This post will help you make the decision to move to PIttsburgh

Danielle and Ava came down for the day and we headed over to The Children's Museum. Eliot and I checked it out a few weeks ago, but we only scratched the surface in terms of exploring all the place has to offer.

Basically, it's bananas. Off the chain. O.O.C. Bonkers.

There is so much to do. We spent nearly five hours there and probably only made it to half of the exhibits. Everything is completely hands on. Both kids had an absolute blast. Danielle and I had fun watching them play and explore, and we were completely and totally exhausted by the time we left.

The 'Nursery' is completely toddler friendly. There was lots of actual nursing going on as moms of toddlers and newborns hung out and chatted. There is a super-sized Light Bright wall. Eliot spent some time viciously ripping pegs out of smaller toddlers hands. Good times.


Eliot was really into all the puppets and marionettes and insisted that I take pictures of many of them. His favorite was the Tin Man:

In case you were wondering, he can totally say 'marionette'.

Ava was really into this birdseed table. She must have happily played here for 40 minutes while Eliot bounced all over the place like a pinball.

There's a huge art studio where kids can paint, screenprint, and make paper, collages, and block prints. It's incredible. Eliot went right to work on a couple of painted masterpieces while Ava went for volume and tried everything.

So that's what paint tastes like.

We headed to the third floor waterplay area and the kids suited up. Ava was all ready to go in her galoshes, but lucky for Eliot they provide rubber shoes for all the kids. Fingers crossed he doesn't end up with athlete's foot.


They spent the rest of the visit splashing around.


No visit would be complete without a book or two.



My only complaint about Pittsburgh so far, other than the coldness of some native Pittsburghers, is that all of the attractions are really expensive. As in, they cost anything at all, which is the opposite of the Free Zoo, Free Science Centre, Free Art Museum, and Cheap Botanical Garden (free to us when Justin worked there) we had in St. Louis. Nothing is free here, and free days are apparently rare and completely crowded and overwhelming. So instead of complaining, we bought a membership so we can go a couple of times a month. Or in our case, twice in three days, as my sister-in-law Courtney and nephew Riley are coming down tomorrow to go where else? The Children's Museum.