A Visit to the Children's Museum

Yesterday, right before Bryce and I went to pick up Brennan at school, I called the library to see if the Children's Museum pass was available. I had checked the Monday before and it was checked out, but yesterday it was there, so Bryce and I went and grabbed it. 

We headed there this morning. I was excited to try it again. We used to be members the year before Bryce was born. I didn't renew my membership that winter because I knew I wouldn't be getting out a ton with the cold weather with a tiny baby. We used the free library pass once since Bryce was born, but he was teeny tiny. Today I was hoping both boys would enjoy it and that I wouldn't lose my sanity trying to keep up with them both. 

The title Children's Museum is very misleading. I tend to picture huge science museums or aquarium type places and this is nothing like that. It's an old house that has been turned into a play area for kids. There are a bunch of different stations and a lot had actually changed since we had been there over a year ago. It's small enough that it's fine for Brennan is be off playing somewhere by himself while I watch Bryce. I was trying to divide my attention between the two boys and "lost" Bryce once, but thankfully you can't wander too far away. 

Bryce had more fun than Brennan I think since this was his first time exploring the museum. He loved his ball ramp that I Brennan and I built.

Brennan was drawn to the sight word magnets. I love my little nerd!

I was shocked when Bryce was able to easily get these little magnets onto the pole all my himself. He was totally weirded out by the magnets repelling each other.

Bryce spent a long time playing in the toddler room. He didn't even need me in there. He was just exploring and shooting basketball and having a good time. In this picture he's playing peek-a-boo with a little girl inside the tent.

But this is where Bryce spent the majority of his time. He would walk around and find all these balls and put them back into this purple bin.

Then he'd dump them out again and take them over to these huge foam blocks and then bring them back to the purple bin. He was all over these blocks. I think he's part monkey.

It was a really fun morning. It got super crowded because there were some entire preschool groups that came in. I was a little overwhelmed by how many kids were there, but the boys played great and had fun. I love that we can get the pass from the library when it's available, but it might be time to consider getting a membership to the museum again because I think we'd have fun there this summer. 

Unfortunately shortly after we got home, Bryce tumbled down our entire flight of stairs into the basement. It was my fault for leaving the door open after we came upstairs. All of us (Brennan included) are usually so good about closing it. Thank God he wasn't injured. He was already sitting up when I got to the bottom of the steps to get him. He has some bumps on his head, but is walking and talking fine and ate his lunch well. He's resting now, but we will keep watching him over the next 24 hours. It was so scary, but it's amazing how resilient kids are. 

Hand-me-downs and Downtown

I don't know if you've seen that video about putting down your phone and looking up. I watched it yesterday, so I felt guilty pulling out my phone to snap these pictures today. But I love being able to document these memories here. It doesn't take me long to snap a few pictures and then I'm right there playing and engaging with the boys. Just wanted to say that before someone tells me to put my phone away. :)

I've always been a big fan of hand-me-downs. When I was pregnant with Brennan, we received so many boy clothes. We barely had to buy the kid anything to wear until he was three years old. And now Bryce is wearing those same hand-me-downs. A former coworker posted a picture on Facebook a few days ago asking if anyone was interested in a toy she was giving away. Awhile back I almost bought a used version of this exact same toy and now this one was being given away. Truthfully, Bryce is probably a little old for the toy already, but I figured he'd still be able to get some play time out of it. And even Brennan played with it some this afternoon too.

Here are a few shots of Bryce playing with it while Brennan was at school this morning.

Bryce also had fun playing on the jump jump...

...and with these CDs. He's forever pulling these off this shelf.

I laid Bryce down for a nap after playing because he was getting fussy, but he never fell asleep. I got some good cleaning done while he played in his crib and then we went to pick up Brennan at school. It's a little windy today, but in the mid-60s, so I packed a picnic lunch with us and once we grabbed Brennan, we headed to downtown Mystic to eat our lunch.

Brennan was less than thrilled to take a picture with me even though he was having a good time.

But then he was all kinds of crazy cheesiness for this one. Check out that sky!

I let this little guy eat his lunch in the stroller because he would dive headfirst into the river for sure!

But I finally let him down so he could run around in the grass. Or sit down and eat a cracker.

Brennan specifically asked to go take a picture by the anchor.

Then he wanted to sit by the water.

