Play Studio Fun

Step aside Picasso.....

Hallie and Aaron are in the house.

The two little tots had a day full of fun and creativity last weekend. My friend and cousin Matt's wife, Amy, had invited Hallie and I to join her and cousin Aaron for a day of fun at Unpluggits play studio in Edmond. We jumped at the chance as I love it when the two cousins get to play together and I have found that I love Amy's company more and more each time we get to hang out. Hallie rarely has the chance to "hang out" with kids her own age (besides daycare of course) so the day had me smiling from ear to ear....as was she. Hallie and I hit the road early last Saturday morning around 8:00. Fifty potty stops later we had arrived at Matt and Amy's house where Hallie was greeted by Aaron and was given a sweet birthday gift to open. The two got acclimated to one another for a bit before we decided to go grab a bite to eat. Amy just so happens to share my LOVE for Chipotle so I was beyond pleased with her choice for lunch. The kiddos didn't seem to mind a bit either.....

Hallie and Aaron could not have been more cooperative during lunch...I'm thinking that my Lil Red shares my love for Chipotle. Good girl. Amy happened to have two carseats in her car so all four of us were able to ride together. Listening to their jibber jabber and "conversation" in the backseat was possibly the cutest thing I've ever heard. At one point they had a convo that consisted of the word "no" for a good couple minutes. So much catching up to do I suppose. The talking ended from that point on.....it was time for something serious.......PLAYTIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Serious. Playtime. The two toe-headed cuties had the time of their lives from the moment we stepped foot in the play studio until we said goodbye. Of course it wouldn't be a day of fun without plenty of pictures to prove it. Amy and I probably looked like a couple of mamarazzis creeping around the place with our cameras in hand (ok, maybe I was the creeper but it's only because she forgot her big camera, hehe). 

Here's a short recap of their day:

Baby jail was a very appealing place. They spent a bit of time in here mostly trying to figure out how to escape.....

"How do I bust outta this joint?"

"Right this way cuzzo!"

They explored the stairs, slides, tubes and tunnels.....

The train table was pretty enticing.....

I think the mommy's favorite moment was when they put their creative skills to work at the art table.....

Not gonna lie though, this paranoid freakazoid momma was showing some signs of my mess-avoidance anxiety (I've just coined that term by the way). Lots of wet paint sloshing in messy paint cups, baby hands and arms covered in a multitude of colors and two beautiful masterpieces later. Somehow, by the grace of God, we left with clean clothes.

Cute. Cute. Cute.

Lil Red used lots of reds.....

And Lil Orange used lots of orange....

When it came time to clean up I firmly believe that my daughter had a strong case of mess-avoidance anxiety. It happens to the best of us....

Nothin' that a good wash off in the sink won't fix.....

I almost forget dress-up! That was a big hit!

"Never fear, the crossing guard is here"

Air hockey was a learning experience and may or may not have ended in Hallie's one outburst of the day....

Watching one-man checkers taught me a lot....

Here lies our attempt at a cousin picture. I'll tell you right now that it's hard to wrangle up these two busy tots. So what did we use? Food. But as you can see it still didn't quite work well. Banana-savoring in progress.....

Here's a quick picture tour of Unpluggits.....

Wowza!!!! No major meltdowns (just a few little falls) and two happy mommas. The two cuties had worked up quite an appetite by mid-afternoon but were surprisingly still going around 3:00.....

Tiny pizza chefs

We said goodbye to the play studio and the four of us headed back to Amy and Matt's house and snuck in a little bit more playtime before we hit the road....

"Pretty successful day, huh cuz?"

I'm so very thankful to have an adventurous momma friend who brings my attention to fun, new things. I know that we will be repeating a trip to Edmond sooner rather than later. And here is our attempt at a group picture. This one makes me laugh. Aaron was busy tellin' his mommy about something important and Hallie looks like she's staring at a fly.....

The ride home wasn't too bad. Although she didn't take a long nap like I'd assumed she would. I think she was still too excited to sleep......

Lovin' life! 

(she's got a death grip on her new zoo animals from Aaron)