Halloween

Thumbs up! That's what pilots do when they're ready to takeoff.

Do you recognize me with my helmet on? If not, it's me, Avi. I'm dressed as a pilot for Halloween. My jet is zooming over the clouds.


Halloween is also Grandpa's birthday so, as we do every year, we visited him to wish him a happy birthday before going out trick or treating.


This year, I went trick or treating with my buddy Thomas in his neighbourhood. There we SO many kids that I had a little trouble with my airplane wings getting in the way. That didn't stop me from visiting lots of houses and getting LOTS of candy.

Diwali

Tonight is Diwali and because Ba is staying with us, we are really celebrating it this year. Tonight, after a nice dinner, I got to go outside and play with sparklers. Daddy says when I'm older, we can light some fireworks.


This whole week we've been busy with special things to do. Here I am helping Ba make a rangoli outside our front door.


Every night we've been lighting candles and putting them on the stairs and sidewalk. Mommy lights the candles, Ba brings them to me and my job is to put them in the right spot.


Here I am with Mommy before going out to Navatri (dancing). Don't I look nice in my outfit?

Pumpkin Patch

Today, I went on my first field trip ever.  My preschool class when to the pumpkin patch to get ready for Halloween.

Mommy and I met all my friends with their moms at preschool. When I got there, there was a big, yellow, school bus waiting for us! After everyone got on the bus, Cathy made some announcements then we sang songs all the way to the pumpkin patch.

When we got to the farm, I saw some funny looking animals. Mommy told me they're llamas. There were also horses, chickens and some really cute and funny pigs. After watching the animals, we took a hayride to the pumpkin field.  Wow!  There were so many pumpkins that it was hard to choose one.


Mommy said to look for one with a nice shape and to also make sure that it wasn't rotten.  I had to check all pumpkins out so it look me a really long time to find a perfect one.  Finally I found one and Mommy did too so we had two pumpkins to take home for carving.


Here's a picture I took of Mommy.


Here I am with my friends Luke, Thomas and Matthew.  Don't we look funny sitting on pumpkins!


After everyone chose a pumpkin, we waited for the wagon to take us back to the bus.  I had lots of fun jumping on cubes of hay with my friends.


Stay tuned for my blog about Halloween where I'll show you the jack-o-lanterns we make out of the pumpkins we brought home today.

Surprise Party for Ba

Ba has been in Toronto for a little while visiting relatives who live there. Today she came back and we had a big surprise for her.

Ba's birthday is in July and she turned 70 this year. Mommy thought it would be fun to throw a surprise party for Ba when she arrived back in Vancouver. She'd never expect it. Mommy was right, Ba was really surprised!


Here I am with Khaki and Jacob helping Ba blow out her candles. It was fun surprising Ba. It was most fun eating chocolate birthday cake.

New Classes

School has started and besides preschool, Mommy has signed me up for some fun stuff. I have a new class at the Arts Umbrella called Dress Up Drama. My best buddy, Matthew, from preschool is in the class with me. Each class, my teacher, Rene, tells us a story. Then the dress-up trunks are opened and we can choose any costume that we want. Then we pretend we are parts of the story that Rene told us. Here I am as Batman. Batman wasn't actually part of the story but I had a lot of fun pretending to be a super hero.


Besides Dress Up Drama, I've also started piano lessons.

I hope that I'll be able to play "Wheels On The Bus" soon.

Watch Out Lightning McQueen

I got picked! I got picked! Mommy got a phone call last week from the Friends of Ferrari and they picked me to drive in one of their races!

Here I am all suited up with Mr. Franco. Mr. Franco is the founder of Friends of Ferrari.


Thumbs up. I'm ready to race. Here I am waiting for my turn. I'm having fun cheering with all the other kids who are also waiting.


Finally it's my turn. I'm racing in the fourth heat. The winner of this race goes to the winner's round and the loser goes to the consolation round. Cross your fingers for me. I hope I win!


