Will the Science Kid

Will's favorite new show is "Sid the Science Kid" on PBS. It's the perfect show for Will because he is always asking questions about how things work, and that's exactly what "Sid the Science Kid" is all about. At our house, Daddy is great at helping Will find answers to his big questions. Over the weekend, they were talking about how bones and muscles worked, and Gene pulled out a rubber band and some wooden pieces from our workbench to show Will exactly how your arm bends. What a cool daddy! Will is wiggling his fingers because he wants to know if fingers bend the same way.

On "Sid the Science Kid," Sid begins each day by asking a BIG question, such as "Why do bananas get mushy?" and then spends the day searching for answers, with the help of his friends, family, and teacher. The topics are perfect for preschoolers and the show is set up so that each week, Sid explores a new subject (senses, weather, the human body, etc). This week the emphasis is on senses, and yesterday's show was all about hearing. It was perfect because as Sid was asking us if we could think of any loud sounds, the pressure washing equipment outside our house roared to life and we could barely hear each other talk!

Sid and his friends explored sounds by making a sound symphony using common plastic, metal, and wooden objects. As soon as the show was over, Will set out his very own sound symphony, and he, Gramma, and Henry made some "music!" Henry especially enjoyed banging the metal spoon on the metal bowl -- very loud! Hitting the pillow with the drumstick didn't make much sound, unless you pounded really hard!As you can see, Will and Henry are ready to "Observe! Compare! Contrast! and Describe!" along with Sid and all the other science kids out there!

The Garden Faire

Poor Gene wasn't even home 12 hours before the boys and I dragged him off to The Garden Faire at Mercer Arboretum yesterday morning. It was a warm morning but we got to the festival early and everyone had a blast!

Will planted a seed

and got his hands all dirty.

Then he examined a lima bean with a magnifying glass.

Daddy and his boys made a hat and decorated it with flowers and feathers,

and Daddy got to wear their beautiful masterpiece.

There was a train,
that Henry rode at least five times.
He especially like riding in the caboose.

We found the playground and Will climbed the rock mountain

and discovered dinosaur fossilswhile Henry slid down the slide.We even found a lizardthat Will tried, unsuccessfully, to catch. I bought sage and oregano plants and a couple of jars of local honey. It was so hot by 11 that we treated the boys to ice cream.
Yum!
And Henry climbed up on my lap to snuggle
even though we were both hot and sweaty. When we got home, Henry and Daddy hung up the bird feeder that Will made.
It was a pine cone coated in peanut butter and rolled in bird seed.
After a busy busy day spent largely outside exploring, we were all exhausted.

But fortunately, Gene said a day outside with his family was exactly what he needed after living in Times Square for a week. And I agree!

Look Who's Home

Henry has really been missing his daddy for the past few days. Yesterday, out of the blue, he said, "Mine love mine daddy that's cause mine miss mine daddy." So when Henry woke up this morning, I told him I had a surprise for him. He asked what it was and then said, "For me?" So we trundled downstairs, with Brown Bear, to find the surprise

which was Daddy,

still sleeping.

Henry was so excited to see his daddy!

So was Will, when he finally woke up. And no wonder they were excited; Gene was gone 26 out of the last 34 days! And it could have been worse since the hearing was scheduled to go until next Friday.

Daddy even brought home some matchbox cars for the boys. Henry got the blue one and Will chose yellow, of course. The cars were cool, but not as cool as having Daddy home again. Yep, I think the feeling's mutual.

There is no shortage of smiles at our house today!

S'mores

I made the boys their promised s'mores tonight. They weren't exactly campout fare since I microwaved them, but the boys didn't care.

Will helped me make them and snuck a few marshmallows on the side when he thought I wasn't looking.

Melty chocolate goodness everywhere made for two very happy boys

and a perfect ending to our day.

Back to the Zoo

Even though the calendar says it's fall, it certainly doesn't feel fall-like in Houston just yet. But, Monday was a very overcast day and it felt mild, if not cool, so the boys and I trekked down to the zoo for the morning. We love the zoo (what kids don't?) and I love to get there right when they open to avoid the crowds. We were definitely some of the first people at the zoo and the first ones through the dinosaur exhibit. The boys sat on this hadrosaur for a quick picture.

And then it was on to see the animatronic dinosaurs. Henry still loves stegosaurus best!
Will wanted a picture with this dimetrodon.
After three trips through the dinosaur exhibit, we rode the carousel and had a snack. We checked out the birds too. You can't really tell it from this picture, but there are two kookaburras behind the boys. We stop to see them on every visit to the zoo and serenade them with "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree." Yep, I'm pretty sure they've never heard that one before! Once again, this is a bad picture, but one of the best parts of our visit was seeing the elephants get a bath. Baby Baylor loved it so much that he was rolling on his back to let the zookeepers scrub him! Henry is already asking to go back to the zoo and I've promised the boys a repeat visit, hopefully with Daddy in tow!

The Children's Museum

We had not been to the Children's Museum in ages, so the boys really loved it when we went on Sunday for Talk Like a Pirate Day. Of course the boys were not content to just do the pirate activities. They had to explore the entire museum, and why not?

Will's absolute favorite spot was the grocery store. It's just a bit ironic that we had just been at the real grocery store that morning, and then he wanted to go back? I guess it really is more fun when you get to buy whatever you want!

He really liked playing cashier.

Henry was very serious about finding the items on his grocery list.

He only got a little help from Pop.

Henry liked the grocery store well enough, but he really just wanted to drive the police car...

and the ambulance.

Henry didn't want to leave the cars, not even to go see the pirates. He did enjoy the circles exhibit, though, which is new since our last visit (or at least we didn't see it the last time we were there). Henry clearly enjoyed standing in this tractor tire.

The boys were so busy exploring and touching and running and discovering. I am so glad Nana and Pop came along to help me out; I could not have kept up with these little people on my own! The boys had such a good time and are already asking when they can go back to the "yellow museum!"