Zoo Day

Thanks to a generous friend with free passes, Sydney, Carter and I ventured out to the Brookfield Zoo a couple of weeks ago. Sad we have lived here for almost 6 years and never been. It was a pretty chilly day, but the sun was shining and the crowds were few which made it a great day to be there. Here is Sydney Bunny with her cute friend Rachel Bear...

Scotty and Carter were confined to strollers most of the time...
Sydney was all ready to show us around the zoo using her handy dandy Zoo Map...

Sydney with Gertrude the Giraffe...
And Dolphins, very cool.
After visiting the animals we played in the little "Play Zoo" where the kids made crafts and got to paint their faces. The idea was to make yourself look like an animal, Sydney opted to be a volcano instead. Apparently this is what a volcano looks like, it does certainly look like something erupted on her face...
Carter enjoyed being a bear...
Part of the play zoo was the Animal Hospital which the kids loved. It was a pretty fun setup with lots of Doctor tools and animals to care for.
Carter found these handy "balls on a stick" and hunted out every one he could find.
Then, he and Scotty put all of those cool balls in the incubator hoping they might get bigger, or perhaps multiply.
Unfortunately all they did was get stuck...
All in all a fun day out exploring new things!

Train Them Young

Carter loves balls! He likes to go downstairs with the boys and throw balls at the basketball hoop in the basement, he even bends his knees like they do trying to copy their "form". He stands at the sliding glass door at watches in envy as the boys play ball outside (when Mom isn't willing to let him go out himself). So here is a little video of Carter practicing his foul shots, courtesy of Tyler who acted as videographer and coach... Tyler did get a little excited!

Please Sir, May I Have Some More?

Buttermilk! Mmmm...

Grandpa likes buttermilk. It's something that, as far as I know, has only been passed down to one of his children, and that's not me. When Grandpa comes to visit he buys himself a quart of buttermilk so he can enjoy some before he goes to bed. He likes to talk about how RaeAnne (my older sister) will drink buttermilk with him, and that obviously endears her to him in a special way. So now that we know who his favorite child is, we must come to determine the favorite grandchild, a legacy which has gone unclaimed for years, but has now been decided.
One night while Grandpa was enjoying his nightly buttermilk, Carter (who is in general a mooch) looked at Grandpa with those big blue eyes and began to beg (there is a certain sound that goes with that begging, kind of an "uh, uh!"). So, Grandpa, being in search of a kindred spirit shared a little spoonful of (I will refrain from using any adjectives here) buttermilk with Carter...



I think we all expected a sour expression at the least, maybe a cry of protest, and a little pool of rejected buttermilk on Grandpa's pants. What we didn't expect was for Carter to return for more... again, and again, and again. He liked it! He really liked it.
Spencer, who is very careful about what he will sample, saw Carter enjoying Grandpa's buttermilk, and knowing that it is with buttermilk that we make our beloved Butter Syrup, decided that he too would sample Grandpa's "treat". I felt that was very brave of him...
But, alas, it was not to be. Carter would have to walk the buttermilk path alone. (I include this picture even though it is, sadly, blurry because I love the look on Spencer's face, and the little glimpse of Grandma and I enjoying this whole show)...
Not a fan...

And here he is, back for more...

Mmmm.... good...
The sad thing is, even though Carter has discovered this new love, he will have to wait for Grandpa to return to enjoy it again. He just isn't going to get it from me.
Thanks Grandpa!