X-mas lights at the ZOO

Daddy look and listen to those seals!! 

Hey Kiptyn! Let me grab you a little bit :)

Oh my GOODNESS! Mommy do you see all these lights?

Weee! Put me down!

OOO! Fishes!

Sleepy boy

Penguins AND kids...I am in heaven!

Danny, Michele and Kiptyn

SEASONS GREETINGS

Watch us grow

Winter Wonderland

What a fun time we had with Michele, Danny and Kiptyn! We are so lucky to have good friends with great ideas and perfect timing! Friday was a very busy day for me. It started off with a trip to Target to get a graduation gift for my sister, then to Nonnie's to help clean for the graduation party, next to Gymboree with Ella (we had a ball!), then back to Nonnie's for a nap while I went to school for our mentor party. Next I tried to get plates for the graduation party with no luck since it is not May. Then off we were to the Zoo for some lights and festivities. 

Let me back up a little and tell again about how much fun we have at Gymboree. Ella knows where we are once we touch the parking lot and begins to jump up and down in my arms. She hits the ground running and begins to greet all her little friends by bowing in their faces and giggling. She then talks and gives hugs to them. My little social butterfly! 

Then it is off to climb, throw balls, go down the slides, push the air log and her favorite, sing songs with Gymbo, the gigantic clown doll, and play games and bubbles with the parachute. Ella is first over to Gymbo each time, greeting him with a huge smile and her silly giggle she does. When we bounce and sing she is all smiles. I like standing on the opposite side of the mirrors so I can see her face when we do these things. I am glad she is enjoying this as much as I am. Today we were to climb through tunnels, but no matter how hard I try she refuses! She is like trying to give a cat a bath! She puts her arms and legs out so she grabs the edges and there is no way I can push or put her in. Even enticing her with a ball is NO use! We will practice that one. The teacher said it could be because her depth perception is not fully developed, which doesn't happen until 10 years old. She may be afraid because she can't judge where the end is. We will roll balls through and I will go through too to show her everything is alright. 

After Gymboree, my mentor party and Ella's nap, we got all bundled up to head to the Zoo. It was packed! It was so nice outside on Friday that I think everyone had the same idea. As soon as she saw the lights she started to ooh and talk and point to everything she saw. The seals were barking again and putting on a good show. She was very interested in seeing who was making all that racket!

We met up with Michele, Danny and Kiptyn by the dolphins. Kiptyn is getting so big too! Of course, Ella wanted to say hello and Michele wanted to see her walk so out she came from her stroller. Off she went! I could have easily lost her in the crowd of people and with how quick and steady she is on her feet. Next we walked over to the Christmas trees that were made completely of lights. Ella was amazed as I knew she would be. She ran over and just touched and looked at the lights. She kept talking to us telling us all about it! The light in her eyes was beautiful. She was so happy, innocent, amazed. It was beautiful to see her so happy and to see things for the thousandth time for the first time through her eyes. 

There were some other very memorable moments that I will keep close to my heart for awhile. Like when we walked into the penguin exhibit and Ella almost jumped out of James' arms, pointing and talking! I set her down on the ledge and she watched the penguins swim underneath. All of a sudden, a penguin dove in and swam down the glass. Before I could catch her, Ella starting chasing the penguin down the ledge. So here I am crouching down, following my one year old daughter who is desperately trying to catch this penguin. I was going "oh, sorry, excuse me, pardon me, Ella wait!" It was pretty comical. I hope I didn't make anyone too mad :) Needless to say, the penguins were a SPLASH!

After walking around and seeing all the lights we decided to end at the gift shop. I let Ella out so she could explore. She is really good about it too. She would touch and then look at me for approval. If I told her "no no" she would stop and move on. We picked out a giraffe ornament for the tree. She held onto it like it was gold and put it with other toys she could reach as well. I put her back in the stroller while James was getting ready to pay. We just set her down on top of her blankets, which apparently was a bad idea. She quickly abandoned ship and I caught her in mid air and she escaped from her stroller. Whew! That was close. Well she saw this humongous tiger stuffed animal. It was two times the size of her, laying down in front of a christmas tree. She first greeted it, by bowing down in front of the tiger and giggling. Then she poked his eyes, nose and mouth telling me about each one as she did. She continued to talk to the Tiger. It was so cute I could barely stand it. She was so excited. I wonder what she was thinking. Then she picked it up and handed it to me. She has really been into picking big things up. She has carried around the 3lb weights I have at home, our lap tops, her big toys, it is too much. It was as if she were handing the tiger to me saying "here ya go mom, I want this one!" 

Then she mounted the tiger! She tried to ride him like a pony, bouncing up and down laughing hysterically at herself. Danny got some pictures that I am waiting for him to send me. As soon as I have them I will post them too. Overall it was such a successful night. It has been amazing to watch her grow just at the Zoo. Each time we go she is more excited, more into what she is seeing and really seeming to enjoy her time more and more. Can't wait to go again!