Big Boy Day
First, thank you all for the suggestions on how to deal with Bean during this transition period. We had an appointment with our pediatrician on Friday for Gracie and while we were there, he talked with us a lot about how to handle Bean during this time and then this weekend I talked to my mom about it when she came over to stay with Gracie and both the doctor and my mom agreed with what most of you said – consistency is key! We’ve decided to pay a little more attention to Bean and to love him up even more, but as far as his behavior, we really have to stick to our guns. My doctor had a good rule of thumb for Bean (and any child going through the terrible two’s). He said to redirect and correct unacceptable behavior and to discipline defiant behavior. Keeping that in mind, along with advice my mom gave me, and everything you all suggested, I feel like we at least have options going forward.
We decided last week that we really needed to not just spend time with Bean and the family, but by himself. So, we asked my mom to come down and keep Gracie Saturday morning while we took Bean to the Orlando Science Center for some hands-on Big Boy fun! They had a Curious George exhibit and we thought Bean would really love that. And he did!
There was a whole Curious George town set up in one wing of the museum that you could walk through. Each area had a part of the Curious George books that you could participate in. Bean loved the part where you got to dress up in Curious George’s work outfit and then move around all these big foam blocks.
Bean’s other favorite part was a big rocket ship slide. He got to climb up the stairs all by himself (which was slightly terrifying as a parent because it was so high – I kept checking to make sure I brought our health insurance card) and then slide down. It was big and fast and Bean loved it!
After the Curious George exhibit, we headed out to check out the other exhibits and things to do. Bean was actually just a bit young for the museum. It was completely hands on and had all these cool science experiments you could do. But almost everything was adaptable for him. We just helped him and did modified versions of everything so that he got to do stuff. He didn’t know the difference and thought everything was great!
We maneuvered a big fan and made wind socks blow…
We stopped and played with widgets and gadgets and built things that spun…
We made noise on the big PVC pipes by whacking them with a big mallet…
We played with the train table (which Bean took very seriously)…
We raced cars down this giant racetrack…
And we studied law of motion…I think…
One of Bean’s favorite parts though was the dinosaur exhibit. I thought it might scare him, but he walked around roaring the whole time, so I’m guessing he was fine.
I think I even heard Chris roar a time or two.
Bean especially liked the part where he got to dig for fossils in the big bed of sand.
The last floor of the museum focused on Florida wildlife. Have I mentioned how much I don’t like Florida wildlife? Snakes, alligators, lizards, frogs? No, thanks. But Bean and Chris loved it!
(You’ll notice there aren’t many close-up pictures of this part because I was standing about 20 feet away from the critters – it’s how I roll.)
The whole day we kept telling Bean what a big boy he was. Everything was big boy. Big Boy with Curious George. Big Boy racing cars. Big Boy dinosaurs. And at the end, we went out for a Big Boy lunch at Chick-fil-a. It was a great Big Boy day!
I knew the day would be good for Bean, but I wasn’t expecting how good it would be for me and Chris. It was nice to spend some time alone with Bean for us, too. It gave us time to reconnect with him and listen to him and talk to him and play with him. It was just a great day for all of us.
21 Comments
Amy
It looks like it was a wonderful day! (Hehe, I think that museum sounds awesome– I bet you & Chris had a great time, too!) I lover the picture of Beanie with Curious George– so cute!
Chloe
I’m so glad you had such a great time the three of you!! It looks like it was a wonderful experience for Bean!!!
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Happy Monday!
Life of a Doctor's Wife
Wow, that sounds like so much fun! And I LOVE the pictures – he is so cute!
Sarah @TheExPat Bride
I used to always take the little boys I would nanny over the summer to the orlando science center. I also have fond memories of visiting there with my school. I even spent the night in there with my girl scout troop. We slept in the electricity section and they kept it running all night since we were scared of the dark! lol
ALittleBite
It looks like a great day! And Bean is getting cuter by the minute!
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Margaret
This made me smile. We’re expecting our second in December (shhh! it’s not public yet haha) and I’m so glad you were able to recapture some of the family of three magic that I’m so worried will disappear. I can’t believe how big our boys are!
Tee
That’s awesome! My girls are 4 and 6 and we still try to make some special time for each. Your kids are adorable 🙂
Stephanie @ Our Marriage Adventure
What a perfect day for Bean to see he’s just as special as new-sister Gracie. I LOVE the shot of him standing there with his hands in his pocket. Such a big (adorable) boy stance!
Maureen
Umm, I would LOVE that museum. I wouldn’t even bring a kid along with me. I’d totally just go by myself. My super science nerd self.
Ashley @ A Recipe for Sanity
Hooray! I’m so glad you all had a great Big Boy day together. He was so serious about those trains…too cute! 🙂
Alaina
So glad you guys got to have a big boy kind of day! Looks fun!
Mindee@ourfrontdoor
You mean there are things to do in Orlando other than amusement parks? Huh.
Great idea – looks like fun! 🙂
Tressa
Looks like a fun day for you three! Thankful you had a chance to getaway for a “Big Boy” day!!
Marie @ It's a Kind of Normal
Aw, that looks like such an amazing place, I found myself wanting to go there and play with all the equipment myself! Wish we had places that cool in Ireland!
Rebecca
That place looks INCREDIBLE! I’m going to have to file it away in my memory bank of things to do with Zoe when she’s old enough….
Kay
What an awesome way for you to spend time with Bean! For what it’s worth, I would definitely have been roaring at the dinosaurs, and I won’t have been shy about it.
Laura
What a fun day! You look great, you must be recovering well. Good to hear!
Lori @ I Can Grow People
How cool that you got to spend some quality time with Bean Man! And I have to agree with you–I found most of Florida’s wildlife terrifying while we were there! I have never seen spiders that big in my life!
Lindsay (Young Married Mom)
Great idea! That looks like an AWESOME museum, and it looks like you had the place to yourselves. How fun! Maybe I won’t wait as long as I might have to take Jacob to museums around here. I’m sure we can modify things to suit him in a year or so, too. Also, I love Bean’s belly in that fourth photo. And you look great–so good to see you up and around and feelin’ good 🙂
Rachel
I LOVE the Orlando Science Center. Your family reminds me SO much of my family. My 22 month old son Benjamin loves the Curious George exhibit especially.