Married to Ginger: air & space museum

Last month we took a family outing to the Air & Space Museum. One of the best parts about living here is having access to so many great experiences. It's fun that Charlie is just now getting old enough to really enjoy some of these things. I'm excited to do more exploring as the boys get older. We planned in advance to go on a weekday when Jon could be out of the office for a morning. We opted to go to the auxiliary location near Dulles airport, which is less crowded, easier to navigate, and has the added bonus of watching live planes land and takeoff.

Charlie is really into planes and helicopters these days so we thought now would be a fun time to take him (especially while we could still take advantage of Leo being in his sleepy baby phase). I knew Charlie would be excited, but I think we still managed to underestimate his excitement level. He started pointing with glee as soon as we walked in the door and didn't stop for roughly 1.5 hours. He especially like the helicopters and didn't hesitate to show off his helicopter sign language and accompanying helicopter noise.

As if the museum portion hadn't already blown his mind, our last stop was the observation tower. It's the original air traffic control tower for Dulles so it provides an excellent view of incoming and departing planes. Even on an overcast day, it made his every toddler dream come true.

The only downside was the car ride home. Even armed with jelly beans that I was doling out one by one, we lost Charlie to sleep about halfway home. I reached back and knew we were in trouble when no sticky little hand emerged to grab the jelly bean I was holding. I think that car nap messed up his nights and naps for a couple of days, but I'd say it was worth it.

Now please enjoy this gallery of Charlie excitedly pointing at flying objects. :)