The Woodlands Children's Museum

In early September, Jeff and I took Luke to a children's paradise called The Woodlands Children's Museum. It is such an amazing place and admission is so cheap. I can't believe we didn't make use of it in the first 2 months we were living in Spring! It's only 20 minutes away from Jeff's parent's house, but it's more than 40 minutes away from our new house in Cypress. Oh well, it will be a great place to go with Grandma and Grandpa when we visit!

This cute little car track/table is in a gated off toddler area. Also, notice the adorable curly-haired kid next to Luke. I couldn't get enough of that hair!

Multitasking.

Luke carried the two train cars in his hands all over the toddler area. He refused to put them down for the longest time.

Luke was eying this cute little girl and then, she decided to come over and make the first move (check out her left hand)!

Climbing all over the toddler area obstacles.

Building blocks

Still not relinquishing his claim on those train cars.

Luke was fascinated by the spinning ferris wheel inside the fish tank. He loved the fish too. And check out that beautiful rainbow magic happening in the background.

This little girl's name is Chandler. Good thing she's cute! Luke didn't feel like sharing with her.

After Daddy talked to him, he reconsidered.

Luke loves to snuggle soft stuffed animals.

Luke could have spent all day in the toddler play place alone! Blocks, books, toys, things to climb on, train tables, a fish tank, a slide - what more could a 14-month old ask for? But it was only a small part of the museum and probably the least exciting part!

This is a real truck cut off behind the cab and attached to the wall. It was by far Luke's favorite part of the museum. He couldn't understand why we didn't let him drive when we got into our car in the parking lot at the end of the day.

Luke was overjoyed that he could steer and push all of the buttons. They even had a key in the ignition that he could turn.

He cried so hard when we took him out of the truck to let someone else have a turn.

Sciiience (a la Nacho Libre).

This is candid and my husband is hot.

Indoor sand boxes! With awesome sand toys! Luke loved this!

This board is huge and it is a magnetic surface. All of the gears are magnetic so they can be moved and arranged as desired. Luke got frustrated when a little girl came over and started to spin one so that they all spun and he couldn't move them around anymore.

So we moved on to one of the cutest parts of this spectacular place: the mini food market! Kids can walk around and fill their kid-size shopping cart with plastic food and then take it to the check out counter and play for it with fake money. So fun!

Luke needed two carts to hold the contents of his extensive grocery list.

Getting cash at the 'ATM'

Waiting in line (sort of) at check out.

Next, we hit the fire station. Notice the fire pole in the background.

What an adorable (and manly) little fireman!

Making the necessary adjustments to the pump panel

Luke could have spent forever at any one station, but Jeff and I were anxious to see it all so we kept him moving. Next, we tried out the 'sand' box filled with chopped rubber. Luke loved shoveling the rubber bits into dump trucks and buckets, but he did not enjoy the rubber getting stuck between his toes.

See those rubber bits flying by and pelting Luke in the arm? Those are courtesy of Jeff. He was trying to annoy Luke and get his attention, but Luke was much too focused on the task at hand to care.

Puppets! Luke giggled and giggled.

Jeff is the man behind the puppet show magic.

Luke particularly loved the adorable blue puppet guy with the purple hair.

The puppet master's identity revealed!

My little climber. He just can't help himself.

This picture was taken immediately after Luke slipped through the bars of the exit gate, the purpose of which is to keep the children from escaping. This boy cannot be contained!

We retrieved Luke from the exit area, revisited a few of our favorite stations (mostly Luke's favorite - the truck), and finished with the water tables.

Luke was so excited to get to play in water. And this station had little rubber aprons and boots to wear and a towel pinned up with a cute over-sized clip at the exit. So well thought out!

There were a bunch of little fishing poles to catch magnetized sea creatures. Luke was so excited and proud of himself when he caught a fish.

What a wonderful place! And there are even a few more stations geared toward kids a little older than Luke. Obviously, I highly recommend this place! Luke was all tuckered out on the ride home after a great day of playing.