Legoland Discovery Center, Aedan Riding Without Training Wheels, Beach Time, and Bloomsburg Children's Museum

Samantha: 111 Months, Week 2

Aedan: 77 Months, Week 4

Owen: 35 Months, Week 2

As the summer comes to a close, I always try and pack as much fun stuff as I can in, so on Sunday we decided to go down to Philadelphia to have a fun family day. We found someone to watch our little peanut for us for the day, so we could spend time with just our family, and we were all looking forward to it.

Here is our little peanut fast asleep that morning when we had to go in to wake her up and get ready for the day. She's definitely getting too big for these velcro sleep sacks because she keeps busting out of them and getting her hands free, as you can see in this picture.

Something funny happened that morning when Aedan came downstairs dressed for the day. I thought his shirt looked awfully small, and when we looked at the tag, it was one of Owen's 2T shirts. We had to tell him it was not his size, or he wouldn't have noticed. Oh, Aedan is such a cute little kid.

After getting everything ready for the day, including packing lunches, we were off to drop our little peanut off and then head down to Philly. Our first stop was the Philadelphia Zoo, which we hadn't been to for a long time. We weren't sure how things would be with Covid restrictions, and we knew that all the buildings would be closed, but we figured since we still had a member pass, we may as well check it out and spend a nice morning at the zoo. We only planned on being there for a couple of hours before eating our lunch and heading out to our second place of the day, and that amount of time actually ended up being perfect. There weren't a lot of animals out to look at, so we were able to make it around the zoo fairly quickly.

Here are Samantha and Owen looking at the eagles. These are the two that enjoy looking at animals the most. Aedan just wanted to sit in the stroller and wondered when we were going to move on. Zoos are definitely not his favorite thing.

In these pictures we are watching a bear up in a tree that was eating something they put up there for enrichment. It was really interesting to see it climb back down the tree with its long nails.

I didn't take too many pictures at the zoo, and by the time we walked around the zoo and had lunch, we were all getting pretty hot and sweaty from the heat and wearing our masks, so we were ready to head out to the Legoland Discovery Center for our second fun stop of the day. I think everyone was looking forward to this even more than going to the zoo. Aedan had only ever been on his own for a date with Daddy once and me once, but we thought Samantha and Owen would enjoy going as well. I think Aedan might have been a little sad that it wasn't just his special place anymore because he acted a little down and not as excited to be there that afternoon.

Our first stop was the Lego City area where the kids looked at all the buildings made of Legos and pushed the interactive buttons that made lights turn on, noises sound, or figures move around. It was fun watching them run around and explore the different parts of the Lego Philadelphia.

This video is the Lego Ninjago area where you pretend to be a ninja and make it through the lasers, scoring points along the way. Ben had never done this before, so Aedan was excited to show everyone how to do it. They went through the laser maze multiple times.

After that we went to the area where you tried to build a tall, strong tower that would not fall down when you turned on the device that shook the Lego board like an earthquake was happening.

Owen really enjoyed sitting in the little Lego car, pretending to drive, and pushing the different music buttons.

We did other things at Legoland too like riding the Lego ride and shooting our laser wands to earn points, building with other Lego kits, and watching the short Lego movies in the theater. We had a good afternoon playing at Legoland, even though Owen was skipping his nap. We decided to upgrade the other tickets so that we could all go back again since upgrading to a membership was a much better deal than paying for everyone again. Plus, as winter comes, we are going to be looking for other options of things to do, and this would be a fun indoor option. And once Covid finally goes away and restrictions are lifted, whenever that will be, Legoland will be even more exciting because all the Legos will be out for the kids to build wherever and whatever they want.

Here are the kids posing with the Lego giraffe outside the Discovery Center. (Owen was mad at the beginning because he couldn't peek around a leg like Samantha and Aedan were doing because, you know, he wants to do everything just like them.) But, we eventually found a good place for him to stand.

Owen got these pajamas passed down to him, so I took a picture of him wearing them that night to send to my friend. He loved his new Batman pajamas.

Since we had such a busy day out on Sunday, we spent Monday just hanging out at home and relaxing. Ben had his first day of classes for the semester, so he was up and out of the house early in the morning.

