Visiting the Nature Museum

Yesterday we enjoyed a visit to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.  The Chicago Public Library has a program at all their branches where you can check out free passes to 14 local museums. This week when we went to our local library branch, the pass to the nature museum was available, so we took it.

I felt like this was an excellent museum for kids, and Jesse will really love it when he gets just a little bit older. It was very interesting on an adult-level, too.  He had a blast this time, but there are still lots of things he doesn't understand when we go to places like this.  Perhaps it's because the whole world is like a museum to Jesse at this stage.  For instance, he was more interested in trying to climb into the pond in the Butterfly Garden than looking at the butterflies, and was really fascinated with all the buttons he could push in different exhibits, but of course he didn't understand what the buttons did.  Nevertheless, it was fun to watch his little mind at work and see him exploring new territory.

One of our favorite exhibits was about bicycles.  Apparently Chicago was the bicycle manufacturing capital of America in the 1890s (and maybe still is?) and is where Schwinn originated.  One part of the exhibit talked about the benefits of bicycling from an environmental standpoint, and there were bikes set up that kids could play with.  Jesse enjoyed transferring groceries from a shopping cart to a bicycle basket.

There was also a big "bike" you could climb up on that would take you (via a movie screen) to different locations throughout Chicago.  Jesse was mainly interested in the climbing aspect and punching buttons (it was hard to read any of the displays because he was constantly pushing the buttons to switch them).

Writing on the wall with chalk was lots of fun, too.

Another favorite was the "green home", where you could tour a home and learn about various ways to be more environmentally friendly in different parts of your home.  There was a cool tunnel for kids to climb through and lots of fun gadgets to play with throughout the rooms.  Jesse loved getting to play with the toilet seat in the fake bathroom (this is forbidden territory in our house).

In the basement of the green home we saw some black widow spiders, brown recluses and other insects (in boxes, of course).  Jesse was mostly fascinated by opening and closing the doors.

This was a big air blower that allowed you to move the giant leaves and spider webs that were hanging from the ceiling.

We'll definitely be paying another visit to this museum. I liked that it was small (unlike the other museums here) and that we were able to see most of it in just several hours.

Dirty Laundry

Every Monday Jesse and I do the laundry. Well, I should say that I sort it into piles, Jesse attempts to sabotage my efforts at sorting, we load it all up in the laundry baskets, and then we pile everything into the freight elevator (which just so happens to be right next to our front door) and head down to the laundry room to get it all going. Jesse is pretty happy to watch most of this process from his stroller, since that is the only way I can take him with me and keep him from running away from me and getting into stuff down in the basement. Although I look forward to the day that we have our own washer and dryer again, I really love the fact that I can get a whole week's worth of laundry washed, dried and put away in a 2-3 hour span of time. That would be one (or maybe the only) advantage to having community laundry.

Anyway, this morning Jesse decided he would just take a little break in our huge pile of dirty laundry. He has been going through this phase where he just randomly goes and lays down throughout the day (on pillows, the couch, his ottoman, really just wherever there is a soft surface to lay his head). It's pretty cute, and it is probably the only time he stops moving when he is awake.

Some Things Never Change

You might recall Jesse's initial reaction to applesauce, but just in case you don't, it looked pretty similar to these pictures below. Some things never change. Jesse has just never been a fan of applesauce. Every so often I get it out for him to try again, but he still has not been convinced that it is worthwhile.

Happy Easter!

We have had a nice, laid-back Easter Sunday. This morning we went to our church's sunrise service at 7, which was followed by everybody going out to breakfast at Valois, which is known for being frequented by people like Barack Obama and Jesse Jackson (who James actually saw there several months ago). I ordered one of the President's favorite meals, and I have to say it was pretty tasty.

This afternoon Jesse and I went down to the playground while James got some homework done. I figured I should snap some pictures, since it's Easter and all.

This is Jesse's favorite tree. Almost everytime we visit the playground, he walks up to this tree and kisses it. The one time I had my camera, he didn't.

An Afternoon at the Playlot

Friday afternoon we took Jesse to a playlot in our neighborhood. We all had a blast. I feel like Jesse gets bored/frustrated when we stay at home too long...he just really seems to need a change of scenery and wide, open spaces to explore. AND, it's nice for us because we don't have to keep him out of trouble; he can explore and explore to his little heart's content.

Upon arriving at any playground, we get about 3 seconds to get Jesse out of his stroller before he starts pointing at the toys and screaming to be let out. Here he is with his arms stretched out, as if saying "let me down to explore".

