Early Works Museum, Kid's Kingdom, and A Valentine's Day Party

We have had a very, very fun past couple of weeks! The weekend of January 29th, we went to the Early Works Museum in downtown Huntsville, and had an AWESOME time! Dawson loved the entire museum, but his favorite area was called Biscuit's Backyard which was just for kids his age. It is themed around a dog named Biscuit. It was adorable...there was a play store, post office, tree house, barn, garden, house with front porch, and much more! There was also an area with running water, plastic fish, and nets where children could catch the fish. When we got there Dawson just ran from thing to thing; he was so excited! After spending over an hour in Biscuit's Backyard we decided to see the rest of the museum, and Dawson loved it as well. There was a kids construction area that had giant tinker toys. John built a fort to put Dawson in, and Dawson thought it was hilarious! Dawson was even interested in the educational areas for older kids. I had packed a lunch for our family because the museum has an indoor picnic area. Dawson had fun picnicking inside, and after lunch he was ready to explore more of the museum. I thought we would have to leave to come home around noon since he usually naps at 12, but he was having so much fun he didn't even realize he was tired. We stayed for several hours, and then we came home where he took a great nap! We will definitely be going back to Early Works in the future since we ALL had a good time. I love taking Dawson to new and different places like this because it's so fun to watch how excited he gets! I tried to take a lot of pictures, but he was constantly on the move. I have included some below, though.

The next day, Sunday, was a beautiful day. It was sunny and it was around 70-72 degrees outside! So after church and Dawson's nap, we took him to Kid's Kingdom (the outdoor playground at Dublin Park) to play. John had never gotten to go before since we usually go when John is working, and he loved getting to see Dawson be a "big kid" and run, play, and slide on the playground.

This past weekend we were invited to a friends Super Bowl party. We took homemade pretzels (like you can get from Auntie Ann's in the mall) which was my newest experiment with bread making! The Waterbury's who hosted the party had TONS of yummy snacks and food to munch on during the game. Dawson had a great time at the party too! He got to play with his friends Hayden, Ethan, Austin, and Connor during the game.

We have had a couple of play dates recently with one or two other children at a time, but I decided that Dawson needed to have a Valentine's Day Party and invite all of his friends! So we did. It was today. His friends Jude (2), Ethan (2), Austin (2), Hayden (2), and Matthew (20 months) were all able to come! All 6 boys did great playing together with only a couple of tears here and there. I am always impressed at how well this group does together. We played in the playroom for a while and then we had Valentine's snacks. We had sugar cookies, cupcakes, grapes, and gold fish crackers. The kids loved the snacks. After finishing off all the sugar they "exchanged" Valentine's. It was cute, but after a couple of minutes they lost interest! :) We were very thankful to all of our friends for coming, despite the ice and snow that we got last night that is still around. A couple of people were not able to make it because of the roads, so we hope to get together with them for a play date soon! I love watching Dawson interact with his friends, and I took plenty of photos!

Speaking of the weather, last night we got a little over two inches of snow causing the roads to be covered with ice. When John left work to come home about 2:30 this morning his normal 20 minute drive took him almost an hour due to the ice since they don't treat the roads for winter weather here. Thankfully he made it home safely!! It has been a beautiful, sunny day and so now the ice has melted off the roads. We are very ready for warmer weather!

The only other "new" thing going on with us is that I have been learning to sew! Yes, I am 25, and I have never used a sewing machine. I never took home ec. in high school because I never thought I would want/like/care/need to know how to sew. A while back I used my birthday money from the Zorio's (thanks!) to get a basic Singer sewing machine on Black Friday because I had been wanting to learn how to sew little things for Dawson and the house for a while. As much as I wanted to, I didn't allow myself to take it out of the box until after I finished working because I knew I would want to get started sewing rather than work. Two weeks ago, I figured it was the perfect time. In the past two weeks I have taught myself to use the sewing machine, and it's so much fun! I decided I would start by making a basic apron for myself. I enjoyed it, and it went so well that I decided to make a different apron for John's Mom's birthday (yesterday). I am pretty excited with my new found hobby, and I have a few things on my list that I want to make. I honestly never thought I would enjoy sewing, but it's fun making things for myself, others, and the house!

That wraps it up for the Zorio Family right now, but be sure to check back soon because Dawson will be 21 months on Monday/Valentine's Day and I will post an update!

For now, enjoy the pictures below, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Above: All of the mom's at the party decided it would be easiest for

the kids to eat on the kitchen floor (trust me, I didn't force my

guests to eat on the floor-haha!). I thought it was so cute how

they all just sat down with their plates. This is Dawson

and his friend Matthew eating treats!

Above: Look how big all these boys look having snacks on

the floor. All of the kids are pictured here except Hayden.

Above: Dawson and Hayden playing with the Weebles
Tree House.

Above: I was trying to take a picture of all the

kids playing, but Dawson jumped in front of the

camera and made this face. You can barely

see his new tooth (his top right canine) poking

through the gumso I decided to share this picture anyway.

Above: Dawson and Ethan playing trains.

Above: Dawson and Jude talking about the trains.

Above: Dawson and Jude with the trains.

Above: A few of the cupcakes.

Above: Some of the cookies and cupcakes I made for

the Valentine's Party.

Above: A few more sugar cookies I made for the party.

Above: The Valentine's banner.

(Sorry, the lighting was not good. I think it was too bright.)

Above: The snacks and some of the decorations for the party.

Plus, you can see some of the snow out the window in our

backyard.

Above: The newest addition to our home...

these doorknob covers that prevent Dawson from

opening doors. We put the on the doorknob inside

his room to keep him from roaming the house at night

and the door to the garage because he loves to go out

there (weird). This was taken right after I put them on

the doors, and, as you can see, he's not crazy about them!

Above: This is the first apron I made. I love the fabric,

and I have been wearing it when I cook a lot!

Above: I decided to add three buttons on the top waist band

at each side to go with the circles.

Above: This is the apron I made for John's

Mom's birthday.

Above: Dawson and I painted some Valentine's

crafts.

Above: Dawson sliding at the park!

Above: Dawson running through the castle

at Kid's Kingdom!

Above: A quick picture of Dawson and Mommy

before leaving Early Works. He was exhausted!

Above: John building a giant tinker toy fort

around Dawson.

Above: More tinker toy construction.

Above: Dawson checking out the education area

of the museum for older children.

Above: There was a vacuum at Early Works

so Dawson was in heaven!

Above: Dawson and Daddy playing post office

at Early Works.

Above: Dawson and Daddy climbing through

the tree house at Early Works.

Above: Trying to catch fish at Early Works.

Above: Then Daddy put on a puppet show for

Dawson at Early Works. (I'm sure John will

love this photo.)

Above: Dawson had to pick up everything

at Early Works and show us and try it out!

He was so excited with EVERYTHING!

Above: Dawson picking potatoes and gardening

at Early Works. He will be ready to help me in the

garden this spring and summer!

Above: Most of the pictures from Early Works

came out like this because he wouldn't stop moving...

too much to see...too much to do... busy boy!