Monday, September 13, 2010
Icky icky virus
So like I said in my previous post, my computer has a virus. I need to take it somewhere to get fixed but that probably won't happen for a while. I already had the "Baby #2" post written up last week so it was no problem to post that once I had access to another computer (I am using my parents'). But since I can't access the Internet from home and finding an available computer to use (and taking the time to type up a post) will be pretty sporadic, it'll probably be quiet on here for a while. Darn! I was just starting to get back in the swing of things! Hopefully I'll have things back up and running before #2 comes along but if not then hopefully it'll be sometime before the end of the year so I can post pictures! Until then, farewell.
Remembering 9-11
I wanted to post this on Saturday but my computer has a major virus and I can't access the Internet. And for all the hoopla about having IPhones, it will let me write in the title of a new blog but won't let me access the body of a blog so I can do nothing from my IPhone. Great technology, eh? Anyway, I was digging around my memory boxes and found this that I wrote a few days after 9-11. To that horrible day which will forever be etched in my mind...
Rewind and Erase
I wish I could rewind and turn back time
Erase things from existence
Prevent them from happening
When disaster strikes, I can push rewind and erase
Before the reality of it all sets in...
Simple
When things go wrong,
Things that should have been left unsaid,
And left undone
Just push rewind and erase...
Simple
No worries
Make things right again
For you and me
If I could just have those two buttons
Then everything would be fine
Just push rewind and erase...
Simple
Written on Sept 15, 2001; 11:39 pm
Rewind and Erase
I wish I could rewind and turn back time
Erase things from existence
Prevent them from happening
When disaster strikes, I can push rewind and erase
Before the reality of it all sets in...
Simple
When things go wrong,
Things that should have been left unsaid,
And left undone
Just push rewind and erase...
Simple
No worries
Make things right again
For you and me
If I could just have those two buttons
Then everything would be fine
Just push rewind and erase...
Simple
Written on Sept 15, 2001; 11:39 pm
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Baby #2
28 weeks (taken 2 weeks ago)
As you already know, we are expecting baby boy #2 in late November. Of course this pregnancy has not had my full attention as my pregnancy with Blake did. Since its the second go around, there are not as many "firsts" in the experience of the process and I'm not just sitting around the house with only a dog to keep me company. But there are definitely some differences between this pregnancy and Blake's.
First off, this one has been completely drama free, which I am so thankful for. With Blake's pregnancy, we had been trying for several months to get pregnant and then suffered two miscarriages in a row before immediately going into a third pregnancy (Blake). So stress was at an all time high. A close eye was kept on me during the beginning of the pregnancy and I was put on progesterone for the first trimester. I was constantly sick and had a couple of trips to the ER because of heavy bleeding and clotting at the 10th week and 12th week. So it was definitely a rough go at the start. This was a baby that was wanted for a couple of years and having a bad track record and a horribly stressful start was just awful to deal with.
To contrast Blake with this pregnancy is like night and day. We had just gotten past Blake's 1st birthday and I was in no hurry to start on a second one. No years of waiting for this kid, or even months, or even days! It wasn't really what I had in mind. I was content with enjoying Blake at the age he was in and I also knew my sister was getting married in the summer and I certainly didn't want to be dealing with nausea or not being able to fit in my bridesmaid dress if I was pregnant before her wedding came about. I was prepared to start thinking of adding a second one after the wedding but probably not until Blake was at least 18 months. Plus I really didn't want to go through the first trimester so soon. The thought of being sick all the time and having no energy while still caring for my first baby (he just turned one!) was so not in my plan. God surely must've laughed down at me. :) Because it was just the next month after my baby's 1st birthday that I was pregnant. What happened to after the wedding?? or until Blake was 18 months old??? I already had my bridesmaid dress IN MY HOUSE which means I had already purchased it and wasn't planning on any alterations besides just the hem. I was getting into a new exercise routine by enjoying Zumba and wanted to lose the last 5 lbs. Obviously my plan is NOT the Lord's plan.
