While Kay Kay and Pa were here, we were looking for something fun to do. Criteria: Caroline had to come too, it had to be indoors, free/cheap is always a bonus, and it had to be fun for adults, too. We tried a handful of ideas and finally landed on the American History Museum because it had an exhibit on Sesame Street and promised a free children’s play area. We headed out on a gray, drizzling day with fairly low expectations.

This is perhaps why we were so impressed when we arrived at the play area. It was fantastic and she could actually play there! After getting so used to her just watching other kids play and have fun, this time she could actually get in there and play, too.

Caroline headed right for these amazing spinning magnets. They operated like gears, but the cool thing about them was that they were perfect for tiny baby hands–they didn’t have to be lined up perfectly to spin.

Here she is concentrating on making sure the gears were operating under maximum efficiency:

And with a little assist from Kay Kay:

Caroline also loved pulling on all of the door knobs that they had on display:

They also had a slide that was such a big hit, Caroline gave me a big kiss out of sheer excitement after completing the slide:

We also enjoyed “picking” carrots and playing with blocks, because everyone knows that someone else’s blocks are way better than your own blocks even when they are the EXACT SAME blocks.

This turned out to be a wonderful afternoon and we were pleasantly surprised by how much there was to do for a pre-walker! Thanks, American History Museum!