Please Touch Museum - Lunch and Wonderland

Lunch time can be hit or miss in a museum.  Sometimes the food is great and worth the price; other times the food is disgusting and over priced.  The food here was pretty good, I like having choices; more than just burgers and greasy cheese pizza.  While they do have pizza it's made in a wood burning oven, they also have yummy baked sandwiches.  It was not the cheapest food but not over priced like other museums.  We did have a hard time finding a place to sit but as it turns out there is more seating by the Carousel (should have read the signs).

After lunch Tavish wanted to ride the Carousel (an extra $3), Tavish loves merry-go-rounds so he had a great time.  It was not the most spectacular merry-go-round he's been on but it's in the top 5 (he's been on a lot).

 Round and Round and Round we go

  We switched gender rolls

I must admit by this time of the day (11:30) my husband and I were having pretty much all we could handle at this museum.  While it's great for kids, it was not designed acoustically for hundreds of screaming children, so the deafening sound was getting to us.  That being said, we are not the people to leave a museum half done (especially if we have no plans on going back) so we pressed on.  The next exhibit to investigate was the  Access/Ability.  This is one area of the museum which targets older kids (5+) and teaches them what life is like living with a special need and how people over come these challenges.  My husband and I found it very interesting but Tavish was not that into it.

Before we heading back down stairs to the Wonderland exhibit, Tavish found a piano which he had lots of fun playing and they also have a giant walk on piano (like from the movie Big).

 

Playing Mozart at 2 (okay not really)

Now I must fully admit we did not do the Wonderland area justice, as Kyle and I were both getting a head ache from the noise down there.  Tavish was also a bit scared of some of the features in this exhibit (he would not go into the hall of mirrors but can we really blame him).  He did have a great time playing with the cars that go down this ramp (not sure what it had to do with Wonderland) but he did have an issue sharing them.  I could tell by the increasing number of meltdowns that is was time for us to go.

Overall I think we had a pretty good time but not sure that we'll go back.  I personally like the Children's museum in Baltimore (Port Discovery) better for a number of reasons:

• better security - children can only leave the building with the adult them came with
• better acoustics - a combination of 3 floors and exhibits in closed rooms makes for much less noise
• play gym - the giant gym in the middle of the museum is just fun

I think in a July we'll be checking out a Children's Museum in Richmond, VA so we'll have to see how it compares. 

Quick Tip about the Please Touch Museum: at least during the weekend and in February there was lots of free parking near the museum if you arrived before 10 (not sure how much parking there is after that).

Please Touch Museum - City Caper

Once we finished the majority of the top floor we headed down the stairs.  Our first stop was City Caper, it's like a village for little people.  The exhibits in this area were hit and miss.  The construction area was okay, nothing special but Tavish had fun.  This is an area which can cause friction as there are not too many bricks and only one conveyor belt but Tavish and the boy he was playing with kept things very civil which is great for an almost 3 year old.

Next we decided to go home well the City Caper home which is designed for kids 3 and under.  Tavish had a great time pulling carrots while Callen enjoyed catching butterflies.  The nice part of this area is that its closed off so you don't have to worry about your toddler running off.  It is a cute little house and great for the little ones.

 Time to harvest the carrots

Butterflies

From the house we moved to the hospital, which had the potential to be great but was a huge let down.  It was pretty much just a nursery with a few anatomically correct baby dolls.  I was hoping it would be more of a hospital with kid friendly hospital stuff, you know tongue depressors, reflex thingings, sphygmomanometer and defibrillator - never to early for AEDs.  While there were a few x-rays and a stethoscope you could find more kid friendly medical stuff in a mickey mouse medical kit.  This area could be improved with just a few added props.

Is Callen's heart beating?

We were hungry so we left the hospital and headed for the McDonalds play.  I don't know if McDonalds sponsored this exhibit or what but it was TERRIBLE (which explains why there was no one playing here).  I could buy a McDonalds play set better than this exhibit.  There was nothing here but a cash register and the supplies to make a hamburger.  I just don't get why there was nothing more than a few hamburger pieces.  When I think of McDonalds I think of chicken nuggets, French fries and happy meals and there was none of this.  Too bad it could have been fun.

 Where are my chicken nuggets?

Callen's first burger

We bypassed the shoe store because it looked lame and headed to the grocery store which was AMAZING.     Now had we know how popular this would be we would have headed to the grocery store first. It was by far the most popular spot in the museum.  When Tavish finally snagged a cart he had a blast and it's a good thing I don't give him control of the shopping cart at a real grocery store as he pulled everything off the shelf.  I think he had the most fun working the cash register and there was a very nice girl who was willing to let Tavish check her out (I don't mean it in that way).  

