Austin Children's Museum

Poor little Jackson, when we got to Austin and checked into our hotel, we were only 15 minutes away from Lauren and Jon's house. 45 minutes of frustrating traffic later, we finally made it to their house. Jackson was in so much pain that he was running around their house with his head cocked to one side. As hilarious as it was to watch, Steven and I both felt like awful parents! It was really apparent that my "straight-shot" mentality when it came to driving long distances was not going to work with a toddler along for the ride.

The next morning, even though we only had about an hour drive to Steven's aunt's house, we decided to stop by the Austin Children's Museum for some play time.


Guess what?! He loved it! They had slides, stairs, games, blocks, story time, and so many other fun activities! The best part for me (other than this gigantic grin) was seeing how much the staff members cared about the kids and cared about the facility. I love knowing that people care about Jackson (and other kids) having a good time in a safe environment!


I always appreciate when we go someplace that has a designated area for young children. Sadly, sometimes these areas are just a holding cell for younger siblings. But not this one! The activities were well-planned and designed for little, curious minds with clumsy, excited hands. One of Jackson's favorite activities was going in and out of the gate. He would go to the latch, show me his sign for please, and when I opened the gate he would exit, wait for me to follow him, and then close the door behind us. He must have gone in and out of that area a hundred times.


I was so impressed... and so was Jackson! He kept coming back to this area and exploring every little spot possible. I was worried that my active little explorer might be too much for the little little ones, but he was very gentle and steered clear of the younger kids.


There was also a big kid area, complete with baskets (Jackson's favorite!) and buttons to push! Jackson was hanging in pretty well, but I still kept a much closer eye on him than when he was in the toddler area. One thing Jackson did not like was that Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let him take toys from one area to another. Sorry Jacks, but I don't think the museum staff would appreciate your decorating style - we'll save that for the playroom.


Our plan worked! Look at this exhausted face! Jackson slept all the way from downtown Austin to his great-aunt Kathy's front door. He also didn't have the horrible crick in his neck and had plenty of energy to chase the four (!!!!) doggies at their house - too exciting!

As if I hadn't praised the Austin Children's Museum enough in this post, we highly recommend it if you live in the Austin area or need a play break on your way through!