Outings

Nicholas seems to be getting bored of our apartment and his toys. It is understandable since it is where he spends most of his time, but this creates new challenges for us. He seemed to really enjoy our outings to the fair and Ft. McHenry and he loves going out for walks in the Baby Bjorn, but on days that we just hang out at home all day he gets really cranky.

And so we're trying to come up with more outings. The catch is that they have to be places where we can stay in motion a lot and where noise is permissible (this is why church and restaurants are difficult). For these reasons outdoor places are great, but pretty soon it will be getting too cold to be outside with him as much. We're also looking for places that are free or cheap, or have memberships that pay for themselves after a couple visits.

There are some of the D.C. museums that would probably work, but being an hour train ride away from home makes me nervous because if he has a meltdown we have to torture other people for a long ride. But almost everything in D.C. is free whereas the stuff in Baltimore is expensive.

One of the things we're contemplating is getting a membership to the aquarium. Nicholas is too young to really understand what he's seeing, but there should be a lot to see, it is indoors, and walking around there sounds much more appealing to me than doing laps at the mall 4 days a week. I just wish he'd let me sit still long enough to watch the dolphin show. But, who knows, by March he might.

On Wednesday Nicholas and I are going to Storyville with 2 other babies Nicholas' age (and their mothers), which is basically a mini children's museum in a branch of our public library. Apparently they have a section for kids under age 1 that has mirrors in the floor and other fun things to see and explore. We've never been, but it sounds fun. And it's free!

Joe has also suggested apple picking, which sounds like fun. (Mom and Dad, want to go apple picking in PA or western MD some weekend?)

Anyone have any other ideas for outings?