Santa!

Last year I took Erin to see Santa at the mall. She was so excited about it on the way there, but chickened out when it came to climbing into his lap.

She did it this year! Pook was very shy and would not answer any of his questions about her name or age, but she had a ready answer for " what would you like for Christmas". She wanted a pink scooter. Fortunately enough this is exactly what mama stashed under the bed, hehe.
Danny got to sit on Santa's lap too. He made no requests. In fact he was zonking out at the time plus he is a 5-months-old person who is not into presents.


This Santa, by the way came to our ward's Christmas party. If I would say that it was a super-duper fun party than I would lie, but Santa made it all worth it. Seeing smiles on kids faces makes any party enjoyable to me. It was a sweet little gathering, plus I didn't need to make dinner. I personally dined on deserts and Erin tried to swindle my chocolate cake!

Anyhow, Danny is hinting that he would like to get ready for bed, so I am outta here!

Ta ta for now!

A very gregarious child

This is what our pediatrician called Danny (aka Little Monkey)-gregarious. Had to google the word to find out its exact meaning ( paper dictionary-shmikcionary is a thing of the past).

gre·gar·i·ous/griˈge(ə)rēəs/ meaning: Fond of company; sociable.

So there you go! Besides being irresistible cute our babe is also very gregarious. He loves to giggle, talk and grace everyone with his smiles. Danny's overall development is where it is supposed to be and is even ahead in some areas. Little dude can turn from tummy to back, that skill he developed due to his dislike of tummy time. Though comparing to Erin's hate of tummy time he loves it. Erin used to burst into tears and screamed her head off the moment she was plopped on her tummy.

Other than that our monkey likes to grab things (like the hair of the head within his reach), go for walks, stare at a certain blanket, chew on his hands and just be around people, oh, and watch TV.

Though he reached about 12 lb in weigh he is still lagging behind on charts comparing to an average bouncy baby boy. Danny made it into 1.39%. He is 24.5 inches which puts him into 19.19% and his head circumference of 15.5 inches puts him into whooping 1.02 %. But as our pediatrician stated "We worry about the big heads, not the little ones".

Overall his progress is steady and pleasing. More likely than not he will be a tall lad as he doubled his height percentile since the last visit.

At the moment Little Monkey is not too happy as two of his bottom teeth are coming in. Despite that he remains mostly smiley and giggly. Erin kept holding his hand today while he was having a good cry about his sore mouth and kept telling him that it was okay and that his teeth will grow and it will be just fine. To me she kept calling her brother "poor Danny".

I am very pleased to see those two developing a relationship. Erin talks to Danny and he beams back at her and grabs her finger (or hair) or she grabs his hand. They chatter together and lay on his exercise mat kicking at the toys hanging above. Of course they already get into fights, at least Miss Erin does, Danny-boy has no idea what is going on. Overall Erin is a wonderful big sister.

Well, my tired brain is starting to shut off. Sleep was not a very widely available to me commodity last night. Danny kept waking up every two hours and Erin paid me two or three visits last night (not sure if one was in my dream), oh and the beeping fire alarm wanting a new battery did not help. So ta ta for now!

Christmas photos

This morning we did a little Christmas photo shoot and here are the results. Danny did not stay in a good mood for too long so I did not get any good shots of him alone. We'll have to make an attempt number two later. Erin on the other hand, is quite a little model.





Oh, and we finally got a large Christmas tree, no more of that 3 foot tall nonsense for us. Of course we had to add to our selection of tree decorations including a star tree topper. There were too many to choose from in the store so we just told Erin to decide which one she liked the best. Yeap, she chose the tackiest one, he he. By the way, a 10 minute long debate between two adults over which star to choose can be ended by a 3-year-old in a matter of seconds. It went perfectly with the rest of our Christmas ornaments and lights!

I should probably mention that I got to make my first Thanksgiving dinner this year. We have always gone to aunt Theresa's but this year they went out of town for a wedding. I have to say that I appreciate her cooking and all the thought and work she puts into every feast. All you women out there who pull together a huge fancy dinner in a sparkling clean perfectly decorated for the occasion house, you are my heroes!

I made sweet potato casserole (Sweet potatoes are actually white and chalky, yams are orange and sweet. They are not the same thing, so people! quit calling yams -sweet potatoes and confusing us foreigners, who are not sure which ones you mean in the recipe), stuffing, fruit salad with orange cream dressing, lemon pepper green beans (yumm) and dill carrots (also yumm). We had ham instead of turkey (have never been a fan of this fowl. I just don't like the flavor). It was juicy, mouthwatering and just tasty (m-m-m-m-m!) We also had rolls, mashed 'tatos and some scrumptious pies made by Emily. My favorite was a pumpkin cream. I could probably eat one all by myself, it was soooooooo delicious.

We had the dinner at aunt Theresa's house so I had no clean up before or after the get together. Now that's the way to go! It was us, Burke, Emily, Evelyn, Mary, Chet, Natalie and Nathan. It was a delightful day! I would say more about it, but my brain is not cooperating, so I will leave at that.

Ta ta for now!

Halloween

Both Andrew and Erin dressed up this year. This is how Andrew went to work the Friday before the Halloween. It is too bad he did not win the costume contest at work , cause the annoyance of that black makeup all over his face ought to have been rewarded in my opinion, he he. By the way, according to the costume package my husband dressed as an Emperor of Evil.

