Zoo

Over the weekend the weather was beautiful here (mid 70's). Walter and I decided to take X to the zoo. He'd never been and the last time Walter and I went was who knows when. We also had free tickets to get into the children's area (thank you Andrea!) that were about to expire.

In an effort to keep the outing budget friendly we packed our lunches, took our children's area tickets (general admission to the zoo is always free) and headed out. In a stroke of luck we found a FREE parking space directly across from the $11 parking lot - SCORE!!

Overall we had a great time just being together as a family, enjoying the nice weather, and getting some exercise. I'm not sure that the animals held up their part of the bargain though. It was actually hard to see them in a lot of exhibits and when you did see them, more often than not they were just laying down chillin. Where's the excitement in that, huh? Oh well.

Here's Walter's attempt to take my picture with X since he says I complain that I'm mostly behind the camera. Um, not our best shot -- X is drinking and could care less, and I look like a hoosier with my white tank top (where is fall already? -- this baby is making me grow out of all my summer maternity stuff)

This is what we mostly saw of animals. Lot's of relaxin! This is a bushdog (whatever that is??)

X did seem to enjoy the fish. At least they swim around!

And you can't really miss the elephants, cause, ya know, they're HUGE!

At one point X was walking and just stopped, put his hands up, and starting turning circles amongst the crowds. These are the times that I wonder what exactly is going through his mind. But, he was happy to just spin and jibber jabber something we couldn't understand.

Oh yeah, and to eat snacks too. I think that was REALLY his favorite part of the zoo experience!

We stopped by the primate house and told X that "this is where the 5 little monkey live". He seemed a bit confused (maybe because there was no bed?)

I was excited to see the giraffes. They are pretty neat.

X didn't exactly share my feelings for the giraffes.

That look (and the accompanying whine) told us it was time to stop for lunch. We found a nice table in the shade and ate our PB&J sandwiches.

Then it was off to the children's area. By far the favorite spot was the fountains. X loves fountains.

Our last stop in the children's area was the big slide. X thought it was pretty neat to go down with daddy. But we quickly figured out that adults are a little big for this slide.

We tried to send X down by himself and that ended in disaster. I should have known this since X has a thing about enclosed slides (they kinda freak him out). So he stopped himself midway in the slide and just cried. I had to coax him to the bottom and even send a little boy up the slide to help pull him along. Once off the slide he went into full meltdown and clearly it was time to head to the the car.

It's Good To Have Friends With Nice Cameras

Thanks to our friends the Curry's I now have a decent picture for my side bar. Thank you Curry's!!!!

Brian took some pictures for us with their spiffy camera before they skipped town. (They moved, and don't even get me started on how sad I am about that!) We all have our eyes open and are smiling. It's like a miracle! Plus, it happens to look sort of fall-ish I think with the tree, the lighting, and the brown in the clothing.

I can now rest easy. Cause you know, a good family pic for your blog is what life is all about, right?

In the Still of the Morning

It's Sunday morning just before 8am. I'm the only one up, laying on the couch with the laptop. Amazingly, X is working on 12+ hours of sleep. The house is quiet...except for a low vibration and a barely audible musical tone. It's a toy, and it's going off somewhere in the house, and I have no idea WHERE or WHAT it is! I've heard this musical/vibrating combo before, but can't put my finger on what specific toy it's from. Plus the fact that I just barely here it means it's probably buried deep under a bunch of other stuff.

This is gonna drive me nuts!

I Couldn't Take It Anymore

If I had to look at the "squinty eye family" (the family picture on my right sidebar) anymore I was going to scream. You know, cause I love it so much. So, I took it down and put up some random flower picture that I found on the laptop for now.

There, I feel better.....

X and I went to ATL last weekend. Still sorting through my pics. Those posts are to come (and will be more exciting than this one!)

Happy Friday!

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday

Finally, a decent smile to post!

These are 2 of X's favorite things - "butterfly" and "little red hammer".

For some reason they have become a team and he prefers to hold them at the same time, hold them up in the air, and have you announce what they are.

