It's A Zoo Out There

Last week we headed to the N.C. Zoo to hit up their dinosaur exhibit, which was held over until the end of this month. I figured both kids would find it fun to see life-size figures of some of the animals we play with almost daily.

Just a regular day at the zoo...

 I think Spencer was a bit awestruck when he realized just how big a T-Rex would have been in real life. He of course asked us why dinosaurs no longer existed. We try and tell him the truth in a way he understands but it always ends with more why's and us feeling flustered and inadequate. I think why is normal for his age but man, he sure doesn't get tired of the word.

Teagan wasn't the least bit afraid of any of the dinosaurs and really appreciated all the noises they made (animatronics) that sounded like burps and farts. No joke, our little princess cracks up if she hears any of those noises. Even she is the one making them!

The Zoo is situated on 500 acres and the colors of fall truly where breathtaking as we strolled along with the kids. I am really appreciating being somewhere that actually has four seasons. I didn't realize how much I missed it. Maybe next year we will make it to the mountains to take in more of the foliage. It is hard to get the kids to truly see how wonderful and lucky we are to wake each day and see how good God is to us. I hope little by little they begin to get it. Sometimes I don't think I am the best teacher when it comes to those things!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and Spencer is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Henry, our Elf on the shelf. Need to make time to address some Christmas cards and decide where we are going to put the tree. Wow, the end of the year is coming quick!

You Spin Me Round

Remember how I said we had purchased a membership to the local zoo? Yes, well that was $79 well spent and has already paid for itself in under a month! We have been going once a week and I'm not tired of it yet and neither is Spencer. I think what I like most is that I don't feel like we have to spend the whole day there or see everything. We can take our time and linger and just enjoy our visit and then go home.

I thought seeing the animals would be his most favorite thing...I mean the boy loves to "roar" like a lion, bear, or tiger. The picture book with an elephant? Yeah, I have to point out its trunk about 20 times before he is satisfied that I am correct. So I really believed that he would be enthralled by the elephant, lion or bears. But no his most favorite thing? It's the carousel. I don't blame him! Where else can you actually ride an elephant, tiger or bear?




The zoo also has a nice playground area where he can run around and climb and interact with kids both smaller and bigger. This time he watched a boy about school age swing out of the back of the pretend school bus. Guess who attempted to copy that move?


Watching him these last few weeks has really made it evident that is growing up so fast! I find myself loving the hugs and laughter even more and hanging on tighter. It will be a sad day when he no longer finds it cool to hang with his mommy.

It's a Zoo Out There

Last week we decided it was going to be perfect weather to take Spencer to the zoo. In other words no humidity and temps in the 80's. I hoped that after seeing animals in books and on TV, he would be amazed by the zoo. By the time we got there...he was asleep:


I figured when he woke and realized where he was...he'd really be amazed. When he woke he sort of looked around as if to ask "where are we? And why is everyone looking at me like that?" I have to admit, when he gets a good nap he wakes in an awesome mood. He is all smiles and laughter. While his nap wasn't as long as usual, he did wake up in a decent mood. We hurried over to the panda exhibit as one of his favorite words to say is bear. As it was just after lunch many of the animals were all taking naps and quite lethargic. The panda lay behind the Plexiglas asleep, moving only to scratch himself. But Spencer knew what he was and looked at him with amazement:



Ok, so you can't see his amazement. But trust me, the look is there. This trip to the zoo was mainly me getting shots of him looking out towards the animals. It is actually quite hard to get a good picture and be able to see his first time expressions. I think as he gets bigger and we don't have to hold him or point out the animals it may get easier. Here are some shots from our outing:






The hit of the zoo was not an animal at all though, Spencer was most intrigued by a metal plate that he could jump on and it made a rattling noise. He made his Granny take him to it several times so he could make noise. Here she is leading him away:


And a few more from the rest of the afternoon:





We went ahead and bought a pass for the year or as ZooAtlanta likes to call it, membership. I figure on days I am bored I can pack up the boy and we can walk around the zoo. There are a lot of trees making it ideal real estate for walking. Yay for the zoo!