Well, I didn't win my first race so I ended up in the consolation round. In the consolation round race, instead of only two cars racing at once, all five cars race all at the same time. THAT was really fun. I almost won that race. I was in the lead for most of the race but I think my car started to run out of batteries at the end and I got passed at the last turn. I came in second.


The winner of the consolation round gets to race in one of the winner's circle heats but the kid who won the consolation round didn't want to race anymore so I got to race THREE times! Unfortunately, I didn't win that race either but I did have a lot of fun!


Here I am with my racer's medal. All the kids got one. I've always wanted a medal so I'm going to keep it in my treasure box.

5-Pin Bowling

There's a bowling alley at the top of the hill near our house. I like to go inside to watch the old people playing but I've never tried bowling myself. Today, Aunty Melodie, Marissa, Aiden, Mommy and I went bowling!


It was harder than I thought it would be but once I started using all my muscles, the ball started knocking down the pins.


Mommy says I did very well for my first time. Here's my score - I got 28. I hope that we come back again soon so I can get a strike!

Family Reunion in Oregon

This weekend I went to Oregon for a family reunion. To get to Oregon on time, we had to leave home REALLY early in the morning. It was still dark outside when Mommy put me in the car. I told her that it's still night time and that I hardly had any sleep.

We drove for a little while then Daddy decided it was time for breakfast. We found a great restaurant with green fields all around and I got to eat an apple cinnamon DONUT with hot chocolate for breakfast. It was the most delicious breakfast I ever had in my ENTIRE life! Mommy said she hopes it's the only time in HER life that I will get to eat a donut for breakfast.


After lots more driving we finally got to Oregon. I didn't know I was related to so many people. I met a new cousin, Brent, who is bigger than my cousin Jacob but smaller than me. My favourite cousin, Kennedy was there too - she's much older than me. We had lots of fun playing and visiting interesting places. Here are some pictures from my trip.


I love playing in the sand and the beach outside our vacation house was great.


Look at the sand castle Jacob and I are building! Uncle Kelly and Daddy are good helpers.


I had so much fun in the water. Here Mommy helps me jump waves to avoid a bubble attack.


Me flying a kite all by myself. Oregon is perfect for flying kites - it's always windy.


Life is good. Here I am relaxing in the tub with Jacob after a morning of playing at the beach.


This is a photo I took of Kennedy. It's always lot of fun when she's around!


One of my favourite parts of this trip was a visit to the Tillamook Air Museum. I LOVED flying the simulators with Mommy while Daddy looked at all the old planes.


I still like buses but I think I'll become a fighter jet pilot when I grow up instead of a bus driver.


After the Air Museum, we went to the Tillamook cheese factory. Daddy gave me a $5.00 bill to buy ice cream after the cheese tour. No, I don't have an itchy bum, I'm keeping my ice cream money safe.


I kept that ice cream money safe for the entire tour and here I am enjoying my favourite ice cream - mint chocolate chip. It's delicious!


We were in Oregon for only a few days and they were all lots of fun. On the way home, Daddy wanted to stop at the vineyards but we only had time for one. Outside the tasting room I had fun finding tiny grapes on the vines.


It was a really long day of driving to get home. I watched lots of movies on the DVD player. Here I am with Daddy when we stopped for picnic lunch.

Happy Birthday Bus

I went to a birthday party today. The Vancouver trolly buses turned 60 years old.


This morning, Mommy, Ba and I went down to the Marpole bus depot to take part in the celebrations. There were some really old buses, some brand new buses and everything else in between. I liked all the buses but chose to ride in an old bus. Mommy said it's the kind she used to ride when she was little.


The buses were all lined up and once I took my seat there was a parade. I went all the way from the bus depot down to Stanley Park. Ba rode on the bus with me while Mommy drove the car to meet us at the end of the parade.


When we got to the park there were a lot of people clapping and waiting for us. There were speeches and cardboard buses being given away and best of all, there was cake! I had lots of fun and I think Ba did too.

Happy Birthday Bus!

Ba

This is a picture I took of my Ba. She is Daddy's mom and has come all the way from Nairobi to live with us for a year. I've been to Nairobi. It's really far away.

