The Animals Visit the Zoo

I have been to a lot of zoos in my lifetime.  Some were super, some were….less desirable, and some were just so bad I found myself calling PETA from the parking lot to come and rescue the animals right away.

The Oklahoma City Zoo tops my list of awesome zoos.

In fact, it is actually in a close race for number one with the San Diego Zoo.   Seriously!  It is just that awesome.

Aunt Sara had come to spend the week with our little animals, so we decided to take her to the zoo and expose her to some of the other species in the animal kingdom.

Seth has a favorite  book about zoo animals, so it was fun watching him run through the zoo and make the connection to those animals in his book.  He also gave us valuable information and facts on each animal…..in the manner a 20 month old kid can give it.

Here we stopped to watch these gorgeous lionesses taking a little cat nap.   Seth watched them intently for  few minutes, and then turned and shared this important tidbit regarding lions in their natural habitat.

Lions.   Eat you.

All the info we needed there.

Kaelan skipped and hopped and sang her way through the exhibits.   She LOVES being there with the animals and would be completely content with us just dropping her off and leaving her there for a few months.   Her big request was that she wanted a picture with the buffalo.  She is, after all, a Centennial Buffalo.   The picture with the  baby elephant was an afterthought.   She saw him, fell in love and requested  a picture with him to show their children that they knew each other way back when they were kids.

Pictures of animals that you have probably seen a million times…….and more words from Seth, the Jack Hanna of OKC.  

 

Bear.   RRRRRRRR.            Gilla (Gorilla)-Boobies?             Baby Elfint (Elephant)-Trunk.  Poop.  Yucky. 

Zoo Intermission.  Taking a break.

It was Kaelan that requested a picture with her future BFF the elephant, but really it was Seth that found his soul mate at the zoo that day.

Meet Bodie.

There is a majestic little area in the zoo where you can go and hang out with the giraffes.  We have been to feeding bridges before at other zoos, but what made this place super cool was both the people who work at this exhibit and deep connection Seth had with the creatures there.  The zookeepers saw the excitement in Seth’s eyes as he approached the  feeding area, and they set that spark ablaze.   We seriously got some VIP treatment.  They continued to give our kids pail after pail of food to feed the giraffes.   They allowed us to pet them and stay for a really long time.  We really got to know Ellie and Bodie, and I nearly cried at the tenderness Bodie showed towards Seth.   When it was time to leave (after a really long visit), Seth cried and called out to Bodie.   The keepers, who were also taken aback by the bond., came after us and gave us special pens and badges.   They told us to come back and visit anytime and they would make sure Seth and Bodie had more time together.  It was so special, we are busy building a pen in our backyard  so the two of them can have sleepovers.   Maybe not.

Again, see how great it would be for BOTH of my kids to just be dropped off at the zoo for a few days?  

Cooling our tootsies in the creek.

 

You’ve probably seen or visited one of those little aviaries where you buy the little cup of nectar and the birds come in and land on your hand and drink the juice, right?

I have too, but in this joint, the birds go a little crazy, and while my husband was acting all calm and cool about the Alfred Hitchcock movie going on in that space, I wasn’t having it.   After about the 8th bird landed on me and started pecking at my neck, I was out of there.  I threw my nectar and ran out screaming.   I left it to my husband to calmly show my son that the birds would not kill him and that he had nothing to fear.

Yeah, nothing to fear except losing your EYEBALLS! 

 

 

Sara and the birds. Zen.

Sara and The Birds.  Run, Sara!!!   Run all the way back to Austin!!!

And she did.

Thus ending our day at the zoo.

Goodness, Gracious, Great Wolf-a- Lodging

Always a party.   Always a theme.

Year one- Princess

Year two-  Dora

Year three- Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

Year four- Bugs!

Year five- Care Bears

Year six- Angry Birds

Year seven-  Mom, I don’t want a party this year.

WHAT???????

We actually gave her a choice.   We told her she could have a big party in OK, or we could head to Dallas and meet up with a few friends from Austin (including Darian) and celebrate at Great Wolf Lodge.

It took about 2 seconds for her to decide.

Here come the photos.

Super creepy photo bomber, eh??

The kids went super crazy  playing in the waterpark.   The adults played in the water as well and  hung out with the little ones (Patton and Seth). 

There was a theme.  

SKYLANDERS

 

My poor, pathetic cake.   I worked so hard to get the perfect Skylanders cupcake cake constructed with all the elements (if this makes no sense, you really need to brush up on your Skylanders trivia) only to have the valet/bellman slip and drop it at the door.

Kaelan had a great attitude.  It was still edible.  Nothing fell out of the box, it just crashed within the box.  I did sneak off to the bathroom to cry for a few minutes.  I mean, seriously.  I made sure ALL the elements were implemented……..

 

Kaelan cleaned house in gifts.   She added to her Skylanders collection and dad came through with the rock tumbler she has been begging for.   I did not even want to know what he paid for that thing.  He ordered a huge industrial size one.   I think contractors will be renting it out from us.

I just loved sneaking into Aunt Sara’s room in the mornings to see these three having their morning coffee talks while watching planes land. 

