After an aborted attempt in May, Tadhg finally had his first dentist visit on Monday. Tadhg enjoyed his time in the waiting area sitting in the big boy's chair and drinking from the water fountain. He wasn't so happy when the dentist called him into her office and was determined to keep her away from his mouth!
When the dentist was finally able to look inside (as Tadhg screamed!) she confirmed that he has all the teeth he should have (16 pearly whites!) and they are clean and white, so his toothbrushing is working (even though Tadhg hates it!). Mom and dad were relieved to know everything is ok but are not looking forward to Tadhg's follow up visit in 6 months!
One of Tadhg's younger friend's, Adam, celebrated his first birthday last week. In honour of the occasion Tadhg, Adam and their parents had a celebratory meal in Pizza Ambiente restaurant. This is a favourite haunt for Tadhg's epicurean adventures as it has a great kid's play area right beside the dining tables and nice pizza and pasta fare.
The two boys (and their dad's) had a great time in the play area before the meal and then enjoyed sitting in their high chairs and having their dinner. Moms and dads enjoyed the chance to catch up as well and toast Adam's first year.
Tadhg's playgroup met on Kampa island on Thursday. The play date was supposed to be at a small playground but the weather was so hot that the metal slide was scorching to the touch, so the group decided to picnic in Kampa park instead. Tadhg loved rolling around his picnic blanket, playing football on the grass, chasing butterflies and bees and dancing ring-a-ring-a-rosie with his buddies Raphael and Jake.
When Tadhg and dad were getting ready to cycle home, the sun disappeared and a storm raced overhead. The cycling pair only made it half-way home before having to shelter from the strong winds and driving rain. It was a typical Prague summer day in what has been an unusual season for weather. Tadhg really enjoyed his picnic with his buddies so hopefully there will be a few more dry days so the gang can picnic again.
On Monday, Tadhg, and his buddy Raphael, visited the street theatre festival Teatrotoc held on Kampa island under the Charles bridge. The street theatre on view was pretty bizarre (a puppet show about a firefly family, a silent group of people walking around eating spaghetti and dropping books, a pole climber and so on) so the two boys were not really interested in the shows. Tadhg was nervous of all the shouting and screaming and didn't want to get too close.
After 30 minutes, during which our perception of street theatre was changed forever, everyone decided it would be better to go to a nearby playground. Tadhg and Raphael had a great time climbing the steps and gliding down the slide at the playground while their parents enjoyed shading from the sun under the surrounding trees. The small playground was perfect for toddlers and was free from older kids racing around which suited everybody.
Tadhg's mom and dad's friend, Lucie, had a baby boy a few weeks ago, so on Sunday the family went over to visit the new arrival. Baby Jaroslav was sleeping when they arrived so Tadhg spent some time exploring/demolishing Lucie's apartment before everyone went out for a walk in a nearby park. Tadhg enjoyed seeing the animals kept in the park - swans, ducks and some black goats.
Tadhg's mom and dad have resisted getting Tadhg's haircut up to now as they love seeing his ginger locks grow. However, it is starting to get out of control and Tadhg often looks like a little punk with his morning ginger Mohican! Mom and dad decided to bring Tadhg along for a cut next time mom goes to her hairdresser, so look for first haircut photos soon....
On Saturday, Tadhg visited the Prague Transport Museum just behind Prague castle. Tadhg is a big fan of all forms of transport so was thrilled to see the dozens of trains, trucks and carriages laid out in the museum. He excitedly ran around the museum pointing out the "wee-waws"(fire engines) and "choo-choos" (trains/trams).
After climbing on as many trucks and trams as he could and getting his hands covered in oil and grease, it was time to go home. Tadhg had a great time and mom and dad were delighted to see him so happy and excited.
Tadhg loves bubbles and has learned how to blow them himself. Most days he grabs his bubbles bottle and demands some bubbles. Once he has blown some, he chases them with the bubble stick to try to catch them!
On Friday morning Tadhg felt a bit poorly so went to his doctor for a checkup. He was diagnosed with gastro-enteritis and prescribed a strict diet of bananas, apples, carrots, bread, rice and blueberries. Tadhg did not enjoy his dinner of carrot and white rice but, surprisingly, was very fond of plain white toast! Hopefully he'll be back to full health in a few days.
Tadhg joined up with his usual playdate buddies, Jake and Raphael (and their moms) at Zofin on Thursday. Tadhg likes the Zofin playdates as there is a cool playground when the weather is nice and a great indoor restaurant with a large play area when it's not.
