Zoo Animals

Last Friday, Ashley and I took the boys to the zoo. It was the first time that I had ever taken Liam. When we first entered the zoo the snake handler was outside with one of his slimy pets. And being mothers of boys we decided to stop against everything in our bodies to let the boys take a peak. After "petting" the snake the handler mentioned that we might want to wash Noah's hands. That they gave them baths (really?) but that we should wash them... Okay. See... there is just everything wrong and creepy with snakes.

Little detour on snakes. Every time I encounter these nasty little creatures, I can think of only one funny story. I think we will be telling it for years. My cousin, Kenneth, has always had a love for all things wild. All things boy. And yes, his mother, my aunt... this petite little blond, allowed Kenneth to have one as a pet when he was younger. I guess I should mention she had many brothers. And at Thanksgiving one year, my sweet grandmother was sitting at the counter munching on appetizers when she nearly choked. Pulled her legs in and yelled out... "Oh my gosh! There is a mouse!" And with no hesitation their reply was... "Oh! Don't worry we let that mouse loose as we are trying to catch Kenneth's lost snake." Happy Thanksgiving! It is now a running joke between the families!

For those of you wondering, Liam will not be allowed a pet snake. I am not that cool of a mom!

On to stop number two. And yes, just as it took me this much time in the blog to reach animal number two... it took Ashley and I that long to get to the elephants. We must practice efficiency. Noah and Liam loved the giant creatures.

There was even a sweet little baby elephant.

And when one of the smaller elephants reached into a larger one's hiney and the little boy next to us asked his mother "why elephants put their hands in each other's butts," we decided to check out the playful statue of the elephant instead!

Look at the time... it is 12:00pm. We missed the sea lion feeding and the boys were hungry so we stopped for lunch. I stood in line for some much needed mommy liquid (coke) while Ashley watched our table with the boys. As I peered at them through the glass I thought to myself -How do women handle multiple children? And the women who were at the hot zoo, pregnant and chasing after their other children... wow! much respect. We ran across this one sweet woman with triplets in her stroller... Oh man! Ashley and I could barely corral our 1 each and mine wasn't even mobile! After lunch Noah encountered his 3rd animal... the pigeons! I think he was just as satisfied meeting them. Just like a kid I spied the cotton candy stand! Please, like I wasn't going to partake in one of my all time favorites? I shared...

We ran into the sign for petting zoo. Oh yea! We strolled past the water park area and playground to a gated area of goats. We had to park our stroller's outside so I had to carry my purse, camera, and baby into the area. Mistake #1.

Noah grabbed one of the goat brushed and galloped over to the first goat. He was absolutely adorable and I cannot wait till Liam can take off exploring! Noah is in the sweetest stage. They say that he is such a lover. And he is. He hugged every single one of those goats!

Liam even got to have a turn. I was a little nervous letting him sit by them as you never know what an animal might do but he laughed and laughed at them when we stood next to them. Mistake #2. Apparently, according to the goat lady I should not let Liam's legs touch the ground. Okay... such a stupid mom, I know... so we went off to the washing area and soaped up all limbs. It was super hot by this time so it actually felt pretty good.

Then, I put Liam in the stroller from the side as it was parked funny (Mistake #3). Reached for the stroller strap to fully harness the monkey in.. when the unthinkable Mistake #4... get where I am going with this? Liam pulls himself up from the opposite side and launches himself out of the stroller and onto the cement. How in the world this happened with me standing right there I will never know... but we had our first strawberry. Mommy cried. Liam cried. I felt like the worst mother in the entire world.

So... I was just going to leave that out of the story, but we are all human. We all make mistakes. And even if you are a better mom than me and you would never let your son fall out of the stroller... bring on the judgements. It happened. I am sorry. The bump is already gone and he was fine. Lesson Learned! I still feel sick thinking about it... but I guess this is just a taste of what is to come.

In summary... we saw like 5 animals at the zoo including the sleeping leopard. We did not even catch the animal sound Noah knows.. GRRRR! The lion. Next time sweet Noah if you guys still want to go to the zoo with us. I promise. No more Liam bumps!