We were headed back to the car when the drawbridge started going up.

So we headed back across the lawn to watch the big boat come by.

We love our little downtown and I can't wait to visit it more as the temperature keeps warming up!

"I'm a Book Finisher!"

I am so proud of Brennan. Tonight he completed his first year of AWANA! He has loved being a Cubbie and I love seeing him so excited about going to church. Since he started in September, he has memorized 30 Bible verses. 30! He's been talking for several weeks about how tonight he will be an official "book finisher" when he recites his final verse from his book.

Brennan has had such wonderful leaders this year and talks about them all the time. He loves telling me about what happened during the puppet theater at Cubbies and of course his all time favorite is when they hunt for Easter eggs.

Each week of AWANA starts in our church's gym. I love taking Brennan and watching him stand in his spot on the blue line and put his hand on his heart for the pledges. And nothing melts my heart like seeing him fold his hands and bow his head each week when it's time for prayer there.

This picture was taken several weeks ago. Yes, I snapped this picture like a heathen while he was praying so sweetly.

Here's Brennan on his very first night of Cubbies back in September.

Here he is when he came in second place for his age group at the AWANA Grand Prix.

And here's my book finisher (with cake all over his face)!

And a few more pics from tonight...

Kids Karnival

Brennan has been talking about the Kids Karnival since we went last year. I can't tell you how excited he was when the sign advertising it was coming back went up a few weeks ago. Kyle and I had plans last night, so we promised B we'd go Saturday morning right at 11 when it opened. It was the most gorgeous day of the year so far and perfect for going. Brennan rode a few rides, but wanted to play a bunch of games. He won a few dinky prizes and was over the moon.

We walked inside briefly to see the vendors and Brennan wanted to spin the wheel at the karate booth. He won three free karate classes, so I plan on taking him on Tues to try it out.

I only took a few pics with my phone. But it was a fun morning. Now he'll keep talking about it until it returns next year!

Bryce was so tired the whole time we were there, but just chilled out in the stroller. I don't think he ever made a single peep.

Brennan was most excited to ride the Ferris Wheel!

We ran into some friends and John rode this ride with Brennan and me.

Brennan wanted to play outside after his nap (or lack thereof), so I brought him out and we played baseball for a little bit. Love my little ball player!

And just for fun, here are a few pics from last year's Kids Karnival.

Best Buds

Bryce and Ringo are best buds. And their relationship is literally the only reason I am keeping Ringo around right now.

And they both have a lot of slobber...

A Check-up and a Meltdown

Today Brennan visited the dentist. Thankfully he loves going and is a great patient, so it was a super easy visit with a good report and no cavities. My friend Leighann was a great help and watched Bryce during the appointment. So far it had been a good morning; playtime at home, a great dental check-up, and Bryce had fun playing with his friend Jacob. I decided the boys and I would reward ourselves with Panera for lunch.

Unfortunately that is where the good morning ended. Bryce was crying the entire drive to Panera because he was tired. Once we arrived, I told Brennan he had to be an extra good boy because Bryce might be cranky. It turns out Bryce wasn't the one I needed to worry about. Brennan usually gets to pick out a cookie at Panera. He almost always picks the M&M cookie and the few times he's picked a seasonal cookie, he hasn't eaten it. Today he decided he wanted a seasonal flower cookie and when I told him no, he had a pretty epic meltdown.

Thankfully Brennan doesn't really throw fits and pretty much never in public. But today he had a nice little tantrum right in line at Panera. I was holding Bryce which only made things that much more difficult. And it wasn't bad enough that Brennan was crying about not getting the cookie he wanted, he would not stop grabbing the flower cookie from the basket. It was quite embarrassing.

I never even raised my voice though. I bent down to his level and told him I knew he was upset, but that he could have an M&M cookie or no cookie at all. I paid while I was still bent down to the ground trying to maintain a fake smile. The cashier then handed me a pager. I asked Brennan if he'd like to hold it, and he immediately stopped crying and said, "It's number 51" in his normal happy little voice. So happy that the lady paying beside us started laughing. Bipolar much?!?!

Thankfully the rest of the meal was fine. Bryce was great and Brennan got over his meltdown, but Lord have mercy I need a nap!

Oh and here's a picture. He looks so big in this picture from the dentist! Proud of my brave boy and will continue to focus on the positive moments. Growing up is tough!