Grand Rapids Children's Museum

Today, Olivia and I went with our friends to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. What a wonderful way to spend the morning! We had never been there before and I had been dying to see what it was like, afterall I had heard so many great things about the museum. I definitely wasn't disappointed. There were so many things for the kids to do and you never felt rushed or that your child would be pushed out of the way. I couldn't decide on just a few pictures to share, so I picked a little bit of everything to show how much fun we had.

Luke and Olivia outside of the museum.

Exploring the grocery store.

Experimenting with the spinning disk table. The large grey disk infront of Olivia was spinning on its own. Kids had the opportunity to put smaller disks of varying sizes on the larger disk and watch them spin off. (I'm sure this is related to physics somehow, but Chris wasn't there to give us our lesson!!)

Olivia and Luke played in the Medivac Helicopter. There were buttons and switches galore! Best of all, no fighting over who would pursh what.

Olivia loved playing in the bubble water more than she liked trying to make the bubbles. I had fun making the bubbles!

Here Olivia is checking out one of the many funhouse type mirrors that the museum had.

This one is for you Uncle Larry!

With it being Fire Prevention Month, the kids visiting the museum had the chance to dress up in the type of clothes that firefighters use. There was also a "fire truck" for the kids to play in (turn on the siren, light up the lights, pretend to drive, steps to climb up and a slide to go down), a house that taught fire safety, and a firefighter puzzle.

This "tunnel" had mirrors on all three sides on the inside, so when you looked just right...

it created a kalidescope effect! Way cool!!

Luke and Olivia took some time to play with the train table.

I've never seen anything like this before. There were holes in the plexiglass where the kids could drop the balls into the frame. Then at the bottom, there is a handle for the kid to pull out that would drop all of the balls out. Olivia didn't figure that part out, but she loved all of the balls.

Here Olivia is "washing" her hands in the toddler size kitchen.

As I said before, we had so much fun here and I can't wait to take Olivia back...soon. I love the fact that there are permanent exhibits that you can always count on, but the museum also changes many of the exhibits so there is something new to do there the next time you come. That fact alone has enticed me to purchase there family membership.

Vacuuming with Mommy

Olivia's favorite thing to do lately is whatever I am doing. She wants to help. Well, tonight I was vacuuming and Olivia decided once again she needed to help. At least she went and got her on vacuum versus trying to use mine with me. I thought it was so cute, that I asked Chris to video what she was doing. Enjoy!!

Play Doh!

We decided it was time for Olivia to try Play Doh! I wasn't sure how she would like it, but she really seemed to enjoy it. And the Play Doh never entered her mouth!

I sat with Olivia and played with her to model how to play with the Play Doh. Here she is watching me to figure out what to do.

Next, Olivia practiced smooshing the Play Doh. Another new word for her!

I love the look of concentration. She really wanted to roll her Play Doh the way I did, but just didn't understand how to do it. She also kept asking me to make her a ball. Her new favorite type of toy. It looks like Play Doh is a success and will me a sanity saver this winter.

Parish Picnic

Today our church had its annual Parish Picnic. There was food, music, games, and plenty of time to visit with friends. This year was tons of fun for Olivia. She was finally able to play the games and explore the sights. I had a great time just watching her!

Olivia actually sat still to get her face painted! I wasn't sure if she would, but was thrilled when she did.

Mom picked a heart for her cheek and she actually left it alone!

After Liv picke out a duck in the duck pond, she tried her luck at the clothespin drop. I'm sure the big kids had to stand up and drop the clothespins from a certain height, but toddlers got to drop the pins into the bowl anyway they wanted.

Next, Olivia "played" the bucket toss.

This game was a treasure hunt. White poker chips were buried in the sand and the kids had to search through the sand for them. Olivia didn't really understand that part; she enjoyed playing in the sand more! I guess it reminded her of her own sandbox.

The last game Olivia got to play was a bean bag toss game. She was really good at dropping the bean bags right into the holes!

I also took Olivia over to the kids who were making balloon creations. They made her a flower, which she is sniffing upside down.

From the moment we arrived at the picnic, Olivia wanted to jump in the inflatable bounce house. Finally, at the end of the day I told her she could go and jump for awhile. Boy was she excited! Once she crawled in, she was a little aprehensive to stand up and jump. Our friend's daughter was kind enough to take Liv by the hands and help her jump around. I think this was her favorite part of the day!

Olivia had a really busy afternoon. I was hoping being out in the sunshine and playing all afternoon would really wear her out because SOMEONE decided to wake up at 6 AM!! An hour earlier than normal!! We didn't go home until 2:30, and as I walked up our sidewalk this is what I discovered....

I guess my plan worked better than I thought!

John Ball Zoo Outing

Earlier this week, we took a trip to the zoo with Chris' sister and her family. John Ball Zoo isn't the most extravigant, but it is nice for a local trip. We had 3 girls under the age of 2 (technically AJ turned 2 in July...), and boy did they have fun!

Olivia posing for a picture in the aquarium. AJ didn't want to stand by her, so Liv was on her own.
The gang checking out the sea life. Uncle Vern, Aunt Jennie, Chris, AJ, and Olivia (Bella is in the backpack that Vern is wearing)

During the summer months, the zoo has sting rays for people to pet (which of course costs extra!) Initially, the girls were really intersted in trying to touch the sting rays.

But after their first encounter, they were more content just watching them swim around.

I just had to post this adorable picture of Bella.

Olivia and AJ get a break from their strollers to play cowgirl!

We all had a great time, but Olivia was the first to fall asleep. Quite honestly, I was surprised she lasted as long as she did!

Bella was next. And, yes, she is sleeping in the backpack!
AJ held out...she never fell asleep.
It was nice getting out with family and enjoying some quality time together.