New shoes at the zoo

Summer's first day of fun

Our summer days of fun have officially begun.  The kids stayed home from daycare on Friday -- in part so I could play with them, and in part because Emme had been running a low fever all week  along with her runny nose.  The kids were up very early, as per usual recently.  ("The sunshine waked me up.")  Wes had a departmental retreat at the zoo on Friday, and no other reason than it made me think of it, we decided to go to the zoo also.

Emme seemed sleepy by 8am but refused a nap when I laid her down.  We were at the zoo by 9:30, just behind several school buses on kids on field trips (ugh).  I decided to see how bad it was before giving up, and once we got through the congested entrance area, it wasn't bad.  The kids played for a long while on the playground, rode the carousel, fed the lorikeets, visited the snake house, and petted some goats.  The kids had a great time, but Emme was absolutely exhausted by the time we left.  We actually ran into Wes and his coworkers on our way out and said a quick hello.  Emme was asleep before we got to the first stoplight.

We got home and had lunch, and I put both the kids down for a nap.  Neither one fell asleep, which was troubling given how tired Emme had been.  I gave in after an hour and let them come down and get in the swimming pool, which I'd inflated and filled during lunch so the water could warm.  The kids had so much fun. Emme tried to drink half the pool water and had fun with the balls and cups I put in.  Oliver repeatedly jumped from outside of the pool into the water, while I encouraged him to put him face under the water, blow bubbles, and lay on his back.  After a little over an hour, Emme asked to go and lie down.  She did without a fuss and slept for almost two hours before we got her up for dinner.  I had to drag Ollie out of the water after two plus hours and then literally carry him inside to get changed.  Both of the kids seem to really like the water.  Oliver likes playing in it more, whereas Emme is more bold and less fearful of going underwater.  (She's truly unsafe in the tub if it's too full.)

Wes got home a little before six, and we had dinner and put the kids down early after a good bath (swimming in an inflatable tub does not leave them clean, per se).  They both slept very well and took good naps on Saturday.  We got the pool out again on Sunday, but it was cooler and Emme didn't last long in the chilly water.  I still had to drag Oliver out, even as he sat chattering in the water.

So summer is here, and I look forward to having these spontaneous fun days at home, in addition to more relaxed weekends.  We did a fair amount of traveling last summer, which we're not this year, and I'm glad.  Home, sweet, home, indeed.

What did you see at the zoo, Oliver?

Animals...

and a tractor (note the elephants behind it).

While you were out

A recap in pictures (and recounted events from Aunt Laura) of Oliver's visit with Grandma and Aunt Laura (who, might I add, he can now recognize and name).

Friday: At the zoo, getting a closer look at the baboons. Grandma and Aunt Laura did not take a stroller, so Oliver did lots of walking (and got a little embarrassed when he tripped on a crack in the cement).

Baking cookies with Aunt Laura. Grandma gave Oliver a nice haircut while he helped, which ultimately led to some "naked chef" time.

Watching some television with Grandma while Aunt Laura makes chicken quesadillas.

Saturday: Early breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. Oliver ate four kids' pancakes, one regular pancake, plus a bowl of strawberries.

Helping Aunt Laura push the stroller in the park.

Sliding on toddler slides.

Modeling one of his new hats from Target.

Sunday: Racing with Aunt Laura. Go, go, go!

Making a sign with Aunt Laura. He brought it to the airport when he picked us up!

Not pictured: Asking to go "poop in the potty" (and actually doing it), blowing bubbles in the pool, learning to say lots of funny things.

Zoo time

Wes, Oliver, and I decided to make use of our family membership to the zoo this weekend. Wes is celebrating being done with classes for his MPH and home from a recent conference in Washington, DC. This is the first in many weekends that he was really free to enjoy himself and spend time with us, and while I had some work to get done, none of it was imminently due. So off we went to spend some time at the zoo.

I knew one thing Wes would love would be the Jungle Gym at the zoo, a 66,000 square foot playground of sorts. There is a tot area, with everything padded for play, but with Wes around, I knew Oliver would be off to bigger and better things. The place really is amazing. There are slides and tunnels and rope climbs and all sorts of things. Ollie tried climbing the rope ladders with Wes but found it pretty challenging. He really liked climbing up and down the stairs that twisted throughout the tree house of sorts. Wes took him down the BIG and LONG slide, as Oliver was clearly not old enough to go down it himself.

