Zoo Fun

Sunday was Prairie Dog day at the zoo and it was also a great weather day, so took a little family field trip. The boys had a good time running around and seeing the animals. We are beyond being able to use our stroller for them, so they walk/we carry them. We could take the wagon, but that seems like more trouble than it is worth when we are both with them. After looking at the prairie dogs, we checked out the monkey house-which is everybody's favorite. And as it has always happened in previous trips to the zoo, the same little monkey jumped down to the window to greet the boys. Below are pictures from the zoo-which of course had to include a ride on the train.

Happenings this week:

Ryan is becoming increasingly more conversational. He asks us polite questions and responds appropriately when asked things like, how was your day, or what are you doing - and he asks us the same questions in return. He has come a long way since his 2 year old check up when the pediatrician suggested that he might need to go to a speech therapist because he only occasionally put 2 words together. Once we moved and got settled, his vocabulary exploded. He always had good receptive language skills, but the speech wasn't there-maybe having a foreign object lodged in his vocal cords for 7 weeks had something to do with that. He now talks in full sentences and we can't understand everything he is saying, but it is pretty close.

I took Luke to the doctor about his belly issues and potty training is on hold for him for at least a few months :( He doesn't seem to mind and we're more concerned about him feeling better and therefore feeling/being more pleasant. It is hard to be in a good mood when you're tummy hurts, but he is tough guy.

We are working on getting the boys to tell us their full names (first and last). When I ask Ryan what his name is, he will say "Ryan" and when I ask him his last name, he says "Luke." Not exactly what we're going for. Luke has it down when he chooses to answer. Just in case they happen to get separated from us, I think they need to know their full names. Plus, it is much more polite to answer someone when they ask you what your name is instead of saying "no" or screaming (that would be Ryan).

This is Luke's new best friend. He carries this little Ernie everywhere and talks to him. I heard him tell Ernie tonight that he loves him and wanted to give him a hug. He also put Ernie down to put together Cookie Monster so Ernie would have a friend.

Ryan likes to wear the lid to the Ernie and Cookie Monster legos and say "Happy Birthday, Mama."

This Luke and his Sphinx. No kidding, he built it and told me it was a Sphinx. Now I realize that it doesn't really look like the Sphinx, but the point is that he knows the word and what it is. I can attribute that to Little Einsteins. They love that show and they can now recognize many of the places the Little Einsteins go (like Egypt) when they see them in books. They also recognize musical instruments. I brought Ryan inside last night and the TV was on during a commercial playing classical music. Ryan stopped talking and said, "I hear a violin." TV can be educational (sometimes)!

Have a great week! And thank you Greg for taking the boys to your parents to watch the Super Bowl. I had such a nice and relaxing evening at home watching a movie and drinking a glass of wine. I truly don't remember the last time I had the house to myself. I really don't like to leave the house to have "me" time, I prefer to have it at home and that opportunity rarely comes up.