DaddyScrubs: Perfect Gift for Dads-To-Be

Every day lots of men are becoming new dads and new babies miraculously join this wonderful world. And every new dad needs to feel comfortable and confident when helping mom in a delivery room. One of the best products to fulfill that to my opinion is DaddyScrubs, the comfy clothes for a father to wear in a hospital. New dad worries and excitement, willingness to help the new mom and be ready for immediate support, all these have to be backed up with cozy and relaxed clothes.


We received green color DaddyScrubs for testing which included pants and a top, very comfortable to wear. They are a very good quality and do not shrink after washing. My husband liked drawstring pants the most, because they are adjustable according to the waist. Everything can happen in a delivery room, a new family can spend from few hours to several days in a hospital, so Daddy Scrubs is the best outfit for any situation. Also we all like adorable printing messages saying “I am the Daddy” on the back, “Dad” on a pocket and cute baby feet on pants along with DaddyScrubs logo.

I wish we had DaddyScrubs when my first baby was born, that time I ended in the emergency care and daddy had to take care of all of us. After the special day DaddyScrubs can be used as pajamas or home wear. And it will be a perfect present for any expecting family, new dad will appreciate your gift later for sure. In terms of achievement I am happy to share that recently DaddyScrubs received PTPA Media Award. Congratulations!

Centreville Kids-Fest 2013

During summer Centreville hosts multiple events including Kids-Fest. This year Kids-Fest returned back with its best entertainment, rides and shows for the third time. We visited the first Kids-Fest in 2011: Teddy having fun at Centreville Amusement Park, it was a huge success, so this year we also were excited to attend and participate in numerous activities for kids.

It is always an adventure to visit Centre Island; I think everything starts with a ferry ride giving that special feeling of a getaway similar to a pirate who brings the ship to island shores or a traveller coming to the coast.


The theatre performance waited us first to enjoy on the island beginning with hula hoop lady who actively interacted with the audience, asked kids to help her in her set and then was showing some hula hoop tricks. Then the main performance fairy tale took the stage with a king; a prince and a princess; interesting turn around. It was only thirty minutes so my little one was a good boy and watched the performance till the end. The stage decoration was very special changed smoothly according to the scene.


Then we moved to the Kids-Fest major spot where Teddy took the ride on one of tittle tikes tricycle, practised some football throws thanks to Toronto Argonauts Cheerleaders and met famous Centreville resident Beasley Bear. There also were bouncing castle, face painting and balloons.


Hot day was not fulfilled if we did not visit a splash pad or a pool. Centre Island has one nice splash pad located in the heart of Centreville Amusement Park and where Teddy had a good time playing.
Then we walked to the beaches to see the lake, birds and boats floating on the lake. The day was nice and sunny.


Close to the beaches there is a good playground, another splash pad and two pools, great for kids. Teddy took all his chances to enjoy everything and was so tired by the end of the day, that our intention to take rides in Centreville Amusement Park had to be postponed only meaning that we are coming back to Centreville very soon.

New 4Cats Studio Opening in Woodbridge - Wordless Wednesday

Last week we joined  4Cats Grand Opening in Woodbridge, one of the best art studio for kids. Teddy is a huge fan of 4Cats classes and attended different 4Cats studios in GTA. Here are some of the activities Teddy participated in during new 4Cats opening celebration: splatter painting,drawing a horse, painting, sculpturing a cat and the clay wheel. It was super exciting event.

Our Wild Adventures at African Lion Safari

Last week we had a chance to visit African Lion Safari, this wildlife park with over 1,000 exotic birds and animals from around the world that provides educational and entertaining experiences. Our visit fell on a week day, the park was filled with visitors of different ages, only proving how popular this Ontario attraction is.
Safari Tour

We started with a Guided Safari Tour on a Bus to drive through large Game Reserves. Highly recommend to take a bus, they are all air-conditioned and have wide widows for the best views, almost no waiting time (you have to book your time) plus a professional guide gives you all the interesting information about the safari and animals. My guys were really excited to take a bus and listen to the guide. We saw Lions, Zebras, Cheetah, Rhinoceros, Bison, Deer and many others as Game Reserves presents species split by sections like Eurasia, the Americas, Simba Lin Country to provide natural habitat environment. It was amazing to see all the animals so close, some of them standing just behind the glass window, all these stripes and dots created by nature, absolute beauty.

Show must go on! 

