Most of you know I gave birth to our daughter Brielle about a month ago. The last trimester of my pregnancy and post partum recovery took me out y’all! I left most of the “fun-time” with our boys ages 3 and 5 to my husband. I was physically drained with backaches, exhaustion, contractions, swollen feet and my post partum woes included difficulty sitting down the first week as well as sleep deprivation from nursing all night long.
My husband being the good man that he is, filled in the gaps taking the kids to the park at 7:30 am to let me sleep in, giving them swim lessons in the backyard, picking them up and taking them to school as well as taking them to church by himself. By the time I started feeling like myself again I had less than two weeks less of summer vacation to spend with my sons who I missed terribly before the start of a new school year!
God’s mercy is great! That’s why I wanted to share a few local adventures I’ve been able to do with all three of my kids- even newborn Brielle who’s been rolling with her brothers having fun! Thanks to my Ergo baby carrier getting around really has been easy. I use my nursing cover to walk and breastfeed her on our adventures. So here’s how I’ve been spending quality time with the best big brothers I know.
Travel Town Train Museum
Our first adventure took us to Travel Town Train Museum in Griffith Park. My son Blake is a train enthusiast and he’s been loving this place since his second birthday. What I love about it is it’s free and the boys can run and be loud and explore all the vintage trains their little hearts desire. We also rode the train ride a few times. There’s a few places to play with train toys and a nice gift shop. My aunt met us there- the weather was just right. Brielle slept the entire time expect to nurse once. That adventure gave me the confidence to keep going with the summer fun with newborn Brielle along for the ride.
Next Stop …. Huntington Library
Here’s what I love about the Huntington- it’s a massive botanical garden with something for everyone and children under 4 get in free. The kids love the children’s garden from which you enter through a magical turquoise door. There is tons of water play inside the children’s garden which is a perfect way to cool off this almost unforgivable summer heat. There’s also the Brody Botanical Center which is kind of like an indoor tropical jungle. We wandered through the Chinese Garden and felt like we were in another space and time.
By the time I got to the Rose Garden the kids were sleepy and a little wild so we packed up and went home. But there’s so much more to explore here and if you go with your girlfriends be sure to have tea in their tea room- the scones and crustless sandwiches are such a delight.
Indoor Museums
I noticed Brielle was getting a heat rash so I decided the next adventure should be indoors. My husband wanted to get in on the fun so we took the kids to the Southern California Children’s Museum in Pasadena where they had a blast experimenting with puppets, pretend snow, racecars, castles, a jump house and much more. Oh don’t forget to shine bright and take a picture on the photo wall!
As I write this there are 6 more days left before school starts. We are planning to visit Noah’s Ark Museum at the Skirball, go to the Mommy Movies ( yes the mommy movies is a real thing where the theater caters to new moms- lots of breastfeeding, a changing table and strollers in the theater!) and take the kids to lunch at one of those restaurants where the chef prepares the food right in front of you with fire and lots of entertainment.
Time waits on no one. I am grateful for almost two weeks devoted to lavish my love and attention on my boys who have adjusted well to their roles as big brother to a sister. Would you all pray that my kids have a great school year? I’ll pray the same for your babies
