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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Super Thursday!

We had a massively busy and super fun day on Thursday!  Our first activity was to meet up with Auntie Cassie and Jonah at Kohl's Children's Museum in Glenview.  I have lots of good memories from visiting this museum when I was growing up.  It was really fun to take Jackson, and to see how the museum has changed (they are in a new, larger location).  We hadn't seen Cassie and Jonah since July, so this was a really fun outing :)  

The first exhibit/room was right up these boys' alley!  It was called Car Care and it was all about cars!  There was an assembly line set up so kids could build their own cars.  The cars were the Mega Bloks brand, and there were different bases, fronts, and backs to add on to make a complete car.  The boys had a ball taking their cars and racing them down the huge, wooden ramp!  There were a couple of smaller ramps plus a big car to sit in.  
Next, we went into the pretend version of Dominick's grocery store.  There were tons of toddler-sized shopping carts lined up and shelves full of food!  Jackson and Jonah got their carts and started off to load them up!
I found Jackson's shopping technique HILARIOUS!  He started with a few boxes of Stove Top stuffing, and then he cleared the shelves of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese!  It was so funny to watch--he was on a mission ("Supermarket Sweep" anyone???)!
He added a few more random items to his cart from the produce section, the bakery, and the dairy area.
This is a shot of his over-flowing cart!  I think one of the funniest things he put in there was a single spear of asparagus!
There was this conveyor belt on which to load groceries.  The boys did a great job dividing up the labor: Jackson unloaded the cart while Jonah cranked the conveyor belt
Jonah had a great time checking out other people's groceries!  He found the cash register with the beeping conveyor belt!
The featured exhibit at the museum right now is about Curious George!  The boys were so excited to visit the monkey!  The exhibit as a whole was aimed at an older age group, but the boys did love peeking in the elevator and checking on George's mail!
Water Works was not as big of a hit as Cassie and I thought it would be.  Some of the activities got you really wet!  Jackson did look pretty cute in his little smock, however :)
The Pet Vet was furnished with stuffed animals to check up on.  Jackson had fun making sure this kitty had a soft bed and a toy.
This platform was in the All About Me area.  There were four different posts with cameras.  Each camera was aimed at a different height.  Depending on the button you pushed, you would see a different part of you body.  It was pretty neat.
The boys had such a fun time taking turns putting the balls on top of the blower!  They loved watching them just "float" there!
Jonah, Cassie, Dana, and Jackson 
On our way out, we let the boys drop some coins down the wishing well.  I just love the looks on their faces :)


We had a yummy lunch with Cassie and Jonah in the Cosi cafe at the museum, and then we headed home for a nap.  After nap time, Jackson and I drove to meet Mimi for haircuts!  I LOVE my mom's hairdresser (she has curly hair, too), so I was looking forward to getting a good haircut.  Jackson's hair was a bit out of control.  BUT, for once I agreed with Josh that we should leave the curls to do their thing and just clean up around his ears and neck.  Jackson was pretty excited to sit in the big chair until he realized he was sitting by himself.  He eventually sat on my lap with his paci and a sucker (it was his second one ever, and he doesn't quite know what to do with it, but it was a good distraction), and mostly sat still.  Jackson loved listening to the hairdresser count as she snipped.  Counting has always seemed to calm him--he definitely gets that from Josh, not me ;)  
After his first ever "real" haircut, Jackson went right into the bath to wash away all the itchy hair.  He was so excited to play with his new baths stickers from Auntie Kelly!  He loved putting them on the wall of the tub, and he was SO excited when he got them all up!
After he got out of the bath, Jackson got to play with his new toy from Auntie Cassie and Jonah! It's his first remote control toy--a mixer truck!  He LOVES pushing the button to make it go and following it all around!

Phew!  What a busy day!

2 comments:

Sarah said...

What a fun place! My girls would have loved the Curious George area.

Mama C said...

Yahoo!! That was a great post! Loved all the pics too!! Glad the remote control car is a hit:) Merry Christmas!