Tylers

On my birthday this year I took the kids to Tyler Arboretum, to get some more use out of our membership.  It was chillier than I had expected, and not all of the tree houses were open yet, but overall we all had a great time.

one cool kid

troll house under the bridge

Claire was "making food"

painting with fingers

On march 14th we had some friends over to fingerpaint.  good times

membership score

A couple months ago I got a great deal on a one-year membership to Tyler Arboretum from one of those groupon-type sites.  I went to Tylers once before and had a nice time, the only downfall is that it's a bit of a drive.  Fortunately, other more local establishments offer reciprical priviledges.  We used our membership for the first time last week when we went to Winterthur's Enchanted Wood.  This was our second time there, but Claire's first time as a mobile toddler.  We took the tram to the garden, played, ate lunch on a swing, played some more, then took the tram back.  A great day!  The kids all really enjoyed themselves!

Valentine's Day 2012

We spent the morning at the Brandywine Zoo's Pint Sized Planeteer program.  They read a book to the kids about animal mommies loving their animal babies, then we got to see 3 little critters running amuck in their cage, there was a game of "pin the heart on the bee", then we created valentine cards for specific animals at the zoo.  Trent wanted to make his for the zebras, but since Brandywine Zoo doesn't house any zebras he made his for the sloth.  Claire made hers for the blue-tongue skink.  The program concluded with everyone walking to the zoo to "give the animals their valentines".  I didn't have a stroller or my jacket, so I passed on that activity.  I would have felt bad about it but I knew we wouldn't be able to see the sloth or the skink - they aren't on display during the cold winter - so we went home.

Dr. Seuss

Just yesterday Kevin took the kids, very last minute, up to our Target for some Dr. Seuss event they were having.  They gave each kid a goodie bag (reusable shopping bag type) filled with stickers, crayons, snacks, etc).  There was a woman reading stories, as well as a nice sale on all Dr. Seuss books.  Kevin let Trent and Claire each pick out one book.  Trent went with One Fish Two Fish and Claire chose Fox in Socks.

Afterward, they went to the children's play area that is right outside of Target in the mall.  There, coincidentally, was another event of some sort.  They had a magician, balloon animals, the Chik-Fil-A cow, etc.  We learned that Claire is still afraid of characters (afraid may not be the correct word).  She wouldn't go near the big cow, but she liked it from a distance and she talking about it later in the day (just like with the Disney characters).

On January 26th we drove an hour away to play and have lunch at an eco-friendly establishment in Chestnut Hill, PA called The Little TreeHouse.  All the toys were "green" (mostly wooden) and the food was organic/natural. 

Parking was a bit of a nuisance, the prices were fair, the playroom was fairly small but not overly crowded, but most importantly, the kids had fun. 

skatez

The other day my brother met us at the skating rink for "tot skate".  It was Claires first time donning a pair and it had been a full year since Trent's last time, so we had our hands full.  Claire surprisingly took to the skates right away and would giggle everytime her little legs wobbled.  I say surprisingly mostly because she was in a bad mood (thank you constipation).  Trent's reaction was the same as it was a year ago - he was ok with the skates but didn't want to wear them all that long.  We skated, played, ran around, ate a cookie, skated some more, then left.  Uncle Mike even put some skates on to help coax the kids a bit.

bats and other night time creatures

On October 22nd I took the kids to the Delaware Museum of Natural History for a special event they were doing for Halloween.  The event was called something like Bats and Other Nighttime Creatures.  The museum had stations set up throughout that had to do with, you guessed it, bats and other nighttime creatures, such as snakes.  We got to see real life dead bats, touch live snakes, do crafts, and play games.  It was a cute little event, though perhaps a little pricey for the average family.  The kids were allowed to wear their costumes, but we didn't go thru the trouble because they wore their costumes the night before and would be wearing them later that same day. 

he was so enamoured with the giant squid they have hanging from the ceiling.  But he kept calling it an octopus

wall of shells

B-Zoo

On October 6th I took the kids up the Brandywine Zoo for their weekly outdoor storytime & craft.  Little did I know they ended storytime the week before.  C'est la vie.  We ended up being three of the only people in the entire zoo, so we really took our time and enjoyed ourselves.  To top it off the weather was great!

The big attraction at the zoo right now is the tiger.  grrrrr.  Trent and Claire were very interested in this tiger as she paced up and down, back and forth, passing this close to us.  At one point she went over to a pumpkin and chomped down on it.  Not exactly the way we eat pumpkins.  But she seemed to enjoy herself. 

The otters were also fun to see, for they weren't in the water!  The one was walking (is that what it's called?) to the edge and back, but wouldn't jump in.  The other didn't move too much.  Both kept an eye on us, which was pretty cool. 



Not a bad activity for only $4. 

Hot-tober

October is shaping up to be just as fun and busy as September, except this month we have a bunch of Halloween festivities on deck! 

I called this post "hot-tober" because I wanted something more jazzy than "october", and since we've had a couple warm days lately.....

We've been taking advantage of these warm days by going apple & pumpkin picking, and going to the zoos.  Pictures to follow!

I signed the kids up for their art class and the movers and shakers class again.  They are both more interested in the classes this time around!

Here are some pictures from their last art class in September:

And here's one from the first art class in October:

Fall Scavenger Hunt #2

This scavenger hunt has been long in the making!  We did one last Fall and have been anticipating this years ever since.  The basic idea is that we all meet at a park and have a list of nature-related items for the kids to search for.  Last years hunt was more of a race between two teams, but this year we walked casually as a group and took our time.  Some examples of items on the list were: acorns, something sticky, "fruit" from a tree.

You can imagine how hands-on the parents were during the hunt last year (with 1.5-2 year olds), but this year was so much different.  Now that the kids are 2.5-3 years old they understood the concept much bmore.  We (parents) still played a very active roll, but it was so fun to stand back and see how the kids interpreted each item and to see what they came up with.  When one child didn't know what an object was, another kid would come along and tell him/her.  And when someone couldn't find something, someone else helped.  It really was adorable! 
We arrived a little earlier than the others so we could play on the playground beforehand. 

It was a great Fall day! 

I couldn't get enough of the hand-holding!!!

she had no reservations on the slides...not even the big ones!

swinging with John

the group, minus us

what a great path!

Claire had a magnifying glass too!

checking out a potential "animals home" aka, a hole in a tree. 

see Trent with his magnifying glass getting a better look?!?!

The newest members of our group

the whole group!

"find a flower"

Ava finding "fruit from a tree" aka berries that fell

Jude and John

Trent got Claire a "tall piece of grass"

Claire, after eating a granola bar, found some great rocks!