Weekend Adventures

Its the Weekend! As good of a reason as any to celebrate. Its also my weekend off work, which means its definitely a reason to celebrate.

For those not local we have gone through close to 2 weeks of cold, wet, and windy weather. Your probably thinking to yourself that its Winter, What do I expect from the weather.

The weather isn’t generally something that bothers me. It does however ruin your plans to go outside with your 2 year old who would spend all day outside if you let him. 1 or 2 wet days, that’s manageable, 1 or 2 weeks, and your toddler starts to get cabin fever (no, not the 2002 horror movie about flesh eating bacteria, honestly who would write about that), the kind that drives you a little insane as the limited activities inside the house get repetitive after awhile.

Getting back on track, The weather is Dry, Sunny, and not windy. What does that mean? well its finally a chance to go adventuring outside.

The Hair Cut

This one had been planned for a few weeks, and to be honest was going to be happening rain, hail, or shine. A Haircut for the little guy!!

Now this isn’t exactly a momentous occasion, he has had them before. However with his 2nd birthday rapidly approaching we thought it best to get him trimmed before hand so in the photos it actually looks like we look after him.

note, that wasn’t a dig at parents who choose not to get their child’s haircut. It was stating a fact, his hair tends to grow pretty wild and needs to be kept in check.

Now I don’t know any toddler that actually enjoys getting their haircut, we have found a place that specialises in child haircuts though. They will keep cutting even if your child is screaming. Sure the child will be sitting on your lap and if will be your to hold them still but they will get the hair cut done.

Based on that description you can probably guess how it went.

Yes they even let you sit in a car or a plane while you get your hair cut. If that isn’t going to make you happy not a lot is. Note, the above picture was taken after the hair cut, when he was more then happy to have a play. 

Hair cut complete it was time for our next activity. . .

The Park

As I mentioned earlier the weather was about as good as you can get in the middle of winter in this part of the country. The opening of a brand new park a short drive away was the perfect destination to get over the trauma of a hair cut, soak up some vitamin D, and let out some energy. Apparently everyone else had the same idea.

A little bit of shyness around a big crowd was quickly cured by some reassuring looks from mum and dad and a slide down the smallest of 3 slippery dips and the little guy was in his element.

Of course after we decided to explore some more of the play equipment, the slide designed for toddlers was not enough for our little daredevil who had to climb the netting to go down the next size up slide, over and over. Once Dad got bored of this we decided to check out the biggest of 3 slides, which requires a fair bit more climbing for a toddler. After a couple of practice runs on Dad’s lap, he was going down by himself and loving it

What had originally planned to be a quick stop, turned into almost 2 hours of playtime! What does this equate to? one tired little child.

A Quiet Afternoon

The rest of the afternoon was a bit more relaxed, consisting of lunch, a nap, some cooking, and some outdoor art. A concrete driveway and some chalk is all we needed for some more fun outside, and while it didn’t last that long, it was still nice to be outside.

Sometimes the simplest things can be fun for a toddler.

The day was finished off with a visit from a friend and an early dinner. Unfortunately an early dinner doesn’t always mean an early bedtime for our toddler – see Toddler Sleep Regressions

More Fun in the Sun

Today the little guy was lucky to have his Grandma and Pop and one of his aunties come to see him. Again the weather was perfect so we decided to head out for the afternoon.

One of the best parts about where we live is the proximity to the ocean. Newcastle is known for its beaches for a reason. Not only are they beautiful, but the surrounds are perfect for spending a sunny afternoon.

While waiting for our lunch to be ready we spent our time chasing the birds and watching the waves on the beach.

We also raced. What is racing you ask? racing is our latest trick where we count 1, 2, and he says “Go!” and runs forward. Once you get started you often don’t even need to count, he will just say Go and run.

Once lunch was over we walked back towards our car past another park!

While the equipment at this spot wasn’t nearly as exciting as yesterday’s, it still provided entertainment for awhile.

After spending a few hours running around in the sun, it was time to head home. A short walk to the car, and a short drive home. The little guy was asleep within 2 minutes of us starting the car.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, which means back to work tomorrow, but what a fun weekend we have had. One thing about outdoor adventures is that they certainly are a great way to entertain toddlers – Go To Tricks For Entertaining Kids

How did you spend your weekend? What adventures did you go on?