The Boston Children's Museum

Since today was a rainy day, we decided to take a trip down to Boston to visit the Children's Museum. I am not one for crowds and was a bit worried since it was spring break week, but though there were definitely hundreds of people there, the museum is big enough not to feel overwhelmingly crowded.

I remember MiniM.E. having a great time there when she was about LittleL.G.'s age and I know she still loves it now, so I was fairly convinced it was going to be a fun-filled day for everyone.

The museum has so much to offer that it is almost impossible for a 1.5-6 year old to NOT have fun exploring and playing.  MiniM.E. probably would have stayed all day.  LittleL.G. was not quite as excitable as I expected, but even though she wasn't running around and giggling, she found a few things she really loved and she enjoyed watching when it was too overwhelming to get in on the action.

MiniM.E.'s favorite room has always been the bubble room:

LittleL.G. wasn't as impressed:

The ball rolling room and the water room were hits for both girls:

There was so much to do and so much activity that in many of the exhibits taking a successful photo was nearly impossible.  But here are a few of the rest of our day:

pedaling to propel a fan

pushing a bus

an attempted photo of both girls in a firetruck

 It was a successful trip on a rainy day.  And we even made it back in time to eat out at MiniM.E.'s favorite restaurant, Ruby Tuesday!

A "Spring Break" Trip to NH

MiniM.E.'s preschool had their spring break weeks ago when we went to VA to see Auntie Jen.  But everyone else has their spring break this week.  We have Monday off (in honor of spring break?) and decided to take Wednesday too so we could drive to NH since we haven't been to Gram and Grumpy's since Christmas.

Now that MiniM.E. AND LittleL.G. love to spend time with Gram and Grumpy I get a little bit of a mom-break, which is very refreshing.

So far it has been just what we needed: relaxing and playing.  Lots of swinging and jumping.  And of course cuddling and horse riding.

Trike-A-Thon

Today was Trike-A-Thon at MiniM.E.'s school.  She was even more excited than last year because this year she can ride her two-wheeler with no training wheels and can even stop and start all by herself.

lined up with her best school friends

first one around the track

 I knew MiniM.E. would do a couple laps but she kept going... and going... and going...

and going...

She rode around fourteen times!! And she would have kept going if everyone else wasn't done and it was time to play some games as a class!

She was so proud of herself!

LittleL.G. gave a trike a try too.

Then it was time for some red light, green light.

MiniM.E.'s turn to call out 

We are so proud of our little bike rider! Way to go MiniM.E.!

Lovely Weather

With the nice weather continuing into the week we have just been trying to be outside as much as possible.  LittleL.G. and I skipped out on our library class to take a walk in Congress Park while MiniM.E. was in school.  After nap we went for a bike ride at the Zim Smith Trail and played at the playground where we ate picnic dinner before dance class.

On Tuesday we met our Tuesday playgroup at the state park for a playground lunch and a walk to the Geyser.

And today we were at West Side Rec where LittleL.G. decided she wanted to be a big kid and swing "HIGH!" on the big swings.

Hunting Salamanders

Since the weather is so nice we HAD to spend time outside after church so today we took the girls to Moreau Lake to hunt salamanders.  

rockin' the Babiators

 LittleL.G. was so excited to see the water that she ran down the beach to touch it.  To her surprise it was really cold.  I guess toddlers are less than agile and while attempting to stop herself from taking another step she did a full on face plant into the lake.  Despite being a little wet, she really enjoyed watching the salamanders swim from afar.

MiniM.E. was much more excited to catch them and we ended up with a whole bucket full!

While MiniM.E. and Daddy caught and released salamanders, LittleL.G. practiced her shoveling and bucket filling.

MiniM.E. really wanted her to be as excited about the salamanders as she was so she brilliantly thought to have LittleL.G. "feed" the salamanders some sand.  I love watching them play together.

What a great morning at the beach! I think we're all excited to come back when we can swim!

An Early "Summer" Weekend

A weekend of temperatures in the 70s?? Yes please! Though crazy to think just a couple weeks ago we were playing in the snow.

Lots of playing outside:

Taking out the powerwheels:

And BBQ season has officially begun!  Our first BBQ guests of the season brought their six month old baby and the girls were over the moon to hold and cuddle and play with her.

Art Show

Yesterday was MiniM.E.'s school art show. She was so excited about the art show last year that when it ended she didn't want to leave and just wanted it to keep going. She was just as excited about it this year, but another year older, another year wiser and she knew that it was just a one night thing.

She did have a great time and was extremely proud of her artwork. We saw some friends and ate some snacks and did a little playing on the playground.

This is just one of those times when I look back, just a year, and see how much she's grown.

(even though she is obviously still four!)

I am so proud of her.