Tadhg enjoys driving toy cars but for a long time was stuck in reverse gear. On Thursday he hopped on a green car and started to drive forward! He's broken out of reverse gear! There's no stopping him now.
On Wednesday, Tadhg and dad cycled down to Detsky Ostrov (Children's Island) in the middle of the Vltava river. Tadhg has been here once before and enjoyed paddling in the kid's fountain with his buddie Jake. Both boys got pretty muddy that time and full outfit changes were needed.
On this trip, the fountain was drained so, after a quick splash around in the puddles, Tadhg explored further afield. He really enjoyed lying in the hammock spinner (we've no idea what this is called but it's basically a rope hammock which spins around a central pole so 'hammock spinner' sounded good!) while dad spun it around and around and around. Tadhg had to get out after a while as he was getting too dizzy.
One of Tadhg's buddies Raphael turned up and the two boys spent some time in the sand box and the small pirate ship at the entrance to the park. Tadhg had a great time and was tired for the cycle ride home (but still managed to point out the colours of all the cars and trucks on the way!).
Tadhg hasn't shown much interest in art since his early forays into the art world with finger paints. Mom and dad bought him some Baby's First crayons and markers to spark his interest. Tadhg enjoyed scribbling on some paper with the crayons and especially enjoyed making circles ("circle" is one of his favourite words right now!).
Tadhg is great at naming colours now and is able to name the colour of each of his crayons and markers as he takes them out of the boxes, his favourites being "purple", "orange" and "green". Tadhg also loves identifying the colours of cars and trucks when out and about and will often shout "silver car" or "white truck" whilst pointing with his finger.
Tadhg loves sitting in his bike seat and this has fast become his preferred method of transportation around Prague. He often calls out bike and points to the bike cellar when getting ready for an outing.
On Sunday, Tadhg, mom and dad hopped on their bikes and cycled to Zlute Lazne (Tadhg in his bike seat of course). It was great to have mom along as she could lead the way for the bikers. Tadhg enjoyed Zlute Lazne as always and met up with his buddy Jake and Jake's mom and dad.
Tadhg spent some time out of the water on this trip and enjoyed peeking through the holes in the marooned pirate ship.
On Saturday, Tadhg, mom and dad went shopping for Tadhg's first pair of trainers. Tadhg only has his summer sandals to wear now and when they are dirty (from puddle jumping for example!), he has no alternative. So mom and dad decided he needed a pair of trainers.
They went to Tadhg's favourite shoe shop - Little Foot. Tadhg tried on a pair of Geox trainers which looked comfortable, had good support and seemed hard wearing. But when Tadhg started walking in them, the heels lit up so Tadhg was sold! He tried on one more pair but made it pretty clear which pair of trainers he preferred.
After they got home from shopping, Tadhg took his new trainers for a walk/run. He enjoyed walking in the new trainers but, for some reason, he spent more time sitting on the ground banging his feet.
The sun finally returned to Prague so Tadhg returned to Zlute Lazne to enjoy the warm sunshine. Tadhg tried the boat pool for the first time and enjoyed floating around in his yellow boat.
Czech children are happy to run around naked in the sun, but Tadhg's mom and dad are worried about Tadhg's sensitive Irish/Canadian skin, so make sure he is covered in sun suit, sun hat and sun block before venturing into the open.
In the morning, Tadhg, mom and dad went to a nursery school around the corner from Tadhg's house. Happy Child is a vegetarian nursery school and one of Tadhg's friends, Petru, goes there and really enjoys it. Tadhg tried out the class room and enjoyed playing with the many cars and trucks. Mom and dad decided to sign Tadhg up for the waiting list to join the baby class. So its only a matter of time before Tadhg starts school! Mom and dad are a bit sad to see their little baby grow up so quickly, but proud to see him mingling in the class room.
Tadhg has started to sneak into mom's office and sit in her chair. The chair swivels around so Tadhg really enjoys spinning in the chair and screaming with delight.
Tadhg talked to his baba and papa in the evening to wish them a Happy Canada Day!
After an aborted attempt in May, Tadhg finally had his first dentist visit on Monday. Tadhg enjoyed his time in the waiting area sitting in the big boy's chair and drinking from the water fountain. He wasn't so happy when the dentist called him into her office and was determined to keep her away from his mouth!
