Lions and Tigers and Bears.....and cupcakes!

the double stroller. this is how we roll. 

When I read the forecast for Saturday, I sighed. Why oh why do we always plan trips to the zoo when it's going to be 110 degrees? That statement would actually imply that we had some control over the weather. On July 4th  we went to the Indianapolis Zoo and it was dreadfully hot. This Saturday promised to be the same. Regardless, we packed up and headed to the St. Louis Zoo to see the animals and all the other extras. The only extra that we needed but didn't find was a cupcake. For days Audrey was asking if she could get a cupcake at the zoo. Puzzled as to why she would associate the giraffes with the miniature cake, I told her I didn't think the zoo offered cupcakes. And it turns out, I was right. Luckily, she was so beat by the time we got in the car she didn't notice we had left the zoo without her cupcake (or a coffee mug for mommy). On the way home we stopped to get gas and drinks. Jeremy told me to go inside and see if they had any hostess cupcakes. I swore I'd never give her anything Hostess but this day I bought two chocolate cupcakes with creamy centers. It worked. She loved them. I thought surely with all the trans fat and hydrogenated oils they wouldn't crumble that bad. But she managed to make a complete mess out of herself and the car seat. She then spent 20 minutes or more cleaning herself up with wipes. Cheap entertainment when you don't have a DVD player.

Despite the heat and my lack of gluten free snacks we survived. Audrey had her first carousel ride. I got such a kick out of watching her when it first started. She wanted to ride on the giraffe but another kid took it who was ahead of us in line, so she settled on the leopard. She didn't realize the animals moved up and down too. I told her ahead of time that was going to happen so she'd be prepared. The look on her face was half smile, half fear. She wasn't sure what to express. She told me she was done and wanted to get off before the ride was over!  I think she was bored.  

not sure whether to laugh or cry!

(kinda) waving at daddy

the hippos were by far the coolest thing we saw all day

Audrey's favorite: the giraffe

getting tickets for the train. 

audrey and daddy (she's not picking her nose, even though it looks like it)

cannot believe how HUGE  the elephant is. 

allie started out the day all smiles.
but after two hours in the stroller she was hot and tired

you can see how hot she was 

Picking Apples with Uncle Ben

Last night we went to Ben and Hannah's house to celebrate Ben and my birthdays. Audrey had so much fun. She talked the entire time (which is unlike her around people she doesn't see a lot). The highlight was picking apples with Uncle Ben. I'd like to say they were fresh apples that they picked to eat, or bake with, but they were the apples that had fallen on the ground and rotted. (ick) They picked an entire 5 gallon bucket worth of (rotten) apples. When they were done I took Audrey in the house to wash her hands and she kept saying, "no mom, I want Ben to help me!" I think Uncle Ben won some points with Audrey for sure!

Allie holding onto the apple bucket

Sarah

Miss Allie

Allie at 8 months. 

Allie is always smiling! She is, 99% of the time, a happy baby

She was stuck in the stroller the entire time we were at the zoo this past weekend and each time I'd look down and smile, she'd smile this big smile right back!

Poor Allie. I feel like I never write about her but she's constantly doing funny things or making great leaps towards her milestones. Now at 8 months she is a very independent eater. She hates it when I try feeding her with a spoon. I've had to get a little creative as to what I give her to eat; Nutritious, bite sized, non choking foods. The list isn't that long! 

She cruises the furniture and tries to pull up on anything within her reach. She scoots a lot, but does not crawl. She gets the biggest smile on her face when she rounds a corner or successfully transfers herself from one thing to another. 

When music comes on she'll shake both arms up and down repeatedly.  She does this when I'm shaking up her bottle too. I've even caught her bouncing to the beat when she's standing up. So cute. 

The way she kicks her feet and legs when she's sitting, but wanting to move is downright hilarious. That's all the girl wants to do is move. For that reason, she's not a huge fan of the car or long distances in the stroller. Our days of walking 5 miles at night  has ended, I believe. 

No teeth yet. 

Bless her little heart she is sleeping through the night. I'm knocking on wood as I write this hoping not to jinx it. FINALLY! Although, she still does wake up occasionally and need help back to sleep, most nights she handles it on her own. 

You'd think since she's so picky about food that her weight would reflect that, but she's still got the biggest thighs of any kid on the block. She wears 18 month and some 24 month clothes right now. Audrey was the same way, except she would let me feed her with a spoon, as long as she had one too.

