3/15 - Trip to Atlanta, GA

Brad and I are realizing our time here in Alabama is winding down and we will be moving soon. We had a few things we wanted to do while we were here and one of them was to visit Atlanta, GA. That said, we decided to take a weekend trip. We are saving his spring break time to go to Chattanooga, TN because it seems like there is a bit more for us to do there. We got a room at the Drury Inn. We love this chain. They are all suites so we always have 2 rooms so the boys can go to bed at their normal bed time and we can still stay up for a bit. The afternoon popcorn, free dinner from 5:30-7pm every night, a nice hot continental breakfast in the morning, and an indoor/outdoor pool and jacuzzi are all bonus. All that for just a little more than we would pay for a normal room at a regular hotel. OK. Anyway, I took the air mattress at the last minute and I'm so glad I did. They boys have never slept in the same bed and there was just 1 King bed in the bedroom and they didn't want to sleep together. However, rather than arguing about who got to sleep in the bed, they are argued about who got to sleep on the air mattress. I had to document this so I can show the boys later. We flipped a coin to see who got to sleep on it the first night (Eli won). We drove down on Friday afternoon and it took about 2.5 hrs. We checked in, got dinner, and then went to the pool.

On Saturday morning, we went to the outlets. This is the time of year when I can do the boys shopping for winter next year and usually can save an insane amount of money. Brad took the boys and they played for a little over an hour while I power shopped without the boys. They boys had a blast pushing each other in the stroller and playing hide-and-go-seek in the stores with daddy.

We have tasked Aiden with the big brother job of showing/helping Eli learn to put his socks on. It is so cute to watch them.

After a short nap on Saturday, we headed off to the Fernbank Natural History Museum. We got in free because we are members of the McWane Science Center so that was cool. We heard they had some cool dinosaur stuff so we headed down to it right away. The picture below is too cute. I just LOVE it. Here are my boys acting like dinosaurs. There is another one in the collage I made but it's slightly different. 

Eli just cracks me up and I had to put this picture in the blog (and future scrapbook) because it's just so Eli. His goofiness can usually always make me smile. He melts my heart by saying, "I really love you mommy." Such a sweet boy with a good heart.

The boys are not yet in the stage to walk around and learn stuff about the displays yet. Aiden was just so excited to get to the dinosaurs he didn't want to stop and learn anything. I think he was also a little scared of the fossils and replicas as well. We tried to take a picture by one of the displays and Aiden wanted nothing to do with it (see upper right pic in the collage). They had this cool contraption there where you put balls in a bucket and use a pulley to bring it to the top of a structure. They had three pipes that you could then put the balls down and they would fall down to the first level. They cool thing was they had all these pieces of pvc pipe that had magnets on the back so you can direct how the balls will fall when they come out of the pipes. You can see Eli taking the balls up with the rope on the far right. Below that, you can see a series of pictures of Aiden building a path for the balls to fall. He did a great job but was a little obsessed with this exhibit. They had tons of stuff to do in this kids area and we spent about 1.5 hr there. 

At the end of the day, we let the boys make their special pennies (see collage - bottom left). Brad and I even got a minute to snap a picture of us while the boys were playing.

I had to include the picture below I thought it was so cool that they had these pull-out walls with fossils in them. What a neat idea. They had tons of kid-friendly stuff at this place.

As we were leaving, we stopped out front to take a picture by the big dinosaurs.

Aiden starting coughing quite a bit on Saturday and of course, I didn't bring his inhaler. He got much worse on Saturday night and pretty much coughed the entire night. It was horrible. He was keeping everyone awake and it was double torture because we already lost an hour that night with daylight savings time. At about 4:30am he was coughing so bad that I'm sure the people next door were not able to sleep either. I turned on the shower and made it really hot and then took a pillow in there with Aiden and let him curl up in my arms for about 15 min to let the steam try and open him up. Needless to say, we were all exhausted on Sunday morning. We got up, packed up, and then headed off to the Aquarium. Olympic Centennial Park is across the street so we walked through it on the way to the aquarium. It was fun and pretty. Eli was tired and did not feel like walking so he rode in the stroller with his blanket on his head.