 Well I think I need two of these

Okay that will be 9 9 9 6 10 4 dollars

I did not want to be one of those parents who lets their child hog all the fun so we dragged Tavish away from the grocery store and headed to the Centennial Exploration area.  I personally found this exhibit interesting as it explained the fancy building the museum is located in and gives a look of life in the late 1800s.  While I found it interesting, I think Tavish found it boring so we headed off for Lunch.

More about lunch and the rest of the museum in the next post.

Philly Here We Come

My husband and I decided that we needed to get away for a few days and I've been telling him that I would really like to go to Philadelphia. Philadelphia has some great museums there I'd love to see, so off to Philly we went. Philly is a 3 hour drive from where we live and this would be our first road trip with Callen.  Callen is pretty good in the car most of the time and when he does get upset it's nothing that a soother and my terrible singing can't fix (I don't know why my terrible singing calms my boys down in the car when they are mad but it really does work).  However, 3 hours in a car is a long time and Callen was only 3 days into his new head gear so I was a bit worried.  Tavish on the other hand is no rookie at road trips and while we had not been on one for awhile I know he travels well.

As our travel plans evolved we decided to do a Saturday-Monday road trip instead of our traditional Friday-Sunday plans.  This worked out great for us because Tavish was sick on Friday and this also meant we could leave early Saturday morning and not have to worry about any rush hour traffic.  We left around six and with only one stop for breakfast and pee break we arrived at our destination at 9:30.  Here are a few of my tips for an easy road trip without a DVD player (I'm not against these but I only plan on using ours for an extreme emergency)

Toddler and Older

•  snacks - pack all of your kids favorite snacks and keep them close by.  You don't want your snacks packed in a hard to reach spot.  Also you want easy to clean snacks, I'm a fan of raisins, fruit leather, granola bars, and animal crackers.  I try not to get anything messy or sticky.
• toys and books - pack lots of different toys and books and have them either accessible to you or your child.  Again you don't want to be digging around for new toys when they get bored of what they have. 
• have a special road trip toy or game - something that you only use when on long road trip.  We have a tag/tag jr. (review to come later) which Tavish can use when he's in the car for more than an hour.  This way it's a special treat and won't get bored of it after 5 minutes
• bring great music - have a variety of music that  you and your kids both like.  To me there is nothing worse than having to listen to the same terrible CD over and over again
• books on tape or pod casts - these are great for older children and even adults.  Listening to a good story/book can make a trip go by much faster.  My husband and I are huge fans of the Vinyl Cafe pod cast and it's kid friendly too
• tell stories - my 3 year old love stories and he love ones that I tell.  I tell my own version of choose your own story and he love it.  I really need to record one as they get pretty silly.

Babies - Traveling with your baby can be really easy or really tricky depending on the age of your baby and their temperament.  I have a very easy baby when it comes to traveling so my tips may or may not work for you 

• start off happy - make sure all the immediate needs are met: food, clean diaper, comfortable.  I try to make sure that I top up any feeding and have a fresh diaper before I start, this way I know if my baby is crying it's not because he needs a basic need met.
• entertainment - babies usually like something to look at besides the back of the car seat.  Mirrors work great as it allows you to look at your baby and they can also be entertained by themselves.  I also put in a few soft toys to keep him entertained
• be prepared - be prepared for anything and have extra's of everything.  Make sure you have a second or third soother on hand and with easy access if you need one.  Bring extra clothes, diapers, and wipes just in case you need a change of clothes.  
• plastic bags - bring some, you never know if you'll have a blow out that requires a clean up
• stop when you need to - you'll need to stop more often with a baby then you would on your own so plan for these stops
• sing - when you can't stop and your baby is cranky just sing.  I don't think it matters how terrible or good your voice is, the sound of your voice can be soothing or at least it makes you feel like your doing something until you can pull over.

Keeping these things in mind we had an easy trip to Philly and we were ready to being sight seeing.  First stop was the Please Touch Museum...

I don't know how they do it

Moms with big families that is.  Last week a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to join her on a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium. And while we had a great time I found it but a bit stressful at times too; see we had five kids and one on the way (she is 7 months pregnant) between the 2 of us.  Add in a couple hundred kids on school trips and wow did we have our work cut out for us.  Keeping an eye on 4 kids going in opposite directions can be really tricky and I must say I did not see much of the Aquarium as I was too busy watching out for our little ones.  How do moms with big families do it and I don't mean big families like the Duggers (the older ones watch the younger ones), I mean the families that have more young kids than hands.  I think my stress level would be through the roof and that was with well behaved children.  I think I'll stick with the two I've got, I like to enjoy the attractions we go to and not worry about missing kids.  We were so busy I didn't even have time to take out my camera.

