Girls and Bicycles: Happy 3rd Birthday, Little D!

Lots of firsts on Dexter's birthday today! We chose his favourite calculator t-shirt to wear, had a hearty breakfast, and loaded up our red wagon for its inaugural outing.

Dexter helped his dad put the wagon together last night, and as such, was CRAZY excited about using it today. Luckily for me, he enjoys climbing in and out of it more than he enjoys pulling it around (which makes things much more efficient, since I'm the wagon-operator).

It was also Alice's first LRT excursion!

So the wagon is really great for lugging around a variety of things. The only thing to get used to is that the pulling is really different from pushing a stroller. I would venture to say it's more effort, but it's fine so long as you adjust your posture and don't lock up your elbow the way I always do (I'm a hyper-extender).

You also have to be careful when going up sharp curves. It's easy to get the first two wheels up, and the rear wheels need a little bit of assistance. It was okay on the train, but it might be difficult to get on and off a bus that doesn't dip down or have a ramp to accommodate you.

Lastly, you HAVE to use the elevator when going from the train platform (downtown) to street level. With a stroller I was able to use the escalators, or if the stars were aligned, I could often just carry the stroller up the stairs. No such luck with the wagon.

I am still quite pleased with it, since it means not buying another stroller that accommodates a sometimes-walker and an infant. This way when we're done with the wagon for transportation purposes, it can be converted to Dexter & Alice's wagon for... kids wagon stuff? My brother and I had a red flyer wagon when we were younger and we got up to all sorts of trouble with that thing (we had a very steep driveway).

Waiting for the train. New wagon for the kids, new shiny gold shoes for mom.

We ran some errands downtown, did a little shopping, and went to Churchill Square to have lunch al fresco. Really, the birthday "treat" part was taking the train ride, even though Dexter goes every week (at least) for the library. My kid really digs the LRT!

Dexter had his choice of Thai noodles or a hot dog from the vendors for lunch. He chose a hot dog with ketchup. How gourmet.

My little dude is so grown up now. I can't believe it was three years ago when he looked like this.

He is getting all sorts of goofy, smart, and awesome lately. He has transitioned into being an older brother really well, and we're super proud of him for making this adjustment fairly seamlessly!