Another weekend, another children's museum

Yesterday was forecast to be a gray, cool day, so we headed down toward Richmond to one of the three branches of the Children's Museum of Richmond. This one--known as the Short Pump location--is located a few miles outside the city and is geared toward toddlers.

After a quick 90-minute trip, we started the day in the Whole Foods next to the museum for a fast snack to fuel up before the fun. Then, it was onto the museum.

First we started in the (very conviently walled in) toddler play area, which was filled with books, blocks, pillows, and other toys. The kids also had a perfect view of the train.

Notice Piper's hair is pulled back a bit. It's finally long enough to start doing cute things with it like ponytails and pigtails.

Leave it to Fletch to find the Sesame Street book as soon as he arrived.

After going through all the toys and realizing there were other fun things to do, P&F attempted an escape.

After they escaped (and we rode the train, but sorry, no pictures), it was onto the next adventure--the indoor playground.

This was followed by some fun with the moo-ing cow and farm area. If I ever wondered if Fletch had hearing issues, this put it to rest. Every time he heard the cow moo, no matter how far away he was from that area, he responded with the word, "cow." He loved it.

The number of veggies in the farm area was limited because every time a kid put one in his mouth, it then was supposed to go into a basket to get cleaned. This meant, the veggies spent most of their time in the to-be-cleaned area. Oh well--better than catching the plague from some other child, I suppose.

After the farm, we moved onto the sandbox, which used tiny woodchips instead of sand, so it wasn't as messy. Ingenious!

In addition to the areas shown above, there was also a pirate ship that Fletch loved to climb on, an area where kids could learn about weather (that looked a little worse for wear), an arts and crafts area that will be fun when they are a little older, and a section with lots of tutu's and superhero capes to play dress-up.

We spent about 2 hours at the museum. After short lunch back at Whole Foods, we hopped in the car and the kids immediately went to sleep. It was the perfect way to spend a morning.

Words

I'm happy to say that Early Intervention is working, and both P&F are making progress. Here's the update:

Piper
Piper seems to be getting new words everyday. She's really exploding. Here are the words she has so far:

Baby

Bah

Balloon

Bottle

Bowl

Car

Cheese

Clock

Comb

Cow

Cup

Dadda

Dog

Go

Hat

Key

Piece

Pooh (as in the Bear)

Rock

Shoe

Sock

Stick

Tree

Turtle

In our speech therapy, we are working on using words like Up and Down, and on learning a word and then using it in different circumstances (like looking at a picture of a car and saying the word and then seeing a car and saying the word). Piper has been doing really well with this. She's also so good at picking out pictures in books and following directions. Eric and I can be in two different rooms and give her instructions to pick up a toy and bring it to Mommy and Daddy, and she does it every time. I'm so proud of her.

Fletcher
Fletch's progress has been a bit different than Piper's because he didn't have any words to start with and was having trouble with listening. Our first few lessons, he was just working on pointing and was at a really basic level. But in the past few days, he's been getting a few words and is doing awesome. So far, this is what he says:

Car
Na (Banana)
Keys
Cup
Card (flash cards)
Help
Uh-Oh
Go
Hi
Mama

While Piper is learning to label lots of things, Fletch is actually using more words to communicate. He will say "Hi" when he sees someone or opens the doors on his flap books or say "Help" when he needs help with something. He'll also stand near the bowl of bananas and say "Na" like he wants one.  "Keys" was the first word I heard him use in various places, and it nearly brought me to tears to hear him say it. I'm so proud of him too.

Despite being twins, they really are so different. Sometimes, I have to remind myself of that. They both have their own path to learning, and they'll learn what they need to in their own time. And, I'm sure no matter what, they'll both be geniuses, just like their parents. :)

Funny Farm

Yesterday, we made a trip to Leesburg to his up a home store to look for a new patio door. While the home store wasn't great, we did have a fantastic time at the Leesburg Animal Park. We went to the park last July, but since P&F weren't fully mobile yet, it wasn't that fun. Yesterday, on the other hand, was a blast.

