Destination Review: The Zoo

This guy pretty much sums it up.

What's the deal with the zoo?  I'm not gonna lie, I found it pretty boring.  Who brings their 8 month old to the zoo anyhow?  This was essentially an extra long stroller walk featuring a bunch of strange and large looking animals, NONE OF WHICH I COULD TOUCH.  Remember those naps I'm not so into?  I took one.  That's how bored I was.  I napped right through the panda experience.  And Polar Bears?  More like Snore-ar Bears.  AMIRITE?!

One bright spot of the trip was the aquarium with all of the fish and coral.  That was colourful and full of movement (read: somewhat entertaining for an 8 month old).  

 

Also of note: no ducks.  Plenty of geese and seagulls, but no ducks.  Huge disappointment.  

Kudos to Mamamamama and Dadada for giving it a shot, but this was clearly a thinly disguised date day to check out some giant pandas before the summer crowds swarm in.  

Bottom line:  WAAAHHHhhhzzzzz....etc.

Destination Review: The Pool

I'm basically part fish.

Guys.  GUYS.  The Pool.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, The Pool is an extra large bathtub - all play, no scrubbing.  What it lacks in soap, The Pool makes up for in fun.  Here are just SOME of the fun things that happen in The Pool:

1. Mamamamama puts her face in the water.  IN THE WATER!  Can you imagine?
2. Seriously.  She puts it in the water.  The water gets on her face.  Oh man, you should see it.
3. Other babies' Mamamamamas and Dadadas put their faces in the water.
4. Some Mamamamamas and Dadadas, including my own, blow bubbles when their faces are in the water. Pretty much the greatest thing ever.

Less fun things that happen in The Pool:

1. My face goes in the water. 

Bottom line:  WHEEE!!!  Totally worth the bundled-up stroller ride in winter.

Activity Review: Napping

Don't worry, I'll be up soon.

I don't mind sleep.  It's actually pretty great.  I prefer to do it at night, so long as I can occasionally and unexpectedly wake up and demand a snack, or full-on meal.  Sleeping during the day, or "napping", is less interesting to me.  I'll do it, but not for long.  Unless you are putting off doing something important because you are sure I'm just going to wake up after half an hour anyhow - then I will nap for somewhere around 2 hours, seemingly out of the blue. 

I'll tell you what I won't do anymore: take a third nap.  I used to be willing to take a quick 30 minute "snack nap" (a "Snap" if you will) in the late afternoon, to get me through to bedtime without any epic meltdowns.  That was before I realized that I could stay awake and play, occasionally and unpredictably peppering late afternoon/early evening with epic meltdowns.  Less mature babies need the Snap, but when you get to be my age (I'm 8 months old after all), Snaps are a thing of the past.  Unless you are referring to my morning and early afternoon naps.  Those are pretty much Snaps about 80% of the time. 

Bottom line: WAAAH!!!  Who needs over 1.5 hours of restorative sleep when you can get inadequate rest in 30 minutes or less?

Book Review: Busy Day

This dino has places to be.

I consider myself to be a pretty lucky baby.  Among many other fantastic routines, Mamamamama and Dadada read me 2 books every morning.  Count 'em.  2.  Seriously, please count them because I don't know how and there are no fact checkers working on this blog.

Generally I love books.  In case you are not familiar with books, they have pictures, letters, colours, pages, covers and flavours (note: the flavours are usually the same, consisting primarily of paper and fingerprints, with hints of cherry and oak and finishing on soft notes of apricot and vanilla).

My favourite book of all time has to be Busy Day - from the Look and Learn series illustrated by Jan Lewis and devised and produced by Tucker Slingsby Ltd.

This is a really good book.  You can tell I enjoy a book because, like you, I wave my arms about excitedly and squeal as soon as I see it.

This book sets out one busy day in the life of a bunch of dinosaurs.   SPOILER ALERT - It's a REALLY BUSY DAY.  The dinos wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, do a bunch of things at school, go grocery shopping, come home, and go to bed because they are exhausted from all the things they did all day.  I can't emphasize enough how busy this day is.  Not only do they bake cakes, but they eat them.  They learn in class, play music, paint, play a racing game, take the bus, the list goes on and on.  The biggest drawback of this story is that I'm pretty sure some of my favourite dinos from the other Look and Learn books do not get to have a busy day because they are in the sausages the carnivore student dinosaurs are eating at lunch.  The one herbivore at the table looks to be eating his salad pretty nervously.

Bottom line: WHEEE!!! Crawl, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore to pick up a copy of Busy Day.  It's full of twists and turns you never see coming, no matter how many times it's read to you.

BLOG!

Not actually me.

Hello.  Mamamamama calls me Ducky, a lot.  She calls me other things too and it has quite frankly left me wondering what my actual name is.  Parenting fail.  I'll shelve that for 15 years or so and bring it up when curfew negotiations ramp up.  Anyhow, Ducky it is.

I make a lot of sounds that resemble the word blog, so this forum feels like a natural fit. 

"Waaah or Wheee?!" is where you can find my reviews of many of the baby-related things you've bought, been gifted, coveted and wondered about.  I'll give my honest opinions about books, toys, destinations, gadgets and activities.  What you do with those opinions is up to you.  If I were you I would put them in my mouth, bang them together, put them in my mouth again and then throw them on the floor.

So let's find out what disappointed me (WAAAH!!!) and what I can't live without (WHEEE!!!)...