She plays this little game with me when I'm rocking her to sleep at night. It's hard to describe, but she'll sit up on my lap, facing away from me, pause for a second, and then throw herself back into chest. She'll wait for me to laugh, if i don't, she'll turn her head and look up at me and smile. And then she'll do it again. I have no idea why, except that one night she did it and I laughed. And every night since....

Sarah

Why? Why?? Why?????

We have entered the "why" phrase at our house. Ugh. I knew this day would come and I was not looking forward to it. Not to stifle her curiosity, I have to bite my tongue as I respond. Nonetheless, it's annoying. Annoying because of the redundancy and that I believe she really doesn't care why she's asking why, but that she'll know I'll keep talking to her if she says, "why?" Most annoying when I answer "why" and then she asks "why" again! I do pride myself though when I answer in such a way that provokes no more questions.



Sarah

Stop blowing wind!

Today Audrey, Allie and I were outside before nap-time enjoying the most beautiful day we've had around here for awhile. The sun was shining, it wasn't too hot, 76 degrees to be exact and not a hint of humidity. But, there was a breeze. We sat down at Audrey's picnic table to read her new book and a few pages into it Audrey turns her head behind her and says, "wind! stop blowing so I can read this book!"

I think she actually thought it might stop.

I laughed out loud. My child has yet to learn that the world does not revolve around her!




Sarah

Yet another baseball game

We took Audrey to her second baseball game this summer. This time we went with several neighborhood friends and sat in the grass. I have no idea who we played. I can't tell you what the score was. I can't tell you anything about the game. I was there with my daughter.

I had no idea how many crickets would be in the grass when I agreed to this. I am seriously a box seats kinda girl.

Audrey's main objective was to get cotton candy. She didn't watch a pitch of the game but we did manage to stay past the 3rd inning this time. She had fun playing with her friends in the grass or the rocks. And, yes, she got cotton candy and shared it with her friends.

This was the first time she'd gone anywhere for an extended period of time without Froggy (her potty seat). (Another blog post) However, she had no accidents and went to the women's restroom with me one time. When we were there she told me to just hold her--she didn't want to touch the seat! There's no doubt she's my daughter!!!

We left right as it began to rain. Oh I almost forgot. There was a home-run during the time we were there, and I think our team hit it. Hard to imagine I spent my adolescent years sitting at baseball games! Even harder to imagine one of my first radio gigs was a sports reporter.

Audrey really isn't into smiling for pictures right now.

mmm sticky cotton candy

Audrey playing in the rocks with Lily, Julia, Alex and Owen

Sarah

tea for two

I was invited to a tea party. My daughter Audrey and I shared wonderful tea, coffee and delicious pastries in a cute little shoppe in Paris. Of course, with an imagination like my daughters (she's very creative) we could have been in Paris! Although she was being totally serious, she made me laugh a few times.

She set up her little table with napkins, food, a tea pot and saucers. When she asked me what I'd like to eat I asked her if she had a gluten free menu. She paused for a minute and said, "sure!" She then went over to the kitchen and came back with an overnight diaper and handed it to me and said, "here you go." ( This girl has got a huge imagination!). I then ordered a star and a moon--as literally, that is what was on the menu. She gave me a star cookie cutter and part of a plastic banana that resembled the moon. Gluten free, of course.

If you look at the picture, the Band-Aids in the picture were our napkins. (huge imagination) And naturally, Bitty joined us at the table too.

I look forward to more invitations to tea. Especially now that I know they have a gluten free menu!

Sarah

Audrey Paints

Painting her "Little People" Paint with Water Book

An artist at work

Sensing she was bored with Crayola crayons, we decided to move on to watercolor paints. She went with me to the Gingerbread house and we picked out paints, brushes and her first paint with water book. She "painted" the just add water book in less than 10 minutes. She needed to create! So, I got out the art paper and turned her loose. Her face lit up when she first saw the color come off the brush. She has since been creating masterpieces with her Melissa and Doug paint set. I think she needs an easel.

Just yesterday Bitty Baby needed her toes painted. Purple fingernails and blue toenails!

Sarah

Jumping in a ( very small) puddle

Audrey wanted to play in the rain. And she wanted to wear her swimsuit. The rain was light and short lived. She was disappointed when it stopped and kept trying to make more rain. She'd go inside and get a cup, fill it up with a few drops of rain and pour it out on the concrete. A few times she'd actually jump in the puddles--although they were so small you can hardly see the water splash. She preferred to run through them. I didn't get very good pictures but here's a glimpse of Audrey running in the rain.

tiny splash

Sarah