Thomas at 3 years old
September-October 2009: Holiday in Canada
We had great summer weather despite having moved our yearly trip to Canada a little later this year - lucky for us, as they have had a very wet summer and we happened to hit three of the few sunny weeks!
Thomas took full advantage of the many activities available around his grandmother's home in Southampton, Ontario. He enjoyed helping "Mormor" in the garden, as well as with various food preparations, especially husking the fresh corn from the local farm. He got very good at his new Canada puzzle and soon could name all the provinces and territories, but he also had fun playing with some of his mum's old toys including building blocks and Lego. In between he made sure to get in some quality time with baby brother, helping to bring his teething ring or other fun toys.
A local apple orchard has many kid-friendly features including dwarf apple trees, a cornfield maze, playground, and a wonderful shop where you can watch them baking huge apple pies through a giant window! After the initial novelty wore off, Thomas still enjoyed being pulled around in a little cart, and got the height advantage atop "Big Steve"'s shoulders.
Having mastered apple picking and befriended a local ladybug, it was time to learn all about pumpkins. Since we don't have Hallowe'en in Denmark, Thomas was not familiar with the traditions related to it, and was amazed at the display in front of Hi-Berry Farm. After trying to lift some of the weightier models, he left Steve to choose the "Big Pumpkin" and settled on a nice Thomas-sized one that he could carry himself.
Back at the house, Mormor and Steve showed him how pumpkins are carved and turned into jack-o-lanterns. He was not so sure he liked the flickery face in the dark, and opted to decorate his own with magic markers. By the end of the visit, he had got onto better terms with the Big Pumpkin and even enjoyed seeing it lit on his final night in town.
All these fresh apples and pumpkins needed something to be done with them, so Mormor and Thomas set to work in the kitchen, making apple pancakes, smoothies, and pumpkin muffins.
Another local attraction is Keady Market, which among other delights features livestock, summertime pony rides, fresh Mennonite-baked fruit pies, and "kettle popcorn", popped in a huge kettle with various flavours and salt.
Thomas and dad spent a few pleasant hours at a nearby beach, building sand pigpens that distinctly resembled castles, and wading in the shallows of Lake Huron.
Thomas had a grand time checking out some of the local playgrounds, infecting the rest of the family with his enthusiasm!
Thomas became acquainted with one of his mum's favourite childhood stories, "Make Way for Ducklings", and even had the privilege of holding a wooden decoy "Mrs. Mallard" while having the story read to him. He also spent some quality time with purring Rita the Cheetah, and rode endless rings around the house on both tricycle and new bicycle with training wheels.
After a most enjoyable sojourn in Southampton, it was time to move on and Thomas took the long journey (13 hours with breaks) to Montreal in good stride. The following day we headed up to Lac Paré in the Lanaudière region, where Grandpa Ken bases himself as much as he can. There too, we had good weather, enough for wading in the lake and building more sand pigpens. We also explored another playground on the way up, where Catherine was impressed by Thomas' prowess both on the equipment and with counting the number of swings!
Grandpa Ken lives on a most intriguing site, with all sorts of interesting items to explore and play with. Some favourites included wheelbarrow rides, croquet, climbing into the trailer, and throwing pebbles at a target.
More country pleasures: seeing Dad chop wood, carrying said wood into the house, and fishing for minnows using a homemade net.
After a pleasurable couple of days with Grandpa, we headed back to Montreal and caught up with some more friends there. We spent a most enjoyable afternoon with Dad's old colleague Darren and family, whose three daughters were happy to introduce Thomas to one of their favourite local playgrounds. Mum's old friend Sue hosted us for a yummy BBQ lunch, and kids Brianna (3) and Tristan (6) were also keen to show off their empire of toys, including Tristan's Bionicle collection. Finally we had a lovely dinner with more old friends Cindi and Diana, who Thomas vaguely remembered from their visit to Denmark the previous summer. All in all a busy social tour, but a good time was had by all!
We drove back to Toronto the day before our return flight, and stayed in a very nice Travelodge with a most enjoyable heated pool. The original plan had been to check out the zoo, but in the end we opted for another swim and a relaxed departure - after all, it was supposed to be a holiday!
September 2009:
Another visit to Capella Play, this time to celebrate Frederik's 4th birthday. During most of the previous visits Cindy was either pregnant or busy nursing James, so this was the first time she actually physically joined Thomas up in the farther reaches of the play apparatus. She then found out that he tends to switch to Danish when being highly active - a natural consequence of his Danish-speaking day care, but still quite impressive.
More playgrounds, including the local "adventure playground" which features an exciting rope bridge!
Helping Daddy assemble the playpen, and having a quick game of "caged tiger" before conceding it to baby brother.
August 2009:
Taking advantage of summertime in Copenhagen to enjoy various social activities!
Usually we miss "Kulturhavn" (a harbour festival just half a kilometer from home), as this is normally the time of year that finds us in Canada. This year we got to check it out a little, and Thomas and his old mothergroup friend Johnny took a dip in the "Havnebad" (swimming pool built into the channel). A nearby "adventure playground" features a net bridge, which Thomas has recently mastered, and a rolling log which he can walk on with a little help from Dad.
Last week we had a visit from Ingeborg and her mother, who joined us for brunch on the balcony, an outing to another nearby playground, and of course lots of playing with various toys.
James pays close attention to all of big brother's activities, and lights up with big smiles for Thomas whenever they make eye contact.
Late July - early August 2009
Thomas loves to push a toddler-size shopping cart at the supermarket. He also enjoys climbing into enclosed places like cupboards, under the bed and the Ikea storage baskets. Since starting kindergarden he seems to challenge himself physically more and more, climbing fences and whizzing around on his new BMW bike.
More playgrounds
Thomas carefully shares a swing for the first time with his little brother!
Social gatherings:
More great pictures from our visit with Ingeborg and family at the beach
A little visit with Tim and family, and hanging out with Marvin at the zoo
And yet another social visit, this time to Isabella's where Duplo and cartoons just couldn't compete with jumping onto a giant bean bag:
The warm and sunny weather turned wet this weekend, but that didn't stop us from making an outing to a local playground in between showers - and splashing in a few puddles along the way...
At Thomas' 3-year doctor's appointment, the doctor was impressed with his grasp of both English and Danish language, not least when he began to read the adult eye chart before she got around to replacing the letters with animal symbols for kids!
He's right on the curve for height (93cm / 36.6") and weight (15.3kg / 33.7lb), and has perfect vision so far. Since starting kindergarden two weeks ago he's also starting to drop the midday naps, and he hasn't used diapers except when sleeping for a couple of months now.
Turning 3!
Thomas had been looking forward to his 3rd birthday for several weeks, and he was not disappointed!
The little train is a classic Danish handmade wooden toy, with one car & candle for each year.
The favourite items were most likely the squeaky Igglepiggle doll from Granny Lynda, and the fancy BMW bike from mum & dad. This bike comes with crank and pedals which can be added later to convert to a normal bicycle!
He also enjoyed the assorted Night Garden goodies from Auntie Lisa, the honking goose toy from Grandpa Ken, the kiddie scissors and pencil set, the giant box of Lego Duplo, and various other puzzles and toys.
A couple of days later we were joined by Ingeborg, Marvin, Carla, Johnny and families at Capella Play, the big indoor playground / asylum at the local shopping centre. It was an easy way to have a birthday party for active 3-year olds without having to cook, clean up or worry about breaking anything! Everyone had a great time, and by the time we left four hours later, there were a lot of wiped out kids as well as parents.
Updated 11.10.09