...and We're Back!

My mom says she can tell how busy my life is based on how often I blog.  That, my friends, is a very accurate way to judge my life.  But at the moment I have a moment to spare while Seth plays in the tub, so we're going to play catch-up since Halloween.  Ready?  Okay.

November 5th--Our first trip to Philadelphia.  Sure, we only live about 90 minutes away, but we've never managed to make it up there in the 3 years we've lived here.  Everyone who visits wants to see DC or NYC, so we've never had a reason to go.

But then Marley & Carlos called and invited us on a spontaneous one-day visit for Carlos's birthday.  Since it happened to be Jon's Friday off, we decided to go.  I was definitely a little nervous about how Seth would do since he wouldn't be able to have a nap, but figured he's to the point now where one missed nap doesn't mean three days of terror.

Instead of doing all the touristy things that we will definitely get to do later, we just followed Marley & Carlos around.  First stop was Reading Terminal Market, which was a pretty sweet place.  Lots of good stuff to buy and eat.  A little crowded for stroller-maneuvering, but we made do.  Jon & I split a (massive) Philly Cheesesteak which, contrary to everything I'd expected, was actually really good!  And Seth spent 80% of his time climbing on a pig statue with a sign that said 'Do Not Climb on the Pig Statue.' 

Next was the highlight of the trip (and our whole reason for going): Max Brenner.  When Marley said we were going to a chocolate restaurant, I wasn't terribly thrilled.  As I've said before, I'm not a huge chocolate fan.  But, oh my goodness, this stuff was amazing.  If all chocolate tasted like this, I'd probably weigh 300 lbs.

Awesome me didn't get any pictures of our actual chocolate dishes (I had raspberry hot chocolate, and it was divine).  I did get a picture of Seth enjoying his freaking awesome kids' meal.  That's right--these fries and chicken strips came with a paintbrush for the ketchup and honey mustard.  Seth was thrilled (although he pulled some great faces when he'd attempt to eat the ketchup straight off the brush.  Not a fan, apparently).

Didn't get a single picture of us, but here are our lovely tour guides, Carlos & Marley:

 

Next we dragged poor Marley (who was literally weeks away from having her baby) across town to the Natural History Museum.  It was a bit of a chilly day, as you can tell from Seth's stroller getup.  Both Marley & I were wishing we had one of those to ride in by the end of the day...

The Natural History Museum was our idea--we wanted something for Seth to do where he could run around like a crazy man (and he did).  Unfortunately, if you've ever been to a decent Natural History Museum, the one in Philadelphia is just not up to par.  Basically, it's tiny.  Not worth the admission price.  But we didn't know that at the time, so off we went. 

Seth did have a blast.  He got to touch a snake, ride a turtle statue, and play in a random sand pit in the kids' section.  But his favorite activity was watching the cars on the street below.  Glad we paid $20 in admission for him to watch some cars drive by...

Funny story: Like most Natural History museums, this one had various window scenes full of dead, stuffed animals depicted in their 'natural' habitat.  Seth wasn't sure how he felt about some of them.  Monkeys were fine, lions were a little scary.  But the scariest ones were the buffalo.  They were huge, and they were right next to the window. 

It was almost time to go, so we were making our way out of the museum.  Jon had stopped in front of a big moose and was trying to get Seth to come see it.  But in order to get there, he'd have to walk right past the buffalo.  We could see him wavering back and forth between desire to see the moose and fear of the buffalo.  Finally, he made up his mind and took off to a running start past the buffalo.

The instant he was aligned with the buffalo, a loud, deep male voice came over the PA system and announced that the museum was closing.  It really was startling--even Marley & I jumped at how loud it was.

As soon as the announcement started, Seth came to a dead halt, right in front of the buffalo.  The next thing we knew, he was screaming in pure terror.  For all he knew the buffalo were not 'stuck' (as Mommy & Daddy had repeatedly told him), but were very much alive and were coming to get him.  He literally screamed uncontrollably for five minutes while Jon tried to calm him down.  Poor little guy--he really thought he was going to die.  I was convinced he would have buffalo nightmares that night, but he hasn't said a word about it since.

After a slight crisis trying to find a gas station, we made it safely home for a dinner of leftovers at our house.  It was a long day and a short night for us pregnant ladies, especially since Marley's baby shower was the next day.  And guess who was making the cake?  Good thing working at a bakery taught me how to decorate quickly.  It wasn't done as well as I'd like it to be, but it was cute, matched the invite, and tasted great (lemon cake with raspberry filling).

Thanks, Carlos & Marley, for a fantastic trip!