Rebound At The Children's Museum

It hasn't been an easy 48 hours for the Melder household (and particularly me being the mom, this is not an easy job!). Thankfully Doug's bug was definitely just a 12 hour illness and then 32 hours of recuperation after that rough time. As Doug was regaining strength (but still under quarantine), I was laying the boys down. They were in good spirits and I was exhausted, but things went well. After Koen went to bed though the drama ensued. I had decided that I should clean all the bathrooms again to keep the germs away and so I would feel a little more comfortable in my own house (I hate, hate stomach bugs, just gross me out!). So I just get everything cleaned and Koen calls me that he has to go to the bathroom. Thankfully he didn't have a bug, but he definitely had to "run" to the bathroom (get my drift?) all night long. I started with just replying to his calls, but that was so exhausting by 10pm and we were on our 6th trip up and down. I made a bed for him in my room, right close to the bathroom. Unfortunately just as he was finally relaxing and going to sleep (it was so obnoxious because I felt bad he was troubled by this, but at the same time he was so bright and cheery like he thought it was quite a lot of fun), Tavin then woke up crying and started screaming for me. I figured he was probably sick or something, but thankfully it was a total fluke and I just comforted him that once and he slept the rest of the night. So back down to Koen, a few more trips to the bathroom for him and finally I think I fell asleep at midnight. My original hope was to go to bed at 9pm. Oh well! I think Koen and I had about 4 hours of solid sleep and maybe 2 more hours of interrupted sleep. Good times. I was thankful though for sleep at all and that Koen really wasn't sick to his stomach at all, very odd, but he was fine after 7am. Never complained all night of a stomach ache or anything. I let him veg a little after we got up together (of course once I was up he wanted to be up). And I decided that since he was having no more bathroom trips, had a good appetite at breakfast and still no complaints of aches and pains we would continue with our plan for today...the Children's Museum with playgroup!

Unfortunately the tiredness hit Koen in the form of total lack of listening and obedience skills on the way out the door. And since I was so tired I can admit I definitely did not have the best response. I've been trying to work on that so much too that I just again felt like such a defeated failure. I got the boys and our stuff out to the car and then cried the whole way to the museum.

Thankfully things improved once we got to the museum. It was exactly what we needed, a perfect distraction. They actually had changed much of the first floor since the last time we visited and it was very interesting to Koen especially. Thank goodness! You can see our exploration of the first floor through the pictures below (we never made it to another floor we had so much fun with it all)...

Tavin was a little moody, but would find things here and there that would really grab his attention. He liked this pole that made lots of noise when the washers fall down it. Big surprise. You should have heard the silly, loud noise the boys created on the way to the museum in the car.Koen was completely acting like himself and had his normal energy. Here he is on the maze.Koen cut out some neat shapes out of cardboard using this die-cast saw.This was probably my favorite element of the first room we visited. Kyndal and I actually dove right in and I think we enjoyed the project just as much as the boys. There were nuts and bolts, pieces of frame and other materials to construct and add to the little construction already created. Koen and Kaiser loved it.Porter and Tavin joined in a little bit. Tavin thought he was helping I think.Next stop was a fun kaleidoscope exhibit. The boys at first had fun making designs with different shapes, colors and fabrics. Then Koen thought he'd put his face in (with his tongue hanging out in a silly face of course). You can see about 20 Koen's on the screen (that would be way too many to handle!) and Kasier thinks it is hilarious!Another shot so you can see Koen's lovely face.Now onto the Garage Works room. We always enjoy this room and it was even better today due to the remodeling and revamping the museum has done recently. Tavin spent most of the time in the Smart Car they have on display. This face is because he can see Kaiser is up to something...And sure enough Kaiser was filling up the gas!Later Tavin evacuated the driver seat so that he could be in charge of the radio controls (he claps his hands pretending there is music) and Kaiser took the wheel.
Tavin also enjoyed racing cars down ramps (although he definitely says "mine" the whole time the car goes down as if to warn anyone from taking it when it reaches the bottom - so generous).Koen drove the car a little too and took Harlow for a drive.She was so happy about it that she leaned in to give Koen some loves.We stayed at the Garage Workshop for a long time, but then headed into the special exhibit..."How People Make Things." Such a great exhibit for inquiring minds of little boys! Here is Koen pretending to sculpt wood (actually wax).Tavin loved the trolleys. They were build-your-own though, so he got a little frustrated that the pieces came apart. Koen also loved this activity. He made about 10 trolleys while we were there.This is why Koen got so excited about the trolley-making. He watched every move of the robotic arm display that assembled and disassembled trolleys. Tavin liked watching it too.Here's the Koen robot getting the job done.And Tavin found another car (and see brother is still making trolleys in the background!).After a long time in this area as well, we headed to the lunch room with our friends. It was a really nice visit to the museum. If you have a membership or haven't been in awhile, you should definitely go. I love all the changes they've made! And Grampa, I think you and Koen should go while you are here. Your engineering mind would take these displays and exhibits to a whole new level for Koen (plus I think you would love it!). Thanks for turning our day around playgroup friends and The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh!!!