Amazing shows held at African Lion Safari, the timing is set up that after one show you can easily move to another. Spectacular Elephant Swim with elephants enjoying and playing in a lake, that hot day everyone would be happy to join them and have some fun. We loved Parrot Paradise Show with all the colorful birds and tricks they made. Such a treat was to hear “Happy Birthday” performed by one of their talented birds (thanks a lot, we celebrated a birthday that day) and “Oh, Canada!”. Other birds of Prey Flying Demonstration were really incredible with their speed and skills, we understand the birds much better now, my little one loved to watch them. The funniest show was Elephant Round-Up Show with an adult and a baby elephants; they were so cute and entertaining, that we did not want this show to finish.

Boat cruise and railway journey 

Relaxing cruise abroad the “African Queen” boat where you can fly between the little islands and see the animals enjoying a nice summer day. Do not forget to take a journey on the “Nature Boy” scenic railway, so much fun, feel like you are in a Wild West movie.

Water fun! 

Misumu Bay Wet Play was our another water adventure at African Lion Safari, the facility is huge and the kids of different ages can have fun there during hot summer days. My little one was so excited there, running from one splash pad to another, playing with fountains and taking rides.

Between all the exciting adventures there are plenty of restaurants to enjoy your food; we had our birthday celebration at Pizza Pizza. Overall the experience at African Lion Safari is unforgettable, with multiple shows and attractions around that almost no waiting line-ups. If you are still thinking about visiting, do not hesitate just “Go Wild” and experience the real adventures.

Teddy having a good time at Kids CBC Days 2013 - Wordless Wednesday #KidsCBCDays

One of our favourite summer event is  Kids CBC Days held in downtown Toronto when kids and parents come to enjoy two days filled with songs, crafts, riding, jumps, meeting Kids CBC characters and many other activities. We attended Kids CBC Days two years ago when Teddy was just one year old and everything was so new to him, but today he participated in many activities including riding a bike, jumping, painting, making crafts, singing, coloring Super Why pages. Teddy turned three this year, he knows most of the characters appeared at Kids CBC Days and was happy to meet and hug them. Today was super hot day, but it was definitely worth to come, check it out why:

Teddy in Paris Day 9: Seine Cruise and Shopping

It was our last day in Paris and we decided that it is a time to see the most beautiful monuments in Paris while enjoying a cruise on boat along the Seine. The cruise departed from Eiffel Tower and lasted an hour, from Eiffel Tower to Louvre Museum and the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris, passing many bridges where each one is an unique architectural masterpiece. It was time to add the final touch to our journey and we just relaxed and re-winded our memories when we passed places which we explored earlier. It was cloudy and windy.Teddy was intrigued by sculptures on the bridges and adjacent to them.


When we got back to Eiffel Tower – Teddy asked for "Barbe à papa" (Cotton Candy) and watched with interest how it was gradually growing on a stick until it became a big cotton ball.


Then we headed to Champs-Élysées for shopping. We bought souvenirs and T-shirts for relatives and friends, some clothes for us. Everyone got what wanted. We checked the Disney store there – it has two storeys and so much to offer. The variety of some products there was even better than in Disneyland boutiques. We checked few French brand stores that carry only clothes that made in France. The quality was very good, but they were quite expensive.

It was a lot of souvenir shops and gastronomic boutiques. It was time to go back to hotel and pack our luggage. Early morning we left Paris for Toronto.

PS. I plan to write two more posts that will cover topics that deserve extra attention: 
1) Tips for travellers with kids in Paris based on our experience; 
2)  Our Paris Expectations vs Reality. 

This post is a part of the series of our travel adventures in Paris: March-April 2013. The other posts from this series can be found here:
Teddy in Paris Day 1: Arrival, Hotel, Eiffel Tower  
Teddy in Paris Day 2 Part I
Teddy in Paris Day 2 Part II: The Sainte Chapelle, The Conciergerie, The Pont-Neuf  
Teddy in Paris Day 3 The Château de Versailles
Teddy in Paris Day 4: Musée de l'Orangerie, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe
Teddy in Paris Day 5: Disneyland
Teddy in Paris Day 6: Les Invalides, Musée de l'Armée, Musée Rodin and Musée d'Orsay  
Teddy in Paris Day 7: The Louvre 
Teddy in Paris Day 8: Eiffel Tower,  CinéAqua Aquarium

Enjoy Your Summer and Do Not Have Sunburns with Sunscreen Bands

The sun during summer time is truly inviting but can be dangerous and painful if do not take measures to protect your skin. Summer is full of outdoor activities for kids and adults: camping, fishing, swimming, gardening, travelling and a mass vacationing. That’s why we were really excited to receive and test Sunscreen Bands.

