely enamored with this DVD. We have bought a Wiggles xmas special for xmas just to add variety to the songs we are being forced to listen to over and over. I have to say though that as far as kid's "acts" go "The Wiggles" are pretty good. The songs are fun and the corresponding dances are quite intricate and encourage kids to be active. I was even thinking they would make good fitness DVD's for adults lol. One really positive thing that has come out of this recent interest of his is that it calms him down before bed. You wouldn't think that would be the case but it really does. Before he used to be bouncing off the walls before bed mainly due to being tired. This would carry through to his before bed story time where he would often be too hyped up to relax and allow us to read to him. Since introducing "The Wiggles" he has really calmed down and bedtime has become quite relaxing. I think it is because he concentrates on the DVD and it helps him unwind. Anyway, now we just have to find a balance between having the DVD on and not having it on.....Here he is watching his favourite "fab four":