Our Trip to Baltimore

We took a short trip to Baltimore and returned today. I took the boys down, along with my parents, to see my sister, Eric, and Maddie, and go to the Baltimore Aquarium. We had a great time!

We stayed at in a nice new hotel. The first thing Owen did when we arrived to the hotel was jump on the bed. There was a little couch and he would jump from the couch to the bed while saying, "To infinity and beyond!" That's his latest Buzz Lightyear saying. While we don't allow jumping on beds in our house, we always allow it while staying at a hotel. It's one of the perks :)Tuesday, after we arrived we stopped by Aunt Beth's house and then went to Inner Harbor for lunch before checking into our hotel. After checking in, Owen went for a swim in the pool with Aunt Beth, Eric, and my dad. My mom made sure to choose a hotel with a pool, which was great! After a swim, Owen and Adam took a nap and then we went back to the harbor for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Maddie was able to come along! We took some pictures while we waited to be seated. Our meals were so good, but the portion sizes at that restaurant are enormous and I don't think any of us finished our dinner.

After dinner we walked around a little bit. We were hoping there would be a band or some sort of entertainment, but there wasn't. Owen has really enjoyed the harbor entertainment in the past (if you remember from this post a while back). We decided to go back to the hotel so Owen could go for another swim with Papa Steve and I. He's such a water bug!

It was sooooo hot while we were there. It made our hotel room feel that much better when we came back to it after walking several blocks to and from the harbor!

This morning we got up and headed to the Aquarium as soon as it opened. Owen was pretending to be Buzz Lightyear (again) in this picture. At first, Owen was afraid the sharks were going to eat him, but once he saw them and Eric told him they were "smiling" at him, he LOVED them. In fact, he kept pointing at the sharks saying, "He's smiling at me... he likes me!" Before going to the dolphin show we went back to the sharks and he watched them for about 45 minutes. Adam really enjoyed the aquarium too! He loved the darkness, the colorful fish and lights, and the soothing sounds. He was very content watching and napping in his baby carrier almost the entire time. He did break out the "Pterodactyl" during the dolphin show so I had to get up and walk him around.

One of my favorite things about the aquarium was watching a diver feed the sting rays. We were able to be right up against the glass and the guy was waving to Owen and he also put his hands up against the glass so Owen could do the same. It was really neat to watch.Owen loved the dolphin show despite his funny face. I was so glad he could experience the aquarium. I love it there and could spend an entire day reading all the cool facts and asking tons of questions (I turn into a bit of a dork when I am there- ha!) I can't wait to go back again in a couple years when Adam is older.
After the aquarium we had lunch and then packed up the car so I could get my two, very tired, little guys home! My parents were staying another night so I was on my own for the ride home. Owen fell asleep before we even got out of the city. Adam, on the other hand, screamed for about 45 minutes until he fell asleep. I felt so helpless because there was nowhere to pull over on 83. I don't know how all the mommies out there do it... traveling long distances with little babies without a passenger to help!

Thanks again Lala and Papa Steve for everything!