Cooking Class and Weekend Update

This morning, we got up a bit after 6am.  It's a bit earlier than normal since we have been getting up at 7am lately.  I decided to take the stroller and walk to the station instead of catching a bus to the station.  It was packed on the bus!  Next time I think I will wait for a later bus so that we can avoid the throng of students heading to UBC for their 9am classes.

Isaac fell asleep on the bus ride to the community centre.  I woke up him 10 minutes before class started.  Overall the class went pretty well (with the exception of incident involving Isaac pulling two of his classmates down).  Isaac washed his hands and stayed sitting waiting for the class to start (I was impressed that he didn't try to get up and run all around).

Today the kids made bread pudding.  Everyone was given a cutting board, a butter knife and 2 pieces of rosemary olive oil bread.  They tried cutting and ripping the bread into little pieces and put the pieces into a baking dish.  After, they got to crack and egg into a bowl and mix it with some milk.  They poured the egg-milk mixture onto the bread.  Next they cut up some cheese and sprinkled it on top of the bread.  The teacher put the baking dishes into the oven.  Everyone helped to scrub the table, then had to go wash their hands before snack time.

After snack time, they got to try the bread pudding.  It was a little soggy, but tasted ok.  Isaac ate some of it in class and we brought home the left-overs so that Daddy could try some too.  The trip back home was much more relaxing on an empty bus.

This evening, I was at a choir auction/rehearsal and Daddy put Isaac to bed.  Isaac was a very good boy for Daddy and went to bed without a fuss.

Yesterday, we took Isaac to the planetarium (H.R. MacMillan Space Centre).  Isaac had fun pressing some buttons on some of the displays (especially triggering a propeller to spin).  We watched a live demonstration/talk about "A Day In Space" then we watched part of Galileo in the planetarium.  He was was chatting a lot at the start of the show (and we tried to ask him to be quiet...) but once room darkened, he quieted down.  We watched about half the show when Isaac declared "All Done" and got up from my lap.  I didn't want to disturb the other viewers so we took him out... but as we left, he kept wanted to go back (and had a major meltdown with lots of screaming and crying).  We ended up upgrading our admission ticket to a year membership.  Any mention about why we left triggered another round of crying.


We got a message from our friend that they had their baby (and they invited us to visit them at the hospital).  Since we were already almost downtown, we headed to the hospital to make a quick visit before heading home for lunch.  Isaac conked out in the car ride to pick up lunch.


Saturday, we went to a fair so that I could get a chance to hear a choir perform.  We also had a potluck dinner at Auntie E & Uncle S's house.  Isaac had fun (and asked to go again the next day).


Friday, we met up with our playgroup friends and went to a gym time at a community centre.  Afterwards, we played at the park for a bit.  I took Isaac to Ikea for a hot dog after that.  I also picked up additional little bins and a Trofast wall storage to sort and store our lego.  I still don't have enough bins for each colour, but it seems to be a good size for the lego.  I store the mini figures, base plates and miscellaneous pieces in one of the bigger bins.  I still have some lego technic and bionicle lego pieces stashed away.


I hope tomorrow will be a semi-relaxing day to visit VV, the library, then meet up with Auntie C. and baby B at the mall.

First Day of Preschool

Isaac was awake before 7am, but I told him he couldn't get up until after the alarm went off (set for 7am).  When the alarm started beeping, he started yelling "Wake up!".  He dumped all the lego out and got upset when we made him clean up the mess.

We had breakfast, got him changed but it was still a little too early to leave the house.  The class today is just 1/2 day, and we were slotted in for the 2nd half.  Turns out I didn't need to pack him a snack today.  We got a chance to chat with the teachers, I signed up for a couple of parent volunteer days, and I updated our emergency contact info.

When we first walked into the room, Isaac took off and wanted to play right away.  I had to corral him to his cubby to put his coat and backpack away, and to put his name tag on.  Isaac went around to a few stations to play with the house, trains, and slide.  He didn't want to join in at the circle time, but eventually sat on the rug when he saw the teacher playing with a duck puppet saying "hi" to each of the kids sitting on the rug.  Everyone stayed in their seats except Isaac when the teacher pulled out the "Wheels on the bus" book.  He moved right up front to have a better look at the book.  As they were singing, he looked around to observe (other kids singing, and doing song motions).  When the teachers sang a good-bye song, Isaac took off and ran to the door.  Isaac got a stamp on his hand before he left the class.

