Monkey See, Monkey Do

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by Kari My oldest daughter attended her first bike race at three months old; we were there to cheer on Daddy, she slept the entire time.  Since then, she has managed to travel the world, and often stayed awake, to cheer on Mommy or Daddy.  There was the Bermuda Marathon, Ironman New Zealand, and most recently a trip to South Africa for an eight day mountain bike race, Cape Epic.  It was only a matter of time before I signed her up for her own event; the National Capital Marathon (NCM) Weekend Family 2K Run seemed the perfect choice.  With 3700 participants, you can practically guarantee that your child will not be last!

I’ve participated in NCM events several times since moving to Ottawa, and I love them.  The energy in the air is intoxicating, no really, it is.  As she headed to the start line, I hoped she too, would feel it.  You are surrounded by thousands of walkers and runners; somehow this feels like a kinship or a special club.  The spectators are incredible and almost completely line this short run course; they shout encouragement, clap and wave colourful signs as you pass.  All participants get a race shirt, and all finishers get a medal – very popular with the young ones.  With the sound of the gun, her ‘race’ began and I’m proud to say she ran (jogged) almost the entire thing :-)  She loved it.

As an active city, Ottawa has no shortage of family runs, tris, and even bike races:

Whether you have a budding athlete or dawdler, I would encourage you to give one of these events a try or perhaps you’ll take part in the NCM Family Run next year.  If you know of any other events, please let us know by leaving a comment.

Kari is the mom of two girls, a 5 year old and a 1 year old.  She can be found frequenting free activities throughout the city in hopes it’ll tire them out enough to sleep through the night.

Another successful walking adventure

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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.

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