But like I said, drama free. Besides having the normal low energy and nausea there was no stress to this pregnancy. No extra doctor visits, no ER runs, no multiple ultrasounds, no progesterone. Baby was doing fine, even my nausea was much better. No puking! I still lost weight in the first trimester because of the constant nausea and lack of appetite and I took two naps a day (or whenever Blake slept) but it was so different from Blake's pregnancy! So it was manageable. Thank the Lord!
Second, with Blake I craved salty things. This baby has me eating sweets. A LOT of sweets. I have even broken down and bought horribly-high-sugared-bad-for-you-junk snacks. Multiple times. Little Debbie brownies? Yes, please! Chocolate stashed in the house? Yes, please! Homemade cookies, boxed cake brownies, or muffins? Yes, please! Gooey cinnamon rolls or sticky (fake high fructose corn syrup) maple-y smothered pancakes? Yes, please! Ice cream or some type of dessert every night before bed? Yes, please! Arrrrrgh! This is not me! I buy cookies like once every 3 months. Sugary processed junk usually doesn't make it into my house. Little Debbie? I haven't seen her in YEARS, people! But now, I cannot resist. Usually if I have a sweet craving, it can be satisfied by chocolate milk or organic vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit or a piece of chocolate here and there but it was controllable. I chose not to have sweet junk in my house because if it wasn't there then I wouldn't be tempted and I could make healthier choices and get my sweet tooth satisfied in a way that I preferred. I grew up with junk in the house and decided that I didn't want that for my own household. But now, the overwhelming desire has overpowered me. And it doesn't just stop at one or two cookies. No, it looks for satisfaction ALL DAY LONG. This baby is killing me with its sweet tooth. Hopefully it means it'll be that much sweeter when it enters the world. :)
Also another difference is that I am planning on having a natural delivery with #2 and am more prepared this time around. With Blake, I couldn't even muster up the courage to read any birthing books until I was into my 3rd trimester. With Blake I said that I wanted to try to do it naturally but I honestly wasn't prepared enough mentally for it. I was TERRIFIED of the whole labor and delivery process. And fear can be powerful, people. Sure I eventually read a couple of books but I wasn't thrilled with the idea. What's so bad about drugs anyway? I want a calm and relaxed birth experience and want to be able to enjoy it and if drugs will help me get that then by golly that's what I'll do.
Well, after having had the medicated birth and now being a bit more mature mentally and emotionally, I decided to revisit the idea of doing a natural birth this time around. Honestly I think its just how I have developed as a mother. When you are in charge of what goes into your child's body and you realize the ramifications of either good and bad of those decisions, it just makes you think. For me, at least. When Blake started on solid foods, it made me more aware of what I was eating and what I wanted him to eat. Did I want french fries to be the number one veggie he ate on a daily basis like 50% of American children do? No! I started veering towards whole foods- natural, good for you, less processed- things to eat. Fast foods happen on very rare occasions for us this year, when it probably had been a once a week or at least twice a month occurance for me in the past. Doing more reading, becoming more aware, and being the caretaker of not just my own body but of my child's made me more open to other things as well.
Plus looking back on Blake's birth I realize that I wanted to try things a bit differently this time. So I did more reading this time and wasn't scared of what I was finding. I started reading books in the first trimester and did more research on what I wanted. And the conclusion was that I wanted to still deliver in a hospital, I wanted to do it drug-free as much as possible, I wanted to labor at home for as long as possible, and I wanted professional support to help me through it. So we hired a doula, or a labor-support person. I found her online through different positive reviews, checked out her website and made a consult appointment with her at the beginning of July. I had read midwifery books, natural delivery books, and watched the "Business of Being Born" which is a documentary that Ricki Lake made (yes, the former talk show host). So I was much more informed and prepared for what I wanted.
Now, my husband is great. He gives me wonderful support in everything I do but he knows and I know that he would not have the professional know-how of all the ins and outs, procedures, and options that one has during labor and delivery. Once I explained to him what I wanted and what a doula was, he was all for it. We had a great first meeting with her and decided to hire her. She has 3 girls of her own and is expecting a 4th early next year. She is super knowledgeable and loves L&D and her work as a doula. She is calm and sweet and really fits with our personalities. I am actually excited for this L&D! We have our second meeting planned for next week where we discuss our birth plan. I didn't have a birth plan for Blake, there were some very specific things that I wanted/didn't want done for his L&D but didn't really know how to go about voicing that. Thankfully the Lord had everything go exactly how I wanted it to, so it turned out to be a great experience but this time I want to go in prepared.
