Mad for Museums

The butterfly room at the Milwaukee Public Museum was pretty neat. The kids could see butterflies up close and they would occasionally land on them!
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Joe inspects some grounded butterflies.

I’ve included this picture of the plastic beetle to remind me of something Joe did. Joseph is basically potty trained, praise God. The week that we got back from KC, he was super-cooperative and ready to wear underwear. No fights, no bargaining. We’ve had a few accidents since then, and if he’s in a pull-up (naps and outings) or a diaper (bedtime) he doesn’t usually use the potty. When we went to the museum that morning, I wondered if he would continue his good training. I left his undies on, but brought a change of clothes just in case. Well, good thing… He was playing on the beetle when he stopped, went behind the beetle and announced, “I haffa go potty, mom!” As I raced to grab him and swoop him to a bathroom, he had already started peeing – a lovely puddle of piddle on the floor behind the big beetle. Nice. I’ll think of it every time I’m at the MPM.
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We enjoyed the Betty Brinn Children's museum, too. Here, Joe is playing a set of digitized drums. He was so patient waiting his turn, and just as the little girl in front of him was getting off, another boy pushed in front of him. He was more laid back about it than I was.
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Libby plays drive up bank with her dad, Jeff.

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For Kolbe, this may have been the culmination of the entire trip to Milwaukee. He had talked about "working on the car" since the parking lot of the museum LAST year. The kids can change the tires, work under the hood, replace the muffler, all sorts of cool mechanic things.

Joe had fun as a mechanic, too. He wasn't interested in the car last year, but this year he really loved playing with the power tools - in Milwaukee red, no less!