We were a little concerned about the quality of the aquarium based on the reviews I read. It was great that we were a little skeptical because it blew our socks off (it should have for how expensive it was)! It was pretty huge and very organized. These tanks very MASSIVE. There was a conveyer belt that slowly took us through the huge tank. I love this picture below!

They had lots of huge mantas. These things were bigger than I am although it's hard to see that from the picture. They were beautiful.

We also got to see some Beluga whales. They were very large and so playful. I could have sat there all day watching them play. The picture below shows all 3 of the whales.

I wanted to include the picture below so you can see how big these whales are. First of all, they would come right up to the glass and then swim along it. It was so neat. You can see some people standing there and get an idea of how big they were. 

I love this picture in the upper left of the collage. I have another one with no hands in the way but I think the hands actually make the picture more awesome because you can see how big this fish was. By the way, that is Brad and Aidens hand. In the upper right you can see Brad being our tour guide and showing us all the fish to look for. The picture towards the bottom right cracks me up. They boys were sitting in this circle thing watching the fish and then Eli realized that he could actually go in the circle a bit. Both boys started trying to climb in. You can get a much better than actually being a fish inside the water.

The pictures at the very bottom were from the penguin exhibit which was way cool. It was very kid friendly and had a tunnel that went underneath the exhibit so the kids (and adults who wanted to crawl) could literally walk right by swimming penguins. Below you can see Brad and the boys in the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, they have these tubes that stick up and actually let you really get a great view of the penguins. It was a genius building idea. The bottom two pictures in the collage are Brad and I holding up the boys to get a good look at the penguins.

The boys were getting very hungry and tired and we had pushed our limits with them so we decided to pack up and head home. It was about 1:30 when we got on the road and we were all exhausted from no sleep, loosing an hr for daylight savings, and walking around all morning. Aiden was so tired but said he wanted to lay down to sleep so he never fell asleep in the van. Eli was wide awake in the van and then fell asleep about 15 min away from home. It was so late by then that we didn't want him to sleep much longer because then he wouldn't go to sleep.

We were grateful for a smooth ride home and a fun family trip. We were so exhausted that we skipped out on a church function we bought tickets for. Fun memories. We have to make as many memories as we can because you never know how long you have to make more memories.

3/2 - Big Construction Truck Day

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!!

11/19 - Clifford & Trains & the flu

We've been wanting to take the boys back to the Science Museum and finally made it happen on Veteran's Day since Brad had off work. We went Monday morning and the timing worked out great because it rained almost all day but it didn't matter since we were inside. Here are the boys playing in a room that is pretty crazy. In the first picture, Eli is on the right and Aiden on the left (thereby making Eli taller than Aiden). You can see in the next picture that they switched places. They were having fun in this little slanted, crazy painted house.

We wanted to go back to the museum because there were still things we didn't get to see with the boys last time. The Dora and Diego is gone and they have a Clifford exhibit now. It was much smaller than the Dora/Diego exhibit but it was still fun for a bit. 

I tried to get a picture of the boys sitting by the giant Clifford but there were some rowdy kids there and one of them had just thrown a giant bone that hit Aiden in the head so he started to stand up and cry. Aiden could spend all day at this peg board ... if it was just him. He gets so annoyed if someone goes to the other side and pushes the pegs the wrong way. He'll stay at one peg board and make sure all of them are in place until he is done. Bless his little obsessive heart. 

It so funny the things that can keep the boys busy. They had a ton of fun putting envelopes in the mailbox and delivering them to the little houses and mailboxes around the area. 

Aiden played with Cliffords giant food bowl and bones for a while but the rowdy kids came around so he left. 

They even had a little deli stand set up. You can see Eli giving me some food and Aiden playing with the cash register in the background.  

We headed back downstairs to the main level and they played for a while in the Kiddie Play area. Here is Eli playing with the water.  Aiden and Brad were off climbing in the clubhouse thing while I watched/played with Eli.

