toronto mom Archives

Do you remember your favourite toy as a baby? Maybe you do by looking at baby pictures or your mom/dad must’ve told you a story that went something like this ..”you wouldn’t put it down and it went everywhere with you:..or…”we had to sneak it out of your hands to wash it”.. or simply.. “it was your favourite”. When I think of Fisher Price I remember my favourite telephone toy:

Fisher Price has created some pretty awesome toys since this telephone one and I think I’m having more fun playing with baby D’s toys than he is.😆 Five of these toys are part of their new Smart Stages™ line of toys. This Smart Stages™ technology allows you to change between 3 different playing levels. You change levels according to your little ones age. Or if your LO (little one) is like baby D and loves to explore and play with different things everyday then switching between the levels is a great idea. I’m a true believer that every child learns differently and there’s no one way. By switching between levels you can determine which level your LO enjoys the most.

The Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Puppy ($29.94)

This cuddly puppy goes with baby D where ever he goes! He loves songs and interactive toys, so the level that plays the most songs is his favourite. When he was just over a year old he learnt how to shuffle through the songs by pressing the correct paw. Incredible! Now Baby Z has the same one but the girl version.

The Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Scooter ($39.99)

His first wheels! I remember the very first time we put him on this scooter he was under a year and his legs didn’t even touch the ground. That didn’t stop him from smiling and squealing when we pressed a few buttons on it for music and sounds. He grew up with this scooter beautifully. He learned very quickly that in order to stay on he had to hold the handlebars and once he turned over a year he was getting pushed and pulled on this scooter. His grandfather used his cane to pull him on the scooter and then his grandmother tied a stretchy fabric band on it to be pulled. Soon his legs were able to touch the ground and he started moving around. Absolutely loved going for the ride and as the scooter moves around it plays different sounds of vrooming, music and more!

Beat Bo ($49.99)

I remember the first time I saw this little robot I was so impressed with the lighting and the way it dances! This robot jukebox plays music and engages with babies and toddlers to dance along. Baby D and Z have loved this toy for years! My personal favourite feature is the record option. You record something and it plays it back in music form.

SMART STAGES TABLET ($19.99)

I love how this was Baby D’s first tablet! It lights up and twinkles to different sounds and music. It also has different stages so it grows with your child. They can learn the alphabets, animals and the letter it starts with and the sounds that go with the letters.

TEACHING TOTE ($20.00)

Baby D didn’t play with this as much as his other toys but Baby Z loves it! She loves pushing the tote flap back and putting random items she finds inside it! I also love that this tote bag comes with over 50 songs, words and phrases.

LAUGH AND LEARN PUPPY TRUCK ($8.00 ON SALE)

This satisfied Baby D’s obsession with trucks and construction. Comes with a puppy driver, truck bed moves up and down and 5+ sing-along songs, tunes & phrases.

Do you have any favourite Fisher Price toys?

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Cafe Cancan is a fairly new cafe that opened up on Harbord Street in Toronto. Harbord street is a nostalgic area for me because I went to high school near there. The night before going to Cafe Cancan I did some research about the place and went on to their website to do some light reading about the cafe, the owners and anything I needed to know before I went there.

I love the fact that this cafe is actually designed by Tiffany Pratt. I love her happy go lucky style and everything she touches with her sense of design is incredible!

If you decide to visit this place, keep in mind that parking is a little bit hard to find in this area. We were fortunate enough to find a spot in the residential area, a block from the cafe. I was so excited to check this place out I didn’t mind the walk, although it was really hot. So I got Baby Z cozy in her stroller and we were on our way! So anyways, we get to the cafe and the front view of this place is just so pretty! If you know me, I have this thing with coloured doors. And a pink one! I died. It’s so cute! Immediately I thought, photo opp!

There are a few steps to enter into the cafe, but that’s no problem with the jogger stroller I have.

As soon as we entered Cafe Cancan we were welcomed by a lady and I asked for a booth for two by the door so I can tuck my stroller away. She looked at me and said “Okay, just a second.” and walked away. A few minutes later..

another lady came over. She leaned forward and said “Sorry, there are no strollers allowed here.” You can imagine I was taken aback and baffled. I had never been to a place, no where in Toronto and even in all of our travels with our stroller (Italy, Mexico, Niagara Falls *lol*) did anyone ever say to me, no strollers allowed. I guess I was at a loss of words so I was just staring blank at her and my brother who was with me also didn’t know what to say either. Then, and I don’t know why I said this… “I guess I could just leave my stroller outside and try to watch it from this booth?” And she replied, “sure.” I walked outside, and then of course after baby brain stopped kicking in, I realized, no way. I’m not leaving my $1000 stroller outside!

I started to think, forget it. I’m not staying here. Let’s just go home and eat whatever we can grab. But as we started walking back I thought, I shouldn’t change my plans because of one road block. I should find a way around it and do what I wanted to do. Why have this ruin my excitement to go there and enjoy the food and ambiance? So we walked back to the car, dropped off the stroller, I put a hat on Baby Z and we walked back in the heat.
It makes me sad to think that what if I was a new mom and this was my very first day coming out of my house and treating myself to a nice lunch with my little one and then to have them say to me “no strollers allowed.” I know for sure I’d go back to my car, go home and cry. Thinking perhaps moms shouldn’t go to cute places. Or maybe, baby and I don’t belong in a restaurant. But truth is, that’s ridiculous. And if a restaurant doesn’t allow strollers, then they should do their due diligence to write that on their website or by the door. Because I did mine by going on and checking to make sure it was a big enough facility. There was lots of space there for me to fold my stroller and tuck away. It wasn’t even busy the entire time I was there, there was a total of 3 tables being served and 2 people came in to get coffee to go. There’s also a decent long hallway to the patio in the back of the cafe.

We ordered burgers. I got the veggie burger and it came with a side of fries. I was really happy with the amount of avocado they used in this burger. I love avocado. It was nice. If I were to go back I would try something different as I wasn’t in love with it. It’s a messy burger so I cut mine in half. The soda was really good, but it’s $6. I’d love to go back for lattes and dessert.
The owners of the cafe were there and they were super nice. I didn’t mention what had happened. Would I recommend this place to others? Sure. Would I go again? Maybe. Only because the owners are nice, food was good and the place is so damn pretty!

P.S Later that same day we went to Lavelle and they were super accommodating. I folded up the stroller and put it against a wall that was pretty out of sight. Lavelle is a restaurant/lounge on a roof top on King St.

Have you ever gone somewhere and you felt not welcomed or discriminated?