What a Zoo!

Mady had her first visit to the zoo this week. I think this was Trip's third time. My friend Alison just got a membership, so she offered to take us for free! We had a great time. Trip and Mady both loved the animals, and Mady enjoyed the people watching too. It wasn't too busy, so we got to see lots of animals up close. My favorite was seeing the Panda bears. Every other time I've been, their exhibit has been so packed that you couldn't see a thing, but this time we got right up to the front. Trip and Turner (Alison's 3 year old daughter) got along great for most of the visit. However, at the end of our time there, Trip decided to show his true colors. They have these photo opp spots, you know the animals with the face cut outs, where you can stick your face in and take your picture. Well, Trip could not make up his mind if he wanted to do this or not, so after waiting patiently for him to take a turn, Turner got up to poke her face in, after Trip had jumped down for the 10th time. He then decided that he did, after all, want to have his picture taken, so instead of waiting for Turner to finish her turn, he grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her off the step, backwards. Poor Turner! Luckily, she wasn't badly hurt, but I was mortified! Oh, I forgot to mention, at the first photo opp spot Trip had the same trouble deciding if he wanted to do it and had smashed Turner's face when she stuck it through to take her turn. What a sweet boy! :-) The best part of the day was the big nap Trip took when we got home! He hasn't had one since, but whose counting?

I've also had another embarrassing moment with Trip this week. I'll call this one his quote of the week. Today we were standing outside his school before they opened the doors. A few other moms and their kids were waiting too. Trip pointed to this one boy, who is not even in his class, but apparently Trip has been around him on the playground and in other settings, I think his name was Angus. Trip goes, "That's Angus. I don't like him. He's not a nice boy." Guess how far away Angus's mother was...maybe a few feet...she heard the whole thing, but I'm not done yet. So, I said Trip I'm sure that's not true, it's not nice to say things like that about other kids. And, Trip goes, "but he's not nice, he takes away everyone's toys." At this point I've made eye contact with the mom who is laughing (thank goodness) and I say, "Well, I'm sure you've taken toys away from him before too." And, Trip goes, "No, I'm a good boy, I don't take toys away, but Angus is a bad boy, I don't like him." So, trying as best as I can to rectify this situation, I tell Trip that even if he feels that way, he shouldn't say mean things like that about other people. Then, I look at the mother and apologize. She tells me it's funny and she's just glad she's not the one being embarrassed by her child. I think that was some passive aggressive way to tell me I need to teach my kid to shut up. Oh well! What can you do? He's 3 and her kid probably is mean.

On a much cuter note, Mady has figured out how to clap. It is so sweet to watch her. She puts her hands together so gently that they don't actually make a noise. I can't believe she will be 1 at the end of this month! Where has the time gone! Both kids were making me laugh on the way to school today (before Trip opened his mouth). I was listening to Dancing Queen and telling them to dance with me. They both starting waving their hands and dancing in the back. Mady had the biggest smile on her face and we were all laughing. It was great!