As soon as we got there, Piper ran around trying to see everything all at once.

Fletch, on the other hand, made a beeline for the chickens and turkeys that were wandering about.

We did attempt to reign them in so they wouldn't traumatize the animals.

It was hard for Eric to take pictures and help keep two toddlers from getting in the cage with the emus or from having their handle nibbled off by the baby goats. But, trust me, P&F got up close and personal with lots of animals.

After seeing most of the creatures, we had some fun in the sandbox. P&F had never been in a sandbox before. Fletch loved how the sand felt running through his hands, while Piper just wanted to collect all the sand toys.



After the sandbox, we headed over to the bounce house. This was a big hit too. The only problem with was that the hole for kids to climb in was only big enough for a toddler to fit through, so trying to get the kids out of the structure was challenging. See the small hole in the middle of the triange in the picture below--that was the only entrance or exit.

Once they were (reluctantly) done bouncing, we made a quick stop for lunch and then headed home. By some miracle, P&F stayed awake the entire ride so they still took good naps in the afternoon.

We finished off a super-fun day with some time outside on our new deck and climbing on our new backyard equipment (pictures in a future post). All this fresh air meant that for the first time in a week or two, Piper and Fletch went to bed without a peep and slept in until 6:45am this morning. Woohoo! That's what I call a successful day.

Another Milestone--Pacifier Free

Since this blog serves as a baby book/record for P&F, I thought I should mark a big milestone: As of 19 months, we are officially pacifier free. For the past few months, they'd only had their pacifiers at home during naps and bedtime, and occasionally in the car. But, our pediatrician and dentist recommended getting rid of them to help with speech, drooling, etc. I was nervous about it, but I'm happy to say that it went much better than expected.

We simply snipped the ends of their paci's for a few nights, rendering them somewhat useless. After a few nights, P&F easily forgot about them at bedtime and during their naps. The only downside to this is that Fletch is waking up earlier in the AM, but this could be due to an overall sleep regression, and not just because of the pacifiers.

So, my little babies are becoming big kids. Another milestone conquered.

Easter Fun

This weekend was Easter, so on Saturday--a day filled with whining and tantrums--we visited the Easter Bunny. After a little coaxing from Eric, Fletch thought the bunny was hysterical. Piper kept waving to him. I was happy they weren't petrified of him, and he wasn't too creepy looking (b/c just based on friends' pictures, there are a lot of creepy bunnies out there).

On Sunday, we enjoyed a more peaceful day with Eric's parents. It included an Easter egg hunt, excellent naps, and a yummy ham dinner. Here's the photo recap.

The morning started with a long walk around the neighborhood with Eric, and then a short bout of quiet time/nap time to get over morning crankiness. After that, everyone got a bath and a cheese stick for a snack. Here's the post-bath snacking cuteness.

Eric's parents arrived a short while later, and we did Easter baskets. The Easter Bunny left baskets filled with books, puzzles, chocolate bunnies, goldfish, and crayons. And, somehow, the EB knew that Eric and I liked Reese's Eggs, so we got some of them too.

This was followed by an Easter egg hunt. I admit, I've never actually done an Easter egg hunt. I blame it on being from Boston, where it was often too cold to be outdoors on Easter. Despite my ignorance as to where to place the eggs in an egg hunt, P&F still enjoyed themselves.

 

After the hunt, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and just hung out. By the end of the day, everyone was tired. Okay, everyone but Fletch. He's been having a bit of trouble going to sleep at night, but eventually he did go down. Another great Easter, just like last year. Gosh, they've gotten so big in the past year. I wonder what next year will be like!?!

Farm Trip

Last weekend, we took a trip to Oxon Hill Farm, which is only about 15 minutes from us just over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. There weren't a ton of animals there, but the kids had fun. Piper especially liked it because she was able to try out her new words, "cow" and "sheep."

While the park is small, it's free and it was empty except one other set of kids. It would be great for a picnic in the summer because there are lots of picnic tables. And, later in the day, they have cow milking and other demonstrations.