Friday, February 26, 2010

Phone Photo Friday

Devin and Daddy (@ Cheesecake Factory- yum!)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Pictures with Big Papi

Tough guy face:


Trying to cop a feel of Big Papi's muscles (haha):

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Boston Children's Museum

Yesterday, for the second day in a row, we visited a Children's museum. This time we went to the Boston Children's Museum. We spent over 4 hours exploring 3 floors of hand-on fun!

We started the day in the Arthur Exhibit. They had the classroom, kitchen, camping, and airplane scenes, as well as an information section on health and asthma. We played, learned, and took a lot of pictures!

About an hour after we arrived , we decided to take in a show. The Three Little Pigs was playing at the house theater so we got to the line early for a good seat. It paid off and we were front row. We didn't realize that the actors were all going to be from the audience and when they asked for volunteers, Devin held his hand up high! He was chosen as Pogo Pig! He didn't do or say all that much up on stage, but he sure did look cute! (I suppose I might be a little bias since I am Mom and all...) I think with a little practice, he might have a future in acting. :)

We went to science sections that had bubbles, marble tracks, mind tricks, toys from around the world, and much more. There was a Boston Black section where we played in different areas set up as a Bodega (Spanish grocery store), Barber Shop, Hair Salon, Haitian truck, and cafe.

The Curious George Exhibit caught our attention. There were scenes from the apartment building, playground, stores, and more. Devin liked trying out the architect desk and posing with George. There were activities for the kids to try and Devin had fun doing that.

We went to a Japanese House where we had to take off our shoes to enter. This house was one hundred years old and was an authentic Japanese house that a real family had lived in. It was neat to see how their culture lived. Erick liked the mailbox, of course.

Overall, we played and played a lot! We had FUN! We ended the day with a drive through the North End (we wanted some good Italian food) but Devin fell asleep before we could find parking. We "settled" on The Cheesecake Factory about halfway home. YUM!

What a(nother) great day!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

SEE


Today Erick and I brought Devin to the SEE Science Center in Manchester. They are having a special dinosaur exhibit right now. The dinosaurs are pretty life-like, some are to size and move with robotics as well as make some noise (not loud though, to avoid scaring kids I would assume). The first time we brought Devin through the exhibit he was a little hesitant but then he was fine and curious, asking the dinosaurs questions, which we tried to answer by reading their information plaques. He was also talking to the dinosaurs. It was pretty cute. We went through the exhibit about 4 times!
FYI: Devin only tried this after Erick did it.
This was Devin the first time around as he walked full speed ahead. He was much better the following 3 times through!
They also had a dinosaur play area, dinosaur puppet show, magnetic dinosaurs, robotic dinosaur for the kids to try, mulch play area, crayon rubbings and more.


Downstairs there was a LEGO exhibit which I found particularly interesting. There was a Statue of Liberty made completely of Legos.
The main event, though, was the display of the Manchester Mills. It was amazing! There was a historical chronology of Manchester right there in Legos. It was awesome! This picture shows parts of Elm St in the front with mills in the background.

The Mills
The picture below shows the inside of the mills. My paternal grandmother worked in these mills.
This is the Amoskeag Bridge. I had nightmares when they tore this bridge down because they replaced it with a bridge that didn't have the tall columns and I didn't think it would be as safe! (I was maybe 10-12 when this happened?)
Below was Pine Island Park. I never had the pleasure of going there, but I've heard it was fun! Now, an insurance company sits on that piece of land. Fun.
Devin didn't find the Lego area as impressive as we did, although he did like the set-ups where he could press a button and make something move or blow on the hole and make a tree fall down. Erick and I would have liked to spend more time checking out the Manchester Lego display. Maybe next time...

On the other side of the bottom floor was interactive hands-on fun!

We had fun at the SEE Science Center and think it was a great kick-off to our winter vacation!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Devin-isms 3.75

Here are a few snippets that Devin has come up with lately...

~I am going to build the Eiffel Tower. Watch!

~Have no fear Daddy, I will make you some coffee!

~It's a bucket of bolts!

~My snog (snot/boogers) is coming out.

~We are going to the zoo (museum) and Daddy you can have a big shovel and I can have the small shovel and we can dig for dinosaur bones! Okay Daddy?

Where do they come up with this stuff? I know some of his recent lines come from Alvin and the Chipmunks, one of his new favorite cartoons. And can you tell he has been a total Daddy's boy lately?

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

New Baby Friend

Last fall my friend Kim had a beautiful baby girl whom she and her husband named Lexie. Devin is friends with Kim's older daughter, Emma, as they are both May 2006 "babies" and we get together every so often for the kiddos to play. Well, lemmetellyou Devin just loves Baby Lexie! Devin loves babies in general, but he especially loves to hold, kiss, and love on baby Lexie. It is too sweet! He also doesn't get jealous when I hold her (yay!) and even asks Kim if "his Mommy can hold her." (Too funny/cute!)

Here are some pictures from a recent play date.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Day with My Loves

Valentine's Day was so nice this year. I love that it fell on a Sunday. Even sweeter is that it fell on a Sunday before a Monday holiday! Score!

It was such a relaxing day. We hung out at home~ reading Devin's new Manners books, playing cars, and looking at Devin's baby pictures (awww memory lane!). We made a short trip over to my parents for a little visit. I even got in a quick shopping trip with my Mom while Devin and Erick hung out with Papa. We scored some great deals too! Once we were back home it was nap time and Erick and I relaxed with some tv time. I made a delicious ham dinner complete with pineapple, mashed potatoes, and vegetables.

After dinner, though, was when the real party started. We put on some music and Devin danced around the house while I made a chocolate fondue and cut up bananas and angel food cake. We also had marshmallows with this smooth chocolately goodness!