Silly kid!

After Nap

Sometimes the time in between when X gets up from a nap and when Walter comes home from work seems to drag.............on................forever! It's not always enough time to pack up and go anywhere and lately it's been pretty hot in the afternoons so we can't really play outside either.

We usually have a snack and I marvel at what outfit combination X is usually in by this point of the day. What, do polar bear Jammie pants and an orange tank top not go together? (As a side note, I love these Jammie pants. They've made it on my blog several times. I bought them for $1 at Goodwill and they are so soft. But, Walter has pointed out many times now that they are becoming more and more like skin tight leggings as X grows and I'm gonna have to put them in the "too small" pile VERY soon. Aw shucks!)



The other day it was raining when X got up from his nap so I decided to let him go at it with the pots and pans and mixing bowls as an afternoon activity. It was a hit. He played with this stuff for a good 30-40 minutes straight. He was so serious about it too. He would NOT crack a smile and would NOT look at the camera. It's as if he couldn't be bothered.

So I decided to smile for him. Here's me sitting on the kitchen floor with the pile of pans he stacked on my lap.

I think the flash hit my pasty white skin a little to harshly -- yikes!

Trampoline

Last weekend we went to a BBQ at a neighbor's house and there was a trampoline. I hadn't expected X to like it since he's often hesitant of new things, but I quickly realized I was wrong. HE LOVED IT! We had to make sure he was only on there by himself or with other little kids so he didn't get trampled, but he had a blast. Sorry kid, we're not getting one, but feel free to get your fix across the street anytime!

Another thing they had at this BBQ was a Ball Pit. Great idea as well, and now I totally want one for our basement. I think it would be so much fun for X to play in this winter when our outside time will be quite limited. I found an inflatable kiddie pool on clearance and now I just need to find a good deal on the balls. I'm keeping an eye on Craigslist and trying to scour the internet for sales.

Deal Of The Day

My kid has fat feet. So, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find shoes that will fit him. Being the economical shopper that I am I don't want to spend a lot of money on shoes he'll only wear for a few months. X currently only has 2 pairs of shoes that fit - white tennis shoes and Elmo sandals. After the other day's mudin episode, I took a good look at his tennis shoes as I cleaned them up. They have almost no tread left and I even found a hole in one corner of the sole. I felt bad. The kid should have decent shoes. But, what's a girl to do when summer is on it's way out? It's a little to early for dark shoes (come on, he has to have some fashion sense) but do I really want to buy more summer shoes that he'll only wear for a month or so? Oh the dilemmas I face!!!

So X and I hit up the mall this morning looking for a dress for me to wear to 2 events next month. Pregnancy fashion, while it's come along way, still sucks. But, that's a whole other story.

Anyway, X and strolled into Stride Right while shopping. I'd never been there but was told they have great shoes for hard to fit kid's feet. I quickly realized, yes, they do have lots of nice shoes. But, oh my, are they expensive. I did a double take as I looked at the price tag of $49.99 for a pair of shoes....FOR A 1 YEAR OLD! Really?? Do people pay this? The saleslady caught me off guard when she asked "Can I help you find something" and I blurted out, "um, I'm just having some sticker shock!" She just smiled.

I decided to have X's foot measured and see if there was anything for us on the clearance rack. He measured in at a 7 wide or 7 extra wide. The lady found us some tennis shoes that were originally $39.99 but on clearance for $18.88 (still a little pricey for my ultra cheap self!) They were white and navy and very similar to what X was wearing. As she put them on his feet she noticed some stitching was coming out on the one shoe by the strap. This was the last pair in his size and they did fit him very nicely. The saleslady then says " If you want them, I'll sell them to you for $6.88 since a few threads are coming out." SOLD!!!!! I could hardly contain my excitement. I thought we'd surely be able to get through the rest of the summer with these before the loose threads become an issue. What a deal!

Flying high from our bargain buy X and I decided to hit up the play land in the mall to try out his new kicks. I think they're a keeper. Look at those shiny white feet!

