Go, Dewey, Go!

Papa and I took Ben to the Bean Museum this morning.

We needed a place for him to run and have fun, and this place certainly fits the bill.

Sometimes Ben stops to look at the stuff Papa points out.

The huge elephant caught his attention.

Ben could have stayed at the play area all day long.

This corner has a cave with a bear inside.

Ben was delighted being terrified, but he would follow other kids into the tunnel.

I climbed in to encourage him.  My camera flash helped a lot.

Once he could see the bear in the light, he wasn't afraid anymore.

Papa Ben has an eye for good places to pose.

The elevator was an engaging activity.  He actually pushed all the buttons, and we simply got out on the floor we wanted.

Bet you can guess what Papa Ben said when he saw this.

Ben, on his own, felt a need to kiss the turtle.

At this point, we knew it was time to leave.

We stopped on the way home so I could do an errand.  When I left the car, Ben asked Papa where I was.  Papa said I was getting him a lollipop.  Ben chanted, "Go, Dewey, Go!" until I returned.

Once we arrived home, Ben decided to play some "happy music" on the piano.   This is kid is so fun!

What's a Cephalopod?

Ben helped me make inari zushi.  He's a hoot.

Papa and Ben enjoyed a few games of pinball.  Ben is good, but it's hard to top Papa.

My lovely neighbors gave us goodies for Christmas.  I saved them for Ben's visit.  He devoured this cookie from Trader Joes.

Ben and Mommy did their exercises together.

I love to watch Ben play with this race track.  The talking car is my favorite part.

Another neighbor Christmas gift was donuts.  Ben ate one for breakfast.

After breakfast, we were off to the aquarium!

An otter eating his breakfast swam right in front of Ben.  Hilarious!

The otters were happy and wild and fun to watch.

Watching Ben and Mommy watch otters is also fun.

Ben spied some kids at this interactive exhibit and joined them.

Sometimes I miss things when I'm holding a camera, and this is a good example.  I couldn't figure out what he was doing.

I finally realized this was sand under projected lights.  It was way fun to play with.

I love jelly fish exhibits.

Corinne casually mentioned that Ben knew what a cephalopod was.

I asked, "What's a cephalopod?"

Out of the blue, Ben answered. "Jelly fish," he said simply.

The penguins thrive at this aquarium.

They are fast.

We loved watching them.

Ben and Mom piloted a submarine.

This kid!  We had so much fun.

We spent some time in a 4D theater.  About 3 minutes.  We quickly realized that Ben wasn't going to wear the glasses, or sit in anyone's lap, and we were outta there.

The aquarium has a new exhibit which includes these clouded leopards.

One of them stole a drink right in front of Ben.

Ben growled at this dragon.

None of us were afraid, not even the dragon.

The last exhibit Ben looked at included this blue frog.

I love watching Ben and Papa together.

I have a weakness for gift shops in zoos and aquariums.

I hit a home run with this animal rescue doctor kit.

Dewey, Where'd the Mountains Go?

Ben started out his day in a silly mood.

Crashing is one of his favorite things to do.

I knew snow was in the forecast.

When the first flakes fell, I grabbed Ben and got him ready to go out.

He was fascinated with the tracks he could make in the snow.

I know the route of the garbage man.  Even though he had already been down our street, I knew we could catch him.

Ben loves the garbage man, who remembered Ben from his summer visit and waved.

After that thrilling adventure, I asked Ben if he wanted to go home or to the river.

He chose the river, but first he had to catch some flakes on his tongue.

On the way to the river, the scooter fell over, leaving Ben with a cold chin.  My headband saved the day.

We looked for ducks but didn't see any.  Instead we threw rocks.

I was the designated rock-finder, which is a little tricky with snow.

We headed home.  If you are observant, you'll notice that Ben was still in his pajamas.  He's in warm, dry clothes now.

A haircut is in his future.  Maybe not today, but soon.

Ben, on his own, realized he couldn't see the mountains and asked me where they were.  I told him they were behind the snow.  He said, "No, Dewey, where is the big one?"  Even that one was hiding, I told him.

He made his last tracks as he pushed up the driveway.  What a fun morning with a happy little boy!