Adventures at the zoo

It was a beautiful day today. We were going to goto the botanic garden, but Meredith had a really rough night last night. I have no idea what happened, but she woke up seemingly terrified of something. When she woke up crying, Rob went into her room & he said she was sitting in the crib crying for mommy. My poor baby. She ended up in our bed & was terribly fidgety. I ended up on the couch at 3am and then Meredith woke up at 6ish. Not cool.

We went up the block to get breakfast. Then we had to make a decision. Stay home on such a GORGEOUS day and let Meredith nap or go out and enjoy the day. If we went out we needed to make sure that whatever we did was engaging enough for Meredith that she wasn't an absolute beast the whole time or we all would be miserable.

We decided to head to the Prospect Park Zoo. Big enough with enough animals to enjoy, small enough for Meredith to get through the whole thing without a major meltdown.

We started our adventure at Wendy's. We picked up lunch and made our way into the zoo. Our first stop was the tables so we could eat something. Of course we stopped & took a peek at the sea lions first.



This is what Sean thought of the sea lions. Notice that nifty little fan.



Then it was lunch time. Meredith had a burger. She loves herself a good burger.




I finally nursed Sean in public. I haven't had the nerve to do it with him yet because he has such a hard time staying latched. I don't have a problem with breastfeeding in public, but that doesn't mean I want to be showing my business to everyone walking by when he inevitably pops off the boob. But I did it today. I just didn't care anymore. He was hungry.

A woman sat near us and pulled out this ridiculous looking piece of fabric. She strapped it to her neck like a bib & shoved her baby under it to nurse. Now if she didn't have the ridiculous looking fabric over her, I never would've even noticed that she was nursing her kid. But the print on this cover was hysterical & loud. She might as well have just worn a neon sign that said "look over here. My boobs are out!!"

Then it was off to see the animals. Meredith loves looking at the animals. She also wanted to make sure Sean saw them. Sean of course, couldn't have cared less about most of the exhibits, but she didn't care. How cute is she? She wants to make sure her little brother is included. It just melts my heart.

We saw the fishies.



And of course this is what Sean thought of the fishies. Are you checking out that half a grin? Are ya? Are ya? I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see that grin. Swooooooon.



We saw some monkeys. Some big, some small. Some looked like old men. And then we saw the baboons. I don't know if Meredith actually liked the baboons or whether she was just excited to be able to get that close to them. Meredith made her way up the stairs on her way to the next exhibit. She's getting so good at going up the stairs now. She's turning into such a little girl. Where oh where has my baby gone?






Every time I look at Meredith or talk to her or watch her interact with someone, I'm reminded that my little baby isn't so little anymore. She can speak with the best of them. She expresses herself so well with so many mediums. She's more polite than most other kids I've met. She's a sponge. She absorbs every single thing around her. I don't deserve to have such a terrific kid. I really don't.

We won the battle of the stroller with Meredith. Because she was so tired, she wanted to do the opposite of everything we asked of her. And when we asked her to go into the stroller, she tried to fight us. Eventually we won the battle. She looks so big compared to Sean and yet she's so petite.



We made it to the next building & saw the birds. Meredith liked the feathers.



And this is what Sean thought of the birds. Do you see how awake he is? He actually saw most of the zoo today. I was pretty proud.



We saw the meerkats and Sean had this hysterical look. He looked like he had seen a ghost. Poor kid. He always looks so surprised.









We went to the petting zoo. Meredith wanted to see the cow, but there were a bunch of older kids around him. They were there for quite some time. Of course my kid isn't pushy at all. So she just kind of hangs out in the background. Most parents don't tell their kids "ok it's time to let other people see." They just sit there, look at you, look at your kid and then turn around & let their kids linger. It makes me want to scream!! Just scream at them "Move your god damned asses. The cow isn't going to change colors the longer you stay in front of it. He's not going to moo in a different language. He's not going to change into a pig. Just get the hell out of the way so my kid can see it."

Of course I can't & wouldn't do that, but I feel like it so badly. I also feel like screaming at the parents, but what I'd like to scream at them should really never be admitted to by a lady.

