Halloween Family Fun Fest

For this Halloween I was really excited to get my baby into a costume and take her trick-or-treating, yet, I was a little unsure if at her age she'll really enjoy all the festivities. That is why I first took her to Gymboree's Pumpkin Patch party, which wasn't bad. But I think that I chose the wrong party to go to, I should've chosen the one with the older kids, all of their energy would've balanced out hers. The other activity that I was looking forward to was the Bellevue Square Trick-or-Treat event.

As you know, exams are one of the "perks" of being an MBA student, so of course, I had to study for a midterm on the same day as that event! However, I didn't let that stop me from going there even if we were late.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we arrive there, and the mall is packed!!! I've never seen anything like it, maybe it was because we were late or maybe it was crowded from the start, I guess I'll have to wait till next year and see which one is true. So some shops participate in giving candies and other treats to kids, and depending on the shop you might have to wait in a line. It seems that Disney, and Lego stores had the best treats. Since my daughter was already tired and wouldn't have any of the candies she'll get anyway, we decided to skip trick-or-treating between stores.

 

 There was also live music by a band that I have never heard before, but they were really good. The band was called Brian Vogan & GBs. They sang a couple of songs and asked the kids to participate, which was kind of fun to look at. You can find their debut album on cdbaby.com.

 

 

This is Brian Vogan's first music video, and it is done in a very professional and interesting way, that I'm sure will be a hit with the little ones.

                                          

On the second level they had a mad science booth, and a balloon tying clown, which unfortunately had packed her stuff by the time we got there and we couldn't get a balloon. Another nice thing they had, were photo booths, which they had four of them at different sides of the mall. Some had long waiting lines because they were located at areas that had high traffic, ex: in front of Macy's. While others didn't, like the one on the second floor.

So if you decide to go there next year, you might want to try and go early. also if your kids are under 2 they might not be really interested in trick-or-treating, but I'm sure they're going to love the live music and all the costumes around them.

Holidays at The Landing in Renton, WA



Mouse in a Mouse Trap!



The weekend prior to Halloween, my toddler and I attended the Trick or Treat event at The Landing in Renton, WA. 

 

Opening in 2009, it is one of Western Washington's newest multi-dimensional urban areas.  It is a retail center with 880 residential living units.  It is conveniently located off exit 5 of I-405. It is close to Coulon Park and Lake Washington.  Coulon has one of my favorite playgrounds, a great place to launch boats, and have a meal at Ivars or Kid Valley food concession stands. 

Where's Waldo?



The Landing has plenty of national stores, but it is set apart by its local-only shops like Creative Mom Toys, Fresh Way Pizza, and C'est La Vie.  If you sign-up for Creative Mom Toys updates, you get notices as to when they are having sales and events in the store.    

 

All stores normally open on Sunday were handing out candy.  There were lots of families and even the adults dressed-up for the event.  It was a very relaxing and family friendly environment.






















On 11/23/13, The Landing is scheduled to have the local tree lighting ceremony.  There will singing by local school kids, reindeer, and the Santa Train. 

Last year, we went to holiday festivities in December and my 1.5 year old rode the Santa train with Dad.  The Trackless Train was brought down from Mt. Vernon by a local business, The Shop.

We also visited Santa at the Re/Max Select Real Estate.  He as a healthy, age appropriate Santa!  (I have experience Santa shopping, and some look like they are just shy of a heart attack.)  The $5.00 I paid for the photo was donated to the Seattle Children's Hospital. 

The holiday festivities will continue through the month of December, but it does not appear that the schedule is up for this year.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I will update you once I know more.

Marie
 

Start of the Woodland Park Zoo Holiday Season!

 

This time of year is my favorite at the Woodland Park Zoo.  Halloween starts the holiday season with the Pumpkin Bash.  The zoo keepers train the animals to eat their favorite treats, out of pumpkins, at scheduled times for the crowds to watch.  I am almost guaranteed to see all the animals.

It doesn't matter if you see the animals eating out of the pumpkins.  The animals usually linger before and after eating their treats.  The event is always the weekend before Halloween and it runs from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., both days. 