Ba is really nice. We eat breakfast together and she plays games with me in my playroom. We don't know each other very well yet but I think I will like her.

Super Strength

Super heros are very strong. See my super human strength as I arm wrestle with Daddy.

Jump, Run and Fly

I'm a super hero. Let me show you my powers and super hero stance.

New Digs

Welcome to my new house. In this house, I don't have to follow Mommy's rules. I don't have to put my things away and it can be as messy as I like. Come on, let me show you around...


Just like our blue house, my house has a window at the front so I can see who is at the door before I answer it. See the bell on the door? You can ring it when you come visit me.


I have shutters that close on my side windows. They're great when I'm in my lab doing an Indiana Jones archeology experiment. I don't want anybody to see the wonderful treasures that I've found.


Best of all, even though I made Mommy try really hard, I'm the only one who fits inside. Thanks for visiting me at my house.

My Size

I'm growing. Today I am 4 years and 3 months old. Mommy discovered that I'm about the same size as the bottom stair that goes down to the basement (43").

Summer 2008

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been gone for so long. I've been keeping Mommy pretty busy this summer so she hasn't had any time to help me update my blog. We've done so much since the last day of school. Here's an update.

ITALIAN FESTIVAL - June 22, 2008
Look what we found at the Italian festival! I just had to get on the bus to see what was going on inside!


It's an art bus! I made a flag to help decorate the festival gate.


The festival was fun. There were dancers on a stage, a food and snacks area and a little market. Daddy bought me a wooden car that can be taken apart by unscrewing the wooden screws. Also, the eyes spin around when I drag it behind me. The best part though, and the whole reason we went to the festival, was to see the Ferrari races. That's not me driving the little Ferrari but I hope they pick my name for next month's race. I know that I can drive the car faster and better than that boy did.



SOCCER CAMP
My first soccer camp was the week after school ended. I really liked it so Mommy has signed me up for many more this summer. I've learned how to dribble the ball, kick the ball and most fun of all, score a goal. At the end of each camp we always divide into two teams and play a game. At first I didn't like getting pushed around trying to get the ball so I stayed in the goal. Now, I'm getting better at getting the ball so I'm hustling a lot more. This week I scored four goals!


In addition to soccer camp, I've also gone to swimming lessons and day camp at the community centre and at St. George's School.

OUTINGS
If I'm not in day camp then Mommy and I usually have lots of time to go on an outing. If the weather is bad, we go to the Play Palace, Science World, Mount Pleasant Family Centre, the driving range or I have a friend come over for a play date.

If the weather is good, then we do something really fun and different. This summer we've been to lot of places. Here are some photos of my favourite outings.


I LOVE the water park. Mommy always allows lots of time for me when we go here. I love it so much!


Visiting the Fire Station. I love sitting in the drivers seat and exploring everything on the fire engine.


The Capilano Suspension Bridge was fun. The bridge sure is wobbly. At first I was scared and Mommy had to hold my hand but after we got half way across the bridge, I wasn't so scared anymore. I really like the treetops area and collecting the stamps on my passport.


Last weekend we went up to Kamloops to visit Uncle Brian. We also stopped in at Tobiano to see the new golf course. While at Tobiano, Mommy found a skeleton. At first I thought it was sort of weird and scary but Daddy pointed out all the parts and it didn't seen so scary any more. I guessed that it used to be a cow.


Uncle Brian's place was fun. We went out for ice cream, to a playground with a big ship and we played airplane races in the park behind his house. We also went to the wildlife park where I rode on their little green train. The most fun part though was playing driving games on Uncle Brian's Wii. We Skyped Aunty Karen and Uncle Hanson, who live in London, and raced each other while chatting over Skype.

We've done lots this summer and there's still lots of things I hope we can do. Mommy really hopes the weather gets better soon. We were supposed to spend the day at the beach, go to the water park at Granville Island and go to the bird sanctuary this week but it's been too rainy and cold all week. Cross your fingers for me that the weather gets warm and sunny soon.