Those are the few difference that I am experiencing this time around. Only 3 more months left and we'll be able to meet our new member of the family! Even though the timeline hasn't gone how I originally wanted, I am super excited to have another little guy to love in this family of mine. I feel amazingly blessed to not only have the opportunity to be a mother to Blake but to add this one in as well. I'm looking forward to getting to know this new covenant creation. As he kicks around in my belly, I'm anxious to meet him. We love him already! Thank you God, for Your perfect timing!
Blake at 19 months
Since my last update on Blake was before he was 1, there has been a lot of changes since then! He is now a walking, talking, brilliant toddler (don't all moms think their kids are brilliant?) I can hardly remember what he was like at a year old. He definitely keeps me on the go and LOVES learning and soaking up his environment. Here is what he is up to now...
Physically: His weight has pretty much stayed consistent this past year, he is 25 lbs now and in the 38th percentile. He has grown in length considerably between his 15 month and 18 month check ups. He still looks like a mini-James but I have gotten more comments on how his facial expressions come from me. Even James has admitted in seeing a bit more me in Blake recently. to me, its just fascinating how there are so many facets to this little kid and how he is constantly changing. But I'm glad to know there is a little something of me underneath all that mirror-image of his dad! :) Blake took his time in learning to walk. He finally got the hang of it at 15 months. He just wasn't interested in taking steps. He had been standing and cruising long before his 1st birthday but he was having more fun in crawling around than trying to walk. I knew that it would happen where just one day he would go for it, and that would be it, and I was right. We were in the nursery one Sunday morning and he stood up and decided to walk to the toys and to his little friend Graham instead of getting down and crawling. Then the rest of that week, he chose to take more steps and do less crawling and before I knew it he had stopped crawling and was walking as his preferred mode of getting around. It didn't take him long once he decided to do it.
Finally walking before the fun of summer hit! Which meant he could enjoy playing outside more and going to splash parks and playgrounds. That was what I wanted, for him to at least be walking by the time warm weather came around so he didn't have to crawl around playgrounds.
Eating habits: Fruit tops all for this kid. He loves any and all fruits and probably gets his 5 servings of fruits/veggies all from fruits these days. He has fresh fruit at pretty much every meal and it was so easy to do since fresh produce abounded this summer. But sadly, veggies are at the very BOTTOM of his list. When he was a baby and ate pureed veggies, he loved them. Now, its really hard to get him to eat any. He might eat peas, carrots, and potatoes but he doesn't all of the time. Anything green, he usually won't even touch. I have tried seasoning the veggies, doing raw and cooked, mixing it up with other things like rice or pasta, but he just turns his nose up at it. He'll eat them if its in a pizza and mostly will if its with eggs but otherwise he stays away from them. I figure that we just keep trying and someday he will decide to eat them or at least TRY them! He is a pretty good eater otherwise so I guess I should just be content with what I can get. He mostly drinks only water or milk for his beverages and doesn't have much prepackaged junk to eat. Whole grain breads/rice/pasta, fresh fruit, lean meats, and natural or organic dairy is usually what he eats. Sweets are a rarity as are frozen foods and fast foods. So I think I am doing pretty well.
Looks healthy to me!
Language: He picks up new words all the time now. His vocabulary is probably around 100 words or so and the majority of words that he knows to say, he also knows in sign language. He picks up on things so fast and loves to imitate. He is a little parrot and tries hard to repeat things that we say. Of course his speaking and signing is not 100% correct but I can usually understand what he is trying to say. Its really nice knowing that he is learning to communicate in sign language because he is able to converse with my own parents fairly well. Its my hope that he will be fluent in ASL so he can enjoy his grandparents on their level. Plus they get a real kick out of seeing him try to communicate with them. He signs and speaks interchangeably with all people at this point so of course he hasn't quite grasped that not all people know sign but I think its been a huge help in his language development and communication skills. Sometimes he'll say a word that I can't quite figure out but if he uses the sign for it as well, then it makes it easier for me to grasp what he is saying.
He is also doing more 2 and 3 word sentences which is fun to hear. He'll say things like "daddy work bye-bye", or "tree outside". Yesterday when we had both sets of grandparents over he said "two papas", which I think meant that he realized he had 2 grandpas in the same room with him! See, brilliant, I tell ya. ;)
Personality: He is still very easy-going and very sweet and cuddly. He loves snuggling with his stuffed animals or blankets and gives hugs and kisses easily. He is very social and friendly to most people but females get it more generously than men. He is very much a mama's boy and prefers me over James which isn't always what I want espcially when its the middle of the night and James tries to go in and comfort him and all I hear is Blake crying and saying "mama, mama!" Its sweet but can be exhausting!
He is really into trucks and all kinds of motor vehicles. He loves to learn and identify different cars/trucks and has started playing more with car toys and dump trucks. Everytime we are on the road, he points out almost all the trucks we pass and he keeps saying "truck, truck" until you acknowledge that there was indeed a truck that went by. Then he'll say "where truck go?" and you have to explain that the truck went bye-bye in the opposite direction and he'll respond with "bye-bye truck". Its quite entertaining. Its also fun to watch him play with his cars and make engine noises for them. He is all boy!
He loves books and has his own little book corner in our living room with his books in a basket and a small chair that he can get in and out of on his own. Often when I am in the kitchen doing things and its quiet, I'll peek my head around and see him in his chair looking at different books. He even tries to read them "outloud" by saying what picture is on the pages.
There has been a stubbornness that has come out more recently. He has definite opinions and uses the word "no" and "ok" to get across what he wants. This happened a few mornings ago...
me: "What do you want for breakfast, Blake? Do you want toast?"
blake: "no"
me: "Do you want a bagel?"
blake: "no"
me: "Do you want pancakes?"
blake: "no"
me: "Do you want cereal or eggs?"
blake: "no"
me: "Do you want oatmeal?"
blake: "ok, oatmeal!"
And he ate his oatmeal without asking for anything else. So I guess he knew what he wanted! Sometimes he will even tell me what he wants to do. He'll say "go night-night" when he wants to take a nap and says "poopy" while he is in the act of doing just that. He has thrown his fair share of tantrums and has tested my patience numerous times but I love this kid all the same. He is a joy and delight and I love watching him grow into the person God wants him to be.
Saying "cheese!"
My little man. Mwah!
There is probably plenty of things I missed but this about sums it up. He's a great little kid and we are blessed to have him.
Physically: His weight has pretty much stayed consistent this past year, he is 25 lbs now and in the 38th percentile. He has grown in length considerably between his 15 month and 18 month check ups. He still looks like a mini-James but I have gotten more comments on how his facial expressions come from me. Even James has admitted in seeing a bit more me in Blake recently. to me, its just fascinating how there are so many facets to this little kid and how he is constantly changing. But I'm glad to know there is a little something of me underneath all that mirror-image of his dad! :) Blake took his time in learning to walk. He finally got the hang of it at 15 months. He just wasn't interested in taking steps. He had been standing and cruising long before his 1st birthday but he was having more fun in crawling around than trying to walk. I knew that it would happen where just one day he would go for it, and that would be it, and I was right. We were in the nursery one Sunday morning and he stood up and decided to walk to the toys and to his little friend Graham instead of getting down and crawling. Then the rest of that week, he chose to take more steps and do less crawling and before I knew it he had stopped crawling and was walking as his preferred mode of getting around. It didn't take him long once he decided to do it.
Finally walking before the fun of summer hit! Which meant he could enjoy playing outside more and going to splash parks and playgrounds. That was what I wanted, for him to at least be walking by the time warm weather came around so he didn't have to crawl around playgrounds.
