Discovery Place

On Day 2 of our staycation, we spent the morning at Discovery Place Kids with our good friend Natalie and her daughter, Emerson. It’s kind of like a children’s museum in that it has a lot of interactive things for young kids to do, but without all the boring things to read. This specific place is designed especially for younger kids, including little crawlers.

We got there after morning nap time, which is apparently when everyone else got there, too. It was Spring Break for the Charlotte schools, so it was probably busier than most weekday mornings. As soon as we walked in, there was a sea of empty strollers and diaper bags because it’s much easier to maneuver the crowds without a large stroller to run into people with.

Our first stop was the water table for kids too small to stand at the one on the floor. They have it designed with high chairs built into it so that wee ones can play with toys and water. They have “water aprons” to keep them dry, but as you’ll see later, it didn’t work so well. Why they would include a bucket at the water table, I don’t know. This is when he poured the water directly onto his lap.

After I had enough of the water (both kids probably would have stayed there longer), we took them over to a matted area with a large mirror to indulge his vanity. He immediately set to kissing himself, a favorite past time. And remember, he did not pee himself; it’s from the water table, I promise. Emerson is not nearly as vain as Miles; she seems to prefer to sit in the background staring at all of the other kids.

When some of the other kids abandoned this little scooter, I snatched it right up. He was far more interested in the antenna than actually riding it. Sometimes I forget that he really isn’t a big boy yet; riding scooters might be a little too advanced for this guy.

And then he did my new favorite thing: he came over to give me a big hug. I swear that he does say “mama” when he comes over to me, but I might be making it up. I hear what I want to hear. He says it all the time, but I can’t decide if he has any idea who or what he is saying it to.

After playing here for a while, we made the rounds to see what else this place has to offer; however, because it was so crowded, I wasn’t able to put Miles down to crawl as much as he would have liked. But I think we will definitely go back when it’s not as busy to truly explore.

And after this, we had lunch at Friendly’s. Don’t ask me why. I wanted a sandwich. It would have been quick and easy with two kids that desperately needed afternoon naps, but Chris would rather die than eat a sandwich that he could make himself at home. The kids did okay, but the food left a lot to be desired.

Chris’s punishment was then to keep both kids awake for the drive home, a job at which he failed. And then both kids ended up taking really short naps once they got home. I know this because we all got together for dinner at our house that night. Luckily, both babies are good natured enough that one would never know just how tired they were.