Zoo

Feeding the Giraffes

Our zoo has an amazing giraffe exhibit. The kids get to feed the giraffes. Jackie and Dallin thoroughly enjoy it, Brea is still a bit nervous. This time she wanted to, and tried to, but didn't dare let the giraffes tongue touch her had, so the lettuce usually fell to the ground.
The Elephants were out and the kids got a picture by them, it was amazing. They are huge of course, especially that close up!
We bought a chariot stroller after Brea was born and it has been the best stroller. We take it on hikes, walks around the neighborhood, bike rides (it can hook onto a bike), and the zoo. Usually there is just one child in it, but sporadically through the day another might come in or out (we use it for time out if a child veers too far away...

Whenever we go to the zoo the kids always want to BUY things...the crackers/lettuce for the giraffes, the bird seed to feed the birds, a ride on the carousel, or a pony ride. I thought I was being smart and had them bring their own money and they could decided what they wanted to spend it on. Only problem was...since it is winter time most of those exhibits were closed, except for the giraffes which only cost $1 for three pieces of lettuce. We were done with the zoo and ready to go but the kids still had money and decided they wanted to spend it in the gift shop. I have never (in the 6 years we have lived here gone in the gift shop). But we did, and they asked me how much EVERYTHING cost, and it was all way more money than they had. Finally they each got a sucker, Jackie two, and Dallin got a postcard of an Eagle. I don't think I will try that again! But they did like their $1.50 rock candy suckers, good thing.

By the way, if you are still reading, and if you didn't already realize this, the Elephant picture is not real elephants. It is a picture of Elephants that looks very real. I would not have put my baby next to a 16,000lb animal! Rest assured.

Random Cuteness

I have been sick this week (not fun!). So I was sitting here on the couch looking through my photos and decided to add some to my blog.Alyssa is now SEVEN months old, she is so much fun. She army crawls super fast which is hilarious to watch. We have to block the stairs or she would tumble (which already happened once, luckily we have a split level so it was only half a stairwell). She is a good eater, which took time. She was not fond of baby food at first, but with persistence she now really enjoys it. She especially loves cheerios and puffs because she can feed herself. We started giving her puffs about a month ago and were amazed that she could grasp them and feed herself. She is a happy baby, and loves all the attention she gets from her older siblings. She is not so fond of the car, probably because she is stuck in her car seat for about an hour everyday as I pick up a Kindergartner and then a 1st Grader. But she usually just falls asleep, if not she has lots of smiling faces to look at. She can sit and play, although doesn't last too long because she likes to MOVE. She just this week started pulling her self up (all the way up to her FEET) on the couch, her play table, the stairs, whatever she can find. She will stand there and scream because she can't get down. Yikes! She is going to be standing on her own soon, which means she will be walking soon. I am not ready for that. But I think she is. By the way, her hair is still growing which you can see in the above picture. I usually pull up the front into a ponytail or pigtails (so cute) so that it isn't in her eyes - still Dark - yea!
Brea is way into Dressing Up these days. She goes through about 2-3 outfits every day, usually something similar to what she has on in the above picture. She is quite fashionable and accesorizes with necklaces, hats, high heel shoes, painted toenails and fingernails, and if she can sneak it Makeup. She is obsessed with my makeup and sneaks pretty good to get into it. I didn't get any pictures of it on, but it is quiet the sight when mascara is smeared across her eyes and lipstick across her lips. She wanted to dress up Jackie (who is still excited about dressing up, as long as she can put on a dance for us) and Alyssa (this was her first experience). They managed to get a hat on her, at which time I said that was enough for Alyssa. She kept the hat on and looked rather cute. This is a random picture, I am not sure what was going on. Pretty princesses with boys acting scared I guess.
My kids love books. I try to read to them every day. This week as I have not felt well, books have been wonderful. I read to all three kids for an hour yesterday. No other time will my kids sit still and be quiet. Plus I know how powerful reading books to young kids can be, and I rather enjoy it myself. These books are a treasure I found at a Garage Sale last summer. I got the whole serious for $0.50. (Yes that is fifty cents for nine books). Each book is a different category with short stories/classics. I read them Jack and the Beanstalk and was fascinated with it. It is a lot different than the fluff and fun one I heard all my life. It was a bit more graphic, but a lot more interesting (I think they are more suited for Jackie, although Dallin did enjoy it). I keep them on a shelf in Jackies room and she has on occasion pulled one out and started reading it herself. My 1st grader can read to herself, chapter books, it is wonderful! Dallin amazed me by carrying them ALL downstairs and them back up, so I shot a picture of it. (I am not sure why Brea has a pacifier in her mouth in the background...at least it is not a real one, it is a plastic one that goes to one of her babies. She must have been pretending to be a baby)