Even though Andrew was tempted to dress my sweet child as a side kick to the Emperor of Evil, Erin chose a pirate costume. This is where you say: " But, Sveta, this clearly does not look like a pirate! Unless that pirate is wearing a tiger camouflage for some bizarre reason." After Erin chose to be a pirate, she changed her mind in favor of a Cat in the Hat getup. After which she grabbed of the shelf a tiger suit costume and would not let go of it. So, hence a tiger. However, Erin is tall and I mean TALL. Her average age group size costumes just don't fit. Which is by no means a tragedy, taking in the account that the store made Halloween costume manufacturers find the cheapest, flimsiest fabric existing, slap it together, shove it in a bag , print a label with a better looking version of the costume and ask for my arm as a form of payment. What you see down bellow is a deluxe homemade tiger suit with the price tag of 10 buckos and 2 days of my time in lovely tiger print thick fabric ( also can pass a s a zebra) suitable to be worn in any kind of weather. The tail attaches with velcro for car riding convenience.

As you might have noticed Halloween was on Sunday this year. Which means we went trick-or-treating on Saturday. The entire day it looked like it might rain and it began to pour at 4 p.m- the prime candy begging time. Bah! So we went to the mall , which turned out to be a nightmare. It would be an understatement to say that the place was crowded. The sardines in a can have more wiggle room than poor little tigers, butterflies, princesses, skeletons etc. had that day sandwiched between the big people. The crowd circulated in an orderly line through the hallways stopping by very FEW stores handing candy out (Now that was a shocker! The mall advertises trick-or-treating every year, but there were so few stores participating and Build a Bear even had an audacity to give out fliers instead of candy, he he.) Andrew grabbed Erin and raced around to collect what could be collected ( I love this dude!). Danny and I followed in a stroller trying not to run people over in this mad dash. We are not doing the mall ever again. EVER!

We were done in about 45 minutes and it stopped raining so we decided to go knocking on doors. The problem was that mama in a hurry did not grab a jacket for the tiger and the Emperor of Evil. Going back home was too far as we planned to hit aunt Theresa's neighbourhoods. So I phoned and arranged for a loaner jacket ( Thanks Christine!) for the Tiger. The Emperor of Evil had to man up and pretend it was warm.

Erin was adorable and super excited. Andrew coached her a little, but at some doors she would tell him to stand on the sidewalk, he he. She was also polite wishing Happy Halloween at every door. Danny and I followed in the stroller. He napped! We all had so much fun. I don't know why, but I love Halloween. It is just a fun day!

Off course we made our annual pilgrimage to the Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving point. It was a neat afternoon, though it was too bad we got there late and it started getting dark pretty soon. We stayed for a couple of hours. We did not go into the maze this year, but I don't believe anyone was too disappointed on that account.

Erin raced a pig. She was selected as one of three volunteers because Andrew held her up high while madly waving her arms. The dude in the overalls promptly noticed their enthusiasm. Too bad that our pig did not win. The prize for that would have been a pig's snout that I do not doubt Erin would put it to a good use. Our loot was a spider ring.

Some photos in a princessy pumpkin carriage and on a horse puling it.

What a cutie!

I love Danny's expression in this one.

Danny and I decided against climbing into the giant chair this year as he was strapped into the front carrier on me.

We did a hay ride, a wagon ride, went through a blow up dragon (That freaked Erin out a little bit, or at least she tried to take every emergency exit we passed to get out of there), Erin jumped in the bouncy house and played in play houses (that was her favorite), we watched a chicken show, and roamed through a kiddie maze.

No photos of this year's pumpkins as they shriveled and began looking like toothless mouths before I got around to taking their photo. I'll be more prompt next time around. Erin ended up with a flower and polka dot design, Danny had a boat, waves, the sun, clouds and seagulls on his and I had a traditional face. Andrew did not get to his pumpkin on time. I hollowed it for him, but it went bad before he had time or a desire to carve it.

Note to self: do not let hollowed out pumpkins sit around the house, especially on the dinning table. Cleaning goo and yuckies is no fun.

Danny is waking up so ta ta for now!

In our neck of the woods or our life with a 3-year-old

Here are some of Erin's pearls:

"Danny stop screaming! I can't hear Word World!"

"Mama, stop screaming at me!" usually said when she notices that my fuse is about to blow.

A conversation between Erin and her two friends while I am upstairs feeding Danny and can not interfere:

"Guys do you want ice cream?"

"Ice cream time! Ice cream time!" that lines is chanted by all three while I hear spoons clanking and freezer door open and slam (note to self-do not leave ice cream on the bottom shelf) shut. Than I hear some sort of scuffle and can't quite tell by the conversation what is going on. Next,

the two friends in offended tone of voice:

"We are going home, Erin!"

"Wait guys! Wait!" the front door slams.

"Wait, it is apple time!" door slams again and Erin's voice coming from outside continuing attempts to lure her friends back with apples. After a fail Erin returns home and stomps upstairs to complain about the injustice of it all. Apparently she opened the ice cream carton and discovered that there was only enough for her, so she stuffed it all in her own mouth as fast as she could. As you can imagine the friends felt slighted and left!

Erin and I spiderwebbed our front porch, though a couple of storms since than riped most of our work off (Elmo is wearing princess Jasmine doll's dress, