The Museum of Science and Industry

A few weeks ago, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. I took quite a few pictures, but didn't have time to post many of them. So here they are for your enjoyment, starting with the one of Nick sitting on a cow.

Here is Nick enjoying his ride on the combine.

I think Henry was a little overwhelmed by all of the Christmas trees. Actually, I'm just guessing. I have no idea why he looks freaked out in this picture.

I think Nick's favorite exhibit was the Idea Factory, where Grandma Toni and I watched him shoot water. "I like the shooting things!" said Nick. Yup. We know.

I love the picture below of Nick. He looks either fiercely determined or moderately constipated. Either way, it's cute, but he was actually trying to turn that gear.

Henry was, for once, not left out of the museum experience. MSI Chicago actually has a part of the Idea Factory that is just for babies, and Henry took full advantage of this place of joy.

That is a look of joy. . . drool, as well, but the joy is just behind the drool.

I wish I could find a baby obstacle course near my house to take Henry. He loved this one so much.

All in all, it was a pretty decent day.

Henry Notices Himself in a Mirror

Henry just recently discovered what he looks like in a mirror. He finds himself handsome, and oddly fascinating.

Also just a little bit delicious.

These videos are all from January 1st, when we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. Henry had to spend most of the trip in his stroller, but when we reached the Idea Factory, he was able to crawl around in an area just for babies.

That's my big boy.  :)

Wordless Wednesday



My Week With Nick (Guest Post)

This is a guest blog by Melissa's husband Greg. I have been on vacation for the past week, and I took the opportunity to have some bonding time with Nick.

On Tuesday, we went to the Brookfield Zoo together. We got there a half hour before they opened their gates, but that didn't stop Nick from doing his happy dance when he realized where we were. Nick entertained the other waiting guests by dancing around in his squeaky shoes and shouting "ANIMALS! ANIMALS!" Once we were inside, Nick especially liked the turtle at the Swamp. He and the turtle had a tender moment as they shared a kiss with ony the glass in between them.

Nick and I then moved on to the Living Coast, where we enjoyed the penquins among other creatures. Nick was fascinated by the crashing wave, which first scared him, but then drew his curiosity like a magnet.

After our adventure at the Living Coast, we visited the Rain Forest, where Nick received an up-close demonstration of how to care for a boa constrictor.

It was a really exciting day for both of us. After five hours of running around, Nick was ready for a long nap.

On Thursday, we were joined by Grandma Toni and took a trip to Chicago to see the Museum of Science & Industry. The highlights included an exhibit featuring a retrospective of Jim Henson's work. There were no pictures allowed, but Nick was able to see Bert and Ernie and Miss Piggy up-close and in puppet. Nick got to create his own story using several etch-a-sketches, and got to use his own hand puppet to put on a show with the other children there.

Nick really enjoys planes, so he was thrilled to see an Omnimax show featuring the making of the new Boeing 787, as well as an old 727 in person. Here is Nick conversing with the captain of the 727 about its various innovations:

On Friday, we spent the day relaxing at home, reading stories and watching episodes of Sesame Street. Combined with trick or treating on Halloween at Grandma Linda and Grandpa Ray's place, it was certainly an exciting week for Nick. It was a good week for me too. I look forward to my next vacation with Nick.

More Museum Fun. . . and Camera Woes

I just had quite an interesting evening. I believe some sort of teething/no-nap/nasty cold combination resulted in an out-of-sorts toddler. Nick followed me around the house, tearing, ripping, and throwing things. He ripped up a whole box of kleenex, threw ravioli at my head, and would only eat cucumbers for dinner. There's nothing like the sound of spinach ravioli hitting an elliptical trainer at high speed. It's funny, though. Nick is only naughty when he's alone with me and Greg. Whenever we're visiting relatives (which is quite often, what with having as many grandparents as he does), Nick is a perfectly well-behaved little angel.

Like, for example, our museum trip. Despite a 1-hour trip in the car, a line to get in, an IMAX movie, and several hours of museum-going, Nicholas did not crab, whine, or yell. Instead, he charmed everyone and acted quite the little gentleman. But then, the other day, when I was driving home in a snowstorm, knuckles clenched at ten and two, I had a little surprise. Nick decided that he didn't want to be in the carseat anymore and began shrieking like a baby banshee. So I had to spend 45 minutes (only about half of my snowy adventure trip) sliding all over the roads verbally consoling a screaming little man. It's kind of funny, actually. He's great in public, and occasionally naughty in private.

Overall, though, Nick really is a generally easygoing baby. He sleeps eleven hours straight at night and usually naps well. He eats nearly anything and reacts well to changes in routine. Nicholas is happy far more often than he is crabby, which is saying a lot for a one-year-old. Knowing that we can take him practically anywhere and he will love the new experience is a great feeling. Tomorrow we're taking Nick to the Naperville Children's Museum and then out for sushi and a nice restaurant. I mentioned this to a friend, who thought I was absolutely crazy for taking a toddler into a fancy place. But Nick is almost always excited to see new things. He loves eating from chopsticks and watching the hibachi grill master shoot flames into the air. Plus, Nick's Aunt Sarah and Grandma Toni will be there, so of course he will be on his best behavior.

 In the above picture, you can see Nick riding on some giant farm equipment at the Museum of Science and Industry. He loved the farm exhibit, and he got to sit on daddy's lap and pretend to drive. I love the second picture because it epitomizes how much Nick is loved. He is sitting on Daddy's lap, with Mommy taking the picture. But you can see in the background, standing on the ground, Grandma Toni and Great-Grandma Dorothy waving and taking pictures from the ground. That's three people and three cameras for one little boy. Nick sure is loved. No wonder he's so well-behaved in public.  :)

Ahh, onward to my camera woes. As you can see from the horribly lighted picture on your left, my camera. . . well, it sucks. I use the auto function, and the pictures always turn out blurry and grainy, plus the lighting is off. Weird because I have a 10 megapixel camera with image stabilization.
Until a few months ago, I didn't really take many pictures. When I bought the new camera (Nikon Coolpix S220), I thought it was my skills that were lacking. I've never been much of a photographer, you see. When I went to Europe in 2004, I didn't even own a digital camera, so I used those disposable ones. That is no excuse for the multiple pictures of my right ring finger. . . To your right is a lovely church in the village of Eze on the Mediterranean coast of France.  Oh, and my finger, too. Sigh.

But at Christmas my sister checked out my camera and said it was broken and that I should have it fixed. So I called up Nikon, since it's only a few months old. They had me send them pictures, and now it looks like I have the hassle of mailing it to them for repairs. So I will be without a camera for a few weeks. I'm wishing right now that I'd shelled out the extra $30 for the Best Buy warranty.

"Checking Out the Chicks" Wordless Wednesday

Back to the Grind. . .

Looking at these pictures from the Museum of Science and Industry last week, I'm already nostalgic for my long, relaxing winter break. Starting back was so hard.  I miss taking naps with Nick and cuddling up with a book on the sofa. Nick, though, was happy to be back at his babysitter's. He loves playing with the other kids, and I think he gets bored at home with just me. I'm going to have to make sure to sign him up for playgroups or something over the summer; he thrives when he gets to play with other kids.

I think I miss Nick now more than I did when he was younger. I feel like by the time I get him home and fed, there's not much time to play before bedtime arrives. Tonight I made sure we had time to play catch. Nick understands if I tell him to throw him the ball. He'll play catch with me, although his aim isn't much better than mine. I'm trying to teach him how to build towers, too. Mainly he just knocks mine over, chews on the blocks, and laughs uproariously.

This picture is from the Idea Factory at the MSI. I love that all of the museums have special areas for babies now. This kid already has plenty of positive experiences with museums, and he's only one. Nick sure loves to play with water. Tonight he got really mad when I pulled him away from splashing in the cat water bowl. Because I'm so mean, you know.

I've been doing pretty well with my resolutions thus far. I haven't lost a pound since leaving the hospital from having Nick, and my endocrinologist told me its my thyroid causing  the problem. She said it was a miracle I hadn't gained weight. I guess your TSH is supposed to be between 0.45 and 4.5, and mine was 68 at my last blood test (it's an inverse relationship). That means I've been very hypothyroid, which explains the desire for constant naps. But my thyroid is no reason to sit on my butt and eat junk, especially when I have a huge, expensive, health-club quality elliptical trainer taking up half of my living room. This year, I think rather than focusing on the weight, I'm going to concentrate on writing down everything I eat and dragging myself onto that torturous elliptical trainer.

I watched The Biggest Loser today and did a 35 minute workout. I love that show, and I'm addicted to it. The new season is especially motivating, and it's great to work out to because the people on the show are always exercising. I noticed, though, that I am hungry more when I'm actively watching what I eat. I actually ate an entire box of those Green Giant mixed veggies. That's two servings, but it filled me up pretty well. I believe I'm going to have to buy a lot more of those. My favorite is the one with black beans because there's a lot of protein in them.

Check out Nick getting some exercise in the padded baby room. I want one of those for adults. I think it would be fun to bounce around and not worry about falling. He pushed over the whole wall. No fear for my little man. He doesn't need a special place to play, though. Nick makes every place a baby room of fun. He's fine in the cart at WalMart, pulling things off of the shelves. Or crawling around the kitchen, pulling out all of the silicone baking cups and cookie cutters. His favorite thus far is to break into the bathroom and dump over the container with the cat toys. . . he must have a thing for catnip.

Getting back to school after break was hard, but I really did miss my kids. It was nice yesterday walking in and having four or five kids in each room run up to me with stories to tell. I don't know what people who don't like their jobs do. . .

Trees, Trees, and More Trees! ! !

I'm not usually one to overuse exclamation points, but Nick has been very excited about all of the Christmas Trees he's seen lately. On New Year's Day, we decided to indulge his excitement by taking him to the Museum of Science and Industry in downtown Chicago. Every winter, they have a display of Christmas trees decorated for countries around the world. Since his first real word was "tree," we figured he would enjoy pointing at all of them. He did. We went with Nick's Great-Grandma Dorothy and Grandma Toni so that they could see the trees, too. Here you can see Nick with his Great-Grandma, showing her our tree and telling her, "Tree!"

Nick was fascinated by all of the lights and ornaments. It really was quite lovely. He just kept pointing and announcing, "Tree!" all day long. We did a lot at the museum, but I think today's post will be all about the trees. Nick kept trying to tear the ornaments off, but thank goodness most of them were wired on. I don't believe he was the only baby who tried to abscond with the ornaments.

Nick has been pointing like crazy lately. Sometimes we're not sure what he's pointing at, but on this day we were pretty sure it was the tree.

Nick also did a lot of walking around the museum. He's getting more surefooted as he practices. We all kind of blocked him in and let him crawl and walk around a little bit, because he wasn't going to stand for staying in the stroller. He wanted OUT. And he was so happy when he got to walk with daddy.

 My favorite part was the pretty blue lights in the center area of the museum. Everything was bathed in a gorgeous blue light, and shapes danced on the ceiling as Christmas music played. I know it's after Christmas, but it was a nice way to close the season.

Today Greg took the tree down while Nick was having his afternoon nap. He said that Nick started crying and saying, "Tree?" when he came downstairs and saw that it was gone. He keeps pointing to the area where the tree was and asking, "Tree?" Poor guy. He'll have to wait until next year.