morning at the museum

We should be well rested and recovered from our Christmas-craziness  . . . Braden and I have enjoyed getting out of bed no earlier than 9 each morning this week (yes, he's a late sleeper like his mama)! 

It's been a week of relaxation: lazy mornings in PJ's, lunch with friends, afternoon naps, playtime with new toys, as well as some shopping (I think I've actually ended up at the mall 4/5 days this week for one thing or another).  And though I know B has plenty to play with at our house (just call our family room Toys R Us II), I thought it would be fun to visit the Children's Museum on Wednesday for a change of scenery.  I've been there several times with kiddos from school for field trips, but we've not taken Braden yet.  

Just as I thought he would, B loved it (and we only visited the first floor - at lunchtime we headed to the food court, planning to return to the museum after eating, but someone was getting very sleeeeepy, so we opted to call the morning a success and head home for nap).

Braden is always excited to see fish - we have to stop at the fish tank at church on the way to Sunday school to see them too.  Little guy would have been happy to stand and watch the fish all morning, but we encouraged him to check out some of the other attractions . . .

 . . . like the grocery store! Mom (Grandma Jane came with us) and I found it very amusing that Braden immediately got into the cart upon entering the store (like he is used to doing in real life!)

 We did eventually convince him that he could push the cart and gather groceries himself, but he did seem pretty content in the cart (with his o-gurt!).

B also liked "driving" the ambulance . . .

 . . . and (just like at home) he loved playing with the trains (serious business!), as well as the cars and balls in the Notion of Motion room. (And yes, we wore our black and gold in celebration of the Hawkeye win on the previous night.)

I think Braden's favorite room was the new(ish) flight exhibit - he had a great time "flying" the airplanes!

Checking out the planes flying near the ceiling

I'm already looking forward to the next time we have a chance to go - it is so much fun to watch B get excited and experience something new.  Only next time we won't go on a vacation day when everyone else has the same idea and the place is packed!

PS - Happy New Year's Eve!