With our multiple outing habits, we decided to try them first on a playground during one sunny day. The Bands are easy to use so we applied sunscreen, put on one band and we were ready to continue our fun activities. The day was hot but thanks to combination of splash and a play area in one spot my little one was busy running back and forward. It was great to find out that Sunscreen bands work both - dry and wet, meaning they can be used during water activities as well.


After a while band color started to change pointing that it is time to reapply the sunscreen. For my little boy I use kid’s sunscreen with SPF 30, so I reapplied several times during the day. It was interesting to catch that without the band I did not apply the sunscreen all these necessary times since I relied only on my guess what it was the time to reapply. I honestly was happy to have such a sun exposure measurement; I even call these sunscreen bands as “scientific” indicators.

My son is only three and kids of this age have more sensitive skin than adults so having the bands only reminded us that we need take care of kids when going out. Talking about adults I was also glad to learn that Sunscreen Bands are great for the whole family, they do not only alert to reapply your sunscreen, they also warn when it is time to get out of the sun which is awesome especially when spending much time outside relaxing on a beach, fishing or gardening. Now we do not need to ask our Granddad to leave a fishing spot during sunny day multiple times we just ask him to show his Sunscreen Band.

Teddy in Paris Day 8: Eiffel Tower, CinéAqua Aquarium

The most challenging task in Paris is to get on the top of Eiffel Tower. Any time of day there is a line of thousands of people that guarantees you several hours of waiting time. There is a cut, but you have to buy online and provide exact day and time when you are planning to visit. We didn’t do that in advance and came at the opening time hoping that waiting time will be reasonable. It was chilly and rainy day with significant wind gust.


Luckily, early morning the line was short and we waited only twenty minutes to reach the elevator. We ascended to second level and started to walk around and spot Paris’ famous buildings that we already visited and those that we didn’t have chance to visit yet. Second level was relatively small and we had a problem to find a place to take pictures without other people on it. Then we moved to the third level observatory's upper platform that is at 279.11 m (915.7 ft). Even thought third level is smaller then second there was not too many people  and we had a chance to enjoy views of the Paris from the highest point accessible to the public in the European Union.

It was very nice view of Seine with bridges and moving ships. Champ de Mars caught out attention with its long green rectangles. We were surprised to find out that Gustave Eiffel had a small apartment on the top of Eiffel Tower. It was closed, but we were able to look inside through the windows.


As soon as Teddy recognized a monocular telescope, he asked for two euro coin and we could see Paris closer from the top. We bought some souvenirs and T-shirts in the boutique and took elevator to get back to the street level. By that time the waiting line formed to endless, only proving that "Go Early" rule works and we were glad that the biggest item in our Paris’ wish list was completed.


In our plan for the day was also visit to CinéAqua Aquarium that was conveniently located five minutes walk from Eiffel Tower. They have over 9000 fish and 26 sharks that live in more than 4 million litters of water including the largest tank in France. Teddy was exited to see so many different sea creatures. His favorite activity there was petting fish. In CinéAqua Aquarium there is a pool with all kinds of fish that come to you when you put hand in the water. You can touch them and they even try to kiss your hand and fingers. Teddy liked it so much. First time he  played with fish like with cat.


Teddy also spent a lot of time in Nautilus submarine where he turned steering wheel back and forward like  Captain Nemo. For Teddy the aquarium was the way more interesting than Eiffel Tower. Another amazing day came to the end and we had only one day left. We planed Seine Cruise and shopping for our last day in Paris.

 

This post is a part of the series of our travel adventures in Paris: March-April 2013. The other posts from this series can be found here:
Teddy in Paris Day 1: Arrival, Hotel, Eiffel Tower  
Teddy in Paris Day 2 Part I
Teddy in Paris Day 2 Part II: The Sainte Chapelle, The Conciergerie, The Pont-Neuf  
Teddy in Paris Day 3 The Château de Versailles
Teddy in Paris Day 4: Musée de l'Orangerie, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe
Teddy in Paris Day 5: Disneyland
Teddy in Paris Day 6: Les Invalides, Musée de l'Armée, Musée Rodin and Musée d'Orsay  
Teddy in Paris Day 7: The Louvre 

Teddy at Montreal Jazz Festival 2013 - Wordless Wednesday

This summer Teddy was first time in Montreal, we were there only five days and lucky to attend Montreal Jazz Festival along with visiting our relatives. Here is one of the photos made at the Jazz Festival Kids Zone, Teddy is posing like a real jazz boy. More posts to come about our trip to Montreal very soon, so stay tuned...