Skating

The laces for my skates finally came in and I was able to take Tavish skating.  This was Tavish's first time skating in real skates (last year I took him but he used double blade skates).  It was really fascinating to see how well he improved over the course of the hour.  When he first put his skates on he could not walk on the ground without his ankles rolling in but by the time we were ready to leave he could skate a short distance from me to my dad.  I really need to find him lessons.

 Getting ready to skate - a bit wobbly

Just push me mom

 Skating with Grandma

 I can skate on my own

 Just a cute shot of Tavish

 Skating with Grandma and Grandpa

 Callen slept though the whole thing

 By myself 

I did it

Time for a Swim

As a former lifeguard & swim instructor I think swimming is really important.  I also think that the earlier you get kids into the pool the better.   I know some people may disagree with me and I'm by no means an expert.  I do know that my boys love the water even though we don't go swimming as much as we should.  Tavish was 6 weeks old the first time I took him swimming.  He lasted about 7 minutes or so before he started to get cold but he really seamed to enjoy it.  I started to take him every few weeks and even took him to a diaper fit class ( an aquafit class for moms with babies in boats - wish they had it here).  To this day he loves swimming, jumping in the water, blowing bubbles and won't cry when I stick his head under the water (I did that early too around 6 months or so).

Tavish's First Time Swimming

Now Callen loves the water even more so than Tavish did, bath times are when he gives his biggest smiles.  With two kids it's not as easy to go swimming but when my parents were visiting we took Callen for the first time.  He LOVED it.  He could have stayed in the water for hours.  I have to say I'm looking forward to this summer while I have 2 pools within walking distance so he'll catch up on his swimming then.

Callen First Time Swimming 

(sorry about the bad quality, it was really humid in the pool)

Tavish having fun

Tips for taking babies swimming
-keep babies warm (a onesie is a good to have under the swimsuit)
-don't plan on staying long - depending on the water temperature and the baby's temperament, a baby may only like the water for a few minutes
-take bath times as a cue for when a baby is ready for swimming.  If your baby hates a bath then they will most likely hate the swimming pool; wait until they like a bath before you take them to the pool
-go as often as you can and find a friend to go with you as it makes it more sociable for both you and your baby
-go when the pool is not busy - during the week in my experience tends to be much quieter than on the weekend, during the day when kids are in school is the best
-make swimming fun, sing songs, bring toys
-swim diapers are a must and they usually need to be combined with a swimsuit (many pools don't allow a baby in just a swim diaper), I prefer cloth swim diapers but I also prefer cloth diapers but there are many disposable swim diapers too

You should not be nervous about taking your child swimming, think of it as a giant bath.  If you need help just ask a lifeguard or take a swimming class.  Taking babies swimming not only is it fun but it will make learning to swim much more enjoyable for the child, the parents and the lifeguard (there is nothing worse than teaching a kid to swim who won't get into the pool) .

Tavish at swimming lesson in the summer

Mount Vernon

The second stop on my dad's historical tour of the D.C. area was Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon has historical significance as it was the home of George Washington.  This was my second trip to Mount Vernon and second time seeing it in the winter (we went last year in December with Kyle's mom and sister).  Mount Vernon in the winter is quite beautiful but I would love to venture out here in the spring (before the onslaught of school trips) or fall.  The best part about Mount Vernon in the winter is how quite and peaceful it is.  I think we saw maybe 3 or 4 other small groups wandering around and we even had a private tour of the Mansion.  The problem with coming in the winter is some of the buildings were closed for renovations and the pathways to the dock and stables were closed.

After touring the house and the outlying buildings Tavish was getting grumpy and hungry so headed to the food court.  I must say I was quite surprised at how good the food was here; for museum fast food it was some of the best I've had in a long time.

Unfortunately our visit ended in a bit of ciaos.  I need to finished feeing Callen and then run to the washroom so the plan was that my mom and I would meet the rest of the family in the museum.  Somewhere between the bathroom and the museum Kyle and I musted have crossed paths.  Tavish who was quite tired having missed his nap the day before refused to go in the museum (the gun fire sounds scared him and he was tired).  From the washroom my mom and I met up with my dad in the Museum and I had just assumed that Tavish and Kyle went to the kids discovery room.  Now I did have my cell phone on my but I was told to silence it when we went into the main house and I never turned the ringer back on.  When we got to the kids room and Kyle and Tavish were not there, I looked at my phone and missed 5 calls.  Oops.  Kyle was pretty mad.  Tavish was not going into that museum at all and really needed a nap so we all decided we were museumed out too and headed home.  Aside from Tavish's meltdown and getting lost on the way home (our GPS had issues) we had a great trip to Mount Vernon and I do look forward to coming back in the spring or fall.