We went out for dim sum at Jade Chinese Seafood restaurant.  We didn't make it there in time for the discounted price.  The service was slow - the waiters seemed to be busy chatting up their regular customers.  The food was decent, though the portions were a little small for some of the dishes.  We will probably go back another time, but it doesn't look like it'll be a place we'd go too often.

We went home and I put Isaac down for his afternoon nap.  He fell asleep just before 2pm and woke up at around 4pm.  I went out to VV while he napped and picked up some books.  Time to prepare dinner.  I'm making soup noodles with vegetables, tofu, chicken balls, and leftovers.

Dental Checkup and Preparing for Preschool

This morning I took Isaac to the clinic to get his teeth screened by a dental hygienist.  It was a good visit, Isaac was very co-operative.  There was no biting, no crying, no screaming, no bad behaviour.  I was happy the visit went smoothly.  She had some areas where she was a bit concerned but gave the ok to see us again in 6 months.

I was given a task to find a family dentist for all of us.  I asked her for some recommendations.  I'll try to followup and inquire at a couple of places to see if we can find a dentist/clinic that is a good fit.

We've been reading stories to prepare Isaac for preschool for the past month.  He seems to be looking forward to going to Twos Time.

This evening after we put Isaac to bed, I started labelling his things for preschool tomorrow.  I found Mabel's Labels easy to use.  I'll have to see how they hold up.  I labelled his water bottle, a thermos food jar, a snack container, a set of utensils, two tops, two pairs of pants, a couple of jackets, cap, and sun glasses.  His shoes are starting to fall apart, so I didn't want to waste a label on it.  Instead, I wrote his name on masking tape and stuck it in his shoe.  Hope I didn't forget anything.

I packed him a set of spare clothes, socks, underwear and diapers, his water bottle, and a snack.  Daddy took the day off tomorrow so that we can attend the parent orientation together.

Little Chefs Cooking Class

This morning was a rush.  We missed the early bus by a few minutes.  We waited about 17 minutes for the next bus.  When we got to the station, I had to carry Isaac and make a dash for the trains.  The train was crowded, so I'm glad I didn't bring a stroller (not to mention, I wouldn't have been able to run with it since the wheels aren't happy if I attempt to walk fast).  We transferred to another bus and got to the cooking class 5 minutes late.  Door-to-door travel time was about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Little Chefs I is a 1.5 hour cooking class for 2-3 year olds.  We're actually allowed to leave them in the class and pick them up afterwards - it's a parent-optional class.  Each parent volunteers to help out during one class in the term.  Next time, I need to remember to bring a container so that I can bring home their cooking.

When we arrived, some of the kids were seated around a big table while others were lined up at the sink to wash their hands.  We joined the hand-washing line-up.  One of the teachers handed out a mixing bowl to each kid.  After she went around the table and everyone got a turn scooping a cup of flour and adding in some water to their mixing bowls.  They mixed with forks and their hands.  Then they were encouraged to flatten out their dough and punch out circles.  The teachers put the cookies onto baking sheets and put them in the oven.  The kids washed their hands, then helped to scrub down the table.  

Snack time
The teacher sang a song (where each child had to say there name and what snack they were eating).  I was filling out a form at the time, so I missed listening to hear if Isaac said his name or not but I did hear him say "craisins" for his snack. :)

After snack time,  the (non-edible) cookies were just about ready and cooled briefly.  The teacher handed out everyone's cookies and they were allowed to decorate them with crayons.  The crayons melted on the cookies.  There was a hole punched on the cookies so that we could bring them home, string them and hang them up.

The teacher went over a list of things the kids will be making this term.  I requested a copy of the list so that I can post about that next week.

I was amazed that most the kids behaved pretty well in the class.  I plan to stay and observe next class and in the following sessions, I may go to the library to do some reading. :)