Our First Trip with Ayden

We have been thoroughly enjoying our time at home as a family. We have really tried to just stay in and cuddle and rest and play. But on Wednesday, we did a day trip to La Crosse! It was sort of a test for our family of five:) We've always done lots of trips with Kate and Collin and we were wondering what it would be like with Ayden too!

We headed out in the morning and had breakfast at a favorite place in Mauston. It did get a little hairy when Collin ended up between Kate and me in a huge corner booth. He started choking on bacon and since I was nursing Ayden, I couldn't really help him/get to him and Dave couldn't reach either. Lesson learned: Collin sits next to Daddy in restaurants. He has also just started refusing to sit in a high chair, at home and in restaurants:( I was not happy about this, but he has done better than I'd hoped at sitting at the table. 

Between potty breaks, hungry infants, toddlers done eating way before the rest of us, dropping crayons under the table and throwing fits, dirty diapers, we were almost convinced to go right back home. 

The kids did great on the ride and Dave dropped Kate, Ayden and I at a consignment kids store to get clothes for the kids while he took Collin to get his haircut. When they returned, we headed to the Children's Museum in downtown La Crosse (hung out for awhile in the van while Collin slept and Ayden ate - Kate did really well waiting)! What a fun place, I've been excited to go and we finally did it. At the end of our time at the museum, we were in the basement looking at the dinosaur stuff. There was a maze and Kate went in with Dave and went around a corner and she just screamed! There was a big dinosaur and she totally freaked out. It was funny to Dave and I and we were trying to not let her see us laughing! She refused to go back in the maze, I had to go "block" the dinosaur so she could get through to see what was beyond it:) 

After the museum, we went to TJ Maxx to get a step stool for Kate (a very pregnant Mommy may have sat on her plastic one and broke it a few weeks ago....) and then to Target before eating out at Texas Roadhouse. I kept telling Dave, let's go, let's go! We need to quit while we are ahead! That is a lesson I've learned. Don't keep pushing it until everyone is melting down. Call it a day when you can come out still smiling. :) But we actually did a LOT and ate in a restaurant twice! The kids did really well and it was a fun and relaxing meal. At one point, Kate said, "I don't want Collin to grow up. I want him to stay little like you want us to, Mom"

Here are some pics from the museum:

I think the fire engine was my favorite:)

This wall was SO cool

News desk

This was majorly cool too - they could arrange a bridge

Our little monsters. Distracted by trains...

Looking for fossils

We missed the rush at the restaurant (we love eating with the blue-hairs:) and got home right in time for bath and bed. I'm sure we'll have our fair share of total disasters, so Dave and I are relishing in this small victory:) If anyone wants to go to the museum with us sometime, or take our kids there:) - we'd love it!

Here are some pics from our walk this afternoon...first time around the circle with all the kids. Ayden was the best behaved:)