mama's mess: Nathan's Birthday

Nathan's birthday party isn't until next Saturday. But since Mike had the day off Friday, we decided to do something fun on his actual birthday.

I had seen on Alison's blog a few months back where she had taken Norah to the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. She took such good pictures of it, that it made me want to take Nathan.

We decided to invite Katie with Trinity & Eden, since it's always fun with friends. I'm glad we did, Trinity had lots of fun. Before heading to the Discovery Center, we stopped at Toot's for lunch. Yummy! The kids eat free, which is always a good thing.

Once we got to the Discovery Center, Trinity was beyond excited and reading to do some "discovering".

Nathan & Daddy waiting to head in.

When you first walk in, they have a huge water table. This thing is awesome. The parents were having more fun with than kids at one point.

Nathan really liked riding the giraffe rocker.

There was an area where kids could go on a dig for Dinosaur Bones. I thought for sure Nathan would be eating the rocks, but he did really well. He grabbed onto this one brush & wouldn't let go. We almost had a temper tantrum once it was time to move on, but we distracted him. Yes, that is the tool of parents of a toddler! Lots of distractions.

They had a Fire Truck for the kids to explore.

Our next stop was at the arts & crafts center. They have an easel that is pexi-glass, where the kids can color on it with markers.

The whole back wall is a chalk board, where Katie wrote a special message.

We love Katie, she is our special friend. haha

Nathan has decided that art TASTES good! I think it total, he had 5 crayons in his mouth that day.

There was a little alcove of Asian culture. The kids really enjoyed it all. They had puzzles, art & dress up.

The best part of the day, was in the family play area. It's geared for kids under the age of 7. There is a play house, lots of puzzles & blocks, a tree for the kids to go into and lots more. It is closed off with a gate. I loved that nothing in there was "no" for Nathan. He could just explore and have fun.

I think we may need to get Nathan a kitchen. He spent most of his time in here. I love that most of the toys are wooden.

We've been calling him scooter. He can walk, but hasn't figured out how to stand up on his one. He will pull up on things, but if nothing is around he does this scoot.