They even passed the crawl test.

And X thought they looked good in the mirror too!

We had lunch in the food court and X got his first taste of a Cinammon Twist from Taco Bell. He quickly determined it was much better than the banana I brought as part of his lunch. A few more swigs from the sippy cup and we were on our way home for a nap.

What a Difference a Year Makes

X and I went to the park this morning for a quick play before lunch. We met an adorable little girl and her mom on the swings. It was never so clear to me how much a difference a year makes in parenting.

This little girl was 8 months old and cute as can be dressed in a 2 piece matching floral outfit complete with pink hat. She came strolling up to the baby swings in a fabulous pink and black Bugaboo stroller with an equally fabulous diaper bag hanging from the handle. Her mother carefully wiped down the swing with paper towels, lined it with a blanket, then set the girl in and added and extra blanket behind her back for support. Mom quickly grabbed the camera and started snapping away as the little girl squealed with delight. I offered to take a picture of the two of them and she was thrilled.

Meanwhile, in the next swing over sat my child. He was covered in mud and yelling "gar gar" (car) at the top of his lungs! X had managed to walk into a HUGE mud puddle within 30 seconds of arriving at the park. His white tennis shoes and socks were completely brown. His legs had dried mud splattered from thigh to ankle and his entire arms and hands were splattered as well. There was a big wet spot on his shirt and a huge glob of mud stuck to the butt of his shorts. Bringing only my keys with me from the car, I just decided to leave him like that and let him play.

It was somewhat comical when the lady told me her daughter was born in December 08. I mentioned that X was born in December 07. It was like looking into the future and looking back in time all at the same time. Nice clean baby at 8 months, then mud covered toddler at 20 months. I couldn't help but laugh. I was "that mom" at 8 months (well, not with a cool Bugaboo stroller) that wiped everything down before my child touched it and tried so hard to keep him clean and presentable. Now....not so much. As long as he's not bleeding I say, play on!

Coincidentally, here's a picture of my little man at 8 months...at the park...clean...with a cute little hat on...sitting contently on a blanket with toys. Oh my, yes, a year sure does change things!!

Ultrasound - 20 Weeks

Baby D is half way there! Here are a few pics from our ultrasound this week. I had forgotten how cool it is to see your baby on an ultrasound. Baby D is apparently very active and was giving the tech a little trouble as she was trying to see everything. It took awhile, but we finally got a face shot. And the tech said that Baby D has a "beautiful aortic arch". Ummm, yeah, I guess that's he/she's first compliment!

So have a gander at our gorgeous little skeleton baby......

The left side shows the rib cage with an arm to the left of the word RIBS. The right side is baby's hand in the center giving a high five. The white spots are the ends of the fingers with the palm being the darker center.


On the left you can see baby's leg from just above the knee down to the foot. On the right is the bottom of baby's foot.

In this one the foot is on the left side of the pic, knee in the center, and thigh is where the word LEG is written.

Can you see baby's eyes? They are the dark circles under the words FACE ON with the white spot in between being the nose.

So, do you think it's a boy or a girl????????? (and no, we didn't find out)

Wee Tumblers

I signed X up for a mommy and me tumbling class. It was 1/2 hour a week for 6 weeks. I was really looking forward to this class in hopes that it would help him with his socialization issues. Well, not so much. He cried EVERY SINGLE TIME. I knew he would cry the first day. I didn't think he would SCREAM for the entire thing though. Class #2 was better. He cried for about 10 minutes then decided some of this stuff might be fun. I surely thought we were on the right track and that class #3 would be a breeze. Um, no. He cried again during the entire thing....and more of the same the rest of the weeks. At first he would cling to me like no tomorrow but once he realized that by being near me I was going to try and help him participate (like helping him touch his toes and stuff -- ya know, torture!) he started shunning me as well and would just walk around the room aimlessly crying. This morning was he totally wised up to the gig because he started crying as we pulled into the parking lot.

