The Dog Days

Lewis and I had no plans the Tuesday-Friday of the week between our Cincinnati weekend and Labor Day weekend, and that felt like a lot of time to fill for some reason. Part of the reason was the weather...the 10-day forecast had every day in the 90s with storm chances (which means nasty humidity). We've stayed pretty busy this summer, with camps and play dates to break up our weeks, but that week was pretty dead.

Anyway, I thought a trip to the zoo would be doable, with the focus being on hitting up the splash park--I chose the day where it was *only* going to be like 92 vs. 95 degrees, and we headed out. Wow, what a difference it makes once school has started--there was hardly anyone there! It might have been the fact that it was nasty hot/humid, too, and field trips haven't really started yet. Anyway, I was able to modify our usual route to make it more pregnant-lady-friendly, and we had a fun and not-too-miserable morning:

 Lewis spent some extended time under the misters (in the background)

 Watching the elephants do their exercises 

 Polar bear training

Qannik

She was born the month before Lewis (January 2011). 

 Ahhh, the splash park! It's been real!

I knew that it would be closed after Labor Day, so I'm glad we got one more visit in for the summer. I was a bit more involved with the water this time aka I was happily walking through the sprinklers, too, instead of trying to stay dry. :) I also went up and stood with Lewis to make sure he was waiting in line for the slides (a concept he's still working on)--he did pretty well with it that day. When he'd get to the front of the line, he'd ask the lifeguard, 'Is it my turn now?' They were so patient with him.

Our maiden voyage on the tram

 Part of my strategy for minimal mama-passing-out was to ride the tram from the splash park, up the hill to the top (near the exit). Contractions tend to happen when I'm walking up hills and/or pushing a stroller and/or trying to coax Lewis to walk up a hill, so the tram was a welcomed alternative. :) Lewis seemed to enjoy the ride--he sat very still, holding on the whole time. 

:)

 Finishing our trip with the carousel

We'd started out the morning on the train, of course. (As if Lewis would let a trip to the zoo go by without riding the train!)

Another day that week, we headed to the Science Center. Our membership had expired, but I decided to go ahead and renew it due to the hot weather situation. Lewis had asked to go there a few times that week, out of the blue--plus, it will be a good place to go over the winter when it's too cold to play outside (especially for a newborn): 

 Again, it was so empty!

I couldn't believe it--I thought it'd be busier with the hot weather. There were just a handful of other kids, which was a little disappointing for Lew. It was kind of nice to have the place mostly to ourselves, too, though.

 This quickly turned ugly

He was watching the water come out like a geyser, and he accidentally pointed it towards himself. The water went down the apron, soaking his shirt and shorts and shoes. :) He tried to dry off a little and was 'all done' with the water table after that. 

 Sensory stations

We spent quite a bit of time in this area--it was pretty peaceful, playing with different sand-type materials. Of course Lewis found a tractor and carried it around (see right hand, above). :)

So long, ambulance!

A few days after our visit, they were going to start a major renovation of this space. Demolition, I guess I should say--they're getting rid of KidZone entirely (plane, bus, ambulance, space ship, construction site, water table, etc.) and are expanding the Science in Play exhibit into that space. I like SIP, but I hope that they include some of the things that Lewis is into, too (e.g. vehicles). They are doing it in two parts, and I think it's supposed to be finished by next summer.

To end that week, Grandma and Grandpa T. called and asked if they could have Lewis on that Friday, so that kind of saved the week for me. I was running out of things to do to keep us cool! Today, Kevin has taken Lewis to the zoo, and I think (hope) that the weather is supposed to start to cool down some and be more fall-like. Hooray!

Science Center on our Cultural Pass

Louisville has done a really neat thing this summer--they've created a Cultural Pass that parents/kids can pick up at the libraries, and with the pass, you can get into a bunch of different sites around town for free. There are historical sites, museums, the zoo, etc., so I'm going to try to get us to as many places as I can (around Lew's camps). [Here is the link to participating places.]

Last Monday I'd planned to go somewhere new, but Lewis voted for the Science Center (our membership has lapsed and we hadn't been in a while). There are quite a few places we've never been to that I'd like to check out, so hopefully we get to them. 

Here are our pictures from the Science Center. Lewis did a pretty good job of playing, though we did have to take a timeout to talk about taking turns and sharing (he got a a little hoarder-ish). He did better after our talk, so the morning ended well:

Get on the bus, Mama!

Loading up his excavator

Annoying the captain in the cockpit

The other boy in there was taking the whole captain/pilot thing very seriously and saying, 'Please take your seat, sir' and 'Please exit the cockpit, sir.' I was cracking up, but the captain/pilot kid was getting really annoyed by oblivious Lewis. Eventually Lew moved on.

Tackling the rope obstacle course

And then the hoarding begins. Just when I thought he couldn't hold anything else...

He found one more boat to hold (the red one).

Thankfully they got new raincoats that seemed to do a better job of keeping his shirt and shorts dry. His feet did get a little wet, I guess, and he went over (on his own) and dried them off:

:)

He could have stood up there forever, dropping his letters in the mail slot and retrieving them from the bottom.

This is when the whole taking turns issue came up--that little girl in the background wanted a turn, and he wasn't moving. After a little fussing, I told him that it was her turn to go and that he could go again when she was finished, and he actually stepped away to let her go (GO, Lew!). I was so proud of him in that moment.

We went into the little grocery store area, and he became obsessed with gathering as many silicone cupcake forms as he could find:

Exhibit A

He was happy to find an empty cart to empty them into and build upon his collection. :)

Checking out (what I call) the Rube Goldberg on the way out.

He could have stood here for awhile, too, watching the balls take different paths through the contraption.

Hey, everybody! There's a plane up there, everybody!

That's what he was saying (semi-screaming)--he was trying to point out an old airplane to everyone walking by.

We got home, and he wouldn't go down for nap in his room when I tried. In a first that I can recall, he passed out on the couch, watching TV:

If he'd just napped when he was supposed to, he wouldn't have had a crick in his neck!

Splishing and Splashing

Last week we had many days in the 90s, so planned a playdate with the kiddie pool. Tonya and Carlton came over, and we did some painting and science experimenting--it was a fun, not-too-hot morning.

The boys started out in the pool:

I love their smiles! :)

They each would fall on their butts from standing, make a splash, laugh, and get up and do it all over again. It went on for a good while.

I got out Lewis' finger paints and stamps because he's been into that lately:

Here Lew is saying, 'My hands are dirty! Wipe them off!' 

Imagine that. :)

Meanwhile, Carlton was rubbing the paint around on his hands, without a care in the world. :)

Tonya brought over a science experiment for us to try--make your own lava lamp:

What's it going to do?

The bottle had baby oil and (red) water in it.

Adding the Alka-Seltzer

Whoa! That's so cool!

More! Again?

He loaded it up with the remaining Alka-Seltzer at the end and watched it all bubble up. It was very cool! I've never seen that one done before.