3rd Time's The Charm

I finally remembered to take my camera with me to the DuPage Children's Museum today! Andrina and I have been there twice before, each time meeting up with Anne and Auntie April. Today Andrina and I went by ourselves but we met Auntie Doreen there who was eager to spend time with us and we enjoyed seeing her! Andrina especially loved playing with Auntie Doreen as you can see in some of the pictures.

Andrina loves going to the children's museum. Actually, being such a happy baby (oops, I mean toddler) overall, I'm not at all surprised how much she enjoys it there. Before we went, I was skeptical that it was worthwhile for her being that she is so young, but she just loves it. After the first time we went there, I decided that I would buy a family membership and take her there at least once a week. And so far, it is working out. The only thing that is not working out is going in the mornings. Andrina wakes up between 7 and 8 am, then takes a 2 hour long nap starting between 9 and 10 am, depending on when she woke up, I put her down for her morning nap 2 hours after she wakes up because that is all she can handle. Well, when we go in the mornings, she misses her 2-hour long morning nap that I, as a full-time presently stay-at-home mommy, really need. I love being able to take a shower, read, or go on my computer during that time. But when we go to the children's museum in the morning, Andrina misses her morning nap and then falls asleep immediately in the car on the way home (because she completely wears herself out there). And then she does not nap for the rest of the day after coming home from the children's museum. So, until she gives up her morning nap around 18 months or so, we are going to have to go to the children's museum after she wakes up from her first nap of the day and after her lunch. But we will still go, and this time frame will be better for her because she can also handle a longer period of being awake in the afternoons as opposed to the mornings. And she will also have had her morning nap, making it also less stressful on me so I'm not getting up an hour before she does so I'm all ready to go when she gets up and eats, hurrying to get out of the house. And I will have less mommy-guilt because she won't ruin her morning nap because of the outing!