We did enjoy other parts of the zoo as well. We revisited Lorikeet Landing, saw the giraffes, and went by the petting zoo before heading home. We also went to the amphibian and reptile house, which we did not visit last time, as Wes is a big snake fan. I didn't really like it, but there were two really pretty stingrays.

I think Ollie might be heading back to the zoo with my sister and mom, who are coming later this week to take care of him while Wes and I travel. But frankly, I don't think he'll mind.

It was a zoo

Oliver and I went to the Nashville Zoo today with a friend of mine, Rachel. This was our first trip, and while I wasn't sure what to expect, I knew the zoo wasn't a terribly big one. I had been hesitant to go before because admission to the zoo is expensive -- almost $15 for an adult and about half that for a child. But we recently go a flyer in the mail to get a little bit off a family membership, which is about the cost of two visits, so I got it and figured Oliver and I could go frequently this summer. It's a nice open place where he can run and play, and we can go for just a little while and see what we want to or what's easy to see. The weather today was great -- around 70 degrees and sunny. The zoo suffered minimal damage with the floods last weekend and were only closed on Monday. The layout of the park is nice, with densely grown woods around the walking paths and plenty of picnic tables and bathrooms.

Oliver's favorite things were the chickens in the Historic Farms area (the rooster kept crowing), the Lorikeet Landing area where he was in with the birds, and the giraffes, because they were close by and easy to see (unlike the elephants). He also liked the petting zoo, where he chased around baby goats in order to pet them. Two handlers were out in another area, and Oliver got to pet an African hedgehog. He was pretty interested in the animals, especially those he could easily pick out (although all of them were a "dog"), but he was equally interested in other small kids there. He rode in the stroller some and did lot of running around. We saw most of the major outdoor exhibits but there's plenty more to see when we go back.

We did get a ride on the carousel before we left. There's also a huge Jungle Gym, 66,000 square foot play area for kids, there, but Ollie was getting worn out so we saved it for another day. We'll go again sometime just to play on that, I think!

Farm Boy

Ollie visited Lincoln Park Zoo last Thursday with Wes, his Uncle Reid, and me (while Aunt Laura did some work for her online classes). I was hoping he would be old enough now to see and sense the animals. He likes Lucy so much I thought it would excite him. We went to the Farm in the Zoo first, where he got to see two very big rabbits, some cows, goats, a mama pig with some newborn piglets (they were napping), a few sheep and ponies. He wasn't allowed to interact with animals too much because he's still under one. But he did like the main barn, where they had some exhibits on farming. Fortunately he had on his overalls that day, so he fit right in.

Ollie's Journal, Week 3

Things I did:

1. Went to the pediatrician's office twice, the second time to have my newborn screening tests redone. My poor heel!
2. Shopped with mom for some warmer weather outfits that fit me. It's definitely fall in Chicago.
3. Visited with some of mom's colleagues who came over to see me and talk with her about work. Unfortunately, I was in a bad mood and pretty much sat with Grandma the whole time.
4. Made faces at Grandma. She thinks they're funny.
5. Took my first El ride to the zoo.

Right now: Snuggling with daddy in the wrap. I'm a bit out of sorts.

At the zoo

Oliver took his first trip to Lincoln Park Zoo today. We wanted a special family outing with my mom before she returned to Georgia, and we've just been waiting for the right day and right weather to hit up the zoo. It's a bit of a trip now, since we live so much further south than before, but between the stroller and two El lines, we made it there. We only stayed for an hour -- reasonable, what with a three week old -- but we did see a lot of animals. The highlight, I think, was the polar bear swimming around his tank. He would swim right by the underwater observatory where a crowd of visitors had gathered and swat hit paws or even bare his mouth at people watching him, right up next to the pane of glass. Our first stop, though, thanks to Wes's deviance, was the reptile house, a favorite of his. There Ollie posed with an oversized model of a lizard and a huge boa constrictor. Wes likes to say that Ollie is a lizard because he shoots his tongue in and out like a lizard and, plus, his skin has been peeling. We saw some dwarf crocs, a gecko (he tried to sell me insurance, wouldn't you know), but skipped the tortoises that were mating. Back outside we saw the giraffes, some ostriches, a rhino, two lions, and another of Wes's favorites, the warthogs.

The big thing we didn't see was the apes and monkeys. Maybe we'll save that for four weeks.