 

Seth was deathly afraid of the mascot, and he spent a great deal of time dodging into small spaces to avoid him.   See him hiding in the arcade?   That face has terror mixed with curiosity….but mostly terror.   After Darian and Kaelan agreed to take a picture with him, we convinced Seth to at least come near him. 

No high fives or hugs……just sharing some air space.

More swimming, water slides, magi-quest, and all the other fun at the lodge, and then off we went for our annual birthday celebration at Rainforest Café.

She had a super seven celebration.

Even with all the magic of the weekend, when we asked her what was her favorite part, she answered in about 2 seconds.

Easy, she said.

Seeing Darian.

If I could just legally box and ship that little dude, I could save bundles of money.

 

You are worth every penny.

Happy 7th, My Monkey.

The Delay of the Tooth Fairy (an update)

 

So you heard about my last little spill down some stairs, huh?  

Well, all is well.   The tooth fairy will NOT be coming for a few more years (my parents hope). 

My cheesy smile is back!

Sometimes she turns seven.

7 years old.

S-E-V-E-N

Seven years ago, my life changed forever.  For the better.

The night before her birthday, I cuddled in bed with her for our nightly routine of reading, prayers, chatting, tickle scratching and kisses.   Only, this night, she wanted to forgo the usual for a retelling of her birth story.

I spilled it all out for her….the excitement, the contractions, the happiness, the fact that I got stuck at 8cm (ouch) only to have the nurse check me  during a contraction (ouch) and feel a little hand grabbing her finger.   When I told Kaelan this, her eyes got huge and she looked at me. 

Who was in there? she gasped.

It was YOU, silly! I told her.  

We really should have that whole anatomy, where babies come from talk….not just yet, though.

She loved hearing about how the nurse pushed the little hand back off the head (really ouch), and BOOM, I was at 10cm and ready to push.  

Your drain was plugged, huh mom? 

Yep.  Your little hand was plugging my drain, and once it was free….you popped out!  

Yep.  Definitely need to schedule that talk.

She loves that story.  

I love that story. 

It was Chapter One is this awesome book we are still writing. 

 

 

The actual day of her birthday, The Prez was in Chicago on a business trip.  I knew he would be up until all hours of the night planning and setting up something special for her with me if he were home, so I did it all myself, so not to disappoint.

She awoke to herself buried in the traditional “balloon tomb”.   I also set up a great treasure hunt throughout the house and outdoors.   I attempted a balloon waterfall in her doorway, but as I began hanging them at 1:30 am, they started popping.   I actually spent 10 minutes on the floor hiding after one popped and she sat up in her bed to figure out who was lighting fireworks in her room. 

No, really.  She actually sat up and said, “Who is lighting fireworks?”.

She then flopped back down on her pillow and resumed sleeping.

 

 

The hunt ended back at her bed ( slipped it in there after she took off hunting) with a few special gifts.

 

The balloon waterfall…..minus about 15 popped balloons.

Wanna hear something really funny?   I noticed a balloon still inflated and tied to a long string attached to the back of Kaelan’s pajama shirt when she climbed out of bed.   I knew I didn’t tape any balloons to her, so I questioned out loud how in the world that happened.   Then she said:

Ohhhhh,   I got up to go to the bathroom last night, and I felt something behind me on the potty.  I thought I saw a red balloon when I looked down, but I figured I was just dreaming and sleep walking.   (Laughing)   I guess I did see one!

So, in case you missed that, YES she walked through that waterfall earlier that morning without even realizing it.  And YES, she somehow picked up a hitchhiker balloon in the process.  And YES, this all didn’t disrupt her sleep pattern in the least.

If she wasn’t so smart and awesome, I would worry that whole “stuck in the drain” incident caused damage.  Sometimes she worries me.

Customary birthday breakfast (she chose mommy muffins this year) and a surprise birthday humiliation ride.   She actually loved it.   People were honking like crazy on our commute.  

Sadly, I wasn’t real quick with hitting the car wash, so when people kept honking at me two days later, I had forgotten about the window messages and couldn’t figure out what people’s problem was.  I may or may not have made a few inappropriate hand gestures that week. 

I apologize.

All of that took place at an ungodly hour before school.   Whew.

After school, we picked Kaelan up and blindfolded her.  We drove to the nearest toy store and surprised her upon arrival with a purse of birthday money sent from relatives to go pick out what she wanted.  Fun!

I had to constantly remind her this was HER birthday when she kept trying to buy things for Seth.   We settled on giving him a few bucks so he could pick out a little something.  Sometimes she makes me beam!

The three of us grabbed her meal of choice (Pei Wei) to go and headed home for a wonderful evening of play, face time with dad (he flew in late that night),presents and cupcakes. 

Seven.

She was officially seven years old.   The night before, I had mugged on a a six year old, but that night,  I tucked a seven year old snuggly in bed.

Was there any difference?   Had she changed?

As I left her room that night, I looked back to see her swaddled in her favorite blankets with her favorite teddy.   My eyes saw the same little swaddled being I placed in a bassinet beside my bed the first day I brought her home.

Nothing had ever really changed in the whole seven years. Probably never will.

She called out to me as I tackled my way out of the balloon waterfall she had begged me to leave up.

Mom, I am really tired, so no fireworks, tonight.  Okay? 

Sometimes she makes me laugh.