Oh, Yes We Did!

If A could make out full sentences, today would have been a non-stop monologue about the giraffes. Since, it is Thursday my GF's and I got together for our weekly playdate and picnic. We decided that we would forgo out workout this morning (can one day really make that much of a difference) and make our way down to the zoo!

Since it was a bit chilly this morning we were fairly certain it would not be quite as crazy as last time, and we were right. We waltzed right in through the member's gate and headed straight for Africa. Since we saw about 14 school busses pulling up, we thought it would make the most sense to skip the goats today, which are in the children's zoo, and focus on the giraffes, lions, cheetahs, chimps, elephants, and penguins. Wow...snaps to my mom brain for remembering all those!

Anyway, we headed for the giraffes, who of course were not out yet. Being the logical parents we are, we headed into their house to see them inside...even if it is nowhere near as good as when they are in the yard. As we are getting  the kids all hyped up about the giraffes, we find ourselves in an empty house. Way to go moms...now we have some pretty pissed off kids.

We quickly diverted their attention to the cheetahs. I am not normally timid at the zoo, and love for A to get as close as the fence permits, but this cheetah was looking especially angry and was stalking back and forth right at the fence. Great for pictures, not so great for our blood pressure when we looked up to find the only fence that was enclosing him was about 15 feet high. And since his area is on a huge hill, he could easily stand on the hill and jump out. Okay, okay, so none of us are engineers or zoo employees, but it didn't seem very safe to us! We decided to let the school kids be the prey, and we snuck off to the penguins.

The penguins were adorable, splashing and zipping through the water, as they entertained the kids for a good 15 minutes. When they started getting too squirmy to safely hold over the 10 foot drop into the penguin area, we headed off again.

Guess who was back....oh yes, the giraffes! Not only were they right up at the fence, but there is this cool platform you can go out on to feed them! Obviously we all dove for our wallets and paid our $2.00 for one little branch to feed them. They might have only given us one branch but there is no limit on how long your turn can be, so we took full advantage, letting the kids look at, feed, and squeal over the giraffes for a long time! I think A was actually in heaven. She wasn't even scared when Lily (the female giraffe) came right up and ate her branch. It was pretty amazing.

After all that excitement, we had a picnic lunch and headed home for a well deserved and much needed naptime!

xoxo

Daily Mom

My Next Stroller

So, we live in a very un-diverse neighborhood. Everyone is our neighborhood is between their 20's and 40's, most with small children, and majority of moms stay at home. This would make sense why our tot lot (our neighborhood playground) is packed in the morning with moms and kids swinging, playing in the sand box, and having picnics. Likewise, in the afternoon you will see the moms back, looking a little less energetic, and you might even catch a few stray dads on those nice spring days, playing hooky from work.

As A and her two little friends where playing away before our lunch picnic, you can imagine our surprise when a very elderly Asian man was there with (who we could only assume was) his granddaughter, a small little Asian girl around 5 years old. Since he stood out among the other moms we watched him push her on the swing and then spot her as she made her way up the steep stairs of the slide.

After a few minutes our attention focused back to our kids and we kept playing. There were having so much fun kicking the soccer ball, pushing trucks, and playing in the tunnel we lost track of the little old man. As the time ticked dangerously close to lunch time, we opened our trusty, sort-of waterproof blankets, and spread out the kids' lunches. Right as they were finishing their cheese sticks and pushing their sandwiches out of the way, we see it...

Out of the corner of our eyes we see the adorable little Asian man pushing his granddaughter home in a shopping cart. Oh yes, you can picture it...think 5 year old surfing in a cart in the produce section, then take away the grocery store and the produces, and just picture a little hunched over man slowing making his way up the road with his granddaughter and an umbrella.

xoxo

Daily Mom

Really, What Gives!?!?

So my daughter is petrified of the tub. This started about three days ago, without any sort of trauma (no Berta, no nothing). We just went to have our daily tub after dinner, and she screamed like I had just put her in boiling water. Of course I checked the water temperature, like 4 times! I can't figure it out. One day she love the tub, the next A is petrified of it. Really?!? I read online (since obviously I was Googling the s%#^ out of it) that it could be a developmental thing due to her age (anywhere from 12-16 months). Ugg...this is really putting a damper on bed time. Anyone have any suggestions?!?

xoxo

Daily Mom