Aquarium

We met some friends at the Living Planet Aquarium yesterday. It was mine and Sandy's first time going to the aquarium.


Sandy loved it! Her favorite thing was this open pool full of rays and fish. They would come right up to you and let you touch them, although Sandy splashed so much, they never came right up to her. She could have stayed and splashed in the pool for the rest of the afternoon.

There was a section of tunnels and caves for the kids to crawl through.


There was a rock climbing area that Sandy tackled. All of the exhibits had steps so the kids could step up and get right next to the glass. Sandy loved the octopus. She kept trying to touch it through the glass.


Here's Sandy and I back at the pool. Did I mention that was her favorite?

We got a membership. Hey, it was only $16 for a year for me and Sandy (along with any kids 2 and under) is free. So, if anyone wants to go, let us know and we'll join you!

After the aquarium, we went to Wendy's for lunch. I put Sandy in one of the Wendy's high chairs and tried to feed her chicken nuggets, fries, and mandarin oranges. She wouldn't eat her food, threw everything I gave her onto the floor, and kept signing that she was all done.

Well, when I finished eating and got her out, I realized why. She had diarrhea while she was sitting there and it was everywhere - in her chair, up her back, down her legs. Of course, by the time I realized what had happened, I had picked her up and covered the front of my shirt, too. Ugh! The last time we had a blowout like that was on our way home from Island Park last Christmas (when I stripped her down in a gas station bathroom only to discover that my wipes were frozen solid...) But back to yesterday's blowout....

So, I took her into the bathroom to clean her up. And there wasn't a diaper changing station!! Or even a counter!! So, I wiped her down the best I could midair, pulled off her clothes, put on a fresh diaper....And, luckily, Jen popped in with a clean change of clothes she happened to have in her diaper bag that she let Sandy borrow. (I'm sure glad she was prepared! She even had a ziplock bag to store Sandy's soiled clothes.)

Then I came out to tackle the high chair and found one of the Wendy's employees just finishing disinfecting it. Whatever they are paying her, it definitely isn't enough!! And I should have said something, but I was embarrassed, covered in poop, and holding a tired, cranky baby. So I just left.

Well, Sandy took a great afternoon nap and has seemed fine since. So I guess the Wendy's incident was just impeccable timing...

No one warned me that so much of motherhood would involve being thrown up on and pooped on! I knew I'd have to clean it up, but there is a big difference between cleaning it up and being covered in it!

Got Milk?

Sandy drank a half cup of milk for breakfast this morning. This is the first time she has actually drunk milk. I even gave her chocolate milk one time and she only took a sip or two.

Her new like of milk is probably due to the fact that....



drum roll, please....




She is officially weaned! It has been 38 hours--and she hasn't even tried to nurse. I had a theory that if I went cold turkey when we got home from vacation the change in routine would smooth the transition. I guess it worked.

Homeward Bound

It's been a great trip: 12 days, over 3000 miles, but it will be nice to sleep in our own beds tonight!

We had a great visit with Grandma Gingie and Grandpa Pete. They have a doe with two fawns that visits their yard.

Here's a picture of one of the fawns taken from Grandma Gingie's window.

Sandy and I went out to the trampoline and were almost there before we realized the doe was bedded down next to it. She didn't seem afraid of us at all. I think that's the closest I've ever been to a deer.

It was so much fun to see Grandma Gingie and Grandpa Pete! Sandy is getting new teeth, though, and so she has been fussy, fussy, fussy. We tried to get pictures before we left, but she didn't have very much patience.

Luckily she settled down once we got her in the car. Let's hope she stays that way for the rest of the ride home.

Rocky Mountain National Park

We just finished driving through Rocky Mountain National Park. It was beautiful!

Sandy has done really well in the car on this, the longest leg of our trip. It's the stops that are the hardest, though, because she doesn't want to get back into her carseat. Bill stopped to take pictures of the breathtaking views and Sandy was tired of being taken places and decided she just wanted to play with the rocks and dirt near the car.

Can you tell she's tired of driving?

We came around a bend and noticed several cars stopped on the side of the road. Where there are parked cars and tourists with cameras, there must be wildlife.


There were three bucks laying in a field right off the road! So we stopped and Bill took some pictures.

Now we are on our way to Grandma Gingie and Grandpa Pete's house.

Grandma & Grandpa

It is so much fun to watch my parents as grandparents! We had a great visit and Sandy warmed up to both of them very quickly. I wish we could see them more often.

We're heading toward Colorado, now. We'll get as far as we can tonight and probably stay somewhere in Nebraska.
Mom, I'll send you a CD of pictures. Our email is still down so I can't email them to you.

Butterfly House

Photo taken by Bill

My parents took us to the Butterfly House. It was amazing! A rainforest room filled with exotic butterflies.

Photo taken by Bill

I had thought we might get some fun pictures of the butterflies landing on the kids. This is the the closest we got, though.

Butterfly on my dad's pants.

Bill had a blast photographing the butterflies. My dad has gone there early on a Saturday morning to photograph the butterflies without anyone else around. Some of his photos are hanging in a room in the Butterfly House, but the room was closed so we didn't get to see them. He has them up on his website, though. They are in the Zoo/Captive Animals album.

The kids had fun looking at the butterflies, but they got bored before the rest of us were done. Luckily, the Butterfly House has a fantastic playroom!

My niece, Ava.

Ava loves to wear dresses every day. This is a dress her older sister, Bianca, wore at my wedding.

Left to Right: Sam, Joseph, Sandy, Sherri

Splash Park

Today we went to the splash park with my sister-in-law and her kids.

My niece, Ava.

Bill and Sandy

Sandy taking a break from the splashing.

My niece, Bianca.

Sandy getting splashed.

Me and Sandy.

I couldn't find a picture of my nephew, Joseph, that didn't have a shot of my sister-in-law in her swimming suit. Her swimming suit was adorable and she looked great in it, but since I wouldn't really appreciate someone posting a picture of me in a swimsuit I figured I'd better leave it out.

My other niece, Baby Gretel, stayed home with my mom. Sandy really enjoyed meeting her newest cousin. She was fascinated with Gretel's mouth. She stuck her finger in it the first time they met and seemed really surprised at how wet it was. The second time she tried to stick Gretel's binkie in her mouth. The third time she tried to feed Gretel with a toy spoon. I'm glad she was so interested in the baby, but I guess we need to work on the concept of leaving their mouths alone.