Mommy & Daughter Day

After three days of heavy rain, we were going stir-crazy by Saturday night. Kate was so fed up that she asked us to put her to bed at 6:20 pm (well, she babbled and pointed to the stairs). That may be a bit of hyperbole since she was really just tired since she got up an hour early but, still, we'd had enough of staying inside. Sunday started much better: the sun was out and Kate was well-rested after 13 hours of sleep. I decided to take her on a day out to Bainbridge Island, where I'd discovered there is a Kids Discovery Museum. Ryan stayed behind to do house chores and projects (he definitely got the short end of that stick!) Kate and I ended up having a great day exploring. The museum was small, but had plenty to keep her entertained for hours. Her favorite thing was this table that was filled with bird seed, uncooked pasta and lots of measuring cups and spoons. Not surprisingly, she liked to dig! There was also a puppet theater where a man did a puppet show while we were there. Kate has never seen such a thing, and she was completely intrigued. She went right up on stage and stood below the puppets, and tried to poke them. Then she just took a seat on the stage and looked out at the audience, as if she were part of the show! After the museum, we went to a GREAT bookstore called Eagle Harbor Books. There was a big area for kids, complete with a rocking lion for Kate to ride. It cracks me up when we got to bookstores because Kate starts practically hyperventilating when she sees all the books. I, of course, am a sucker for this and always end up buying one! Our final stop was the Blackbird Bakery, where we sat with coffee and milk and her new books. There were no highchairs, so Kate sat in a real chair and it made me think of the days, not far in the future, when we can sit like that and talk about all sorts of things. It was really a great day and I'll definitely do it again. When I was younger, my mom and I would have "play days" where we'd go to Portland and spend the whole day together. I feel so happy when I think of those times, and I hope I'm creating the same thing with my daughter.