When you enter the park, you get an itinerary so you can plan on which animals you want to see being given their pumpkins.  Since this event occurs during the rainy season; the park is busy, but not crowded.  It is easy for the small children to see the animals without competing with larger people to be next to the fences.  If the kids dress in costumes, at least one child, gets in free.

For the last two years, the event has been sponsored by Washington Dental.  Washington Dental hands-out kids size tooth brushes.  My toddler loves her new tooth brush.  Vendors such as Cliff bars and Whole Foods offer treats that are either a healthy alternative to candy, or only include natural ingredients.  My favorite is the Unreal bar.

This year, the zoo's baby population is booming.  In August 2013, a baby giraffe was born.  We enjoyed watching him with his mother. 







The lion cubs were lounging, and enjoying the day.  They turn one year old on 11/8/13.  If you get a chance to go to the Zoo, the cubs are going to be offered treats on their birthday, and you are invited to come and watch.

Even the human children are fun to watch!

I noticed that the zoo already has started setting-up lights and back-drops for WildLights.  This is one of several Holiday light shows in Seattle during the month of December.  The Woodland Park Zoo turns on the lights starting 11/29/13 and the event runs through 1/4/14.  The lights are on nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Woodland Park Zoo website reports that "WildLights features wild animals and wild places recreated in thousands of sparkling LED lights inspired by exotic destinations from across the globe, including “Northern Lights,” “The Water Hole” and “Jungle Lights"."

Marie

Gymboree's Pumpkin Patch

It's a Gymboree Day!



My daughter and I go to Gymboree Play & Music classes in Bellevue, WA twice a week, and we love our time there. Not only do they help create special moments for me and my baby, but also help her learn through fun activities. So of course when Gymboree was having their annual Pumpkin Patch I had to sign us up for it!

 

When Friday came I was actually more excited than my daughter since I doubt she knows what Halloween is, or even cares if she's in a costume or not. Nonetheless, I got her a Minnie Mouse costume and got her ready for the PARTY! When we arrived, they didn't have our name tag, which was a little disappointing because I am sure I registered for it. However, they did say we can join in the festivities since they have some open spaces. When we got there everyone was in costumes, the teachers, the babies and even some parents (well not an entire costume, but some accessories).

 

The play area was nicely and simply decorated with some orange balls, pumpkin cutouts, pumpkin toys and  of course what is Halloween without spiders! Everything was arranged in a way to engage infants and toddlers -since it was a party for children aged (0-14 months)- to walk/crawl the ramps, climb or go down a slide, or even pass through what I like to call the "rainbow" tunnel!

 

 

 

At the beginning of the party the teachers explained the different activities that the kids can do, and how to help them through them. Then we were set free to roam the play area! The teachers moved between groups and played and interacted with each one. Most of the parents -me included- cared more about taking photos of their kids than actually doing the activities, maybe because they are the same exact thing we do at class, or maybe because we thought our kids looked cute in their costumes and wanted to document it!

  

Then, we were called to join the circle and sing some songs together. We sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Row Row Row Your Boat", and what I'm assuming is a Gymboree original song "Sitting on my highchair".

After that, we were led to the music/art room, where we did some crafts. I enjoyed the final outcome, however, I do believe that maybe the activity was a little bit of a stretch since kids didn't really care about participating and were wither crying, running, or trying to play with the paint. But As I said, we ended up with a ghost made out of a foot stamp! Pretty cool!

 

Finally the real fun began when it was "Parachute Time"!!!, since the group included mostly infants who have just started crawling my baby and another toddler where wrecking havoc! I could see the disapproval in some of the moms' eyes, which I believe was uncalled for since they didn't do anything wrong they were just excited and walking around trying to catch the bubbles! Anyways, parachute time started with bubbles, and then we did the parachute and bubble song, and ended with "Everybody up and children under" the parachute, which my daughter loves since it is a giant Peek-A-Boo game for her.

 Overall it was a fun experience, that I would definitely recommend for children at this age, and would definitely do it again.