Port Discovery

In the wake of last week's heat wave - finally able to come up for air that isn't comprised of more O than H - I can (at last!) share our weekend adventures with the littles. Code Orange days are a total bummer when you've got children; it's too dangerous to keep them outdoors for long but staying inside on a summer day just seems like a cruel alternative. And since my 700 sq ft home is not the most conducive to our small crowd, Claudin and I decided to face the area traffic, and probable throngs of people at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, to spend the day at the children's museum. So we packed up and two diaper bags, one mini-backpack, and two strollers later, we were on 95 headed towards the Charm City.

Crossing the threshold of the museum was like entering a wonderful land inhabited by munchkins - a harbinger of the visiting exhibit: The Wizard of Oz. There were THREE floors of interactive, educational exhibits, dominated by a towering urban tree house in the middle of it all. This thing was amazing with all its ropes, tubes, slides, and mesh walkways - it was a shame there's an age and weight limit because I would've otherwise joined in the fun and lost myself in there for hours. Charlie was hilarious to watch, turning himself around dizzy trying to figure out where to go next. Ada, meanwhile, had a playroom just for babies to cruise and crawl around. She cracked herself up in the mirrors that ran along the bottom of the walls and tumbled all over the padded floors. Even August experienced a new range of stimuli - I never saw his eyes so wide as he excitedly sucked and drooled on his fist. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

I don't know if it's because I'm a new mom and the thought of doing anything with multiple children is intimidating, but I almost feared the excursion to begin with. It was a daunting ambition we'd regret, or so I thought. Once we were out and in it though, it was GREAT - worth any and all trouble just to hear the excitement in Charlie's voice, the joy in Ada's laughter, and to see the wonder in Auggie's eyes. I'm realizing now, as a mom, that when it comes to your child, there isn't much that trumps that.