Port Discovery Play Date

I love taking Blake out (if you haven't already noticed) during the day to play and explore new places. Keeping his little body moving and his brain train chuggin' is very important to me. If I keep him home, I feel like we do the same things over and over again which is totally fine but I personally don't like being cooped up.

Yesterday, our good friends, Stephanie and Max, invited us out to play at Port Discovery! Port Discovery is a wonderful, three-level play museum located in the heart of Baltimore. The intention is to allow kids to get moving, play and learn all at the same time. It was ranked one of the top 10 Children's Museums in the U.S. by Forbes in 2012! How lucky are we to live so close to it?! :)

At first I thought it would be too crazy for Blake to play there since he's not even walking on his own, but I think he thoroughly enjoyed himself. He fell asleep in the car on the way up so he had his usual 20-30 minute morning nap. I was able to pump and give him a little extra time to sleep after I parked. (Milk-making is my other part time job!) When he woke up, he acted like he knew where we were. He was so happy and giddy and I knew he was ready to play!

Port Discovery had a room just for kids under the age of three so Blake was able to explore without being knocked down. *whew* What a relief for mommy! There was a tumble area, huge peg board, sandbox, reading area, forest jungle gym area, and an interactive play mat. Definitely tons to do!!

After some time in the Tots Trail room, we went to the Water Works room. Port Discovery has raincoats for kids to wear because it's like playing in a mini water park. There are hoses that kids can spray each other with but there is also a separate little area for kids under the age of one. So we put a raincoat on Blake, rolled up his sleeves, and sat him down in the hook-on infant chair. He was able to reach into the water table and play with some toys that were already provided. The water was a little cold but Blake loves the water so his curiosity definitely peaked.

When the kids are finished playing in the water, they hang up their raincoats and stand in front of a huge wall of blowdryer hoses. You push a button and a heat lamp comes on while the air starts drying the kids. Such a fun idea! It got a little crowded so I didn't keep Blake there too long. I ended up just changing his clothes to get him nice and comfy before going back out into the cold.

We spent about two hours there and would totally go back again! Once Blake was strapped in his carseat, he fell asleep. It was almost immediate! We got home and he slept for two more hours! Mommy-jaw-dropping-moment!! :) We had such a great time and we're so glad we got to spend more time with Stephanie and Max. Can't wait to go back again soon!