Happy Friday!
First of all, let me say a quick thank you to those of you who stop by to keep up with my blog. I love it when I see people in the community and they tell me things they know about us or ask me questions because they read my blog. My main purpose in blogging is to keep an ongoing journal that I can look back at in years to come. (That's the reason I choose blogging over Facebook.) But, it sure is nice to know that many of you are along this journey with me. Please remember that you can always email me with questions about anything that I post. For the most part, I'm an open book.
As planned, Luke and I had a week full of play dates and a fantastic field trip on Thursday.
This week, Luke had a pool play date with my neighbor, William (who is only 2 days older than Luke), and his buddy, Silas. The boys had a great time and the moms did also. It's always nice to have a chance to chat with mommies - you get great advice and ideas and you are reminded that we all have our good and bad days. :) While the mommies chatted, the boys ATE and ATE and ATE and played in the water. :) After our 30 minute thunder delay, the boys stayed in the water for quite a while - they enjoyed the baby pool and the big pool. They love to fill and dump water and to throw balls. They are all so sweet and, even though Luke doesn't realize it yet, he's so blessed to have buddies like William and Silas. Thanks ladies and gentlemen for a fun time!
Later in the week, Heather and Silas came over to our house for another play date. It looked like rain so we decided to play inside. The boys hung out for several hours - following each other around, just playing with whatever their little hearts desired. The favorite this time seemed to be the red car and Thomas. It was so cute to watch them go from one moving object to another. They, of course, continued to enjoy the popper and the shopping cart and GOLDFISH! :) And, we were able to get them to sit down and "read" a book with us for a little while. They each made their own favorite animal noises as we read.
Luke actually saw Silas at story time on Wednesday at the public library too. I will post about that adventure later. AND....Lexi came over to our house for a few hours on Wednesday and she and Luke played. Luke just loves playing with her. Because Luke and Lexi seem to spend so much time together lately, I have a post planned dedicated to their play dates alone. That will come soon too.
For now, let's talk about our weekly road trip. This week, Luke and I went to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC. It took a little over an hour to get there and was super easy to find - much easier than the Charlotte museum. I highly recommend this museum for boys and girls of all ages. It was a little more expensive - $12.95 for me and Luke was free, but you get your money's worth because there is a two story indoor museum and then a huge outdoor area that includes a mini-zoo, a dinosaur trail, and some super cool playground areas. Check out their website for more information: www.ncmls.org.
Luke's favorite exhibits were:
-the mini-zoo - the bear was so close to us that Luke did not want to leave - he just kept starring at him
-the huge sand box filled with dump trucks, shovels of all sizes, and rakes - Luke played in this sandbox with other boys and girls for quite awhile. It was so neat to have so many dump trucks and shovels - it's an 18 month olds dream come true. :)
-digging for dinosaur fossils (a.k.a-seashells and rocks) - on the dinosaur trail, they have a huge area where kids can use real shovels (kid sized) to dig holes to find dinosaur fossils - in other words, they dig and dig and try to find as many seashells and special rocks as they can and whatever they find, they keep. Luke made sure to put all that he found in his pocket for safe keeping. He loved digging so much that I'm hoping that is a good sign for our beach trip this summer.
-sitting on the big dinosaur - there was a big dinosaur that Luke really wanted to climb, but he couldn't, so I sat him on top of it and held him. He really thought he was BIG stuff and smiled from ear to ear.
-hitting the drums and various other objects - there is a section outdoors (thank goodness b/c it's very loud) dedicated to making music. There are sticks (that look like fat drum sticks) that the kids pick up and walk around and hit every hanging object they see in order to discover the different sounds each object makes. It was quite interesting and Luke loved it!
-train ride - for an extra $2.75, you can ride the train ride through the outdoor section of the museum. You all know Luke loves trains so this was a highlight for him and me. He loves to scream AFTER we are through the tunnel. :)
-eating watermelon - after playing a little while, Luke and I went to the cafeteria that is outside. While I ate my sandwich, Luke chowed down on some watermelon. As we ate (just me and him), he smiled and jabbered and waved at everyone like usual. It was so crowded that I actually invited another mom and her two daughters to sit with us at our table because we were almost finished. Well, Luke loved this company...I mean two pretty girls sitting with him while he eats his favorite fruit in the world - it just doesn't get any better than that.
-the ball exhibits - Luke and I stayed outside for several hours so we only had time (due to Luke getting tired) to go to one indoor exhibit. I chose to take Luke to the area designed for kids ages 6 and under. I made a good choice because Luke had a ball....literally, a lot of balls! He played and played and played with the other kids on this ball contraption....I have a video below so you can see what I mean.
So....that's what Luke loved about the museum....this is what I loved...
-looking at Luke's sweet hand on my leg as we rode the train ride. He's such a lovable man.
-watching him interact with other kids-he is very sociable - he smiles and tells them hey and bye
-watching his eyes light up as he discovers new things
-watching his "thinking" face as he struggles to figure new things out
-listening to his rambling jabbering as he either walks (or I carry him) to the next animal - he pointed and told me all about what he was seeing - the only words I could really understand was water, a growling sound, and I think "fish". As usual, he thought I understood everything he said. :)
-sitting together and talking and eating lunch - I love to talk with him about what we have already done and what we are going to do and see
-watching his precious little sleeping face as we drive up and down the highway-he's such a good rider
Basically, any time I'm with Luke, I'm having fun! But, you all knew that didn't you?? (he, he)
Here are the pictures you have been waiting for...
Here's that ball exhibit I was talking about....just the picture....the video is at the bottom...
Here's the sandbox...
This was an old timey train that the kids could climb into and look inside....
Here's the bear - "Roar!!!"
Here is Luke digging for fossils...
Did you see him put those fossils in his pocket??? That's exactly where Mommy found them later that day and a few in the washing machine the next day. :)
On the train ride...
Sweet little hands...
In the butterfly pavilion...
Enjoying the music makers....
Crawling through the playground tunnel getting very dirty...
Play date with Silas....the boys pause for a read aloud...
Playing on the couch...
Playing in the box...
Eating goldfish...
Riding in the car and on Thomas...
Play date at the pool....this is Luke enjoying a newly invented snack....Mommy forgot to bring a spoon for the yogurt, so my neighbor, Caren, suggested that we use the pretzel sticks to dip it out...the kids loved that idea! Thanks, Caren! :)
Eating some more....
Finally, in the water....that's William on the left, Luke in the middle, and Silas on the right...
The ball exhibit video....:)
Oh yeah....I'm super excited to tell you that I finally got a new camera....it is much more dependable, takes pictures faster, and has a bigger memory than my other one. I've enjoyed using it this week.
I hope to post again on Monday! Check back with us!
Toddy
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