Spring at Petrie Island

by Cathy Spending time outside as the world is waking up again is one of the best parts of spring.

One of our favourite places to celebrate the season is Petrie Island– the perfect place for a Sunday morning ‘wonder wander’. And if you go in the next few weeks, you’ll get to see one of Petrie Island’s star attractions – turtles! – emerging along many of the Island’s trails.

Easily accessible from downtown Ottawa by turning north on Trim Road, the area is home to many wildlife species, including three different types of turtles. A small network of trails, each between 0.5 and 2.5 kilometres long, lace the property and are perfect for little ones to roam.

When they’re ready for a break, there is a small play area near the beach (with a train my 2 year old loves to ‘ride’) and lots of picnic tables for a welcome snack. There is also a small interpretation centre on site for those wanting to know more – or who’d like a closer look at some of the area’s most reptilian residents!

The area is considered a Class 1 wetland, which means we should have worn our rubber boots when we went last weekend. Some of the trails were still flooded but we saw 5-6 turtles enjoying the early sunshine, as well as a muskrat swimming quite close to shore. Everyone came home muddy, wet, and filled with excitement about what we’d seen. A perfect morning, I’d say!

Cathy is a blog-less but avid follower of Kids in the Capital. She has a 4.5 year old daughter and a 2.5 year old son who both love being outside as much as she does.

Rainy day scavenger hunts

by Brie With all the rain in Ottawa lately we have spent a lot of time indoors. We have painted. We have baked. Finally I had to get us out of the house!

One day last week I managed to get the kids dressed into their one piece rain suits (I love those!) and we headed to the park for a scavenger hunt. I made each kid a list with six colour boxes. Their job was to find as many things they could of each colour.

(This would be great to play with kids that are just learning to spell. When the girl is a bit older I am going to spell our some of the things to look for at the park, like "slide" and "swings". For younger kids you could also try drawing pictures of what you want them to find.)

My 4 year old started playing the game before we even left the house by looking out the window! She manged to find way more colours then her two year old brother. But they both had a good time so I consider it a success.

Best of all it got us outside to the park, even though it was raining!

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Going on an Easter egg hunt

by Brie I have fond memories of hunting for eggs on Easter morning. I was pretty sure my kids would like it too. One year I decided that instead of hiding little chocolate eggs or presents around the house, I would take the hunt outside and make a party of it!

I invited friends and neighbours to join us at our local park the Saturday morning before Easter. We had snacks and treats, but the real highlight was sending the kids on a hunt for plastic eggs hidden throughout the park. The eggs were filled with stickers that the kids could then sit down and use to decorate construction paper, along with some crayons we brought.

The Easter egg hunt can be made as easy or as hard as you'd like. The eggs can be hidden low to the ground for younger kids or tucked up high into branches or play structures for the older kids.

We had a great time with our Easter egg hunt. It was a fun way to get everyone together and kick off park season. If you have a big enough backyard you could try an outside Easter egg hunt there too!

Does your family have an egg hunt at Easter?

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Another successful walking adventure

by Ezmy I have been itching to take Budsie to the park for as long as I’ve known him.

Even when he was in utero, I would get all giddy after seeing people with their tots in the park and then I’d talk to my stomach excitedly: “Mummy is SO going to take you to the park and we’ll have picnics and swing times and it’s going to be awesome.” People definitely gave me strange looks on the bus.

So when the snow finally melted, I figured it was time for a little park outing. But where would I find a park with swings (swings being essential to park awesomeness, in my humble opinion)? It occurred to me that because I was on bed rest, then wedding planning, then in hibernation for the winter, I really had no idea where a park for Budsie might be. I mean, I knew I had seen parks somewhere…but where?

Clearly it was time for a walking adventure. So A. and I packed up the carrier and set off to find a park with swings.

*30 seconds later*

There is a park with swings BEHIND OUR HOUSE! Nifty! Unfortunately, Budsie did not share in my excitement about this discovery. Probably because his mother is crazy and it was still a bit too cold for good park times:

But still! A successful, albeit short walking adventure, proving once again that while it is a bit more challenging to find activities that babies can get into, walking adventures are always an option. So if you are a parent with a young baby and you are lamenting the lack of baby good times, strap the kid to the front of you and get out for a walk. Who knows what you’ll find – even in your own backyard!

Ezmy is a new mum to son Ewan (aka Budsie). When she isn’t working on her master’s thesis, or playing games with her boy, she’s blogging furiouslyabout life as a stay-at-home mum in our nation’s capital. Follow Ezmy on Twitter (@ezmytweets) where she posts daily resolutions and updates on life with an active and very vocal baby.

Andrew Haydon Park

by Sasha Andrew Haydon Park is ready for spring.

The snow has melted from the paths. Well, almost.

And the geese are struting around in pairs, fiercely defending their territory.

Pretty soon, the chains will be off the gates. Water from the waterfall will fill the pond, and the delightful chaps at the shoreline will race their remote-controlled sailboats. And if you ask, they will be happy to show you how they work, perhaps even pluck one out of the water and point out the magical gears inside. (This has been known to happen.)

There will be kids on the play structures, and water in the water park. There will be concerts in the bandshell on Wednesday evenings, and fireworks on Canada Day. The geese will rule the ponds, but if you're lucky, you may spot a heron.

Are YOU ready for spring?

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.