Notes on Andrew Belinda & Benjamin Lattimore

Thomas and Friends

All aboard! Yesterday Ben met Thomas the Tank Engine and The Fat Controller at The Workshops Rail Museum where the popular books and television series was brought to life with fun characters, entertainment and activities. Ben began saying ‘Toot, Toot’ as we approached the gates. I don’t think we realised how much he loves trains. I am not sure why as he loves most anything with wheels. There was so much to do: The Thomas Play Pit– an air conditioned room full tables filled with train sets, The Thomas Creation Station -an area for art and craft and The Workshops Express Miniature Train Ride just to name a few. Ben was so excited that we had to have a little break for him to slow down. Thankfully there are several airconditioned areas. It was a combination of ‘train overload’, the incredible heat and not being able to run around as he pleased. There is so much more to see, so we took the opportunity to upgrade to a season pass. Now we can visit regularly as there are always new displays and activities, especially for kids. I also purchased Ben’s first wooden Thomas engine. He has played with it all morning.

Bonnie and Ben

Bonnie is our adorable Shih-tzu. She has been part of our family for six years. I was a little worried how she would cope when Ben came along. But I need not have worried. She is never more than a couple of steps away from him. They have a wonderful friendship. He gives her hugs and she gives him licks. Bonnie particular likes to go walking with Ben. Well it is not really walking …… she hops in the pram as well. Ben and Bonnie have just started to play together. Ben will throw her toys and she will bring them back. Andrew and I have never been able to get Bonnie to bring any toys back! He takes a keen interest in everything Bonnie does. He tries to help bath her and feed her. They are great mates!

Hiding!

We have just had a big clean out of our wardrobes…… much to Ben’s delight as he can now play in them. The delight on his face when he realised he could hide was awesome.

Washing Up?

Ben is very interested in EVERYTHING that goes on. He follows me around while I am doing the most mundane jobs…… such as the dishes. I decided to pull a chair over and ask him if he wanted to help. He nearly flew across the room in his hurry to get up the chair. He had a ball. Bonnie was getting wet as most of the water ended up on the floor. I am sure we all have some memory of playing at the kitchen sink as children. I had forgotten that it is all the little things (like playing in the sink) that make being a kid so much fun!!

Disco Pups

$Disco Puppy: Stayin\' Alive brings kids even more funky moves to learn and explore as they interact with art in their very own disco dance party. Movements on the interactive dance floor affect the moves of three animated puppy characters - Pup Daddy, Miss Kitty and DJ Foxy.$

The Ipswich Art Gallery has hosted yet another exhibition for children, Disco Puppy. It’s aim was for children to learn and explore as they interact with art in their very own disco dance party. Dance movements on a special dance floor affect the moves of three animated puppy characters – Pup Daddy, Miss Kitty and DJ Foxy. The Gallery ran special sessions for under 2’s to enable them to have some fun without the larger crowds. In these sessions there were other items to explore such as instruments, balloons, a parachute, large pieces of cloth, ribbon sticks and so on. We took Ben a couple of times. He did have a little boogie but his all time favorite was the drums!

Wheel of Brisbane at Southbank Parklands

We recently visited Southbank Parklands at Brisbane. It has been quite a while since we were last there and a lot has changed. As usual we parked in the underground levels and then took a casual stroll from one end to the other (heading towards the performing arts complex) following the arbour.

Ben walked along most of the way with Belinda, Grandma Karen and I. It was a bright and sunny day so we tried to encourage Ben to wear his hat and sunnies (didn’t last too long).

Ben soon discovered that if he held on to two sets of hands he could get lifted high into the air (great fun). Well as you can see he loved it (again and again and again). Not so sure this is great for his shoulders??!!

Of course we were intending to take a ride on the new (and temporary) Wheel of Brisbane.

The wheel is a large ferris wheel with fully enclosed and air conditioned capsules that lifts to nearly 60m. A surprisingly gentle ride, comfortable and a fantastic view. Belinda is not fond of heights, but found the ride quite enjoyable.

Ben was surprisingly quite initially. He just sat on my lap and took in the view.

Afterwards we followed the arbour back to the beach. The last time we took Ben to the beach at the Gold Coast he was not particularly interested. This time though he was intrigued !. Perhaps it was the lack of crashing waves and wind. We walked up and down in the edge of the water, past lots of people (and kids) enjoying the cool water. Ben chatted away, pointed to the kids splashing, jumped up down himself and generally had fun. I think our next visit to the real beach will be much better.

On the way back to the car we discovered one of the new attractions. Aquativity is a fantastic new water play area for kids but we didn’t have our togs. Oh well a great excuse to come back another day.