Meredith saw the cow, but by the time these annoying little twits had moved out of way, the cow was being fed her hay & had left the gate. I was pissed. All Meredith wanted was to talk to the cow. Ok ok. All mommy wanted was a good picture of Meredith mooing at the cow, but still.

She fed the llama & the goat. Rob showed her how to milk a fake cow.


















Of course this is what Sean thought of the petting zoo.



As we were leaving the zoo we walked through the last exhibit. There are some fun things in there for the little pests to do. They can pretend to be the animals & see if they can do what the animals can do. Meredith is still to small to pop her head out of the prairie dog holes, but I helped her jump on the lily pads like a frog and she sat in an egg shell like the geese. Every time we goto the Prospect Park Zoo, we take a picture of Meredith in the egg shell. It's so amazing to see how she grows. I tried to get her to try out the spider web, but she wasn't having it. Maybe next time.












And of course here's what Sean thought of the spider web. I would've put him in an egg shell, but some woman was there with her kids (at least 6 or 7 years old) giving them a lesson on something. It took three "Meredith we have to wait out turn"s for the woman to tell one of her kids to move out of a shell to let Meredith in.



We saw the geese & then Rob put Meredith on his shoulders. We walked through the marsupial exhibit doing the "waddle waddle hop hop snort snort." And every time Rob hopped, Meredith squealed with delight.









There is a tree outside the marsupials that may or may not be real. It's really half a tree & has just the perfect "breaks" to make a seat. Again, we take a picture of Meredith in this tree every time we come here. I just can't believe how big she's getting.







And as we were walking I saw this stunning flower. I have no idea what kind of flower it is, but it was stunning. It was the most vibrant color red. The stem was strong, but not to thick. I was absolutely taken in by this flower. And it stuck out. There were no other flowers around it. Just tall grasses. And I was struck by a lot of thoughts. I thought about how this one flower was so alone. I thought about how it could've risen above the rest to shine through and be noticed. I thought about how strong this flower was to be so bright & colorful amongst a bland background.



And then Meredith pretended to be a turtle.




We stopped at the Lefferts House on our way out. Meredith got to use the different things that were used to farm in the 1800's. She used a watering can, climbed on a horse drawn wagon and played with the wells. She loved the wells. At the 2nd well, she wanted to see in the barrel and she lifted herself straight up to see in with her arms. I was so impressed with her arm strength. Rob & I have been trying to decide whether she'd like ice skating or gymnastics better and I think that arm strength may have been the deciding factor. She'd probably do really well in gymnastics.



















And because I can't resist cute baby feet.........



And then I couldn't resist trying to get some grass pictures of Sean. I was really hoping he'd stay asleep, but that didn't happen. And while he was on his back, he started to roll over. He didn't get all the way over, but I just can't believe my little man's strength.







Then it was off to the carousel. These were the only pictures I was able to get of Rob & Meredith on the carousel. You wouldn't say it was going a little fast now would you? Geez! I think Mario Andretti was running this thing.






And of course what Sean thought of the carousel.



After that it was time to go home. And really not soon enough. I was tired. Meredith was tired. Sean decided today was growth spurt day (constant eating, no sleeping). Rob was tired.

Meredith started to fall asleep as we loaded the car. She transferred into the car no problem. There aren't many times that Meredith falls asleep unaided by movement. But this time she did.






When we got home, everyone was awake so we decided to do some baby exercises. I got everyone set up on the floor and my baby was doing some tummy time. So Meredith's babies got to do some tummy time too. Of course when we turned over and started our other exercises, Meredith's babies did too. Is she cute or what?








After exercises, I was trying to get Sean to smile. Meredith laid down next to Sean on the boppy, smiled at him and he smiled back. The two of them have this way about them. They just communicate. I can't explain it. I can't even describe it to you. You just have to see it.

Do you see that grin? It melts my heart to see them with each other.



And of course this is what happens when I try to get him to smile. He looks every which way, but at me. Humpf. It's like he's looking down just to see if I'm still looking. Almost mocking me. Maybe he's thinking "ok as soon as she looks away or closes the camera, I'm going to smile right at her."