another trip to the zoo

Last year, Matthew bought a membership to the zoo for our family.  It has been fun to be able to go anytime we want without thinking about the cost for the amount of time we will spend there...especially on days like today when we arrived at the zoo an hour and a half before it closed.

We went to the zoo today after lunch.  The kids took a nap on the way there.  Jude does not look comfortable at all!
 

It seems like each time we go to the zoo, we see something different.  Today it was about 50 degrees and sprinkling off and on.  It was perfect zoo weather because the animals we saw were active.

We saw...

 2 brown bears,

 

3 kangaroos (2 looked like babies),

3 snow leopards (our very first time to actually see these at the exhibit),

 

and 2 pythons (Canaan loves to look at snakes - yuck!).

We saw some other animals and rode on the carousel while my camera was in the backpack.

 

Tough Love

It seems like whatever the kids are playing together these days goes from playing with toys to hugging to wrestling in no time.  And I think Canaan is generally the instigator of the wrestling around.  It seems that Canaan really loves her brother and Jude really loves his sister.  Canaan has been nothing but sweet to Jude and she has always elicited a smile from him more easily than anyone.  Even though they irritate each other, it gives me a warm fuzzy that they get along so well.  I pray that continues the rest of their lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the local park

Now that I think about it, we have been very fortunate to live next to nice parks the whole time we've had children (and a dog).

This park is very close to our house (less than a 10 minute drive).  It is beautiful!  It is a great place for the kids to play, to have a picnic, and to let Max swim.  We spent a good bit of time here last summer, and I hope that will happen again this year.

Last Saturday was perfect for a day at the park...dry and sunny.  This was Jude's first time to get in the swings.  Judging from his facial expressions, he had mixed feelings about the swing.  He would laugh and the next thing I saw was a look of fear on his face.  Overall, I think he liked it, but it was funny to watch his expression change when he would be surprised by the movement of the swing.

 

 

 

 

 

In the distance, you can see downtown Seattle on the left third of the picture below.  And if you look very closely, you can see the Space Needle on the right third of the photo.

 

 

Falling asleep

Sometime before the holidays I think, I got a video of Jude falling asleep in his high chair.  It was hilarious, and I had never seen him do it before.

Recently while we were eating lunch, Canaan said, "Mommy, look at Jude.  He's sleeping."  I had been busy eating my lunch and had no idea he was asleep.  It was just as funny this time around as it was the last.  Thankfully, he had eaten enough to keep his tummy full while he took a nap.
 

 

 

 

Two Dates in One Day

While Grandma was here, I also got to go on two dates in one day!

For Christmas this year, Matthew gave me tickets to several shows at our local performing arts center.  The first was to see "Pinocchio" with Canaan.  There is a cute theater group that performs several shows for kids during the year.  Before Thanksgiving, we went to see an adaptation of "The Three Little Pigs."  The show was about an hour.  Then we went for some frozen yogurt (before eating lunch!).  We had a good time together and Canaan enjoyed the show.
 

 

 

Then Grandma kept the kids while Matthew and I went out for sushi and a movie.

 

Grandma's most recent visit

My mom has been visiting us in Washington almost every other month since Jude was born (and before that really).  Each time she comes, she brings new books, clothes, and activities to do with Canaan.

This time, she brought Canaan these dress up clothes and a tea set.  So one day we had a tea party (with apple juice and Nilla Wafers).  I'm not sure if the dress up clothes (including the crown and a necklace) or pouring the tea was her favorite part.  Either way, she loved it!
 

 

We'll have to work on tea party ettiquete.  Here you can see her drinking out of the tea pot.

While Grandma was here, we also picked a dry day to go to the zoo.  Canaan loves animals and asks to go to the zoo all the time.  I haven't been brave enough to take her and Jude by myself yet so having Grandma here was a great time to go. 

 

 

Here are some new outfits for Valentine's Day.  I gotta say that Jude definitely looks more like a little boy with a button up shirt on. 

After church this day, we went to some friends' house for lunch.  You should have seen Canaan's white pants after we got home.  I would say she definitely enjoyed playing in the dirt at our friends' house.

This is one of the few pictures I got of my mom with the kids. 

We love to have her visit (as well as my dad)!  We can't wait until next time!