I feel bad about this on many levels. I feel bad that what is supposed to be a fun thing just made him upset. I feel bad that the rest of the class had to listen to him. I feel bad that I paid money to have him cry. I know it's not rational, but I fear that he will never grow out of this whole group phobia thing. I kept going week after week because I thought it would get better and I felt like if I just stayed home like a hermit that wouldn't help him.

And to top it all off the instructor says to me at the end "I don't think you should sign him up for another session". NO KIDDING LADY!!!

Is my child officially a tumbling drop out now??

(No pics either because...well...they just would have been bad!)

Do You Want To Unload The Dishwasher?

These are magic words for X. No matter what he is doing, if you say them he will go running for the kitchen. And, he will help you unload every single dish. He LOVES it. And, he's actually pretty helpful. To date he hasn't broken anything.

Sprucing Up The Yard - Part 2

The side yard project is COMPLETE! Yeah!!!!! (see the before pics)

This has been on hold since Walter was out of town again all last week. So, finally, today I was able to get a few hours to myself to finish it up. It's pretty hot here this weekend so I got out there bright and early while the side yard is in full shade. Walter and X hung inside in the AC doing who knows what (and frankly who cares what because I had some toddler free time!!) A week or so ago I finished digging up all the overgrown ground cover and trimmed the bushes that I was keeping. So this morning I transplanted 4 bushes from the front yard. It's awesome to get a totally new look without having to buy new plants. I put down my landscape fabric and new mulch, and I think it looks pretty darn good.

Up next.......the front yard. Here is the before (well, minus the 4 bushes I transplanted). Can you say WEEEEEEEEEDS ?

Puppy, Are You Thirsty?

Xavier just started pretending to give his puppy a drink with the green sportsbottle. Apparently puppy only drinks milk though because X walks around saying "alk, alk, alk" (milk) when he does it.

And Not a Single Picture of the Gardens

My friend Andrea and I took the kids to the Botanical Gardens the other morning. With an 80% change of rain I was pretty sure we were going to get soaked, but there was not a drop of rain the entire time we were there. It did stay overcast and a bit breezy, but that just made things nicer to walk around the gardens. I tried to take a lot of pictures, but you know what I ended up not taking ANY pictures of.....the beautiful gardens. I'm ashamed of myself, but I guess I was just too wrapped up in getting pictures of the boys.

Here's Andrea and Win looking all spry and ready to walk the gardens.


And then there's this little boy who mysteriously fell asleep 10 minutes into the event. What's up with that? Oh, and don't mind my pasty white skin and bad hairdo. I had put zero effort into my ensemble that day since I fully expected to get rained on.

The gardens has a really cool children's area that offers tons of opportunities for hand on learning for kids. X enjoyed climbing on lots of things.

I tried to get a good pic of both boys sitting on the bench. Here's the best one I got :) And, this was about 2 seconds before poor Win fell off and did a face plant into the mulch.

Stacking wood was one of the highlights of the morning. Who knew?

Both boys enjoyed playing the outdoor musical instruments. Win was really good on this one. He may have a musical future. The boys also practiced sharing the little sticks (my mind is blanking on the correct term for them) which was adorable.

The children's area has a a little splash pad. Some of it wasn't turned on because it wasn't super hot out, but X sure did enjoy the little fountain.

In the "General Store" there were all kinds of plastic fruits and veggies to play with. The apples were a hit with X. He kept putting him in and out of different bins. He didn't quite get that they were supposed to be apples though and kept calling them balls.

Isn't this sweet - friends sharing a loaf of bread together!!

There was also a really neat slide that the boys enjoyed. I didn't get any pictures of that because I was too busy being the catcher at the end of the slide! It was a fun morning and we are grateful for Andrea's membership getting us in FREE too! Unfortunately I left my wallet with Andrea and had to turn around on the way home to go get it. But, it worked out because we ended up having some lunch and the boys got to play together a little more.

What wasn't so good was that X decided a 15 minute nap in the car on the way home was all he needed for the rest of the day. Needless to say it was early to bed that night because someone was a total cranky pants by 6:30pm. Guess you can't have your cake and eat it too!