Touch-A-Truck

I took both Claire and James to the Alpharetta Touch-a-Truck event on April 28 (an assortment of large and interesting vehicles on display for children and families to explore).  I had signed up to help show off the EPA Mobile Command Post (known to Claire as the "big E-P-A Tuk!") but hadn't thought about the baby shower that Mommy had volunteered weeks earlier to help with.  So, rather than cancel, I tried to do both.

Thank goodness for helpful coworkers because this ended up being a terrible idea and we didn't spend too much time at the E-P-A Tuk anyway.

Claire likes to walk around now but I was nervous about having her and James by himself in a crowd; so we finally got the backpack/leash to keep her close. She actually likes it and wears it around the house once in a while.

The EPA MCP was on display and drew quite a crowd despite being relegated to to the back corner. We ran out of stickers before it was half over and a few people probably came back just for the air conditioning.

Probably not the place you want to photograph your child, but it was cute how she just ran towards it and climbed right in. Actually, this was the only vehicle that she climbed into and was terrified the rest of the time.

After getting a "no" about asking her to touch or climb into any other vehicle, I finally got her to take two steps into a bus (I think this was the fully electric one, it was pretty neat) long enough to take a picture. Unfortunately, she turned around and cried half a second after this photo was snapped.

Bubbles! When truck horns are making James jump and the Chick-fil-A Cow is about to give Claire nightmares, nothing calms them down like hundreds of bubbles in front of a rolling Waffle House.

Forget the trucks. Claire had the most fun of the day on the swing with Hannah. We ran into the Reams' and the Roddas at the event, which is pretty impressive considering the crowd.

These two are pretty cute together. They were squealing with delight back and forth.

Claire loves picnics. James likes being outside. This is a winning combination!

James is getting pretty mobile and can scoot to the edge of the blanket faster than I can turn my head from checking the cooler. Before I know it, he's got a handful of grass that he's pulling on and his mouth is wide open ready to receive the treat.  I intercepted it just in time and he was neither disappointed nor discouraged from trying again.

All in all it was a pretty fun day. Claire wouldn't go anywhere near the vehicles despite continually asking for the fire trucks. However, she felt extremely comfortable in the EPA MCP and actually sat in the driver's seat next to one of my coworkers for a little bit. James was on his best behavior and sat either in the stroller, the baby bjorn, or the backpack. He took two naps and ate all of his bottle, and never really fussed about anything.  Maybe I wasn't much help as a volunteer but I'd have to say that the day's outing was pretty successful.