For Chris

This post is for Chris. We are in our 4th week apart with one more to go so it is full of pictures-of our goings on but also just of the kids, cause they're ours and we like 'em.

We went to the Frank Buck Zoo last week. We got out later than planned and it was a scorcher-you're shocked I know! If we had gotten there when we planned I think it would have been perfect, or as perfect as you can get in TX:) As it was, we sweat through all our clothes and looked a little worse for wear when we were done.

I liked this little zoo for a variety of reasons.

1. Cute animals that looked pretty happy and well cared for.

This capybara knew how to beat the heat. Sadly, they wouldn't let me in there with them.

2. My kids liked it. And it only cost $4 a piece to get them in.

(Notice the hair-it is still looking fluffy.)

3. They had some cute baby animals.

The zebras were my favorite. The markings were just so amazing!

4. They had giraffes, which was all Noah asked to see.

(The hair ain't so fluffy anymore.)

(And in Ian's case, it is sopping wet! Poor kid.)

5. They had a little train ride, which I didn't get a picture of, that only cost $1.50/person to ride. The boys loved it, especially the tunnel we got to go through.

So, who was Frank "Bring 'em Back Alive" Buck? Apparently, he was the first person with that sentiment to go to Africa and 'hunt' the wild animals.

In the bottom left is the skin of a 30 ft. python.

6. It was only about 35 minutes away-the same as anything in downtown Dallas-without the yucky traffic to get there.

7. In front of the zoo there was a playground the likes of which I have only seen at Jacobson Park in Lexington. It is huge and fort-like and the whole area is covered by HUGE shade trees the likes of which I didn't know grew in TX! (We got there late, like I said, so we didn't get to play on it.)

All in all, a perfect opportunity for an outing with the kids. Next time we are getting there early so we can beat some of the heat, play and have a picnic!

***

Sage is growing by leaps and bounds. We think she is about 10 or 11 lbs now. Her head is bigger and her body longer. While she finally has one roll on her thighs, her body remains long and trim.

She was 2 months on the 27th of July and since we were here we missed her 2 mo well-child check up. Her stats, when we get them, will probably be closer to her 3 mo birthday rather than 2 mo.

Her smiles come easily if you talk to her or show her the least attention.

She regularly goes 5 or 6 hours (once she went 7) in the night but I think it will not be until she is in a room of her own that she goes through the night. She also needs to be getting just about 5 or so more oz each day.

The boys have started to ask to hold her. Ian says "Can I hold it? Can I hold it?" He also loves to give her kisses and help with her paci.

Cousin It was never this cute!

Since we had the time (2 extra weeks) we made a weekend trip down to Houston to see Elise and her peeps. She and Max had just come up, but we were missing Ava, Lukie and Dan. It was good to see them and let the kids spend some time with their cousins. Living so far from all our family really makes it tough for them to really even remember each other between visits!

Ava was so sweet to Sage. She helped bathe her (would have put in pictures but they need a little cropping:) And I had a better picture of the two of them but added the wrong one by mistake. Picture Sage with a pleasant expression rather than a worried one:)

While we were there, we went to the mall to play at the play place-we have the same need for indoor activities in TX as we do in IN-just in different seasons! Here are Elise and Max right before all the hoopla!

What hoopla you ask? Well, let me tell you. (Do not suppose that what follows is by any means unique or out of the ordinary if you have kids, but resembles a three ring circus, nonetheless!)

So, Sage makes a poopy diaper. No big deal. I wait a few minutes to make sure she is done. I feel a little something warm on my thigh and I lift her up to investigate. As I do so, a saturation line appears above her diaper and continues to rise to about mid-chest level, along with some fragrant and colorful bits of poop.

Elise looks at me and asks if I have a change of clothes, which I don't. She offers to go buy something from the Children's Place Outlet up the way. I readily agree. We start to decide who is going to go with her when we hear a howl.

Ian is not to far away, hurt, and not afraid for the whole world to know it. I had gotten as far as getting a changing pad out (luckily I had one of those! I don't always!) and laying her down on it, but couldn't really let her go. Elise goes to try and coax him over to me which, of course, he is not thrilled with at all. He howls some more.

People are staring.

He finally comes over and I use a leg to stabilize Sage and hold Ian in my arms while he cries and whines. Elise and I again start to discuss who she would take with her. She is worried that Luke will be upset if he is left, but when asked, he does not want to go (funny since he had just been asking if we could leave). Behind Elise, on the bench, Luke is standing and looking around. We both look that way when we hear a noise and see some flailing limbs out of the corner of our eyes--just in time to see Luke fly through the air (how did he do that?) and land in a heap on the floor.

Now people are really staring!

Elise hands Max to me (as I bust up laughing and the stares turn to looks of horrified outrage at my seeming insensitivity!) and gets Luke, Ian is still glued to my side and Sage is still an odorific mess on the changing pad. About 3 minutes have passed.

Who should come to the rescue? Super Grandma! She shows up just in time, takes Max and heads off to find a replacement outfit. Elise and I start in on rest of the kids-diaper change, clothes stripping, shoe finding and putting on, etc. We follow in the wake of Super Grandma but get stopped by a grouping of riding toys.

While the kids play, Sage gets to hang out in all her naked (but mostly modestly covered) glory while we wait for a new onesie.

All's well that ends well and besides, it was good for a laugh! And some new clothes!

The trip home was less than pleasant with extremely over-tired kids. I am not sure what the best part was. Maybe when Noah poked Ian in the eye to wake him up? Or was it when Ian screamed and cried his exhaustion for an hour and woke up a finally napping Noah?

Actually, I think the best part was back in Dallas, just after the boys where in bed:)

So, what to do with ourselves the rest of the time we have left? I don't really know, but I am sure it will have something to do with beating the heat (highs in the 103-105 range) and waiting impatiently for it to be time for our daddy to come!