Eating habits: Fruit tops all for this kid. He loves any and all fruits and probably gets his 5 servings of fruits/veggies all from fruits these days. He has fresh fruit at pretty much every meal and it was so easy to do since fresh produce abounded this summer. But sadly, veggies are at the very BOTTOM of his list. When he was a baby and ate pureed veggies, he loved them. Now, its really hard to get him to eat any. He might eat peas, carrots, and potatoes but he doesn't all of the time. Anything green, he usually won't even touch. I have tried seasoning the veggies, doing raw and cooked, mixing it up with other things like rice or pasta, but he just turns his nose up at it. He'll eat them if its in a pizza and mostly will if its with eggs but otherwise he stays away from them. I figure that we just keep trying and someday he will decide to eat them or at least TRY them! He is a pretty good eater otherwise so I guess I should just be content with what I can get. He mostly drinks only water or milk for his beverages and doesn't have much prepackaged junk to eat. Whole grain breads/rice/pasta, fresh fruit, lean meats, and natural or organic dairy is usually what he eats. Sweets are a rarity as are frozen foods and fast foods. So I think I am doing pretty well.
Looks healthy to me!
Language: He picks up new words all the time now. His vocabulary is probably around 100 words or so and the majority of words that he knows to say, he also knows in sign language. He picks up on things so fast and loves to imitate. He is a little parrot and tries hard to repeat things that we say. Of course his speaking and signing is not 100% correct but I can usually understand what he is trying to say. Its really nice knowing that he is learning to communicate in sign language because he is able to converse with my own parents fairly well. Its my hope that he will be fluent in ASL so he can enjoy his grandparents on their level. Plus they get a real kick out of seeing him try to communicate with them. He signs and speaks interchangeably with all people at this point so of course he hasn't quite grasped that not all people know sign but I think its been a huge help in his language development and communication skills. Sometimes he'll say a word that I can't quite figure out but if he uses the sign for it as well, then it makes it easier for me to grasp what he is saying.
He is also doing more 2 and 3 word sentences which is fun to hear. He'll say things like "daddy work bye-bye", or "tree outside". Yesterday when we had both sets of grandparents over he said "two papas", which I think meant that he realized he had 2 grandpas in the same room with him! See, brilliant, I tell ya. ;)
Personality: He is still very easy-going and very sweet and cuddly. He loves snuggling with his stuffed animals or blankets and gives hugs and kisses easily. He is very social and friendly to most people but females get it more generously than men. He is very much a mama's boy and prefers me over James which isn't always what I want espcially when its the middle of the night and James tries to go in and comfort him and all I hear is Blake crying and saying "mama, mama!" Its sweet but can be exhausting!
He is really into trucks and all kinds of motor vehicles. He loves to learn and identify different cars/trucks and has started playing more with car toys and dump trucks. Everytime we are on the road, he points out almost all the trucks we pass and he keeps saying "truck, truck" until you acknowledge that there was indeed a truck that went by. Then he'll say "where truck go?" and you have to explain that the truck went bye-bye in the opposite direction and he'll respond with "bye-bye truck". Its quite entertaining. Its also fun to watch him play with his cars and make engine noises for them. He is all boy!
He loves books and has his own little book corner in our living room with his books in a basket and a small chair that he can get in and out of on his own. Often when I am in the kitchen doing things and its quiet, I'll peek my head around and see him in his chair looking at different books. He even tries to read them "outloud" by saying what picture is on the pages.
There has been a stubbornness that has come out more recently. He has definite opinions and uses the word "no" and "ok" to get across what he wants. This happened a few mornings ago...
me: "What do you want for breakfast, Blake? Do you want toast?"
blake: "no"
me: "Do you want a bagel?"
blake: "no"
me: "Do you want pancakes?"
blake: "no"
me: "Do you want cereal or eggs?"
blake: "no"
me: "Do you want oatmeal?"
blake: "ok, oatmeal!"
And he ate his oatmeal without asking for anything else. So I guess he knew what he wanted! Sometimes he will even tell me what he wants to do. He'll say "go night-night" when he wants to take a nap and says "poopy" while he is in the act of doing just that. He has thrown his fair share of tantrums and has tested my patience numerous times but I love this kid all the same. He is a joy and delight and I love watching him grow into the person God wants him to be.
Saying "cheese!"
My little man. Mwah!
There is probably plenty of things I missed but this about sums it up. He's a great little kid and we are blessed to have him.