Of course, the first thing that he chose to explore was not a toy. It was a monument to the person the park was named after. Nevertheless, it was quite fun to crawl through.

There are a number of different play areas at this particular playlot, and Jesse has just discovered one he would like to go see.

There is also a pirate ship.

Here is Jesse inside the pirate ship.

Wheels are so much fun to turn...

Slides are always fun, too...

But any toy that requires him to be contained is NOT fun at all. Jesse does not care for the swings or these riding toys. He will last about 30 seconds, if that.

He also got to play in a big sand pit, which was a lot of fun. He must have tried to eat some of the sand, as you can see from the following pictures.

Before heading home we stopped to sit on the alligator bench and eat a little snack.

I also had to snap some pictures of the beautiful trees that have begun blossoming here. We have been truly spoiled with such a mild winter and an early spring.

(Nearly) Fifteen Month Update

In just a week, Jesse will be a quarter of the way through his second year of life. Where in the world does the time go?! Since I never posted Jesse's 14-month update (I actually wrote one, but then never finished it), here is a 15-month update a little bit early. This is a bit long, but I know I will enjoy going back to read this in the future when I can't remember any of the details about this stage.

• Jesse absolutely loves bath-time these days. Now that we are playing outside a lot, Jesse is getting more frequent baths.

• Jesse has been learning to feed himself with a spoon. This is also a cause for more frequent baths. Since he has begun feeding himself his yogurt every morning, he usually gets a bath right after breakfast. Even though much of the food doesn't go in his mouth, he is actually eating more than he was when I fed him. This guy has just never liked people putting spoons in his mouth. I am glad that he is doing well with the spoon now; in previous attempts to hand over the spoon, he decided that it was more fun to throw the spoon and its contents than to eat what was on it.

• In other food news, Jesse has been quite the big eater lately. Tonight he devoured an entire piece of salmon, 1/4 cup avocado, at least 1/4 cup sweet peas, a slice of cheese, and 6 ounces of whole milk. He likes almost anything, but his most favorite foods are mandarin oranges, grapes, cheese, turkey, salmon and animal crackers. We have a big tub of animal crackers on our counter, and even though Jesse can't see it, he knows it is there and he stands under it and whines for them.

The other morning Jesse decided it would be fun to eat his snack in his former book basket. In the picture below, he is grinning at his friend Alyse, who was eating her snack in his high chair.

• Speaking of friends, our little man appears (at least for now) to be quite the extrovert. I find this very humorous, because I am a pretty strong introvert and James is somewhere in the middle, but probably closer to the introverted side than the extroverted side. Jesse seems to thrive on social interaction and getting out of the apartment. Pretty much as soon as he wakes up he is ready to get out, and I have to be careful about saying anything about going anywhere, because then he will go straight to the door and scream and bang on it, wanting out. He also knows how to get the attention of everyone on the street. He is always smiling and waving and saying "hi" and "bye" to random people...he gets tons of attention around here! The other day we were standing on a street corner waiting for a friend, and Jesse greeted everyone who passed by with a smile, a wave, and a "bye bye". Actually, he failed to greet one person, and that guy said he was sad that he didn't get the same treatment as everyone else was getting.

• The other day we hadn't left the apartment all day, but after his nap Jesse was going to go over and play with Alyse while I got out and did some stuff. We went downstairs together to check the mail before I took him over to my friend's place (one floor up from ours), and when we went back towards the elevators to go up to Alyse's apartment, he started throwing the biggest fit. I reassured him that we were NOT going home, and once he saw that he was headed somewhere different, he was totally fine. The exact same thing happened today when I took him outside to the playground, only to find out that it was too cold and windy to be outside. I decided I'd take him to the tot lot instead, but as soon as we headed back inside he started kicking and screaming because he thought we were going back home. As soon as he could see we were going to the tot lot, he was happy.

• Last night we got out our keyboard for Jesse to play with. He discovered it under our bed the other day, and I thought it might be fun to plug it in and let him experiment with the keys.

• Jesse still really loves the garbage truck and he also gets excited about buses and street sweepers and bicycles (which he calls "sue"). Whenever he hears the garbage truck beeping (this guy has good ears because lots of times I don't even notice the sound until he reacts to it), he perks up and holds out his arms for me to pick him up and stand him in his window to watch it. He loves going on walks and seeing all these things up close.
• Just in the past 2-3 weeks Jesse has begun to have some issues with separation anxiety. He no longer likes being left in the nursery at church, and he gets really upset when I have to go to another part of our apartment, even when James is with him. Although I can't complain about being "the favorite", it sure is exhausting sometimes.