Easter Weekend

The Topolski Family had another busy weekend! Friday morning Truman and I headed over to Pat, Tina and Avery's new condo. We stopped to first pick up our favourite pastries from Ma Maison. After we finished our treats, we took a much needed walk in High Park. While we were in High Park we decided to visit the zoo and Truman loved it. Later in the day he talked about the Yaks and Bison he saw. He is very interested in animals and we will have to take him to the Toronto Zoo soon for a visit.

Friday evening we went to Wanda and David's for dinner as Aunt Lilly came to visit us from NYC. Truman did not make a good impression as he had a hard time going down for a nap earlier, and was a little rambunctious to say the least. Combine that with some ice cream and you have a recipe for disaster. But to our benefit Truman slept in a little! Luckily we saw Lilly several times over the weekend so Truman could redeem himself!

On Saturday morning Truman, Jerry and I attended the first annual Wanless Park Easter Egg Hunt hosted by our good friend and neighbour Rebecca. There were about 18 children in attendance. My dear husband, the good sport he is, agreed to be the Easter Bunny. To my amazement Truman was excited to see the Easter Bunny and did not hesitate to greet him and give him a big hug. Needless to say the Easter Egg Hunt was a success and I hope that next year will be as successful. Plus, there will be another Topolski running around trying to gather eggs!

Today we headed over to Nanny and Oopa's for Easter Dinner. We were joined by Pat, Tina, Avery and Misty. Both kids seemed to be having fun interacting at least a little bit together. Tina made an amazing cheesecake plus added her magic touch to many of the dishes. I was so full from all of the food and probably should have gone for a walk.



I have noticed a few changes in Truman over the last several weeks. Truman has become more independent and has been enjoying playing on his own. On Wednesday when we were at Wanda's for Passover, Truman watched TV in the basement by himself. He is also losing interest in sleeping in the crib. He has spent several nights sleeping in the big boy bed in the spare room. Jerry and I will have to get moving and buy Truman a much needed bed. He loves to ask "Mommy, can I help you?" and "Mommy can I do this?". However, my favourite new phrase of Truman's is "Mommy, I need a cookie to make me feel better". So sweet, yet so manipulative!

I hope everyone had a very Happy Easter!

Return From Paradise

The Topolski family returned from a fabulous two week vacation from the beautiful island of St. Lucia. It was simply paradise. St. Lucia is very different from other islands I have visited it has a very Caribbean vibe as compared to St. Martin , which is has a more European feel. To get to our villa from the airport we had to drive up through the mountains and through a rain forest. We saw many banana plantations and beautiful beaches. The drive took about 2 hours and we were anxious to get to our destination. Luckily Chris brought cool beverages for us to enjoy.

Jerry, Truman, Wanda, David and I stayed with Chris, Ivona, Ania, Paul and Dominic at their beautiful ocean front villa in beautiful Cap Estates. This is the view from our room....we were able to see the island of Martinique and in the evening we would watch the cruise ships travelling to their next destination. We woke every morning and feel asleep every night to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

Below is a picture of us on our last day as we were leaving to head to the airport. I only wish we were able to stay a little longer.

One Sunday the family piled into the van and travelled to the Pitons which are two amazing volcanic plugs in St. Lucia. We visited the hot sulfur springs and volcano and then went for a local St. Lucian lunch. Jerry and I were a little skeptical about the lunch at first, but it was delicious. Truman was great on this day long trip and had fun exploring. We were lucky that he decided to take a nap in the van on our way home.



The fruit and vegetables on the island were unbelievable and we would often stop at the local stands. The bananas and grapefruit were so good. One day I think Truman ate about four bananas in one sitting.


Wanda, David, Jerry, Truman and I took a drive into Castries, the capital city. We explored the city, looked at that cruise ships, and went to the local market for some shopping. Truman picked out a wooden turtle that he wanted to take home. On the turtles first day home however he had to be admitted to hospital to have his fin reattached. Poor turtle.

Our favourite past time was going to the beach, in fact I think Jerry, Truman and I went almost every morning. The first week we went to the Marina Beach in Rodney Bay. On our first visit there we were hassled quite a bit, until finally Jerry explained that we wanted to be left alone and we were then not bothered for the remainder of the morning. The Marina Beach was quite crowded as the cruise ships brought van loads of people to this beach. Truman loved the water and the waves and at first had no fear. Later during the trip, there were times he wasn't even interested in going into the water. We built many sandcastles, animals built of sand, collected seashells, and Truman also at times enjoyed eating the sand.

We later discovered a more secluded beach on Pigeon Island and on some mornings, we would have to beach to ourselves. After visiting this beach we never returned to the more hectic Marina Beach. Truman and I would sit by the shore, throwing stones and let the waves roll over us. Truman's favourite person at this beach was the fruit man, who would show up in his boat selling the most delicious fruit - pineapple, banana, and coconut.

We were told of a great place to take children called Pizza! Pizza! in Rodney Bay. It had a wonderful play ground that Truman was able to run around and burn off some steam, as well as yummy pizza. Below is a picture of Wanda, David and Truman enjoying some delicious pizza. It is sad for me to report that we visited Pizza! Pizza! three times on our vacation.

Below is a picture of Truman and the kids bouncing on the trampoline having a wonderful time. Truman had no problem fitting in with the children and at times could be quite bossy. Unfortunately, Truman learned to spit on this vacation, as one of the boys taught him how to do it and it has now been a struggle for us to get him to stop!

Truman, Jerry and I also liked to visit the Marina and take a look at all the beautiful boats. One afternoon we even toured a pirate ship which Truman was very excited about, especially since Truman kept asking if he could go on the boats. The Marina as well had a fabulous little place that had such yummy gelato and coffee. We visited this cafe more times then I'd like to admit. Truman's favourite flavour was chocolate. If we lived closer, I'd send Jerry out for a scoop right now!

Truman had a wonderful trip and he seemed to really enjoy himself. I am a little worried as to how he is going to be tomorrow when I drop him off at preschool. I think what amazed me the most is how "grown up" he seemed in both his actions and the things he would say. I think there were a few times when Jerry and I would laugh out loud at some of his comments. His new favourite saying is "Mommy, can I have a cookie to make me feel better". Ahhh and the manipulation starts.


Jerry, Truman and I would like to say a huge thank you to Chris and Ivona for being such wonderful hosts. It was wonderful to spend time with the family and we are looking forward to having Ania visit in a few months.

Tomorrow, it's back to reality!