Winter Wandering Adventures

by Ezmy It’s crazy difficult to find things to do with a baby in the winter months. Most activities are geared towards toddlers and big kids, and for good reason. Still, I thought, there must be something that my eight month old, Budsie, and I can enjoy doing together at this time of year. So one day last week, I packed up Budsie in his carrier, tossed some gear into a purse and hit the road. I wasn’t sure what adventures we would get up to, but I figured anything would be better than another day spent sitting on the floor with blocks and stacking cups.

First, we hit up Winterlude. My husband and I had taken Budsie to Winterlude on the previous weekend, but he had slept the whole way through. Since he was up and cheerful on this day, I figured why not try again. We wandered around looking at the ice sculptures, me explaining to him what each one was, and Budsie pointing and laughing at the sculptures and passers-by. Good fun!

For lunch, we had sandwiches and soup at Bridgehead. I used to love coming here for lunch before I had kids but wasn’t sure if Budsie would find it as fun. Boy was I wrong! I had packed a few toys in my purse, but I needn’t have bothered; between shoveling tasty sandwich into his mouth and smiling at all the people, my boy was pretty happy.

Next, we strolled up Sussex Drive to do some window shopping. Budsie was particularly fond of Zone, a housewares store full of sparkling chandeliers, silvery knickknacks, and of course the ever-popular mirror! Hundreds of Budsies smiled back at my boy as we walked around the shop. He was most pleased. Afterwards, we took a gander around the Byward Market. Heaps of people for the boy to smile at! We went to Tea Store, where Budsie chuckled every time I sniffed a tea (he simply loves the sound of someone sniffing). We also checked out Frou Frou, where the shiny beads were a super huge hit.

We ended our fun-filled day with a stop off at Chapters. Here, Budsie was able to mess around in the kid’s section, making friends with other babies and staring in awe at walking toddlers. We read a few books, picked out one to take home, and enjoyed a snack. Then we hopped on the bus home, where my boy passed out on the front of me, completely tuckered out by a day of people watching.

I am really looking forward to future winters, when Budsie and I will be able to go sledding or skate on the canal. But this winter has been a great opportunity for us to get to know each other. For instance, on this day I discovered what Budsie and I have in common while he’s in this stage of life: a love of shiny things and people watching! So as long as it’s sunny out, you’ll find my boy and I going on people-watching adventures all around Ottawa this winter.

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 furiously about 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.