A date with Madelyn

I swear as soon as the weather got warm out, Madelyn was begging to go to the aquarium.  No, we don't need it to be warm out for that, but we just haven't been since last summer.  It was a rare request from her and, because it has been so pretty, I've been putting it off.  I do LOVE sea animals but after a few visits, it kinda gets redundant. I'd much rather spend our beautiful days at parks and beaches and well.... anything that is completely outside. 

Today, however, began with rain... So, when she woke up and asked about the aquarium, I told her that when it quit raining we'd go.  (Yes, I knew it was going to stop.  I was not trying to get out of going.)  To pass the time, we did a few crafts.  With today being the first day of March, we decided to make a fruit loop rainbow into a pot of gold and she colored a St. Patty's day printout.  It was STILL raining and she was asking for more artwork, so we then focused on the letter E --it's one that she's having trouble recognizing-- and made a cute elephant and craft stick E!  Finally, the rain ceased and she was the first to notice!

We practically scarfed down our lunch and headed out!  I chose not to call up any of our friends to meet us simply because we've NEVER been to the aquarium by ourselves!  A bit selfish I guess, but things are always so much more relaxed when Madelyn and I go on outings by ourselves.  We do enjoy our friends and family, we do.  Honest.  It's just.....sometimes we enjoy our "dates".  The times where we have no schedule, no places to go, no obligations at all and no one to please but ourselves... 
Which brings me to the point of this post:

If you have a child, I highly recommend taking a day here or there (even if you're a dad) to spend one on one time with him or her.  A day that is truly focused on what your child is saying and doing.  It is so much fun getting to hang out and enjoy what your child is enjoying at the moment.  Days like today are my favorite! 

This is the first time we actually stopped at every exhibit and talked about almost every animal there!  We sat and watched a "show" where the worker was diving into one of the tanks, followed a turtle along the wall, found Nemo, laughed at the Otters (my favorite), talked to the ducks, stopped for a snack, "pet" the starfish and so much more!  We truly enjoyed ourselves... Nothing makes me happier than seeing Madelyn's eyes light up and a big smile on her face :)