Kate in the City

We knew Kate liked farms, and now we're absolutely positive she likes cities, too. We took a day trip to Seattle yesterday and, in her short life, I think it was one of her better days. Ryan had Seahawks tickets but we decided it would be too loud for Kate, so he went with some friends and Kate and I had a girls' day in the city. We knew we were headed for a positive day when we got on the ferry; Kate hasn't ridden it since she's been walking. She had a grand time making laps around the boat, checking out all the other riders. Normally, Kate's not very smile-y to strangers, but she was completely hamming it up. We split up after getting off the ferry, and Kate and I went to the Seattle Children's Museum, which I would probably go to every day if we lived in Seattle---I told Ryan I would have paid $100 to get in but, luckily, it's only $7.50 (and worth EVERY penny). On the walk there, Kate discovered that Seattle folks are friendly and will wave back at you...Kate waved at every person, dog, balloon, EVERYTHING we passed. Once we got to the museum, we discovered that it is literally room after room of fun for kids. We started in the area for little ones, and Kate was hooked immediately. Everything was at her height and there was a slide, so it was basically her heaven. Once she found the slide, I wasn't sure we'd ever leave that spot, but she did end up exploring all the other features, like a canal to float boats on and big squishy blocks that were covered in zippers, buttons and laces (GENIUS toy, I think). I tried to get photos of Kate's face, but she was too busy to look at me! Next, we went to the Sesame Street room, where the big attraction was an obstacle course. It was safe for Kate, but it was really for bigger kids, since they do it by themselves. She went right into it, though, and I was so proud to see her go by herself. I suppose only a mommy could know the ridiculous level of pride that can be associated with seeing a kid climb up and over things! There was just so much to do everywhere....a construction room, a theater room, a supermarket, restaurant...we did pretty much all of it! There was even a book room with squashy chairs to cuddle up on, so we ended there after more than two hours of hard playing. We left to find nice sunshine outside, so we watched the carnival rides (no surprise that Kate was quite interested in the roller coaster!) and the Space Needle, and then walked through Pike Street Market to see the guys throwing fish. We made it back to the ferry to meet Ryan; unfortunately, the Seahawks played a terrible game, but he still had a good time watching. We agreed that we'd go for another day trip soon so that daddy can experience the AMAZING museum---if the Seahawks stay bad, we may become museum season ticket holders soon!!