Play "Strong"

Yes, that is a time clock that Madeline is punching! We clocked some serious hours of fun during our birthday getaway! We traveled about 75 miles east of Buffalo to Rochester, NY. The whole ride, Madeline kept saying, "bye-bye bed" and "hotel". She was looking forward to the adventure. She was beside herself with glee when, in our room, I told her we were going to the pool. She immediately started stripping and digging for her bathing suit. David was impressed with the progress Madeline has made in the pool. She can't swim yet but swim classes have helped make her movements more "pre-swim" in nature.

We went to dinner at an Olive Garden. I usually hate dining at chain restaurants but the day got away from us and we were running on borrowed time. Madeline wore a little Happy Birthday tiara into the restaurant. We opted against dessert at the restaurant because we brought a small cake with us for the hotel room. Yet, the wait staff still sang for Madeline. The look on Madeline's face was priceless.We got back to the hotel, sang Happy Birthday and Madeline got to open her gifts. She was having a ball! This child was hooked up from friends and family!!!

The next day, (11/5), we went to the Strong National Museum of Play. When I say that this place is HUGE, I am not exaggerating! It is 156,000 square feet!!! We were there for about 4 hours and still didn't see all of it! But all three of us were pooped out by the time we left. I have included some highlight footage below.There was an entire Sesame Street section in the museum. Very educational! It was not just filled with scenery from the show. Each piece focused on various age appropriate concepts such as shapes, numbers, loud/quiet, over/under, pretend play, etc. In the photo above, Madeline is driving a taxi with Elmo and Cookie Monster as passengers.
Above, Madeline is sitting in Big Bird's nest.They also have a mini-Wegman's (awesome grocery chain that is headquartered in Rochester). Everything is Maddie-sized. The mini store is complete with all departments. Then, Maddie was able to use the cash register to check us out. The belt/scanner worked the same way they do in the stores. And when we were done, the register printed out a receipt (that looked just like what you would get in the real store) of the things she "bought".
The museum had a special Curious George exhibit. Perfect timing for us, as Madeline really enjoys her Curious George books. Here Madeline is peeking outside the window of a rocket ship (with George nearby).

As you can tell, we had a great time!