Destination: The Greensboro Children's Museum.
First stop: Tricia's mom's house.
On the way to Tricia's parents' house, I explained to Jacob who we were going to see. Sometimes he's shy around people he doesn't know, and it can take him several minutes to warm up to others. I thought it might help if he knew in advance that we were visiting "Daniel's Nan & Pop Pop". Actually, his cousins refer to their grandparents as Nana & Papa, but it's close enough to what Jacob calls my parents.
We walked in the house and were welcomed warmly by Tricia's mom. (From here on out, she'll be referred to as Daniel's Nan.) :) Jacob got over his initial shyness pretty quickly and treated her to a Spiderman impression. When she kindly commented on Alex's blue eyes, Jacob was quick to inform her, "I have blue eyes too. And my teeth are white."
While the kids enjoyed playing together, we got to work on setting out the lunches we had packed. After eating, cleaning up, doing diaper changes, and taking trips to the potty, it was time to head to the museum. As we were getting ready to leave, Jacob asked, "Is Daniel's Nan coming?" He was happy when I answered yes. And we were off!
The children's museum was made up of a variety of different play areas. One of them was a market, which included kid sized carts, shelves stocked with boxes of real food (empty boxes, but real, nonetheless), plastic fruits & veggies, a section with meats & seafoods, and 2 cash registers. Very cool. Apparently, Jacob felt we were in dire need of bananas & corn on the cob.
He bought the lobster especially for Daddy.
Jacob was such a whirlwind of activity. What to play with first? There was a post office, construction zone, a stage for performing, and a rocket ship, to name a few. He was running from one area to the next, ecstatic about finding a real firetruck, police car, race car, mail truck, and a real cockpit of an airplane. At 31, I also found it pretty exciting, so I can only imagine how he felt. Of course, most of my excitement came from watching him enjoy himself. It was next to impossible to get a decent still shot of Jacob during our visit. So be prepared for lots of action pics.
Loving the race car, but just noticing the next station he wants to run to.
Look closely and you'll see Jacob on the left, helping to fly the plane.
Suit up!
A little girl was using the fireman's hat, so we worked with what we had.
Jacob LOVES playing in the sand. Just out of the frame of the shot, is a sailboat also filled with sand & toys.
After digging in the sand, we played on the nearby train tables.
I was thrilled to find an activity that Alex could participate in instead of watching the others play from his stroller. He was so happy to play with the big kids!
There was even a sectioned off play area dedicated to kids 2 years & younger. That it provided areas for my baby to enjoy himself was one of my favorite aspects of this museum. I always feel bad for Alex during our outings when he is cooped up in his stroller, too young to play with what the big kids are. But as you'll see in the pictures, he loved crawling through the tunnels, playing with soft balls & shapes, and climbing up stairs.
Peek-a-boo!
Thanks, Lainey, for being a good sport when Alex playfully grabbed your hair.
Not only was it fun to splash in the soapy water, but it was great to make huge bubbles with plastic coat hangers!
You could also pull the rope, and surround yourself in one huge bubble! Naturally the bubble popped in unison with my flash of the camera. But you get the idea.
Check out those biceps! Jacob was a pro at jumping up and grabbing on to the bars! Also in this area were tumbling mats & hula hoops.
Jacob & Daniel preparing to make some eggs in the play kitchen. There was an adjoining dining room where they could sit and enjoy their meal. "Outside" the house was a picnic table, rocking chairs on the front porch, and a clothesline for hanging laundry.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Jacob. I'll be performing your surgery today."
The big red chair was in the lobby of the museum. Of course we had to attempt a shot of all the kids. Not bad, huh? Good job, Tricia.
I was tempted to try out the chair myself, but since I didn't notice any other adults sitting in it, figured I'd just let the kids enjoy it. Maybe next time we go, I'll work up the nerve to take a turn in it. And there will be a next time because the boys & I had so much fun. And maybe our next visit will include Daddy!
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