Please Don't Feed the Animals

Less than one short year ago, we took these people to the zoo:

What a difference a year makes!

After swimming lessons this morning, we came home, loaded up the wagon, and headed to the zoo. I have finally gotten smart enough to realize that, regardless of the length of time we'll be gone, I should always pack enough snacks to survive for a week in the wilderness. We made it through the zoo in just over an hour and managed to drink two cups of water and eat a granola bar, fruities, goldfish and a few grapes. We may not be able to feed the zoo animals, but feeding our kids keeps the public safe!

Meredith wanted to ride on the new train, so we bought out tickets, waited in line and looked at the roosters. She was totally excited as we boarded the train for our three minute ride in a circle. As we pulled out of the station, she said, "I don't want to do this anymore!" and proceeded to cry for the whole ride. The bright spot was Jack waving every time we came past him--he didn't realize we weren't having fun, I guess. Other than that, the zoo was a huge hit and I'm sure we'll go back again soon. I just can't believe how big these two have gotten since our last visit. Time really does fly.

Jack is now a crawling, pulling-himself-up-on-everything crazy man. He has a nice goose egg on his forehead to prove it. When you couple that with the awful bruise that Mere is sporting on her chin from a collision with the music table at daycare, I'm almost afraid to take them out in public! He has yet another ear infection, so we're trying a last-ditch round of Augmentin before resorting to tubes. The thought of them putting my baby under general anesthesia is enough to make me sick to my stomach, but I guess it beats the alternative of constantly sore ears. I think I've decided Jack's career path: hairdresser at the circus. He's a total daredevil and would probably do very well on the flying trapeze. He also loves hair--on your head, on your arms, on his head, on the dog...you get the idea.

Meredith tripped at daycare on Monday and has a really nasty black bruise on her chin. When I took her in on Thursday, all of her classmates had to come over, poke her chin and tell me about her boo boo. They then all showed me their boo boos. It took me 10 minutes just to get through all of the stories! She has been doing really well with potty training and loves to congratulate all of us for peeing on the potty too. She told me yesterday that, "Daddy did a good job. He peed on the potty like a big girl. I'm so proud of him!"

Here are a few more pictures from the zoo: