Dinner punishment for toddler

I made pizza for dinner today. I tried a new recipe for the crust and it turned out quite well. I also tossed pizza dough for the first time today. A few words of caution: flour and cornmeal will get all over the place when dough is tossed. Also it's easier to toss than it is to catch! But you probably could have guessed that, right? :)

I was looking forward to having homemade pizza and to have Tristan try my homemade pizza. After we picked Tristan up from daycare, Jean-Louis took him out to bike for a bit while I assembled and baked the pizzas. When they got back Tristan had to pee so Jean-Louis took him up for cleaning and to use the toilet. Then Tristan threw a tantrum. Moments later, Jean-Louis yelled. Apparently, when it came time to pee, Tristan said he didn't have to and then he ended up peeing in his pants, all while having a tantrum. Jean-Louis threatened him with the pizza at some point and so he had to follow through. Curse it! I was ticked off. I made all this great pizza and Tristan couldn't even taste any. He ended up just having a Vietnamese coleslaw salad for dinner. We all had coleslaw but Jean-Louis and I were the only ones enjoying fresh homemade pizza. Sadly:( Tristan did eventually finish all of his salad though so that was a plus.

After dinner, I lectured Jean-Louis not to ever gamble dinner like that. It's hard enough to get Tristan to eat some times so he shouldn't have gambled the main course. Besides, it's not like it was unhealthy since it was homemade from scratch. Am I right?

Our dinner:


Pizza toppings:
maple ham, pineapple, beech mushrooms, fresh basil, fresh tomato, orange bell peppers, pesto chicken breast, cheddar, mozzarella

Sauces:
pesto, store bought pizza sauce

Tristan's dinner:

Weekends are full of activities now

We do our grocery shopping on the weekend. Boring, I know but it's the only time we can be very productive doing it. I sometimes grab a few things like milk and fruit during the week day but most of our shopping is on the weekend. This Saturday, we shopped in the morning, had lunch at home, then headed off to the bike festival hosted by MEC. It was gloomy and it rained on and off but when we arrived at the festival in the Athletes village, it stopped raining and the sun even came out a few times. It was a nice event. I'm not into bikes but Jean-Louis and Tristan are so it was great. We played a game where we had to go through 10 booths to collect passport stamps for Tristan. At the end, we got a couple of cool prizes. Tristan got a bell for his bike, as well as a small light.

At the first booth, Tristan tried out some of the bikes, but most of them were too high for him. He went on a pedal bike for the first time but he didn't know what to do and Jean-Louis basically pushed him along. Finally, we put him on a wooden running bike and he just took off! He went so fast. Give him something he's familiar with and he'll know exactly what to do with it. The other kids on the running bikes looked like they were trying it for the very first time. Besides riding bikes, we also watched the bike stunt show, which was pretty cool. Jean-Louis went for a test ride with Tristan attached to a bike seat. Because of the weather, there weren't many people at all. We loved it!

On Sunday, we headed to Broadway for Greek Day. It was our first time there. We heard about it in previous years but we just never got to go. This year I was reminded countless times about the event through Facebook and Twitter. In fact the event coordinator is a friend of mine on Twitter! I just had to go this year, obviously :)

It was hot on Sunday! I overdressed myself and Tristan. Ugh. The crowds at Greek Day made it even hotter. We arrived shortly after opening and the place was packed within 30 minutes. I think the nice weather brought out everyone! Greek day is known as a family-friendly event but with the crowds it almost seemed insane to bring small children. Tristan is at that age where he doesn't get overly stimulated in large crowds but I was scared of losing him. He likes to walk on his own a lot and I almost lost Jean-Louis and Tristan in the crowd that day.





On Broadway, they had two areas where they set up the kids zone. Tristan played fishing and then got a prize. We were going to line up for cotton candy but thought it was a bad idea before lunch. After lunch however, the line up was insane so we couldn't even do it. Oh well. The cotton candy was more for us than Tristan anyway. We lined up for the Shrek air castle. It was Tristan's first time in one and from the outside, it looked like so much fun! Too bad he was too small to climb and slide down but he still had a thrill walking inside. I would have love to have gone in myself. I have never been inside one before. If Tristan was a summer baby, we would totally rent one of those!

We ate greek food, watched some music performances, walked around, stopped by a nearby coffee shop, and then took off when Tristan started to go a little bananas. It was way past his nap time. We also had other plans that day to go shop at MEC, take Tristan on a bike ride, and cook dinner. Yes, the weekends are beginning to feel a bit hectic but it's awesome :)

Strawberry picking with Ma

What we did for Father's Day

What was supposed to have been a home barbecue turned into a weekend trip over to Victoria at the last minute. We invited my parents over earlier in last week but they didn't want to come over so we decided to head over ourselves. It was also an occasion to celebrate my dad's upcoming birthday this week.

We went out to eat at Heron Rock Bistro Saturday night with the family. It was us, my parents, my two brothers, and my niece. The food was surprisingly good. I'm not a big burger person but their chicken burger was quite tasty. Their steak apparently was very good too. We went home after wards to have cake. Tristan had a small sliver of chocolate cake so we had to take him out to exercise. My parents tagged along to Dallas Beach where we let Tristan bike a bit. It was really windy down there so we took out the kite as well. By the time we got home, it was past 9PM. By the time we all bathed and showered it was more past 11PM. Tristan slept past 11PM for the first time ever. He only napped maybe 15 minutes that day too. The next day he still woke up at 7AM!

On Sunday morning, we went to the flea market with my parents. After wards, Jean-Louis and I pushed Tristan for a run down to the beach. It was a nice 8.8km run to Dallas and through Beacon Hill Park. Then we met my friend and her two boys for some play time at a nearby park. We had late brunch plans with the family at 2PM. It was the only time we could get in unfortunately. We went to Aura Restaurant at the Laurel Point Inn for their Father's Day BBQ brunch buffet. It was good but not as great as what I remembered at the hotel. It was also held on the restaurant side rather than in the big banquet room in the previous years. The food was good but the selection was small. They had a big selection on breads and crackers though.

Overall, it was a productive and enjoyable trip to Victoria. Good food and Tristan got to spend more time with his grandparents (Gong and Ma) and see other family members he normally doesn't see.

Finally, Jean-Louis got a Father's Day gift from daycare as well! It's nice but we both think my Mother's Day gift was cooler :)

Tristan is 31 months old (or 2 years 7 months)

It's been awhile since I have done a post on Tristan's developmental updates. Today is no special day, except that it is the 20th of the month. Here is a brief update on how he is doing.

Potty Training

Tristan is well on his way to becoming diaper free. He wears underwear all the time except when he naps or sleeps at night. He has only had 2 dry diapers so far after waking up in the morning but when he does pee in his diaper it only happens once since the diaper is only a bit wet. He's working on it :) This weekend we went over to Victoria and even when we had a diaper or pull up on him, he did not pee in them once. No accidents and he even did number 2 at a restaurant. This is not to say he doesn't have any accidents. There are at least a couple of accidents a week still. Some times we just don't make it to the bathroom in time.

Eating

Tristan is eating everything. He isn't as picky at the moment and will eat anything you give him. If he is picky, we bribe him with an upcoming course (e.g. cheese stick) and that usually does the trick. He has also been eating more sweets such as muffins, cookies, scones, and granola. These are all homemade but he also likes to eat store bought arrowroot animal cookies. I would say that he eats sweets maybe twice a week. He's at that age where we just want him to try everything and discover the world. If it's something that isn't great for him like a brownie, we'll just give him a bite or two. Jean-Louis almost let him try pop but then I said no. That stuff is pure crap and besides, Tristan hasn't even drank juice yet. Okay, so maybe he can't try everything quite yet! :)

Sleep

He sleeps from 9:15PM to 7AM. He naps for 1-2 hours. We can't really complain here. He's quite consistent and sleeps through the night. Some times if he wakes up a bit earlier, we just go tell him to go back to sleep and cover him up and he does.

Tristan is still in his crib and will be for awhile. There is a piece of wood we can move so that he can get in and out easily. We plan to remove that piece in October, after our vacation. Right now, he can jump in and out of his crib but he is usually good about staying inside until we get to his room.

Speech

He can sing but he is shy around others. Some of his favorites are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Eensy-Weensy Spider, Happy Birthday, and Wheels on the Bus. His pronunciation is getting much better now. He can have simple conversations with my Mom on the phone and she actually understands him. He is still mixing his French and English. He is a little us in many ways. He says "oh my goodness" a lot and I've heard him say "what the heck" and "what the dickens." He tries to explain everything with "because... I'm a big boy" or something else. He loves to say because. You ask him why or how come and he'll say "because" and then try to finish it off with something. We find that he is constantly rehearsing his speech with us. We have to let him too but it's very interesting to watch him.

In the last week or so, he has been saying "love you" to us. Yup, it has taken him this long! Not sure if he totally understands it but we'll take it :)

Growth & Exercise

Tristan weighs 30 pounds. He can jump down from the third step on the stairs. He likes to run because Mom and Dad runs. He walks home one way from daycare and he increasingly wants to walk more. He loves biking on his Strider and requests to do it every day. He is at that age where we can take him out more and he can have fun. Overall, he is just easier to care for and more fun to be with. I think that is a recipe for traveling more, don't you? ;)

Behavior

Tantrums are on the decline. At the moment. Of course this could change but we're enjoying every moment of peace:)

When he coughs, he knows to do it into his elbow. He is an expert at blowing his nose. Bye bye aspirator! He started blowing his nose a few months ago. A couple of weeks ago, he started to spit out toothpaste after we brush his teeth.

Air time!

Vancouver dragon boat festival

We brought our toddler to see the dragon boat race today for the first time. If we had gone in any earlier year, it would have been overwhelming for him. He's 2 1/2 now and seems to deal fairly well with large crowds.

It was a nice day out so there were lots of people walking about. In fact both yesterday and today was nice so the festival really lucked out. Vancouver weather is unpredictable and it has been raining on and off for awhile now. Today really felt like summer.

I want to dragon boat race! Like many competitions I am a spectator of, I always feel the urge to join. In fact, I volunteered for the dragon boat event before and all the volunteers got to paddle in the boats when the event ended. I got a taste of it and it was super hard. Padding that fast was tiring and I remembered my arms died after about 30 seconds. I still want to join in though because it is so much fun! I saw seniors and even a pregnant lady competing today. Amazing. Inspiring. When Tristan gets older, we'll do it as a family and try to compete too!

First dry overnight diaper

We just reached yet another milestone in Tristan's potty training. He's has been doing very well in underwear pretty much all the time except that he still sleeps in a diaper. We let him wear underwear when we go out and we have so far managed to find public washrooms for him whenever he needed it. I have to say little boys are lucky they can pee while standing up! He even peed while standing on a log off a trail when we went hiking in Whistler. He sits and pees too but lately his preference is to stand, since daddy pees that way too :)

Tristan is advancing in potty training because he can hold his pee for long periods. I remember one day when he only peed twice from the morning he woke up to the time it was 4PM. I must have peed like 5 times by then. Since then I have tried to get him to drink more but it wasn't like he wasn't drinking at all. This week he actually wet his bed many times. He wears a diaper to sleep and he pees so much that it leaks. It really annoys me since I have to do laundry all the time. We decided to cut him from any drinking after 8PM. We encourage him to pee before bed but it doesn't always happen. We have been starting to tell him not to pee in his diaper and if he doesn't for awhile, we can put an underwear on him. He seems to like the idea but we just figured he is not ready yet.

Yesterday, I forgot to change Tristan out of his underwear for his afternoon nap. When he woke up, the bed was soaked. He didn't even know until I pointed it out. When he realized what had happened, he cried. He was devastated. This morning when he woke up, he walked straight to the potty, sat down, and pee on his own while I was in his bedroom fetching his day clothes. When I came to the bathroom he was said "look, I peed!" I took the diaper he threw on the floor and noticed it was as light as empty. I was totally shocked! Then Tristan said "I hold it. No pee it there. I hold it." Hooray! Then we both did the happy dance :)

I'm beginning to think that Tristan felt all along that it was okay to pee in his diaper during nap and sleep times. We allowed it since we didn't think he was ready. It seems that he is ready to give up the diaper and that we just had to tell him no. "No it's never good to pee in your diaper. You only have it on for emergencies. Try not to pee in it." I think he understands. And now he is trying.

The fish we didn't buy

Stevenston village is kid friendly

Today we decided to drive out to Stevenston village to check it out and to take Tristan biking at the park. I heard good things about this village over at yoyomama and always wanted to check it out.

When we arrived, we were surprised to see that it was a market day. I think they have markets every other Sunday but I didn't check the schedule beforehand. This may have changed now but I was happy to see the market there. What can I say? I love markets! I figured it was the market that made the place so busy. We had a lot of trouble finding parking and had to circle back and forth. Apparently, it's busy like that every weekend.

We walked down to the pier and found Pajo's there. Since it was recommended by so many people, I wanted to try it out. I ended up lining up for 30 minutes in the heat while Jean-Louis and Tristan strolled around. We grabbed the fish & chips to go and sat on the grass in the shade by the market. It was good but I'm not a big fish & chips kind of person so after one or so pieces, I felt kind of grossed out. As far as fish & chips go though, Jean-Louis and I both thought it was tasty.

After lunch, we headed over to Rocanini for coffee. We skipped the siphon coffee this time and just had an iced latte. It was good and refreshing. We headed across the street to the playground and was stunned by how huge it was. It was like five playgrounds side by side and a water park too. HUGE! Behind the playground was a trail that was excellent for biking so Tristan went on that. There was no time for anything else. Next time we go back to Steveston, we'll have to play in the playground and visit Garry Point Park.