A Day at the Zoo
We LOVE the zoo. Usually when James has a day off and we want to do something fun, we head for Brookfield Zoo. We're members of the zoo so we can park and get in for free which makes it an easy choice to just pick up and go. Being members has its perks because since we can go anytime we want, we don't feel as if we have to see everything at once. We usually stay for a few hours, see what we want to see, then head home. No guilt trip on not making the most of our trip if we only get to go once a year. Its so much more fun this way and we've really benefitted from our membership.
James had planned to take a 4 day weekend because of Labor Day so on Friday we headed out to Brookfield. We stopped at Starbucks first to have breakfast, which we haven't done in years, and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. Blake is very social and waved to all of the baristas while smiling and saying "hi". The weather was the first cool day we had in a long time-early 70 degree weather!! The perfect day to spend outdoors.
At the zoo, I wanted to see the new dolphin show and at least try out the Petting Zoo since they were closed the last time we were there. This trip I was able to take more pictures since there were less people around and since Blake was more aware of what was happening. As he gets older, its fun to see him get excited about the animals and recognize what's what.
James and Blake ready for some fun!
As we made our way over to the dolphin area, we stopped by to see the big cats and we were in luck because the leopard was right at the big glass viewing area which enabled us to see him up close!
Someone put their hand up on the glass and the leopard did the same thing. His coat is just beautiful!
Blake was super excited to see the leopard. He laughed and got a big smile on his face.
Usually the dolphin show is extra but we get 4 free tickets included in our membership. They were closed down last year as they renovated the entire dolphin arena. Apparently they are celebrating 50 years of having dolphins at the zoo and they revamped their whole show as well. I was really hoping it wasn't going to be like the Shedd Aquarium's new dolphin show. They renovated last year as well and spent millions of dollars on their new enclosure and redid their show as well. We saw it this past spring and it was awful. The animals hardly did anything and the show was more focused on an audience member participating by going to a "magical world" of sea creatures, or something equally lame. They did special effects with lights and big screens that covered the entire view of Michigan Lake so it was dark and hard to see. Really really awful.
Waiting in line to go into the show.
A bright and cheery dolphin area!
Our little family.
Thankfully this show was nothing like the Shedd's! They had plenty of awesome dolphin "tricks" with lots of jumping in the air and splashing of the audience. Very upbeat and entertaining. Blake loved it.
Watching the show.
Clapping and saying "yay!!" when the audience clapped.
Dolphin showing off.
We really enjoyed seeing the dolphins and what they can do. They are such beautiful animals! 
Petting the goat's ear.
I think he kissed the back on this one. :)
Two goats butting heads. Not sure if they were being nice or starting a fight. We moved away just in case.
The goats were pretty much the only animals one could touch. They also had cows, horses, ducks, chickens, sheep, and a variety of big birds like owls and hawks.
We walked over to the elephants after the petting zoo since those are one of Blake's favorite animals to see. Then we took a photo op by the rhinos.
The zoo has a new bear exhibit which we saw last spring and were not super impressed with. The bears are hard to see because there are so many areas that they can hide in so its not always great for viewing. But we decided to try it out again and see if the bears would be more active this time since it was a cooler day and we had better luck with the other animals this day.
They have a herd of bison in the bear area. They even sell bison burgers at the cafe over there.
The entrance to the new exhibit. There are bison on top of the bridge.
James had planned to take a 4 day weekend because of Labor Day so on Friday we headed out to Brookfield. We stopped at Starbucks first to have breakfast, which we haven't done in years, and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. Blake is very social and waved to all of the baristas while smiling and saying "hi". The weather was the first cool day we had in a long time-early 70 degree weather!! The perfect day to spend outdoors.
At the zoo, I wanted to see the new dolphin show and at least try out the Petting Zoo since they were closed the last time we were there. This trip I was able to take more pictures since there were less people around and since Blake was more aware of what was happening. As he gets older, its fun to see him get excited about the animals and recognize what's what.
James and Blake ready for some fun!
As we made our way over to the dolphin area, we stopped by to see the big cats and we were in luck because the leopard was right at the big glass viewing area which enabled us to see him up close!
