Day 236

 

August 24th, 2010

 

August 24th, 2011

Today was an absolutely excellent day! It started off with Gus sleeping until 8:05!!! We had to leave the house by 8:15 so I was in a bit of a panic this morning trying to get everything ready for our trip to Marbles. We were able to get on the road and to Kristen's and managed to only be about five minutes late. It was just about perfect timing though, because just as we pulled up, Melanie and Oliver pulled up too and the six of us were able to head into Marbles together! Not too long after we arrived, Lacey arrived with the triplets.

Marbles is a children's museum in Raleigh and is about 30 minutes away. I'd never been before... as a teacher, it's not the kind of place to take fourth graders on a field trip, and then before now, I felt that Gus was too little to go. I have to say, I think Gus is just now the perfect age for going. Not only can he enjoy the various areas, but he can walk and climb and those are important skills to have in a place like Marbles. 

Lacey spent the entire time in the baby section because it was too overwhelming for her girls to be out in the play areas. I felt bad because she was in there by herself, but the girls seemed to have fun, and that's all that matters. Gus and I went in for a little bit, but he was ready for more exploring, so we left.

I told Steve that I REALLY want to get a family membership. It's $100 for the year and includes two adults and then however many kids that live in the same house. Considering that it's $5 a person, that's $15 each time (if Steve goes) and we'd need to go at least seven times throughout the year to make it worth the money... I'd seriously take Gus weekly, or at least twice a month, if we had a membership. 

He

Had

A

BLAST!!!

It was non-stop fun for him and I had so much fun watching him! The place is incredible! We didn't even explore the second floor, which has stuff for older kids. We pretty much played in the toddler area, and then headed to the water area (which has an indoor part and an outdoor part), there's a cave, a submarine, a pirate ship, and then a garden (outside) with a giant sandbox. We did it all! 

In the toddler area, there is a min-grocery store, a full kitchen with tables, a fridge, an oven and a stove, there's a car, a boat, a school bus, an ambulance, a hospital area with x-rays and a nursery, there's a farm with stables, a vet clinic, a reading retreat cabin, an art and dress-up section, a stage for performing, a tree house, a section with train tables, a phone booth, a fire truck, and a garden. 

Here are some of my favorites from today (you'll have to check my Facebook for the full 110 picture album):

 

Me reading to Gus

 

Gus spent all day playing with Oliver

 

Grace was there too, but he was mostly with Oliver

 

Aye Aye Captain!

 

Grocery shopping!

 

"Baby you can drive my car..."

 

Yep... 15 months old and already picking up chicks...

 

Gus LOVES the water area!!!

 

Lost in the garden

 

I LOVE this picture of him!

 

The mini-store and kitchen area

 

Gus had a blast opening and closing the fridge!!!

 

Making me some eggs  :)

 

Driving Oliver

 

The reading cabin

 

The vet

 

Another view of the store

 

Gus and Grace reading together

 

He found a cape!!!

 

Drinking and driving the ambulance

 

He figured out how to make the sirens go on and off!

 

This amazed me... he was using the brush to brush his hair!!

We ended up leaving just before noon and I thought for sure that Gus would fall asleep in the car. He did not. He was "in the zone" but wouldn't fall asleep. He was awake all the way home.

We had lunch and then I put him down for a nap. He actually fought it for a while, but finally fell asleep by 1:45. I'd hoped that he'd take a long nap, since he didn't get a morning one... but he was up at 3:00.

We played for a couple hours (upstairs). Here are some pictures of our fun:

 

My view of the playroom from my desk

 

Playing with the blocks

 

Stacking! It's expected that he be able to stack two... be he could do four!!

 

This is from a new app that I got for my iPhone... it's the coolest thing ever!!!

Then we headed downstairs so I could make Gus something for dinner. I put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for him to watch while I got his dinner ready... he was in heaven:

He had dinner and then played for a little bit after:

 

Tonight we dipped in fat-free ranch dressing!

 

Playing with the dogs...

I brought him upstairs and gave him a bath and then it was time for bed. He went down without a fight. :)

Steve had his fantasy football draft tonight, so I didn't get to see him until around 8. He's so sweet... he brought me home my favorite salad in the entire world: Carolina Ale House's Asian Sesame Grilled Chicken Salad. It was sooooooo good and was exactly what I was craving!!

I finished my Grammar and Punctuation module. I ended up with a 92% on the unit exam. It was hard!!! It actually scared me for the final exam and made me scared to do this for a living if I have to be perfect with all this stuff. Then I had a rational thought... "no one is perfect" and I know as long as I stay above an 85% on all unit/module exams, it's considered honors. So a 92% isn't too bad at all!!

I'm starting my Anatomy block I tomorrow (YUCK). I've got the rest of my courses mapped out and if I follow the timeline, I should have everything done by November 19th... which is four days earlier than the deadline (November 23rd). I will then have time off before starting back up again on December 6th.

Tomorrow we're going to mass at 9am and then I've got to go grocery shopping for some things for our trip. I am going to pack tomorrow too. We're going to be on the road around 7 on Friday.

I'm beat... see you tomorrow!