Mount Vernon is a great family trip.  It's a good place for kids to run around outside but the roped off areas in the house can bit a bit of a problem for some toddlers and preschoolers.  The museum is really interesting too and it goes though the life of George Washington and the Revolution.  Mount Vernon is a must see if you are in the Washington Area.

Tavish and my parents with the Mansion in the back

Tavish having a great time (before the meltdown)

Callen taking it all in

Tavish had a great time playing in the corner

View from beside the Mansion

Just strolling along - it was a beautiful day

Tavish checking things out with his dad

Natural History Museum

While the older boys (my dad, my husband, and Tavish) were off at the Monster Trucks, my mom, Callen and I headed to the Natural History Museum.  Now a few of you may recall that my last trip here was a huge disaster but I knew my mom would like to see it so I decided to brave it again (this time Adults out numbered kids).  Thankfully the security guard from hell was not working so things were already off to a better start.  There were two really interesting exhibits that caught my attention this trip.  The first was the crocheted coral reef.  I kinda wished I spent more time looking at it as it is quite remarkable.  It's amazing what people can do with some yarn, a crochet hook and inspiration from some of the most beautiful creatures on earth.

The second was the the Written in Bone exhibit.  During the last part of my pregnancy I discovered a new favorite show, Bones, and the Written in Bone exhibit reminds me a lot about that show.  I must go back when I have more time to really explore this exhibit as it is quite fascinating.

My mom and I sped through the museum and looked a few of the other exhibits but I'm sure we say not even half of what was there.  I'm pretty sure I could spend a few days exploring the Natural History Museum and I'm looking forward to checking out a few of their IMAX shows.  I'm sure I'll get back in the next few weeks.

The Natural History Museum is a must see in D.C. and a GREAT place to bring kids (providing they are not super grumpy).  The museum is quite loud so don't have to worry about loud toddlers disturbing anyone.  Kids of all ages will find something they like from dinosaurs to butterflies and they even have a discovery room for older kids.  I highly recommend going when it opens at 10am because it gets really busy, even in the off season.  If you are a local then I'd avoid it in June when school tours take over D.C. and I'm sure it's pretty busy in the summer too.  My husband and I HATE crowds so we are all about getting seeing things in the off season but if this is your only trip to D.C. I'd brave the crowds.

 My mom by the stunning Orchid Garden

 One of the Orchids

 Giraffe doing the splits in the Hall of Mammals

One of my favorite areas, the Deep Sea

National Archives

Every time I go into D.C. I find myself in the movies.  D.C. is the backdrop to so many movies and T.V. show your almost guaranteed to find yourself on the set of a movie you know.  Our second stop of the D.C. day with my parents took us to the set of National Treasure.  Okay not really but we were in the National Archives which is featured in the show.  Even if you have never seen the movie I'm sure most people know that the Declaration of Independence is on display in the Archives, making it a popular D.C. stop.

Having previously been to the Archives and having Callen in the stroller (getting up to see the Declaration of Independence there are 3 or so stares making it not very stroller friendly), I viewed the Maga Carta while my parents at the Declaration and Other documents. The Maga Carta is a facinating peace of history in which the Declaration is based on (I think, I'm a biologist not a history major). In addition to the Declaration and Maga Carta there is also a gallery which has an exhibit on Discovering the Civil War: Consequences.  This exhibit does a good job of showing how the Archives are used to find new information on the Civil War.  It was very educational but not that stimulating (if that makes sense).

While the National Archives are interesting and have lots of cool historical documents this is not the most toddler/baby friendly stop in D.C. Unless you are a history buff or are kidless then I'd skip the Archives and head to the American History, Natural History, or Air and Space Museums as they are much more fun for little kids.

A Warm Memory on a Cold Day

I'd though I'd post some pictures from our Bahamas Trip as requested by a reader.  We had a wonderful and relaxing Norwegian Cruise in July 2009.  Tavish was just 15 months old.  Kyle and I had a great time and aside from the teething nightmare I think Tavish had a great time too.

We are in the process of planning our next cruise in September when we will embark on Norwegian's Pride of America and cruise around the islands of Hawaii.  We will be cruising with family with a total of 6 adults and 5 kids (at least the adults won't be out numbered).  Should interesting.

Bahamas 2009 - Tavish's First Cruise

Don't fall through the rails

What do you see?

Our first stop (but we only got off the boat to take this picture)

Having fun in the Splash pool

Second stop - we at least went shopping and to the beach

First time "swimming" in the Ocean (he had been in the ocean before but this was his first time getting really wet)

Stop Three - Private NCL Island - first time "snorkling", we went pretty far out so we put his lifejacket on.

Pretty tired guy after all that swimming

He crashed on me (this is really rare for him) but I think we all had fun