Someone put their hand up on the glass and the leopard did the same thing. His coat is just beautiful!
Blake was super excited to see the leopard. He laughed and got a big smile on his face.
Usually the dolphin show is extra but we get 4 free tickets included in our membership. They were closed down last year as they renovated the entire dolphin arena. Apparently they are celebrating 50 years of having dolphins at the zoo and they revamped their whole show as well. I was really hoping it wasn't going to be like the Shedd Aquarium's new dolphin show. They renovated last year as well and spent millions of dollars on their new enclosure and redid their show as well. We saw it this past spring and it was awful. The animals hardly did anything and the show was more focused on an audience member participating by going to a "magical world" of sea creatures, or something equally lame. They did special effects with lights and big screens that covered the entire view of Michigan Lake so it was dark and hard to see. Really really awful.
Waiting in line to go into the show.
A bright and cheery dolphin area!
Our little family.
Thankfully this show was nothing like the Shedd's! They had plenty of awesome dolphin "tricks" with lots of jumping in the air and splashing of the audience. Very upbeat and entertaining. Blake loved it.
Watching the show.
Clapping and saying "yay!!" when the audience clapped.
Dolphin showing off.
We really enjoyed seeing the dolphins and what they can do. They are such beautiful animals!
After the show we went to the petting zoo. Blake liked getting up close and personal with some of the animals and kept trying to kiss them!
Petting the goat's ear.
I think he kissed the back on this one. :)
Two goats butting heads. Not sure if they were being nice or starting a fight. We moved away just in case.
The goats were pretty much the only animals one could touch. They also had cows, horses, ducks, chickens, sheep, and a variety of big birds like owls and hawks.
We walked over to the elephants after the petting zoo since those are one of Blake's favorite animals to see. Then we took a photo op by the rhinos.
The zoo has a new bear exhibit which we saw last spring and were not super impressed with. The bears are hard to see because there are so many areas that they can hide in so its not always great for viewing. But we decided to try it out again and see if the bears would be more active this time since it was a cooler day and we had better luck with the other animals this day.
They have a herd of bison in the bear area. They even sell bison burgers at the cafe over there.
The entrance to the new exhibit. There are bison on top of the bridge.
We didn't really get to see the grizzly but we did get a few good shots of the polar bears. One was pretty close to the glass water viewing area and he looked as though he wanted to go swimming but wasn't sure about it. I'm still not wowed by this whole exhibit but at least we had better luck with the bears this time. We finished off our day by walking around to see the giraffes and zebras before heading home. It was a nice and relaxing day and we had a wonderful time. Until next time!!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
And now...a tour
Its taken me eight months to post something new. You could say blogging has fallen to the wayside. Yup, you could definitely say that. But I don't feel bad about it. I have a 18 month old to keep up with and am carrying around some extra weight, which tends to make me a teeny bit tired and unmotivated at this point. I had big plans for posting on Blake's 1st birthday back in February but obviously that didn't happen.
What did happen was finding out I was pregnant at the end of March. That was a bit of an unexpected thing as far as those sorts of things can actually be unexpected. And then basically all of April and May were shot for me. June, I was catching up on all the things I completely neglected during those previous months and July was family time and my baby sister's wedding. August has flown by uneventfully and I am just now feeling a little motivation to blog. So that's what happened and this is what you get...pictures of Blake's room! I don't think I ever actually posted pictures of his nursery way back when he was just a wee thing but honestly, it was nothing to brag about. Sure there was paint on the walls and matching crib bedding but there wasn't much else. Now knowing that we are expecting a second boy, I started adding a few more details to Blake's room to make it feel a bit more complete. Its not Pottery Barn Kids by any standard but I made do with what I had and its better than what it was. I'm still learning what I like and don't like as far as my home decorating skills go and there is still lots of improvement to be had but I am satisfied with what I did in the meantime. So you get pictures! Such an exciting post
Actually we'll start with his bathroom. This is the view into it. We painted the walls a dark blue when we first moved in but his bathroom has a "car" feel to it.
Some calendar prints that I ripped out and put into frames. The cars on the walls were brought into James' office by one of his co-workers and came from Steak-n-Shake, the fast food resturant. Classy!
