Zoorassic Park

We decided to go to the zoo on Saturday. We thought it would be best to go in the morning and come home for lunch and afternoon naps. So of course, P1 decided to have an epic meltdown over breakfast. I made waffles because he asked for them, but then he wouldn't eat a single bite. He kept getting up, so we strapped him in the highchair. And we told him he couldn't go to the zoo if he didn't eat his breakfast. (Don't you just hate having to follow through as a parent?) I want him to go to the zoo and have fun, and all he has to do is eat a tiny waffle! Why is it so hard?! And then I think, what does Heavenly Father think about us? He has all these wonderful blessings waiting for us and has made all these preparations for us, and all He asks us to do is to keep His commandments. Anyway, I digress, back to the zoo...

So P1 refused to eat his waffle until we were all ready to go. I was just going to take P2 somewhere fun, but P1 finally realized we were serious and he quickly ate his waffle (after sitting there for over an hour).

We finally made it to the zoo. We thought P1 would enjoy the dinosaur animatronics throughout the zoo, but turns out he was terrified of them. So every time we got close to one he would start crying and refuse to walk. Which is basically everywhere in the zoo. P2 liked the dinosaurs at first, until we got to the one that sprays water. She didn't even get wet, but it scared her, and after that she would also start crying whenever we got close to the dinosaurs or heard water spraying.

 

The dinosaurs that sprayed water:

The "Mommy Dinosaur" according to P1.

P2's favorite animal was the cavy. She got really excited when she saw it!

 

P1 was even scared of the lion drinking fountain, and refused to drink out of it. And he asked to have his picture taken with him sitting on the elephant's trunk. He got really scared when it started spraying water.

I'm not sure what animal was P1's favorite, but at the gift shop he chose a toy giraffe. And when we got home, all he would talk about was how the giraffe was telling the mommy dinosaur (T-rex) to stop roaring. P1 is really funny. He is scared of things like the dinosaurs, or the Days of '47 parade floats, but once he gets home then he can't stop talking about them.

P2 was adorable in the gift shop. She would keep grabbing stuffed animals and give them the biggest hugs. I fear a room full of stuffed animals is in her future. Just like her mom and aunt. We couldn't help but buy her a little stuffed sloth. She already has us wrapped around her little finger. And the sloth is her favorite toy now.

Splash Pad Fun

We've been doing play groups at the park on Tuesdays. We usually go to a new park each week. But the last two weeks we have gone to the local splash pad (because they will be turning the water off soon). Both of the kids have enjoyed it, and it's been the park we've stayed at the longest. The park is really good for a wide range of kids. Some of the parks we've been to haven't been very fun for the younger kids. Can't believe it's already September and summer is drawing to an end.

Oh, and today, this little girl climbed up the slide all by herself. Totally took me by surprise since P1 still can't do that. Maybe her shoes have better traction...

14 Months

This little lady is now 14 months old!

She loves to color! Today she discovered you can color on walls (yay for magic erasers!).

Her hair is getting longer, and she has cute curls in the back. The second photo below reminds me of my sister. P2 loves shoes now! First thing in the morning, she will find her shoes, bring them to me, sit down and wait for me to put them on her. We went to Payless the other day for new shoes, and she was in heaven!

She enjoys playing in the water: swimming pool, splash pad, or bath time.

She loves her stroller. She got mad that she couldn't push P1 around because he is too heavy. She can throw quite the tantrums now. Thankfully they are usually short lived, but she likes to yell and throw herself on the ground when she's upset.

She has 6 teeth on top, and 6 on bottom. She is starting to be a more picky eater. Now she will spit her food up, and it drives me a little crazy. She takes 2 naps, and sleeps through the night. She loves to sit on your lap and read books. She also loves to cuddle and give hugs and kisses. It's fun to watch her play with her brother. She still likes to take toys and run away so that you will chase her.

She can say "bye-bye", and "yes". She will shake her head for "no". She loves ducks and will say "quack". She used to quack for any animal sound, but now she is starting to say "moo" for a cow, and "ruff, ruff" for a dog, etc.

All in all, she is a very sweet and adorable little girl!

Odds and Ends

Our power went out a couple weeks ago. P1 was watching "Jake and The Neverland Pirates" when it happened, and he was quite upset that the wind "blew off Jake." But the kids thought the lanterns were cool

We like to go on walks around the block. P2 likes to collect pine cones.

I peeked in to see if P2 was still asleep, and I just had to take a picture of her sleeping like this!

Being silly kids:

I took the kids to a family reunion at great-grandma's house. P1 had been excited to go because they have a mini golf course there. The kids had fun, and I'm glad that we went. But it is hard to be away from home because of my colitis. It definitely makes traveling harder.

P1 playing with his second cousin, it was fun to watch these two play! 

P2 loved playing in the sandbox, and she made great strides with being sociable. She let other people hold her, and she would actually smile around others, etc.

 

We've watched my nephew a few times this week, and P1 has really enjoyed that. We went to the park one day, and the Discovery Gateway another day. P1 got lost at the Discovery Gateway for a few minutes. Three kids are a lot harder to keep track of than 2! But some nice ladies found him trying to leave through a fire escape door and brought him back.

 

P1 was playing in the dirt, when a bee started flying around him. So he put his hands over his ears and came inside crying. So not only did he have mud on his hands, but mud in his ears as well!

We had a random stalk of corn that grew in our front yard, and produced a single ear of corn. The silk on the end was all dry, so we thought it was ready, but turns out we should have let it grow some more. Oh well! We also have a giant pumpkin plant that has taken over our front walk, but at least we actually planted that one! And our zucchini plants have been giving us lots of zucchinis!