Mr Chatty

I love the fact that Nicholas is very outgoing and has no problem talking to people, young or old, and today it went to a whole new level. As we sat down for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, there was a woman sitting in the booth next to us, eating her dinner alone. Nicholas struck up a conversation with her that lasted over 10 minutes. They talked about our family, the fact that he was a wearing a shirt from Prague that Daddy bought for him and any number of other random topics. I kept interjecting "I'm sure she'd like to eat her dinner, sweet pea" but she would shake her head and say she loved the conversation. Then she launched into the story of her life and that kids just hadn't been in the cards for her, but that she loved them. I'm glad he found a willing participant, because to many (and even me sometimes) eating in peace and quiet would have been the way to go!

Are These the Biggest Balloons You've Ever Seen??

A very nice man at the dealership gave these to Charlotte, and we were very thankful for the entertainment while we waited for the car to be serviced. Unfortunately they didn't make it home. They both touched the ceiling in the waiting room before we left and popped. Something very prickly on those acoustic ceiling tiles... They were fun while they lasted though.

Last Chance for a Girl's Day Out

As Nicholas' school year winds down, Charlotte and I took a girls only trip to Grant's Farm (or "the Farm" as she calls it). It's always fun to see what she is interested in when she doesn't have to keep up with Nicholas.

To think next year we'll have 5 mornings together without her dear brother! I figure Nicholas and I had more than 3 years of alone time before Charlotte arrived, so she's due a little one-on-one attention!

Pole to Pole

Today we made a quick trip through a new traveling exhibit at the Science Center called Ends of the Earth - From Polar Bears to Penguins. Who doesn't love polar bears and penguins?

Right off the bat we were greeted by this mega bear.

Charlotte crawled into this den, and was surprised when it growled at her!

The blurriness of this is because of Nico's quick reaction to the growls. He wanted out!

We moved onto the Penguin area. Charlotte was a huge fan.

My two ultra-competitive boys going at this game. Fish would light up on the sea somewhere and you had to touch them to make them disappear and others appear. They played this for a long, long time.

Now onto my favorite part. Dressing up like a penguin. The kids both tried on the bottoms and waddled through the ice and snow.

The grand finale? Suiting up with a slick penguin sliding tummy.

And they're off!

Zoom!

We may have only spent about 30 minutes inside (oh the days when I could stop and read every sign!), but we had a blast.

Nicholas Meets a Stingray

As often happens, we needed something to fill the time after nap and before dinner. A new exhibit had just opened up at the zoo, so we decided to check it out. After our fantastic time in Indianapolis petting the sharks, we figured petting sting rays was right up our alley.

Nicholas led the way. For some reason some animals had to come with us. Which just meant that I had to hold them later.

Prewashing up to the elbows...

And there they were! There were two species. The smaller ones that seem to love being pet, and the larger ones that stuck pretty close to the bottom. I was the only one who managed to pet one of the bottom dwellers, being the longest-armed of the three of us.

It was so cute when Nicholas first got near the water. He remembered from Indianapolis about only touching with two fingers, so he went right into position. Then a gentleman who worked at the exhibit came by and told us we needed to use a flat hand rather than fingers. So much for being experienced marine petters!

Charlotte took one pet, then was very content to dogsit.

It was feeding time! For the low, low price of $1, I bought some food for Nicholas to feed to the rays.

The same very nice gentleman gave Nicholas feeding instruction: Palm up with fish held between his fingers sticking up.

Then disaster struck. For those who don't know, the stingray's mouth is on the underside of its body. So it basically has to swim on top of your hand to nibble at the fish food. Nicholas wasn't exactly prepared for this and freaked out when it went over his hand. He swung his hand away, which in turn freaked out the ray...who decided to raise both it's wings and douse Nicholas in water. He was shocked and very, very wet! He just backed away from the water in total silence and told me I could do the other fish food myself. Poor guy! Luckily he was consoled by a quick ride around the zoo on the train. I think we'll stick to just petting next time!

Yea For Mothers!

It's Mother's Day! Nothing starts it off better than getting to sleep in (at least a little) and having breakfast made for me! For lunch, Tom had made reservations at a great restaurant downtown we've wanted to try. The brunch menu online had adult and kid pricing, so we figured it would be ok for the kids. The biggest clue that it wasn't really for little ones? When we walked in and told the hostess that we'd need one high chair and she replied "We have one, but it's being used." One? So Charlotte had to sit on a booster with one of us holding it down so she wouldn't tip forward. Not super relaxing, but the food was to die for. We'll certainly be going back...but leaving the kids with a sitter. After brunch, Nicholas and I changed, and Tom dropped us off at the Science Center for an afternoon of mom-son time while Charlotte took a nap. We saw two IMAX movies and went to the Discovery Room. It was quite a day!

I feel very, very lucky to be the mom to these wonderful kids!

OK, OK. There Was That One Moment

I love how she instinctively guards the rocket as Nicholas approaches.