We haven't been pushing Owen to use the potty lately because ever since we got back from our trip, he seemed to be more resistant to it. Part of me wished we would have just stuck with it at the beginning of our trip when he had a few days of staying dry and going in the potty, but then we got busy with our trip and didn't keep up with it. And now, whenever I try to get him to try to go potty he just cries and makes a big ordeal out of it, so I decided to just let it be for a few weeks until we decided to officially do potty training with him. On Monday something exciting happened though because right around lunchtime, Owen pooped in the potty! I could tell he was starting to go, so I took him to the potty. I was just trying to talk to him about keeping his pull up dry to get it in his mind that he should be thinking about that. I know it doesn't sound too exciting, but getting this boy out of diapers will be great.

Even though Owen should have been tired, he didn't nap that afternoon. He just played in his bed that whole time. I told Ben that I'm not ready for this with him. He won't sit in my lap and fall asleep anymore like he did before our trip, so then I just put him in his crib, but he will just keep rolling around and doing headstands, pretty much anything but sleeping. However, even though he does that in bed, I just let him be because I'm not ready for him to give up his naps yet.

While Owen and our little peanut were in bed, I let Samantha and Aedan watch "The Greatest Showman," and they were big fans of it. Ben and I watched it the couple nights before because we couldn't remember if it would be appropriate enough or understandable enough to them, but we thought it would be just fine. Samantha really likes musicals and singing, and we though Aedan would like the circus aspect of it. Anyways, they enjoyed it so much that after the movie was over, they got dressed in costumes to act out the story in our back yard. Samantha put on an old gymnastic leotard to pretend to be the trapeze girl, and Aedan found red shirts, a dark blue sweater and black cape, as well as a black bucket that he turned upside down to look like a top hat. He even used a foam light saber as a baton. It was so funny to watch the two of them act out the story. I love that they still dress up and pretend together.

We had Aedan come over closer so we could document that he lost another one of his top front teeth, this time it was the one on the left. He looked super cute with both of his front teeth missing, and he was excited to show his smile off to his old kindergarten teacher when he went back to school in a couple weeks. How can you look at this cute little boy's face and not just smile at his cuteness. I love his squinty smile, his scrunched up nose, and really just everything about this sweet little boy of mine.

We continued our tradition to go out for ice cream on the first day of school, and since it was Ben's first day of school, we went out for ice cream after dinner that night. We went to a local ice cream place that is closer to our house, and it was fairly decent. Then, we made a quick stop at a house where a lady was leaving this Love to Dream Swaddle for me to try with our little peanut. It seemed like she wasn't enjoying being swaddled as much lately, and she was busting out of the velcro swaddles which would then disturb her sleep. I saw a friend of mine use this swaddle where their hands are still enclosed, and it is tight around their body, but it still gives them the freedom to move their legs and to have their hands near their face for self-soothing and in an upright position that is more natural. We tried it with her on Monday night, and she seemed to like it. It definitely was an interesting idea, and I was willing to try it. We swaddled all of our kids with their arms down for as long as we could, but I am willing to try anything that will help her sleep better and longer.

Tuesday morning I found more mouse poop near the bananas and behind the toaster oven on our counters. We hoped we were done after the two that we caught, so we decided to buy more traps to put out so we could catch any more that are still coming in to our kitchen. Then, the rest of the day was taken up by grocery shopping at Aldi, and then stopping and getting the few things that Aldi didn't have. 

The kids were playing outside together that afternoon, and Samantha cut and put all these wildflowers in a vase for me. I took a picture of it because it's the small things that I am going to miss once they go back to school. Samantha loves to pick, bring in, and arrange flowers. She is such a sweet girl and likes to make things look beautiful.  I also love how bright and sunny our kitchen is with the afternoon sun streaming in.

I also took a picture of this tree next to our driveway because it was the first tree I saw with signs of leaves changing colors. Even though it may not feel like it, fall will be here before we know it.

Both Samantha and Aedan had soccer practice that night, but I decided to stay home with Owen and our little peanut so I could finishing cleaning up dinner and get a start on bath time. I figured there would be more than enough time to see the kids play at soccer games, and me dragging the two little ones to soccer would have made our evening much more hectic.

Our little peanut had been taking a really good evening nap, so I went in to check on her sleeping in the rock and play in our bedroom. I wrapped her in this muslin blanket, which I usually would do when putting her down for a nap, and you can see that she got her hands out and up by her face, so apparently she likes to sleep this way. She was so peaceful sleeping away.

And here is my silly Owen making a face in his bed when I put him down that night. He thinks it's so funny to have the bright flash in his eyes. I love his smile. He is such a funny kid who loves to laugh.

Wednesday was going to be a beautiful day, so we took advantage of our time to go to Frances Slocum State Park to play on the playground, and I also brought the kids roller skates, scooters, and bikes to use in their large parking lot. It was a little hectic getting everything ready for all four kids, but we made it, and it was fun to watch them play and have a good time together. We hadn't been to Frances Slocum in awhile, and it's such a fun place to spend outdoor time.

Here's a video of Samantha and Aedan roller skating together.

I always have such grand goals, especially for the summertime, so when I had it in my mind that we could teach Aedan how to ride his bike without training wheels (as well as teach him how to tie his shoes), I felt bad that we were already at the end of August and we haven't even had time to let him try his bike without training wheels yet. I feel like the summer went by much faster than I anticipated. Anyways, that afternoon I mentioned something to Aedan about trying his bike without training wheels over in the grass on the slightly downward hill, that way if he fell he wouldn't get hurt. I figured he would be opposed to that idea, but he was actually excited about it. So once he was ready I popped the training wheels off his bike, and we went over into the grass. He really did not need much help or direction from me at all. The most I had to to was just help him balance as he got on the bike, and then give him a slight push to get him going, but after that he just took off down the hill. I was SO impressed with him because this was his first time riding his bike without training wheels, and he was doing such a great job. He didn't even fall down or wipe out. In fact, he was able to catch himself and right his bike if he felt like he was losing control. He was so pleased with himself, beaming from ear to ear, and he wanted to keep trying it over and over again. Once he learns how to start himself, he will be good to go. There's no turning back now! This boy no longer needs training wheels, and he is so excited to be able to ride and pedal faster. Here is a video that Samantha took of him doing one of his very first rides down the hill. There was a man mowing the lawn, and he even stopped to say, "Way to go!" and clap for Aedan. We were all so proud of how brave he was and how well he took to it.

Wednesday was one of those days that was so fun. The kids were in good moods, we were able to get out of the house and play and get some exercise, Samantha and Aedan played outside again that afternoon, and then decided that they would have art time. They both got their art kits out and got their watercolors so they could paint a picture. It was cute to see their creativity and how they just love doing things with each other. I will definitely miss having them around the house once school starts back up.

I had to drop our little peanut off for a visit that afternoon, so I decided to stay down in Wilkes-Barre to do some shopping. I went to Kohl's to look for a few things, but it's slightly frustrating right now because the dressing rooms aren't open so you can't try anything on. They let you return things, but that meant I had to buy things, try them on at home, and then come back again to return them, which is a lot more hassle. I am often a bad judge about whether I will like something when I try it on, so it's hard for me to buy clothes that way.

That night we remembered how much we enjoy having dinner earlier so that way we can get everything cleaned up and still have time to play and spend time with the kids, rather than just cleaning up and getting the kids ready for bed right away. I'm sure the kids enjoy having more attention from us as well. Especially with getting back into the routine of school, I imagine we will get back to our usual earlier dinner on school nights instead of the late dinners that sometimes happen in the summer because we are busy doing things or playing outside.

I thought about taking the kids to the beach again on Thursday. (Again, trying to do as many fun summer things before summer ends.) However, everyone was too tired that morning and the kids just wanted more downtime to play at home, so we did that instead.

I called about getting the dryer fixed, and someone came on Thursday to fix it. The dryer blower wheel was stripped. We probably could have done it ourselves, but it's hard when you don't know what you're looking for, and we aren't very handy people ourselves. However, if it happens again, I will know what we need to do since I watched the work that he did. Owen also sat right in the hallway watching the man work and talking to him the whole time. Also, our new Rocket vacuum was finally delivered on Thursday, too. We had been talking about getting a new vacuum for awhile, and we were waiting for a good deal, and then had to wait on shipping, so I was excited to get it out of the box and try it out sometime.

We did end up going to the beach that night before dinner. It was still warm and sunny, and the kids will never pass up an opportunity to go swimming. Here are some pictures Ben took of the lake that evening while we were there. There's nothing better than spending the evening playing in the water with your kids, being surrounded by this beautiful view. As Ben remarked, we certainly enjoy living here and having this view right down the street from our house.

Here's a couple pictures of Ben holding our little peanut after dinner that night. She looked cute in her little summertime romper outfit.

Aedan asked if he could hold our little peanut as well, so of course we said yes. He did well holding her carefully, even with Owen attacking him from behind.

Aedan looks like such a grown up boy in this picture, just with the way his hair looks and the expression on his face. I feel like I can get a glimpse of what he will look like as a man.

On Friday we were home cleaning up, and I started vacuuming and mopping the floors. I liked our vacuum a lot and it was much easier and better to use than the Swiffer vacuum. The Rocket vacuum can fit underneath a lot of furniture like beds and shelves, the head of the vacuum swivels, and even though the canister holds less than our hold one, there aren't as many tubes for the dirt and hair to go through and get stuck in. You also can remove the top part of the vacuum in order to vacuum the stairs or upholstery, and I can take it into the car to vacuum. I know it shouldn't be this exciting, but it's nice when something works for you and helps cleaning become easier.

Samantha is really great with our little peanut. She likes to hold her and talk to her and pick out outfits for her to wear. She has been really helpful over these past two weeks with Ben back at work full time and me having to handle all four kids on my own. I have told her several times how much I appreciate her and how much more challenging it will be for me to not have an extra set of hands to hold her or give her a bottle. I love Samantha's helpful spirit. She is growing up so much and is capable of so much.

Again, with school starting soon, we decided to take a family trip to the Bloomsburg Children's Museum on Saturday because it was kind of a rainy day, and we weren't going to be able to do much of anything outside. We went to this museum once after moving here last summer, and we knew it wasn't super exciting, but it would be a fun way to spend a few hours. The place was pretty deserted, so we felt like it was pretty safe to go there and let the kids play. The toys were cleaned fairly often, and it was fun to explore a children's museum again.

Here's Owen playing with a boat on a pretend river.

There was a table with a checkers set, and I asked Samantha if she would want to play with me. She didn't know how, so I taught her, and we had fun playing a game together.

Aedan was interacting with this map of immigrants, and our little peanut was sleeping away in her stroller.

Here is Owen posing as different people.

Samantha really enjoyed the Maker Space that they had available to the kids. She built several different things with the materials, including this really cool, multi-colored hat and a giant letter S.

This area was definitely Aedan's favorite spot. This machine was built with lots of simple machines that moved balls from the bottom to the top with levers, pulleys, inclined planes, screws, and wedges. Daddy and Aedan worked on this over and over again, very intently turning all the right wheels to make the simple machines work in the correct order. Aedan found this fascinating. Maybe he really will be an engineer when he grows up, as he says he's going to do!

Here is Samantha wearing her hat creation! She thought it was pretty funny.

Our little peanut did wake up at some point while we were there, and after feeding her, I laid her on my lap so she could hang out and look around for awhile.

Here is Owen pretending to be a student in Samantha's classroom in the pretend schoolhouse at the museum. The museum encourages a lot of imagination and pretending, which I love to see.

Here is Aedan posing with the motorcycle that he enjoyed working on with the pretend tools.

And here Samantha and Aedan are drawing a design for an outfit for the doll cut-outs that you see hanging on the wall. The kids also made bat crafts out of paper and toilet paper tubes. Aedan actually really enjoys doing crafts now, and he wanted to do more crafts than we had the time to complete.

We had a good afternoon at the museum, and it was a fun way to spend our Saturday. This has been the hardest thing about the pandemic for our family. We really enjoy getting out and doing things, and that was one of the reasons we were so excited about moving to northeast Pennsylvania, because we would be so much closer to major cities where we could do and see so many things. But the pandemic has put a damper on all that, and that has been hard.

(Blog about August 23-29, 2020)