TUESDAY (5.2.17) evening, my good friend Andrea & I made plans to take our girls to a splash pad in the morning. When WEDNESDAY (5.3.17) came, we packed up Ellie & Rylie and drove towards our destination. When we got there though, the parking lot seemed empty and maintenance guys were walking around. Andrea asked of they were open and the kindly told us they weren’t going to be open until the end of the month.
With an anxious toddler in the backseat, we pulled into a park so Ellie could stretch her legs while I looked on my phone for an alternative. After going over a couple options, we decided the McWane Center in downtown Birmingham would be fun, so we redirected our GPS and drove there.
Since moving here, I’ve heard a lot about the McWane Center, but I’ve never actually been. I walked in and immediately became excited. It reminded me of the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.
They had a little area blocked off for toddlers and babies, so we went in there.
They had a sweet little padded spot that was specifically designed for babies who needed some tummy time. A big mirror on the wall and a padded but firm floor encouraged Rylie to enjoy the activity and she rolled over quite a few times.
They also had a jungle-gym which Ellie was so excited to explore.
In the corner of this toddler town (no joke, they had little buildings like a town (car shop, grocery store, restaurant, etc) and each building had an activity for them to do) was a water center where water came out in different styles. I tried to get Rylie to run her hands under it, but she wasn’t sure about it so we mostly watched Mommy do it.
Before we needed to leave for naps, we headed to a little aquarium they had. There wasn’t much, but Ellie was frantically running between each tank, pointing and then running to the next one 🙂
