Our visit to Vancouver

This past week, Grady and I went to Vancouver to visit Heather. We had a great trip and did lots of different things.

The fun started on the ferry ride over. Grady played in the kids room:

Heather picked us up at the ferry and we went straight to the aquarium in Stanley Park. (Well actually, we didn't go straight there because we were a bit lost in the park for a while - it was mainly my fault - I was supposed to be watching for signs!)

Heather and Grady in front of the dolphin tank.

Grady with the beluga whales.

Grady with some tropical fish.

Aunt Heather showing Grady the sea turtle.

After the aquarium, we went back to Heather's apartment. Grady needed a bath, but there isn't a bathtub in the bathroom, so we improvised and used the kitchen sink. Grady loved it!

The next day we went to Granville Island. We spent a lot of time in the Kids Market, which we all loved. There were tons of neat shops filled with all kinds of toys and clothes for babies and children. Auntie Hes took Grady to the second floor where there was a big play area. Although, you can't tell from this picture (he was getting tired), he had a great time there.

We spent most of our last day hanging around Heather's place and visiting until it was time to go back out to the ferry for our trip home.

Grady with Heather's special stuffie, "Wrinkles".

Grady standing on Heather's dorm room bed.

Practicing a new skill

Playtime

Grady's at a really neat stage right now - he's starting to actually play with his toys! It's a lot of fun to watch him pick toys up and do different things with them ... mostly he still puts them in his mouth, but he'll also move them around on the floor and today, he put the bug in the back of the farm truck (see the last picture).

Wahoo!

I bought this little ride-on toy for Grady at a garage sale last week (it's definitely been worth the $2). We've been having lots of fun driving him around the main floor. Now, he even puts his feet on the ground and tries to push himself ... often backwards, but that's okay. He also likes to just sit on the toy in the living room. We have to stay beside him (yes, he's fallen off of it already!), but he'll play with his toys I give him and just hang out there.

Some form of communication

I've been making an effort to repeat the same words over and over again to Grady. Like when I'm changing his diaper, I'll say, "We are changing your diaper, here is your diaper, now your diaper is on!". Or when we are petting Ryder, I'll say, "There's the puppy, we are petting the puppy, what a nice puppy." I read that this is a great way to help a baby's vocabulary grow and since he may be trying to use these words in a couple of months, I figure we should get started now.

So, that's what this video is all about. I'm not sure if he quite gets it yet, but it's pretty cute regardless!

Showing off his chiclets!

Go Canucks!

This little Canucks warm-up suit was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Syme (before Grady was even born!). I was getting Grady dressed the other day and couldn't really find anything interesting for him to wear (you know, sometimes he gets bored with his outfits ;)

Anyway, I saw this little set at the back of his drawer and pulled it out. I thought it would be way too big, but it fits pretty well. And, the Canucks played that night and won, so I think it's good luck! Sandy laughed so hard when he came home from work and saw Grady dressed like this - he loved it.