family vacation part 1 {family museum}

The first stop of our family vacation was at the family museum.  I was really excited to take Hendrix there, but i wasn't really sure that he was big enough to get much out of it. 

We enjoyed a little picnic out front before heading inside.  Hendrix gobbled up strawberries like it was his job!

I am really glad that I packed 3x more clothes than I actually thought I needed as he changed outfits several times everyday.  It was hot so he would get all sweaty, and he doesn't keep bibs on very well, so he also needs a shirt change after almost every meal.  :)  

Once we got inside he was ready to explore.  There were tons of "learning stations" set up and unlike most museums everything was meant to be experienced - climbed on and touched.  There were lots of children and the mood was loud and fun.  

He would get very distracted from what we were trying to show him by other cute kids.  He can scope out other people his size from about a mile away and he waves and giggles and reaches out to say hello.  I don't see other babies get as excited to see him as he is to see them.  It's funny.

Daddy took him to touch a cloud and walk through a tornado.  The science stuff was really cool for adults as well as kiddos.

This computerized play mat was so cool.  It had all these bright colors which were of course very attractive to the kids, but then the lily pads interacted as you sat or walked on it.  The butterflies, water ripples, and fish would all move around your movements.  It was really cool.

You can see this huge playhouse with kitchen, grocery store, laundry room, dining room and all the appropriate toys to play and learn about those spaces right behind Hendrix.  He loved cruising around and picking what he wanted to play with.

There was a special Clifford exhibit that included all sorts of locations from the shows and books and a life-size Clifford to climb on.  While Hendrix seemed somewhat interested in it, he seemed really intimidated too and wouldn't let us get close to it with him, even for a picture. :)

Lastly, we headed out to the courtyard for some water fun. 

This was by far Hendrix's favorite part.  His fascination for water has not faded, and it was a nice hot day so the water felt amazing.

We weren't prepared for the water feature so Hendrix didn't have a suit to wear and instead just got soaked and stripped down.  We took plenty of breaks to drink water in the shade.....see the sweat just dripping?

And every time we thought that he was about completely worn out and we should head out for naptime, he would gain a second wind and go back for more!  

His hair is getting so long and turns crazy wild when it's wet. ;)

The water tables were really perfect for his age as it was all about moving water around from various levels with fountains and buckets, and he enjoyed standing up to it to splash.  Daddy and Mommy had fun playing too.

My silly little water baby!

More to come about our vacation fun.....