We're Going on An Outing

It should surprise no one to hear that I am a Mama who believes in outings. When Abigail was about fifteen months old, I started to notice that she was much happier when she was on-the-go. Ever since then I've made it a goal to be out-and-about every day, even if it's to do something as simple as going on a walk.

We have our outing routine pretty well set. We go to storytime at the library once a week. There is also a weekly trip to the grocery store, which she loves. We try to make it out to playgrounds a few times each week. We've discovered some lovely indoor playgrounds for the winter months. In the summer we visit the pool twice per week. There's also lots of playdates with friends, errands to run, and trips to visit Granny and Poppy. 

About once per month, I try to plan something special for us. Abby thrives on new experiences, and throwing just enough of these into the mix makes a big difference.

And since I am so far behind with blogging, we're going to catch up on a bunch of these all at once. 

Last September we visited National Zoo. It was a hit!

I've gone to the zoo many times and almost never see the cheetah. I was shocked that he wasn't hiding on this day!
He looked at Abby like she was a delicious snack.

In September there was also a lot of construction in our neighborhood. We would walk to this tiny playground close to us, then Abby would swing while watching the big trucks working. She loved it. Easiest outing ever.

In October we visited Wayside Farm for a plethora of autumn activities.

First hayride

Playing in the corn crib

Watching the pig races

Pumpkin smashing

Entering the corn maze

That's a real pumpkin! 892 pounds!

It's also fun to visit Domino's and watch them make pizza.

Then we had a baby and basically didn't leave the apartment for three months.

But in February I took Abigail ice skating. That was a parenting fail, as I realized much too late that she should have worn a helmet. I held her tight and luckily we didn't have any falls. It was exhausting and she was done after about forty-five minutes, but then we sat and watched the other (much better) skaters learning how to skate backwards, spin, etc.

Of all the things we do with Abigail, this is the activity she requests most often now.

In March we did some simple outings. Even just going out for ice cream feels special.

The library hosted a Princess and Pirates Party, which we were so excited for. We had Abby's pirate costume all ready to go. Fifteen minutes before it's time to leave, she decides she wants to be a princess instead. It was a big deal. So I scrambled around like a crazy mama and threw together a princess costume. She loved it, so I guess it worked out.

Little Cinderella lost her shoe as we were leaving the party

For Jacob's birthday we went to a Mexican restaurant that had a live Mariachi band. Abby loved it so much, we could barely get her to look away long enough to eat.

In April we went kite-flying. I was very apprehensive about this because I had both kids by myself - I thought I might need more skilled help than a two-year-old could offer - but it was so perfectly windy that day that all we had to do was throw it in the air and it flew.

Abby was sad when it was time to go home, so I reeled the kite in until the line was just a few feet long and let her walk it home. (Who needs a dog when you can take a kite for a walk?)

We also visited the Children’s Museum in Winchester. There we discovered our love for Rube Goldberg machines...

Dug for dinosaur bones...

Climbed the vertical maze...

Took care of sick babies...

Drove the ambulance...

"I'm driving the babies to the hospital!"

Put on a puppet show...

Played at the water table...

Made funny impressions...

Worked the pulley system...

and Abby was generally adorable.

Then more water play...

Roller coaster building...

Funny mirror warping...

"Daddy, what happened to me?!?"

and house building...

Thomas and I made excellent supervisors.

That was a very long and good day.

Also in April, Granny and Poppy treated us to a puppet show by the Mermaid Theatre, which is performed in black light and is fabulous. This year's show was Runaway Bunny and Good Night, Moon.

Last weekend I took Abigail to Touch-a-Truck, which is a fundraiser where they let children climb on various huge vehicles. She was scared at first because it was so loud (lots of kids were honking the horns on the semi-trucks) but she loved it after she warmed up to it.

She went on the trolley, trash truck, ambulance, fire truck, tractor, fork lift, excavator, semi-truck, cement mixer, concrete pourer, and crane. We also rode the train, which she often reminds me, "had bells"!

Then we went kite-flying again.

On Monday we picked strawberries and marveled once again at how delicious fresh berries are.

And that brings us to yesterday, when we visited the Farm Heritage Museum. It is only about twenty minutes away from us, and I can't believe we have lived here eighteen months and heard so little about it because it is wonderful.

We stayed for three hours and were the only ones there that whole time!

We tried on some farm clothes, worked at the general store, took care of the livestock, gathered eggs, and milked the cow. Abby also enjoyed riding the racing horses, cooking in the farm kitchen, and putting on a puppet show. It was another busy day.

Pushing sheep in the wheelbarrow: a lesser-known, but equally necessary, farm chore.

*Whew* Well no wonder I am so tired. When do we get to nap?  ;)