Bright orange, red, and green shower curtain. Its a very vibrant bathroom but it works well together.
Blake's crib with a blanket on the wall.
This is the left side of his room. He and the new baby will share it eventually.
This is a needlepoint picture that James' paternal grandma made for her first grandchild back in the mid 70s (James' oldest brother, Jason). James' parents had it sitting around their house and since jason didn't want it, we took it. I love the colorful animals and like the fact that this was done by Blake's great-grandma and we get to have a small piece of her in his room.
You can't really tell how the curtains look but my mom and I bought the fabric way back when Blake was 6 months old and we finally made them into curtains and had it hung up just a month ago! Its nothing fancy and I don't have a valance but it adds a finishing effect to the room which I appreciate.
This is the curtain fabric, yellow and white pinstriped.
A little nook for Blake's books and toys. I didn't have anything except bins for stowing his stuff and finally bought a $15 shelf from Target. It does the job. I made the two truck pictures that hang above. Clipart and scrapbook paper make wonderful projects!
Then this is the right side of his room. We'll get a toddler bed at some point and put it against this wall when the baby takes over the crib. I'm hoping we won't have to do that until around Blake's 2nd birthday. The picture hanging on the wall is another thing I made...Blake's initals cut out of scrapbook paper. It says W B G II, since he is William Blake Gregga II.
What did happen was finding out I was pregnant at the end of March. That was a bit of an unexpected thing as far as those sorts of things can actually be unexpected. And then basically all of April and May were shot for me. June, I was catching up on all the things I completely neglected during those previous months and July was family time and my baby sister's wedding. August has flown by uneventfully and I am just now feeling a little motivation to blog. So that's what happened and this is what you get...pictures of Blake's room! I don't think I ever actually posted pictures of his nursery way back when he was just a wee thing but honestly, it was nothing to brag about. Sure there was paint on the walls and matching crib bedding but there wasn't much else. Now knowing that we are expecting a second boy, I started adding a few more details to Blake's room to make it feel a bit more complete. Its not Pottery Barn Kids by any standard but I made do with what I had and its better than what it was. I'm still learning what I like and don't like as far as my home decorating skills go and there is still lots of improvement to be had but I am satisfied with what I did in the meantime. So you get pictures! Such an exciting post
Actually we'll start with his bathroom. This is the view into it. We painted the walls a dark blue when we first moved in but his bathroom has a "car" feel to it.
Some calendar prints that I ripped out and put into frames. The cars on the walls were brought into James' office by one of his co-workers and came from Steak-n-Shake, the fast food resturant. Classy!
Bright orange, red, and green shower curtain. Its a very vibrant bathroom but it works well together.
Blake's crib with a blanket on the wall.
This is the left side of his room. He and the new baby will share it eventually.
This is a needlepoint picture that James' paternal grandma made for her first grandchild back in the mid 70s (James' oldest brother, Jason). James' parents had it sitting around their house and since jason didn't want it, we took it. I love the colorful animals and like the fact that this was done by Blake's great-grandma and we get to have a small piece of her in his room.
You can't really tell how the curtains look but my mom and I bought the fabric way back when Blake was 6 months old and we finally made them into curtains and had it hung up just a month ago! Its nothing fancy and I don't have a valance but it adds a finishing effect to the room which I appreciate.
This is the curtain fabric, yellow and white pinstriped.
A little nook for Blake's books and toys. I didn't have anything except bins for stowing his stuff and finally bought a $15 shelf from Target. It does the job. I made the two truck pictures that hang above. Clipart and scrapbook paper make wonderful projects!
Then this is the right side of his room. We'll get a toddler bed at some point and put it against this wall when the baby takes over the crib. I'm hoping we won't have to do that until around Blake's 2nd birthday. The picture hanging on the wall is another thing I made...Blake's initals cut out of scrapbook paper. It says W B G II, since he is William Blake Gregga II.
And that completes the tour! The wall hangings, curtains, shelf, and dresser, actually all happened in the last month so you can see where the room wasn't much to look at before. Now its a bright cheerful room with a bit more personality to it and is ready for its new addition!
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