I had a nice weekend with my family over the past couple of days, and it was hard to leave home this morning. But knowing that my husband and baby will be at home waiting for me to come home is a nice feeling and motivates me to get through my work days.
Saturday was spent at home with Dad and Ruckus, just doing laundry and playing, and eating, and playing. Ruckus is more active every day and delights in the simple things in life, like clapping, and rolling on the floor. He enjoys pulling my hair and hitting toys with other toys, and cracked up hilariously when he pulled himself up to a standing position using the bars of his crib.
These are exciting times for him, and scary times for his parents, as he is learning quickly how to control his movements and will soon be zipping around the house, wrecking havoc on all within his reach. The child-proofing must begin in earnest. I think the biggest risks are things that Ruckus can fall off of or out of, and things that Ruckus can hit, kick or pull down onto himself. I have never been inclined to empty my house of things because a baby is around, but there are certain changes that have to be made in order to maximize the safety of the little guy so that Dad or I can go to the bathroom by ourselves without worrying that the kid is going to be crushed under something or drinking poison. This is at the top of the To-Do List.
Sunday was Mother's Day so I got up early and showered, then gave Ruckus a bath. He barely fits into his baby bath now so there is a lot of splashing and water displacement while getting cleaned up. He really seems to enjoy his bath time and fights for control of the washcloth and shampoo. It is fun until you try to take these things away from him, as he is a little possessive of anything he can gets his hands on. After the bath it is time for Ruckus to roll around on the floor and fight getting his diaper put on, and dressed. Sometimes this extends dressing time a whole ten minutes or so, which can be stressful if you are under a time crunch. I try to plan ahead so that we have ample time to goof off while getting dressed because really, what's the rush? Let the kid squirm and wriggle and be a silly baby while he has the chance.
After his bath Ruckus finished off a bottle and played for a while, while I packed his bag and things into the Jeep for our planned day out with Grandma. It always amazes me how many things a baby might need for a half day adventure out of the house. It is better to have what you need than miss it though, so the baby bag gets packed to bulging every time. Add to that the stroller and car seat and it makes me very thankful to have a Jeep to haul us all around in!
We left around 9 o'clock and headed for the store to get flowers for my mom. Ruckus helped choose a pretty mini orchid and we set off for Grandma's house. He usually looks out the window and chatters at me as we drive along. Having the mirror set up in the backseat has made me a lot more comfortable while driving as I can see what he is up to without having to pull over and twist around in my seat.
Grandma was happy to see us and liked the flower Ruckus picked out for her, and her Mother's Day card. We three soon set off for the museum, excited to see the King Tut exhibit that we'd heard about on the news, and to spend a little time together.
We got to the museum a little after 10 and found that they didn't open until 12. Oops! We quickly came up with a Plan B and went up the street to get something to eat and occupy ourselves for a little while. We sat and chit chatted while we ate our food, and Ruckus napped in my lap for a bit. The museum is situated in a great big park which is in bloom right now, as it has been a nice Spring, so after lunch we went back to the Park and parked near the Arboretum and put Ruckus in his stroller so we could take a little walk among the trees and flowers.
In addition to it being a beautiful day for a walk in the park, it was also an ideal day for people watching. There was a huge variety of people to check out in the park, a small group in Renaissance costumes enjoying a picnic lunch with like minded compatriots, a young couple out with friends for a photo shoot, perhaps for Prom or an Engagement album, a little girl in her Sunday best, peering into a pool of water shaded in trees. We sat for a while in the grass while Ruckus drank his bottle, and looked at the birds and the people who passed by while we talked. It was a very enjoyable visit with my mom.
As it got closer to noon we headed back to the car, so we could drive one block over and park at the museum. We were happy to see that the museum was opening as we got there, and that there weren't too many people ahead of us in line. We loaded Ruckus back into his stroller and went in. Because my mom and I are both mothers we got in for free, and Ruckus was free as he is under age 2. Score!
The King Tut exhibit was very interesting and Ruckus behaved himself marvelously for a baby in a museum. See details of the museum here. Many of the artifacts were placed too high for Ruckus to see at all so it must not have been particularly entertaining for him, but he managed to charm some of the other museum goers and didn't scream in the big echo-y rooms so I consider it a success. My mom and I had a good time looking at all of the things on display, and the short break in the gift shop was fun because of the other people shopping there. Museums really don't have much to offer to the average child and this was very apparent here.
Some of the children who were old enough to behave themselves weren't behaving at all and it made me wonder when I would be able to take Ruckus to another museum, as soon he will be into everything and will not be able to quietly disguise his boredom in the face of old dusty things that us adults seem to enjoy.
After the gift shop we toured the rest of the Wilbur D. May collection which included artifacts from his trips around the world. Some of these were cool to see and some collections were just odd because they didn't seem to fit into the theme at all, which seemed to be something along the lines of Primitive Societies and Unexplored Wilderness. For example, there was a small collection of pretty glass things from Europe stuck in amongst masks and busts of the wild beasts of Africa, and old guns and a Polar Bear from North America.
After we had seen all of the exhibits we left the museum and went back to my mom's house so that I could take photos of her kitchen (it is being re-done today), and pictures of her with her grandson. Ruckus loves visiting with Grandma and seemed to enjoy himself all day long.
Ruckus fell asleep in the car on the way home so I laid him in bed with his daddy, who was also napping when we got there. I kicked my feet up for the rest of the day and really enjoyed my time with my little family.
I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!!
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