Babies to the Max: Hotlanta Birthday

The only redeeming quality of a January birthday is that Jason's coincides with a three-day holiday weekend (or four days if your school has an unused snow day!) The bright lights of the big city lured us in, but it wasn't "New Yoke City" (as Sarah calls it) this time, but rather the big city closer to home: Atlanta!

Tall buildings, the subway, a lego store...all the perks of city life, none of the travel hassles. Usually.

Good Morning, Hotlanta! Or Cold-Lanta.

Georgia Aquarium

My Sillies

Sarah was THRILLED to wear her shirt with the penguin in a birthday hat, thus being appropriately attired for both the aquarium and Daddy's birthday. Honestly, where do my kids get this desire to match their clothing to the activity? I'm sure it has nothing to do with Mommy. She kept sticking her belly out to display the shirt properly.

Fish of every size, shape, and color!

Jellyfish or UFO?

Who knew you could go under the sea in the city?

Into the deep!

Fake Nemo sings the hits, including "Twinkle Twinkle"

The highlight of the Aquarium was the new dolphin show. Tickets are required and you are encouraged to arrive early to obtain a "dry" seat. Naturally, Sarah waited until about 2 minutes before the show started to inform me that she needed to go potty. We stayed seated and crossed our fingers instead, wondering if we would have a "wet" seat despite being in the dry zone. The production drama was overdone and the fake thunder scared Sarah, but the dolphins were amazing! Max's mouth was hanging open throughout the show! And the big girl continued her successful dry streak, although she commented, "Those dolphins made a mess!" when she saw the water on the floor by the tank.

Petting tank

"Let's go find those penguins!"

"Hi, penguin! Here I am! I am Sarah!"

Cityscape

Eating like a native

Usually one hot dog can cover two kids because Sarah only wants the bun and Max only wants the hot dog. But not this time! Sarah chowed down on the whole thing!

Olympic Flame

The Greenville Hillbillies provided quite the entertainment to the hotel staff. First we roll in with a car overflowing with toys, snacks, and luggage for that long, long car trip to Atlanta. Then the bellman unloading the car for us inquired if the portable potty needed to go inside. And they found it hilarious that we had two adjoining rooms, one with two queen beds for our two children, yet still felt compelled to bring a pack-and-play along in case Sarah was intimidated by the big bed. Sigh. Traveling with children.

The kids were super excited to see that one bathtub had a great view of the city and the other bathtub had it's own tv! Such luxury! Max was also delighted to discover the telephone beside the toilet. He asked for some privacy while he used the bathroom and said, "Don't worry, I won't call anyone."

Couldn't wait to try out the pool!

Check out those moves!

Atlanta may be superior to NYC in one area: Legos. Legoland Discovery Center has rides, activities, and play areas all conveniently located next to the store where you can buy sets!

Lego Man x 2

Unsurprisingly, Max weighs very little in bricks just like he does in pounds.

Atlanta by Legos

"Hey, we just saw that!"

Sarah was unimpressed.

Trying out the rides.

It's fun, but no Disney World.

Off to the movies!

Lego in 4D

Making Friends

Exploring

The Play Zone

Is it really necessary to have "girl" Legos? Aren't Legos gender neutral?

Now she's perking up! Dogs always make her happy!

Max used the money had had been saving to buy a car transporter. He spent forever examining the boxes and determining which set had the most pieces for the cost. So frugal! Sarah got her first Lego set. She also discovered how the Legos are stored in the store. And it wasn't even the pink ones. Take that, Lego marketing.

Bath or Swim?

Room Service for Daddy's Birthday

(Note that the sun is not up yet)

Baby, it's cold out there!

The little old lady clutching her purse on the subway so no one can steal it!

Riding MARTA

The Center for Puppetry Arts

We saw the show "Stan the Snowman" and it was very impressive! Max was eager to see the puppets and has been fascinated with snowmen since watching the movie "Frozen'. However, Sarah was younger than the recommended age for the show, so we weren't sure how she would do. They both were mesmerized, as were Mommy and Daddy! It was incredible what two performers could do with a cast of puppets. The show was worth the trip to Atlanta!