Stuck Inside

I considered titling this post as "how to beat the winter blues part 4", but that would probably not be correct since most of these pictures were taken at home and this is not a way I would recommend dealing with a long, cold winter.  Out of necessity we have spent lots of time indoors this winter and we are just reaching that point (or maybe we got there several weeks ago) where I feel I can't take much more of our apartment. I am craving sunshine, warm days, and mornings/afternoons spent at the park.  We will be there soon!  The sun is out today, and even though it is still quite cold, it feels like spring is on its way and I see a light at the end of the tunnel in the 10-day forecast (it might reach 50 degrees...yay!).

Anyway, this is basically just a bunch of pictures of random things the boys have been up to.

Jesse built a library one day with the cardboard blocks.

Max revisited the walker, even though he could walk on his own at this point.

Jesse built a cool machine with tinkertoys.

Max got stuck in the potty/stool.

Hanging out in the hallway.  Max had mixed feelings about this.

Max snuck into the pantry one day and found the bag of Valentine's chocolates.  He knows exactly where all the good snacks are in this house.

Eating a smoothie...

Playing with snow in the kitchen.

Jesse's body, according to Jesse.  I traced his body and he filled it in.  Some parts are real and others are fictional (as you can probably tell), but each part has a story.

Jesse and James built this rocket with the straws and connectors.  Jesse fell asleep in it one day.

Max loves goldfish.  And he apparently loves eating them with his feet propped on the table.

Brothers.

How to Beat the Winter Blues Part 3

Another great place to go in the winter (or anytime, for that matter) is the Children's Museum.  It is endless amounts of fun for kids, which typically translates into fun for everybody.  I really should make it a point to take the boys at least twice a month since we have a membership.  Here are some pictures from one of our recent trips.

Right now there is a temporary exhibit called Move It, which is basically a huge indoor playground/gym.  It's perfect for this time of year when everyone is wanting winter to be over but it's still so bitter cold.   The boys burned lots of energy here.

Kid Town has always been one of Jesse's favorites, and I think Max agrees.

Jesse had fun digging for dinosaur bones.

Max preferred walking /running up and down this ramp.

Jesse always likes climbing the ropes and Max is usually happy to watch him.

How to Beat the Winter Blues Part 2

On Valentine's Day we went to the Field Museum.  We hadn't been since Jesse was around Max's age, so it was time for another visit, especially since Jesse is really interested in mummies and Ancient Egypt stuff.  The entire month of February is free for Illinois residents, so that was another bonus.  Of course, the place was packed, but we got there before it opened and got about 5 minutes of the Ancient Egypt exhibit nearly to ourselves (then the place got crazy!).  It was a REALLLLLLY cold day with lots of wind, but luckily the walk from the car to the museum wasn't too long.

Some of Jesse's favorite books right now are the Magic Tree House series, which includes a book about Ancient Egypt, hence the recent fascination.  Jack, one of the book's main characters, is always taking notes in his notebook about the places that he and his sister visit, so Jesse wanted to be just like Jack and take notes about everything (literally, everything) he saw at the museum.  It was really cute, and I will have to make sure that the notes don't get thrown away.  He certainly looked pretty funny sprawled out in front of the exhibits writing notes (he told us what he wanted to write and we told him how to spell it).

If you can see his notes, you will notice a rectangular-shaped box and two stick figures.  That was a picture he drew of two mummies in a sarcophagus.

We also enjoyed seeing lots of mammals.  Max seemed to really appreciate these, as he is in the stage of learning/liking animal sounds.

This was inside the second level of the Egyptian tomb. We went through it several times.

Max is not sure whether or not he likes all this mummy stuff...

I thought he looked so grown-up here, walking down the hall.  Not sure what he was thinking, though...

Max was worn-out by the end but was woken up since we had to bundle him up to get back to the car.