Activity World--Fun Times

Over Columbus Day we set off to find something new to do. We had to do some running around but we also wanted to make it fun for Bella so we located a new indoor play place in Peterborough. It was definitely a fabulous find. Not only did it have so many things to climb and slide, but there was NO ONE there because it was on a Monday. We had to so much fun. Bella kept saying, "I had a lot of fun today, mom!" "That place was a lot of fun, mom!"
Bella couldn't get her boots off fast enough!

She had to get in the car, of course. She sniffs these cars out whenever we go to these places.

There were a ton of play toys. I am trying to teach her the valuable skill of vacuuming.

First slide......let's go down backwards on our tummy.

BALL PIT!! We had a blast having this to ourselves. Curtis was throwing them at her and I was tackling her. She was laughing so hard. It was fabulous.






Back to the slide

This is the only way you could get up to one of the slides. It was VERY tight. Curtis had to squeeze.

BIGGEST SLIDE I HAVE EVER SEEN...DROP SLIDE...Curtis wouldn't even go on it.

Curtis didn't want to climb through the tiny space again so he was going to climb up the side to get to the slide. NICE ROLE MODEL! It didn't work.

Back to the slide...this time with Daddy!



"C'mon daddy, you can do it!"




It even had a Family gym where kids and parents could work out together. Darn! Too bad I didn't bring my workout gear.

A shot of the outside structure.

Bella on the kiddie eliptical.

Bella DID NOT want to go...this was her pout face. She had JUST let go of the netting.

Happy Birthday Julian!

Bella's best friend turned 3 at the beginning of October. They have been in the same class for some time now and are too cute together. When they are together they are constantly running around giggling. They were basically connected at the hip during the party. It was a fun time.



My daughter absolutely loves to jump yet she never gets inside bouncy castles. This is one of the first times she has gotten in one at a party.

Bella is a very observant child. She likes to stand back and take things in first. It was amazing to watch her during this pull apart pinata. She waited patiently to pull it and then when everyone was rushing to get candy (which she is obsessed with) she just stood and watched. We had to tell her to get some and then she so eloquently bent down a picked up a little bit.

Once Upon A Potty

I never thought I would be saying this....seriously...but Bella is potty trained! FINALLY! She still wears a Pull-up to bed, but that is it. I have to admit that I was VERY worried I would not be seeing this day for a LONG, LONG time. Potty training was the one thing she fought tooth and nail. And because she is so articulate, she would just say, "No, mommy, I am not potty training right now." Just like that. But, it's over and I can now look back at the journey and laugh.

It all started when we bought the first potty right as she was turning two. We basically just eased into it with no worries. She actually liked it. Went a few times on it here and there and then basically never looked at it again. I don't know why I thought it would be easy. Probably because everything else was. Anyhoo, last Christmas, we tried the whole panty thing and it failed miserably (see my December posts). But, I still wasn't worried. I figured if she wasn't interested in potty training by the summer time, I would have more time to really spend on it because I would be on summer break. My plan was to attack it more rigorously then. Well, I didn't have much luck over the summer at all. The girl just didn't want to do it. PERIOD. Her 3rd birthday was approaching and I was feeling a little pressure from her school to get her trained. So, when my mom came, we decided we would go into aggressive mode. So we spent my LAST THREE DAYS OF SUMMER holed up in the house trying to turn the corner.

So, we started by lining up all her new undies and telling her that today was all about going on the potty and wearing big girl panties..yada-yada-yada.

She picked a cute dress for the day and her first pair of panties.


Then, came the first "prize" to kick off POTTY DAY!

It was a POTTY WATCH. You set it for a certain interval and when it went off it lit up and played London Bridge. (which had Potty lyrics to it) At that time, you were supposed to go to the potty and try to go.

There were more prizes all day for going to the potty.


At the end of the 3 days, we were exhausted and Bella made very little progress. She lost interest in the potty watch the 2nd time it went off and after awhile even the prizes weren't interesting her. We moved to candy and that wasn't successful, either. It was about 2 weeks after that when everything just FINALLY clicked. And the rest, as they say, is history.

More Fun With Nana in Bury

Nana had never seen Abby Gardens so we took her to Bury on one of the gorgeous days before she left. We walked around, played at the park and chased some bubbles. Bella was in seventh heaven.

Just posin' in front of the flowers.

Trying to be a prof. photographer.....nice shadow, huh?

More flowers....

More cheesin it up



Bubble time! Bella loves, loves, loves, bubbles. Nana made some big ones!

She had fun chasing them around the park.

"I'm gonna get it!" (she always closes her eyes when she does stuff like this)

"I got it!"

"Mom, it just popped on my head!"