After Eli was done playing and took his apron off, he decided to make sure he was completely dry by standing under the dryers. It was too funny. It was laughing so hard at himself. These dryers are already low for kids to be able to dry their hands so he had crouch down to fit under it.  

The boys also found this dodge ball mat. It lights up and you can see a couple of squares that are supposed to be a ball and you have to dodge out of the way of it and stay on the mat. They had a blast. 

An unexpected bonus at the museum was the HUGE model train exhibit they had. We had no idea how big it was. The boys spent more time up there than anywhere else. The LOVED watching all the trains go around. We actually went to see the IMAX movie this day and I was able to take Aiden early to let him see inside to make sure he would be okay with the bigness of it. He said he would be and was very excited to go. We got our tickets, got in line, got seats in the very back (least threatening place to sit), daddy got popcorn, the train movie started (it was about making the Rocky Mountain Express line in Canada), and ..... Eli flipped out. He was so scared. Brad took him and they got their money back and Aiden and stayed to watch the whole thing (1 hr). We had no trouble finding Eli and daddy when the movie was over .... they were looking at the model trains.

With as much attention to detail that Aiden gives things, I could easily see him getting in to building model trains. The boys had a blast and we literally spent all day at the science museum.

Last week, I got to go to the boys daycare and have Thanksgiving lunch with them. It was fun and my first daycare-related event (besides the fall party). They made cute hats that they wore for a bit. Eli ate a bite of everything they had (all the staff brought sides) and Aiden had to have a few bites of turkey in order to get dessert. It was fun to see them interact with their friends a bit. I'm a sucker for Aiden and he hates nap time. He asked very nicely if he could do with me during nap time so I took him to do an errand with me and then dropped him back off at daycare towards the end of rest time.  

There was no therapy this week so I made it a point for Aiden to do some at home. He chose to work on his foam sticker project he has going on.

 

Another day he chose play-doh which was surprising. I showed them a new trick with a toy that we have and that entertained them for about an hour. Eli loves play-doh but I think even Aiden out-lasted him this round.

We have been a sick household lately. I ended up taking him to urgent care on saturday morning because he was extremely lethargic and started to have a fever. The fever started to get pretty high so off I went with him. He tested positive for influenza so then I had to take him to get meds. The first pharmacy didn't have any so we then had to go to a second one. He was so tired and exhausted and feeling so horrible so I just took him home and went a little later to pick up his medication. Below are the pictures from that day/morning. He actually fell asleep in my arms while we were waiting for the test results to come back. He then slept almost the entire day!!

Aiden was feeling just fine. He was even practicing his Christmas songs for his daycare musical in a few weeks. Aiden and Brad went to walmart in the morning while I had Eli at the doctor. Aiden was really wanting to do crafts with me in the afternoon. I was so exhausted but he set everything up himself. It was too cute. We then skyped with Nana and did a little arts and crafts.

On Sunday, we all stayed home. Both the boys were on Tamiflu and I went in on Sunday to the urgent care clinic because both Brad and I felt horrible and the doctor didn't give us a prescription for Tamiflu, just the boys. I went, tested negative for influenza but they said I would probably get it since Eli got it (and none of us got flu shots this year yet) so they gave Brad and I prescriptions for Tamiflu as well. Brad actually got the chills and aches so I slept on the couch to try and prevent me from catching the flu. Eli started to get a little more energy but not much. He sat on the couch and cuddled with Pouncer for a bit.

By Sunday afternoon, Brad and I were feeling quite yucky and tired and Eli was starting to get a little more energy. Aiden had lots of energy and was feeling fine. We got out MarioKart for Wii and let the boys play for the first time. They loved it. Aiden played it for what seemed like half the day, and really improved. It was a little too tough for Eli unless he had help.

I kept Eli home from daycare on Monday because he was still up and down with a fever on Sunday. Both boys went to daycare on Tuesday though. Now, off to Papa's Farm we go for Thanksgiving.