We have many adventures ahead of us as the Little Monkey turns two next week and version 2.0 is set to arrive on the 25th of October and in preparation we’ve been embarking on many a transitionary journey. Stay tuned to learn about our potty training mishaps and jumping into a toddler bed in the upcoming weeks! With all these changes and a busy schedule we’ve started taking a few timeouts to enjoy our status as a family of 3. With the rush to prep for version 2.0 and attend many an event we’ve been having hectic days and evenings and the need to unwind was definitely called for. How do you unwind with an active toddler who stays up till 10 p.m.? This was a question posed by Fisher Price and I got thinking…. how do we unwind? Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Thomas & Friends Blogger Campaign with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Screen Time
As many of you know we are big into screen time which is often frowned upon, but honestly I believe that educational programs with a splattering of fun shows have really helped develop the little one’s vocabulary, far more than I have been able to do on my own. Her repertoire of English words surprise me daily and clearly the lack of Sinhala shows and cartoons are to blame for the few Sinhala words she knows (ofcourse it’s not my fault!). Cuddling in front of the telly or iPad/ Youtube watching some of her favourite shows like Max & Ruby, Calliou, Sesame Street and Thomas the Train is definitely a favourite pass time. The challenge is not reaching for my phone or trying to blog at the same time. It can be hard to stay in the present but following along the adventures of these characters can be quite entertaining, once you get into it. As for the Little Monkey, they’re her best friends! I hear Thomas & Friends will be embarking on a legendary movie adventure with the arrival of the King of the Railway DVD, no doubt a prezzie the Little Monkey will be picking up for her Thomas loving cousin this holiday season!
Playing Pretend
This is something we’ve just started doing and is not only fun for her but also challenges my creativity. Gathering up some random toys I try to fabricate a story with action and movement. Initially she was just saying “yea..” “yea…” but after two sessions of enacting a scene of a dinosaur flying on a plane and catching a train before jet setting into the jungle (am I creative or what?) she started to add to the adventures by sending the dinosaur to her grandparent’s home and then onwards to shopping at the supermarket for her favourite dog Buddy. The stories rarely make sense but taking fifteen minutes to dabble in child’s play is quite invigorating and gets my own creative juices flowing. Following along the adventures of Thomas & Friends, the new Take-n-Play sets are awesome because they’re compact and can travel easily between grand parents’ homes and cottages. The Adventure Castle Playsets will let kids take the movie adventures into their own hands as they enact their own stories with new plots and friendly characters. Always helps having a base of characters and toys to work with! Thomas & Friends give children and families a time and place to slow down, share, imagine stories, and make new friends. Doesn’t hurt that they deliver messages about important values through imaginative, relatable storytelling and characters… and always in the friendliest, most engaging ways!
Out and about
It’s no joke that we’re out and about exploring Toronto on a weekly basis, be it attending press events or dining out and plotting our next travel adventure, but the Little Monkey and I find that occasionally, some of these events are actually relaxing and gives us a chance to spend some quality time doing fun interactive activities. Fall is a great time to enjoy the outdoors so we’re doing our best to get out there and have some fun!
How about you? How do you unwind and get creative with your kids? I’m not going to lie… the true unwinding does happen once the Little Monkey has plonked herself to bed!
