serif's blog: Serif's First Birthday!

We took Serif to Chattanooga for his birthday. In order to make the trip, we had to take Helmut to Pop's house for the day so he could watch him for us. On the way out we had to stop and get gas and put air in one our tires. I think Serif enjoyed having Helmut in the car with us for that short amount of time.

Once we got to Pop's house, Serif was able to get out and stretch and play before making the 2 hour trip. He loves playing with the cat, In The Way, here they are in looking out the den door.

Then, Pops went back to the bedroom and came back with something special for Serif . . . MONEY! A big stack of ones! Thanks Grandpa! Serif loved it! (This photo blurred, but I can't not post it!)

When Serif started to eat the money Grandpa gave him, we decided it was time to go to IHOP for breakfast. We were seated right away and Serif got some crayons and a fun little placemat to color. Since Serif has never really colored before, Daddy had to help show him the ropes.

Daddy also had to show Serif that crayons weren't for writing on pants, but should only be used on paper.

Once we finished our art and breakfast, we hit the road for our 2 hour tour to Chattanooga. The drive was beautiful with fall leaves and the 2 hours passed very quickly. It was the perfect time for Serif to take his morning nap so he would wake up fresh and ready to tour the Aquarium!

We arrived at the hotel and Serif was all rested up, just as we hoped. He was in a great mood and loved the lighting in the elevator lobby.

Once we got checked in we strolled down the street a few blocks to the Aquarium. We didn't realize before this before arriving, but there are actually 2 buildings that make up the aquarium out there. One is ocean life and the other is river life. We decided to hit the ocean life first.

We got there had had to go up the escalator to the 4th floor to start the tour. Once we got up there it opened up to this rain forest type space. Serif's head immediately faced up to the sky. We love it when he does this. We so rarely look up in life anymore and it's cool that he reminds us that there are things going on all around us, not just at eye level or down at our feet.

The butterfly garden was beautiful! He loved watching them fly everywhere while daddy photographed. He was mesmerized!

Serif was starting to get tired and it was also past time for lunch. So we walked a block up to the Redriver restaurant where we all ate lunch. We ordered a slice of carrot cake for Serif for dessert so we could celbrate with sugar! Our server was kind enough to serve it with a candle on top especially for Serif. He also volunteered to take a family photo. He was so nice.

Serif was glued to the flame (as you can see) and was so curious. Once we blew it out for him, we let him dig in. Serif always handles things very delicately when they're new and unfamiliar. It was the same with the cake at first. One fingertip at a time to begin with, then the next thing you know he's squishing in to his mouth.

After lunch we knew Serif would need a nap before seeing the river life aquarium so we went walking through the sculpture garden and across the bridge to the art district.

Just before we headed back across the bridge, Serif woke up from his nap. There was a river boat that started the Mighty Wurlitzer organ and played the most beautiful music. It was one of those things that helped make our trip memorable. It was so classic and reminded us of Cincinnati. Funny too because we later found out that the boat is based out of Cincinnati. Hmm. Do you see the guy at the front of the boat playing the organ? Look between the 2 red circles.

Once we got back across the river, we whirled through the river life aquarium. Serif enjoyed that just as much as the ocean one. It was so sweet to see him so content with these enormous fish tanks.

His favorite part of the aquarium was the stingrays. He tried really hard to touch one, but the one chance he had he was looking the other way. Shoot. Oh well, maybe next time. He also loved the octopus sculpture in the center of the pool.

The aquarium closes at 6:00pm so we pretty much stayed until they were closing their doors. Actually, we think they were having a Halloween party and show for kids because as we were leaving there were lots of kids in costume and the fish tanks were beginning to cover in spider webs. Looked like fun, but it was time for dinner. So, we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up and figure out a place to go for dinner. What a fun time we've had!

Once we got back to the hotel, we realized that the drive out to Chattanooga wasn't so bad, so we checked out and headed home. We stopped at the Cracker Barrel just outside the city and had dinner. Serif and Daddy had lots of fun.

Once we got home, we were able to show Serif his new book that he got in the art district. It's The Night Before Christmas Shadow Book! Each page has an image on transparent paper that you shine a light through to the wall. The image is then reflected on the wall for story time! How fun! Look closely at the photo and you'll see Santa!