On Feb. 16, we took the boys to the McWane Science Center for Big Construction Truck Day. Aiden tried to stop us by vomiting for a good portion of the night before but we got up and he said he felt fine. Unfortunately, I was also up all night with him and slept with him in the guest room. I was exhausted to Brad drove to Birmingham. Lots of the streets were blocked off so Brad dropped us off and then searched for parking. It was cold out ... and windy. We didn't necessarily plan for that so we were cold. We waited in line for a long time to see the really big, giant crane. Aiden did a great job waiting. Thankfully, I packed the iPad so Eli was watching something on that. Brad parked the van, walked to us, found us, and then even went back to the van for Aiden's jacket and he still didn't miss a thing. Right after he got back with Aiden's jacket though it was our turn. We went up the steps and Aiden hopped right in the seat.
He thought it was pretty cool. He even got to press/push all the levers and stuff.
Eli just said he was cold and didn't want to sit in the drivers seat. Well, I totally acted like a mom who just spent 40 min waiting in line so I told Eli I was at least getting a picture of him by the crane. As you can see below, I did just that! Yep. He was totally having a blast.
The boys actually got excited after seeing the huge crane because compared to the line we waited in for that, everything else had teeny lines! We went to another 3-4 machines and then Eli clearly made it known that he was done and freezing.
I did get one cute picture of Eli by one of the diggers. I tried to get him to sit in the scoop part but he didn't want anything to do with that.
Aiden was having a blast so we let him stay out there with daddy while I took Eli inside. I had on just a light long-sleeve jacket so I was pretty freezing as well.
Eli just wanted to be wheeled inside and watch Cars on the iPad. For a kid as tough and strong as he is, he sure does not like the cold. He didn't like it in Iowa (even when dressed appropriately) and he still doesn't like it. I did managed to drop the iPad and crack the screen on the very bottom. I just ordered all the parts to replace it and will be doing it myself in the next day or two. I'll let you know how that goes.
We went inside and they both wanted to go right to the kids play area and run around. We let them do that and they both played at the sand table for a while. Aiden was actually there a long time which is awesome. A few months ago he would have asked why they have a table with sand on it and a bunch of cups and then asked why people would voluntarily put their hands in it to play. We are making progress!!! The picture below is Aiden coming down the slide. Eli changed his mind about the slide and found his way back down the steps. It's nice that they are getting comfortable with this play structure because it wore me out the first couple times bringing them here and trying to keep track of them and making sure one of them was not "lost" somewhere and crying.
We went upstairs to the new exhibit. I did not think the boys would care much for this one. It's called Grossology and if they were a couple years older, I think they would enjoy it. There were still some fun things for them to do but we were in and out of the exhibit in an hour and with the Dora/Diego and Clifford exhibits they could stay there for a few hours. Below is Brad holding Eli playing a game where we were racing ants.
Below is Aiden trying to see the screen and race against Eli/daddy. It was a neat interaction game.
After some lunch in our belles, we decided to go to a different floor and found they had moved the Clifford exhibit. I thought it was gone but it was actually the last day. Bonus for us!!!
Brad and I tagged team and kept watch over one of the boys since they went their separate ways. Here is Eli playing music.
Eli then found his way over to the dog bone conveyer belt and had fun moving the wheel and dropping off bones in the dog dish. He even got to play on the clifford tail slide without getting run over like the last time we were at the science center.
Eventually he found his way to the mail. Aiden was obsessed with the mail and pretty much stayed there. He was actually delivering mail to the appropriate houses and mailbox throughout area. Eli just likes picking up mail and then putting it in a box.
It was about time for us to leave. I was beyond exhausted. It has been weeks since I have not taken a nap in the morning. I did take a little snooze on the ride in but I was also awake all night with Aiden so I was barely staying awake. We told the boys we could go outside and look at the construction trucks for a little bit longer. It was still cold. In fact, it was actually colder at 2:30pm than it was at 10:30am. The only good thing was that the majority of the people were gone (the exhibit of trucks ended at 4pm). There was a ladder fire truck there which wasn't there in the morning so Aiden really wanted to go in it. He even got to pick the hose up (which is really heavy) and act like he was squirting water. As you can see, Eli wasn't all that impressed. He stood up there to let me take his picture but he got off right away.
Aiden was so proud of himself for lifting the hose and then said he wanted Papa to see his picture. We let Aiden wonder around and look at a few more trucks but Eli was just worn out.
He refused to walk anywhere and was just in a generally rotten mood. In his defense, he did great though because he LOVES his naps and he obviously didn't get one this day. I took Eli back inside and we waited (and watched the iPad) until Aiden and daddy were done looking at machines.
We got back to the van, I passed out afternoon snack and put on the requested DVD. About 10 minutes into our trip, I look back and see Eli completely passed out. He was so tired. Overall, they had lots of fun at the Science Museum for Big Construction Trucks day.
Below is a picture that I took at Cubbies. Aiden really enjoys Cubbies. It's been challenging being the director and with my health situation, I usually don't have the energy I would like to put towards it but I have great help. Aiden is riding on the back of Jessica, one of the helpers in the class. She is pretty young but does such a great job with the kids and helping us. Aiden loves her!!!
I was so exhausted this week and I could barely stay awake for Aiden's therapy session. In fact, Mrs. Rusty gave me a free pass this day. She is so awesome. She actually let me in dark room across the hall from her office, gave me a few jackets, turned on the heat, and let me sleep for 40 minutes!! It was most awesome and needed. She knows how much I like to document Aiden's progress and what he does so she even took a picture for me (see below). They were wearing masks and feeling their way around an obstacle course that Aiden built.
I try and let Aiden miss/skip nap time 2 days a week at daycare. He really .... hates it. He is allowed to play with his wipe off books, his pet stretchy lizard, or a fidget toy but in his mind - he isn't allowed to play with any of it. He is such a rule follower which I can appreciate it but it pains me to see him so miserable. He is bored out of his mind for 2 hr and 15 min, laying on a cot with his shoes on, not allowed to really even move around or turn over. The teachers tell them to "be still, no playing, no talking, etc." and he really embraces that even though he has permission to look at his book or hold his fidget toy. He is so scared of getting in trouble and also not getting a ticket (a reward system used in his class for good behavior) because he is not sleeping that he will endure a 2+hr time period of lights out, non movement. Amazing. While it sounds quite horrible to me, I will say that he does nap a few days a week so he is not laying there everyday like this but it still breaks my heart. So, I picked Aiden up around 12:30pm one day and then gave him a few options of things to do. He chose the library so we went there and picked out books. He played with this Melissa and Doug puzzle and then we talked for a long time about a poster in the library that has all the Presidents on it.
We picked out some fun books, read a few books, and then headed back to daycare at 2:00pm so I could get some work done in the afternoon. I'm staying up with my CSM classes so far but learned a hard lesson with an assignment that had too many parts to grade. OK. The next post will be about tents!!
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