September recap - what you might have missed

How is September already over?! I am certain we can only be halfway through and yet... here we are!  A lot did happen here in September, here's what we talked about, in case you missed any of it! Attractions for kids

We went all over the city, from the cottage right in our backyard at Mud Lake and exploring new corners of the city while trying out geocaching, to the Lumiere Festival, karters corners, and going on family bike rides.

We also found out why Chapters is a great place to take your kids, heard about the ruins at MacKenzie King Estate, visited the ByWard Market, an exhibition at the National Gallery and heard about putting your girls in hockey.

Books

We visited the Sunnyside library and also heard about getting your kids their own library cards.

Cooking

One mom told us all about how to make an amazing Thomas birthday cake and a trip to the apple orchard has people making apple crisp and apple sauce.

Fairs

Fall fair season is upon us.  We visited the Richmond and Spencerville Fairs.

Meetups

We are heading out to MacKenzie King Estate this Saturday morning - will you join us?

Out of town activities

We visited the Granby zoo and it sounds amazing!

Parenting Tips

This month we talked about the importance of being aware of kids with allergies and how to make it easier for them when you host an event.  We also talked about getting fussy babies to sleep, cutting your kids' hair, and using cloth diapers.

Products

Figuring out what kind of lunchbox to buy isn't an easy decision - here's some help.

Social Media Mondays

We launched a new series called Social Media Mondays - here is the intro post.

Sponsors and Giveaways

This month we welcomed Inspired Photography to our list of sponsors and had giveaways from Spoiled Sugar and Inspired Photography (giveaway open until the end of the day Oct 1)

Services

There are so many great services in the city that cater to kids.  Take your kids to Two Monkeys Coffee and Tea House, glamping, to yoga, babynastics or throw them the perfect princess party!

August : what you might have missed

Activities for kids So many more great places to go with your kids were covered this month.  A ride on the Rideau Canal, a visit to the Governor General's, we visited the fair, went to Brewer park, discovered a great community playgroup, hunted bugs at the Billings Estate and even a trip to a fabulous Asian food store.

We also found out about fun things to do with your kids : use skype to keep in touch, throw a fairy party, make paper boats, and listen to audio books.

Bloghop

We had a bloghop and so many great Ottawa blogs linked up. Go and have a look and say hello while you're there!

Classes for kids

Have you thought about having your child learn a language? Brie tells us how her daughter learned Japanese this summer and about great language programs in the City.

Joanne tells us about the martial arts classes her son takes and the Ottawa Lions Sports program her daughter takes part in.

Let's get together

We've got a meetup up scheduled for the long weekend to go apple picking at Cannamore Orchards. We'd love to see you there!

Our Kids in the Capital Tuesday morning playdates are continuing! We'd love to see you there too! :)

Splish Splash

Calypso is great fun, but possibly not the best fit for your non-daredevil young ones. Mont Cascades was also a great bet for summer fun.

There are great splash pads all around the city - do you take your kids to any?

Sponsorship

We were thrilled to add Spoiled Sugar to our sponsors this month. She has some amazingly cute stuff in her shop - definitely worth checking out!

Nayla Natural Care did a giveaway for some Kinderville products. The contest is over, but the review is great and worth a read!

Summer of Awesome

Lynn has continued to have an amazing summer hitting the Carp Farmer's Market, Saunders Farm, the Changing of the guard, the Centennial branch of the Ottawa Public Library, and then also did some backyard camping!  Lynn, will you be following up this amazing summer with the Fall of Fabulous? ;)

Yummy deliciousness

We made muffins with Sara and Vicky told us about a great place to get fabulous cakes.

We can't wait to see what the next month brings.

July : what you might have missed

There's a lot going on in our fabulous city and Kids in the Capital has been hopping! In case you missed any of our fabulous posts this past month, here's a recap! Summer of Awesome

Lynn is having an amazing summer and telling us all about it.  She's been to Cosmic Adventures, Papanack Zoo, AMC Movie Tuesdays and Ray's Reptiles already and has been sharing everything she's learned! We can't wait to hear where she's going next!

Summer posts

Has this not been the nicest summer you can remember in eons?  So many fun summer things to do!  Vicky went to the cottage and brought back some great tips on cottaging with kids, told us about the ice cream truck and strawberry picking.  Sara told us about her backyard garden , did a great Canada day craft, and checked out some Dragonboats.   We  also touched some trucks , found out about some of the great summer camp options at Dovercourt and heard about summer park programs.

