My second full day in North Carolina had promise to be as beautiful as the first. However, even though we woke up to warm weather - it was overcast with the occasional light showers. This didn't really make for the best zoo weather, so we decided to hit one of the museums.
While my mom was working a little in the morning, Jude and I took our time getting ready and then went to visit his cousin Olivia. Olivia is a month younger than Jude and so they're fairly close in age. Neither of them seemed overly-excited to play with one another - in fact, aside from Jude stealing her pacifier, I'm pretty sure they didn't interact much as all.
After talking with some of my mom's friends, we decided the children's museum I had found online was the perfect indoor alternative. So, we were off to Marbles!
Pretty much everything near my mom is at least a 25-30 minute drive. She lives in a small town and has to travel to the larger cities/towns around her to do much of anything. So, we also knew that in addition to Marbles, we'd be hitting a couple of stores near there that my mom had said she was interested in.
But about Marbles! It was ADORABLE! Now, we have a number of children's museums in our area that I've been wanting to get to, but just haven't made the trip to yet. I'm excited to see them, but have heard that Jude is too young for them for the most part. It was no different here, but he still had a GREAT time!
The main level of the museum has a huge area called "around town". Inside this area is a small little 'crawlers' section that after I took one look at it, I knew he would be totally uninterested. So, I let him brave the big kid section. There was everything: a garage, an ambulance, a bus, a costume room - with a stage for performances, a reading area, a tree house, a house with a front porch swing, a garden, grocery store, kitchen and restaurant. All on a kid's level to play pretend. I would put Jude down in one section and he would crawl around, climb up to play with things, chew on toys (there was even a basket to put all "tasted" toys in for disinfecting) and just watch all of the kids around him. He loved it!
In the kitchen...
Picking out Produce in the store:
Playing in the garden:
Afterwards, we went to the "splash" zone. Jude again mostly just watched the big kids around him. There was a hose that spit water and kids would put boats in the stream, which would splash Jude in the face. At first he seemed a little startled, but after about 2 or 3 times, he just giggled.
If you look, you can see the white hoses coming down the sides of the light house... going into the 'river' which empties into the tub that Jude was playing in... he was right in the line of fire.
He loves water
Next, they had an 'under water' area, with fish on the walls, and lights that cast 'bubbles' on the walls. There were speakers making wave sounds and it was so adorable.
After the splash area (which had much more than what we experienced - but it was too much for Jude), we headed outside to a bubble station. I don't know that Jude ever really has seen bubbles, so he was in awe. I blew some for him - but quickly realized that at some point in your life, you just lose the power to blow the perfect bubbles. Luckily, the lady working the station knew what she was doing.
When we had maxed out bubble time, we headed upstairs where they had a 'construction' zone. They had super-sized legos to build your own buildings, some blue prints and even real tools/wood working stations for older kids. By this time, Jude was pretty over-stimulated and so we decided to head out.
checking out some blue prints:
On our way out though, we walked by another great section that was all about finances. They had little stations set up where kids could earn money by doing chores and then use the money to buy "needs and wants". The whole point being to teach kids about financial responsibilities. I must say - this place had thought of everything.
Afterwards, we swung by a mall near by, did a little more shopping (who can resist?) before heading back to (again) close up shop.
That night for dinner, we went to my grandparent's house. She had gotten wind that my brother and I were starting a garden (more to come on that later) and was just oh-so-excited. My mi-mom has apparently been an avid gardener for a few years now and was so excited that I too expressed interest. As a gift, she made me a little herb garden with cute little stones. In addition, she made us the most delicious meal with some of her produce.
Let me recap this meal:
- fresh green beans and asparagus
- pasta with a little bit of pesto and tomatoes
- chicken sandwiches. let me tell you about these sandwiches. They were on some hearty italian-style bread, lightly buttered and toasted. Then she spread pesto sauce, layered on some cherry tomatos lightly roasted with olive oil, chicken and sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and baked them. YUM.
After dinner we talked for a little while and then home to put Jude to bed.
Another solid sleep for the two of us.
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