Grandpa and Nana's Backyard

While we were in California for my Nana's funeral I really wanted to make sure that I took the time to take Alden out in the backyard of my Grandparent's house.  It may be the last chance he gets to play there and I wanted to make sure that he got to.  I have tons of memories of playing in their backyard as a little girl and I always loved it there.  I was so excited to let Alden swing on the swing and climb the hill, just like I used to do and still love doing.  I am glad I got to at least take my kids out in this backyard a few times and make some memories with them there.

Alden loved swinging!  It is so cute watching him as he tries to figure out how to pump his legs properly as he swings.

I love the picture showing the back of my grandparent's house and Alden on the swing.  The picture shows a view that is so familiar to me and I love all the memories that this view brings back to me.

I loved just looking around the yard and taking in all the beauty that is present there.

It was fun carrying Anders around the yard and swinging with him.

Anders was not too sure about the swing at first but once he had a chain to hold onto he was perfectly content to swing back and forth with me.  We had a great time enjoying the backyard that my Grandpa did so much to design in his lifetime.  I am so grateful for the memories that I have there and the new ones that I got to make with my kids.

Anders Can Climb Stairs

Just after Christmas Anders started figuring out how to climb the two stairs between our family room and kitchen.  Soon after that he was tackling our entire flight of stairs.  He was so happy to be able to do it on his own and he would smile when he reached the top, like he knew it was something that he could be proud of. I have to admit that it makes me a little more nervous because I don't want him to do the whole flight of stairs without me right behind him, but it does also mean that he is learning and growing as he is supposed to.  Here are just a few pictures of Anders figuring out the stairs!

This was Anders figuring out the two stairs into our kitchen.

Here is a video of Anders climbing those two stairs.  It is so sweet to watch him figure out something that is so simple and inconsequential to us.

 

He was so happy when he reached the top.

 Here he goes, tackling the whole flight of stairs.  You can see my hand right behind him in a few of these pictures as I was spotting him.

I think it is actually really cute watching babies crawl up stairs, even though it makes me a litle nervous. 

I think this is my favorite tactic, the wide leg base, preparing to climb a stair. I am not sure how well that actually works for him, but he still managed to climb like that

Olympia Children's Discovery Museum

I have been wanting to take Alden to the Children's Discovery Museum in Olympia for a long time because we heard it was a lot of fun.  So, I was excited when the timing actually worked out for us to go on a weekday so that it wasn't so busy.  Alden was really excited when we got there and started playing right away.  He kept playing the whole time we were there and loved it!  It is so fun to see him exploring and figuring out different things.

I found it very interesting what things interested Alden the most and what things he was not particularly fond of.  For example, he loved playing with the food and prepping stuff in the kitchen but he hated the climbing structure.  The only way he would climb it was if Mom or Dad went  with him and it was a little squishy for us.  However, there was tons to do there so Alden had no trouble staying entertained and Anders even found things that he thought were fun.

Alden having fun in the garden.

Alden wanted to make sure all of the plants had enough water so he had Daddy help him.

Alden and Anders both loved the water play area!  Alden and Drew had fun changing the course of the water and making things float down different paths while Anders enjoyed watching and trying to splash in the water.

It was a lot of fun watching Alden work.

Drew had fun helping Alden construct a path for a boat that Alden picked out.

Then Alden had fun sending the boat down the path.

Alden got really scared of this seal and would not go in this area.

We found a little play area for Anders that Alden had fun helping him explore.

Alden trying to be the strong boy, pushing them all at once rather than one at a time.

Anders was so happy to have an area to get down and play.

Alden had fun getting stuffed animals for Anders to play with.

Anders found the bunny in the rabbit hole.

Alden had fun trying on some different costumes.

Drew found a comfy place to sit and take a nap.

Anders was perfectly content laying in the hole.

It is so fun to see him growing and starting to explore and discover new things.

Alden had fun dressing up as a fire fighter and bringing toys to Anders.

Alden having fun digging around in the beans.

Anders and Daddy had fun hanging out together as I ran around with Alden.

Alden loved collecting all of the green balls and stuffing them in to see where they would pop out.  If we didn't know that Alden's favorite color was green we now have more evidence of that!

We all had fun playing with this push board from both sides.  Alden and Daddy were pushing back and forth here to see who could keep more of their side pushed in.

Then Drew wanted to start experimenting and left a face imprint.

Both boys had fun exploring the tent and campsite together.

Alden had so much fun in the kitchen!  He loved preparing food, getting it out of the oven (with oven mitts), and then getting it ready to serve.

He would then bring the food over to us at the table to eat.

He even cleaned up and put everything away when he was done.

Then Alden and Anders wanted to go start playing in all of the different vehicles.

Here they were having fun looking at all the buttons in a police car.

Then they went and played in a helicopter.  Even, Anders got to "ride" in the vehicles and explore.

Then it was on to the ambulance.

Alden wanted to get dressed up again.  I think it is really cute when he gets dressed up!

Alden had a lot of fun playing doctor and taking care of the baby.

It was fun watching him move the baby around in between checking to make sure everything was okay.

There was a scream room that Alden and Drew had fun trying out to see how loud they could be.

Before we left that section Alden wanted to give Anders a check up to make sure he was okay.  Then he had to type all of his findings on the computer.

Alden had a lot of fun playing with the balls, tubes and water here, but he always wanted to make sure that he had his green ball. 

When they pulled this rope, balls would come shooting out of one of the tubes and Alden thought that was really neat.

Alden finally went through the climbing structure, but only because Drew and I took turns going through it with him.

That climbing structure was definitely designed with kids in mind.  Drew and I were both a little too big to fit comfortably through it.

We then found the construction room where Alden had fun driving the truck, moving rocks around and building things.

Alden exploring and trying to find things to build with.

The last thing we did was build little flyers to put in these tubes of air so that we could watch them fly up.

Alden had so much fun exploring and playing at the museum!  It was a lot of fun and I am really glad that we took a day to go do this.  I am also really glad that we went on a weekday so that it wasn't too busy.  Nothing ever felt crowded while we were there which was great!