On a more serious note, we also covered some water safety tips. Please please be safe near water this summer.

Day-tripping

If you're heading out of town, think about taking a ferry, checking out Smiths Falls or spending the day at Storyland.

Restaurants

Liisa told us about a very sometimes treat - poutine! And Vicky gave us some breakfasting with kids tips and some information on Gabriel's in Orleans. We also checked out Kid Kaf which is a cafe but also a great place to let your kids run around and burn off energy, in a safe environment.

Food

We made butter, lemonade and tofu cookies with Brie (my you've been busy in the kitchen this summer ;)

Festivals

Kari told us about a smorgasbord of festivals, several of which have now passed but are worth keeping an eye open for next year.  And we found out all about the Lumiere Festival which is coming up this September but has lots of mini activities in August leading up to it.

Photography

The ABC Challenge ended this month, but some are continuing on with new challenges in the flickr group - come join in! We also featured our ABC photos at Blog Out Loud, which was an amazing amazing event put together by one of our wonderful contributors - Lynn.

Getting together

We have been having weekly weekday playdates all summer long and we'd love if you could join us in the future.  We also have monthly (or so) evening adult meetups - keep your eyes open for the next one!

Not to mention

And we can't forget the review of a great stroller, the fabulous benefits of yoga for kids, and our wonderful new sponsor Nayla Natural Care (please go visit her and tell her we sent ya ;).

Have a great August, and in case you never filled it out, it's not too late to complete our survey.  And we're always looking for guest posts on the things you love to do with kids - drop us a line! kidsinthecapital@gmail.com

April: What you might have missed

Just in case you missed it, here's a recap of all the great posts we had this month! Activities for Kids

Kinderconcerts at the NAC, swimming at the Bob MacQuarrie pool, visiting Proulx Farm and the Ottawa train station - we love finding new, different and interesting things to do with kids in the capital.

Cooking

Our contributor Jenn opened many of our eyes to the world of Once a month cooking, and how it can be a great thing to do for a girl's night in, and also how to make your own pizza dough. We also read about making lemon cupcakes.

Crafts

We're always looking for easy and entertaining things to do with the kids when we're at home. Paint pucks and toilet paper binoculars make for hours of fun!

Libraries

Different libraries around the city offer a variety of great programs and services. Two moms talk about their branches in Orleans and Barrhaven.

Museums

Do you visit our great museums often enough? These moms talk about the Museum of Science and Tech and Aviation museum, the Museum of Nature, the Children's Museum and the Canadian Agricultural Museum.

Parenting tips

Saving money and getting good deals is important when you have so much kids' stuff to buy. Here are some tips on shopping and selling at consignment sales and hitting garage sales.

Next time you have a squirmy baby on your lap while you're trying to cut their nails, use some of this dad's advice on how to keep them still.

And if you're getting ready to decorate a kids' room, this mom has some great ideas on where to look.

Parks

Parks. As parents we spend a LOT of time in parks - they are so much more than just a play structure. We plan to visit parks across Ottawa here at Kids in the Capital and give you ideas on new parks to visit with your kids.

This month we visited a dog park, Big bird park, St Luke's park, Petrie Island, and the tot lot in the Glebe.

Photography

We've started a weekly photography challenge to help inspire you to take more and different photos each week. There are photography tips, there are photos from participants and it's never too late to start playing along! Make sure you check out weeks, 1, 2 and 3.

Playgroups

There are many fabulous playgroups around the city. This month we visited ones in Orleans (at Divine Infant) and in Old Ottawa East (in the old town hall).

Products

Have you ever read a Sandra Boynton book to your kids? These great reads are short and sweet and quickly become favourites.

Services

There are many great services that cater to kids in our city. This month we heard about singing classes for infants, indoor activity classes for toddlers, where to go for a good haircut, how to find yourself a a few minutes of calm and a great birthday party location. We even visited McDonald's!

Whew! All of this in our first month.

We are looking forward to sharing even more ideas and activities with you in the next month. But don't forget, you can share with us too. If you have an idea for a post or a post you would like to write email us at kidsinthecapital@gmail.com.