Caldwell Zoo

Hayden and Reagan and I went to the zoo yesterday with our friends Vicki and Theo and their kiddos. We had so much fun. Thanks for the invite Vicki! It was the first time that Reagan has been and of course she slept almost the whole time. It was also the first time that Hayden has been where he could just run to his heart's content (we haven't been in a long time). I'm still bummed that they started charging to get into this zoo, but the improvements that they have made are amazing. The admission charge has definitely been beneficial to it's appearance.

Here are all the kiddos posing near the white tigers. I'm not sure why Hayden has starting doing the "shoulder shrug" every time I tell him to smile.

But I think I may have figured out how to get him to smile naturally! I just tell him not to laugh because it's not funny. For some reason this reverse psychology seems to work and he starts giggling every time. Who knows how long it will work?

The zoo has added a wild bird walk-about. I haven't been in there, but it's definitely fun for the kiddos. For $1.00 you can buy a little stick with seeds and the kiddos can feed the birds. They are mostly parakeets, but it's exciting for them to get to feed the birds. Here's Hayden feeding one of the hundreds of little birds. There were a lot of people in there yesterday so it was hard to get close to any of them and Vicki told me that it's a lot better when there aren't so many people.

Sophie feeding a bird; she's so excited!

I had to get a pic of the little ones. They were looking

at the Zebras. Aren't they cute?

Kalli Feeding the giraffe through the fence.

That's his tongue! They got a huge laugh out of this and

probably would have stripped the nearby bush of every

leaf if we had stayed there long enough.

Hayden in front of the elephants

I don't know what it is about elephants, but I really love them. They have obvious power, but seem so gentle too. Their faces are just so sweet looking.

So now that we have been for the the first time this season, I think I am going to buy a season pass. I think I could go every week. It really is a great zoo and I'm glad that we live so close.

A Sweet Boy, His Bad Dream And A Little In Between

This blog is all about a few random thoughts...

First, I have to say that I think I have the sweetest boy in the world. Of course, I'm sure I'm a little biased, but I know every mother is proud of her children. Our pasture and yard has these little "flowers" sprouting up all over. They are the product of some weed, but the flower is really pretty. Hayden has presented me with many of these flowers he has picked over the last few days and he is so proud when he gives them to me. I, of course, make a big deal out of them and he just beams from ear to ear. They don't last long and you can't really put them in water since they are so tiny, but I love them just the same.

Tiny little flowers!

Craig and Hayden were playing with the Magna-doodle one day and they called me in to see the masterpiece that Hayden created. That's right: Hayden drew an "H" to match Daddy's!! (His is the one on the right). He is really starting to like drawing and coloring. I can't tell yet what hand he is going to write with because he seems equally comfortable with both hands. I sure was proud of his big "H".

Tonight we got one of the greatest ALL AMERICAN games! Hungry Hungry Hippo! I didn't realize how much I liked this simple game. It was so much fun when I was a kid and we were hoping that Hayden would like it too. I of course, was the pink hippo, Sweetie Potamus. Hayden took the green, Veggie Potamus and Craig took the yellow and orange ones to himself. I made the mistake of calling the little marbles "Marshmallows" and Hayden started to put one in his mouth! It was so cute watching him try to figure out how it all works and he even tried to pick up the marbles and put them directly into his hippo's mouth. He really seemed to like it and started having fun!

And finally, THE DREAM. A few posts back I was saying how glad I am to have so many pictures of my kiddos and the fact that Craig thinks I am going to blind them. Well, it may have come back to bite me in the you-know-what. The other night I woke up because I heard something on the monitor. It was Hayden mumbling in his sleep. As I listened I heard the words... wait for it... "Don't take my picture, Mama!" That's right! It made me realize that I am probably taking too many pictures of my son if he's having a bad dream about the momarazzi.

Having fun with Pictures

I have found a new editing program that I downloaded for FREE online. It's paint.net. It's very easy to use and since I'm new at this whole editing thing, that's a good thing! I know there are more sophisticated programs out there, but this one is great for beginners. So here are a few of my projects. Some are simple edits and others are a little more involved. I am hoping that I will continue to improve, but for now I'm having fun playing in the pictures! Hope you enjoy them too. Thanks for looking!

7 Weeks

Reagan was 7 weeks old yesterday. To mark the occassion, she got a check up and her first set of shots. Which, I'm not too sure she was thrilled about. We had our first appointment at the new Pediatrician closer to our house. She's actually a Nurse Practicioner and has been in the pediatric field for many years. We really liked her and she spent a lot of time with us and with Reagan. I will miss their old doctor a lot, but having a doctor just 20 minutes away as opposed to an hour and a half gives me some relief.

Her checkup went great. She weighed in at 9 pounds and 4 ounces!! She has gained 2 pounds and 2 ounces since birth and grown 3 inches. She is in the 60% for her height, but only about 30% for her weight. That's about how Hayden did as well. He was always a littler higher on the height scale than the weight scale. It's still hard for me to believe that she's just now the weight that Hayden was when he was born! She seemed so little when she was born, but in reality she was average size.

She is really starting to show some personality. She is very vocal about when her diaper needs a change. She doesn't like to sleep anywhere but in our bed. I have tried to put her in the pack-n-play and she is awake in 20 minutes. She "wakes" up around 8:00 every night and has a very active period until about 11:00p.m. No amount of coaxing or nursing will talk her out of her play time! In the last 2 weeks she has started smiling at us and just in the last couple of days she has started trying to coo at us too! She likes her Zebra and her Minnie Mouse because they are so vivid. She also enjoys her time on her floor mat trying to bat at her little lady bug. Ah, I think this baby is growing faster than Hayden did. Maybe it's just because I'm busier this time around and don't have time to just sit and watch her. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and the simple fact that time goes faster the older we get. Who knows? All I do know is that I want it to slow down because I will never get this time back. Thank goodness I have lots and lots and LOTS of pictures! It's a wonder my children aren't blind from all the flashes!