Emma & Daddy Night

I must say that the amount of just Emma and daddy time has been pretty limited and I have been looking forward to spending time with her away from the boys . . . Don't get me wrong,  I love spending time as a family, but I rarely get this chance.  We left Michelle and the boys at Boyd park and headed up to the dyke for a little bike ride into Steveston.  As we made our way, I was pointing out all of the interesting things along the way.  We saw ducks, dogs, cows, and fountains.  As I was riding I realized that I was talking to myself as little Emma had fallen asleep on the back of my bike.  Let's just say that Emma and Daddy day is off to a slow start.  So what better thing to do, but hang out on the patio at Starbucks . . . people watching and working on the blog.  The only teaser is that, I can't even order a drink because Emma is strapped on my bike . . . Snoozing away.  This reminds me of going to the PNE and watching all of my friends go on the rides because I was not tall enough . . . story of my life.

Ah Emma woke up, time to get on with our day.  Next stop, sushi for dinner at a local eatery.  Emma was a little hungry after her nap as she had a cucumber roll and chicken teriyaki don for dinner. T he little one can eat when she wants too.  Dinner was "yummy" according to Emma . . . it was fun just chatting with Emma, without being interupted by the boys or Michelle for that manner.   I think she has got the gift of the gab and is learning to "Wonder" from her mother.  Lets just say that Emma's favourite thing to say is, "why?????".  I don't know about you, but trying to explain and reason with a two year old is an uphill battle to say the least.  Although our chat was light and fun, our conversation resembled a scene taken from the movie Goundhog Day! "Why is that man eating?" "Because he is hungry". "Why is he eating here?" "Because he likes this restaurant". "Why does he like this restaurant". "Because the food is yummy". "Why is the food yummy?" "Because the cooks are good cooks" "Why is that man eating?" Arg! As a dad, I have learned the art of diversion and redirection when it comes to conversational skills with my kids . . . I think this is a prerequisite for going into the CIA . . . if you can reason with a two year old, you are in!
Next stop Steveston Park for some swings and exploration.  Emma loves the swings, the bigger the push, the bigger the smiles.  She especially likes the "under duck Daddy!"  We played on the swings for awhile and then went over to the rockers, she loved helping her daddy up when I got stuck.  Lets just say that these were not built for 38 year old men . . .

I know, I know, photography faux pas . . . yes, that is my shadow taking the picture.

It was nice to be able to focus on Emma, rather than being pulled three different ways.

We finished off our night going to Steveston Docks to look at the boats, the fish and enjoy some Timothy's frozen yoghurt.  This was Emma's first visit to Timothy's and she enjoyed every lick of it.  She ate the strawberry frozen yoghurt and I had the blueberry.  Emma enjoyed it so much that she wanted me to scare the little birds away because she thought they were going to eat her treat.  I told her not to worry because, "birds don't eat ice cream, they eat little girls!"

"Yummy Daddy.  I like the special place.

A great night with my Little Emma . . . yes, those are running shoes with a dress.  She wanted to wear her runners like daddy.  Lets just say that Michelle was not impressed.  Oh well.