On the weekend (St. John's with our 2.5 year old)

We just spent two amazing nights in town (aka St. John's), and it was the best. We definitely need our little trips once in a while to get away, and traveling just keeps getting easier as the dude gets older. He gets better and better at eating at restaurants, driving a lot, sleeping in strange hotel rooms, and being patient when we are in line at a store. 

(breakfast at the Sheraton hotel. We eat there for the view of the ships) 

(my people) 

(checking out the Geo Centre) 

(a statue near Signal hill)

Some things we did in town that satisfied our 2.5 year old:

- We went straight to Avalon mall where they have this creepy Christmas tree that talks to the kids. He says the kid's name and everything. Dude liked it for half a second. Lots of other Christmas decorations and a santa sighting made him pretty happy. Free. 

- As usual, we spent a nice bit of time at the Chapters with the train set that the kids can all play with. And Starbucks for Jon and I. $10 for coffee and an embarrassing amount on books. J and I are bad for buying tons of books. 

- The YMCA pool is so good. The kiddy pool is pretty warm, and Cohen can walk around with his head above water. Also, there is a family change room, which is so great. And the pool has lots of toy boats and buckets and stuff. $15 well spent. 

- The Geo Centre!! I had the lowest expectations. I had no idea. We were there for 2.5 hours, and Cohen was so entertained the whole time. We definitely could have spent longer there. The exhibits are all touchable and interactive, even for a toddler. And they have a little play area for little kids that has lego and a slide and toys. And there is a 3-D theatre inside that is included in your admission. They were showing Despicable Me when we were there, but we didn't take advantage. Worth every penny of $24. In the future we would plan to spend the whole afternoon there, watch a movie, and bring our own snacks.

- We ate at Eastside Mario's, mostly due to proximity to our hotel, but I was so impressed with their gluten-free options. They are all over gluten-free in a way that NO restaurants are in our area. Dude was able to have a choice of a bunch of meals, which never ever happens. We usually have to order him multiple hamburger patties (it sounds sad, but he loves it) plus or minus fries (because they are sometimes coated in flour). But at Eastside's, he could have pizza, pasta, chicken, whatever. He even had dessert. 

- We also ate at Cora's, as usual, because they also have tons of options for Cohen since they have so much fruit on their menu. 

- We had breakfast at the Sheraton hotel even though we didn't stay there, because of the sweet views, and also because there is a little waterfall off the lobby and elevators. Cohen gets a big thrill from any body of water he can throw coins into, and elevators, of course.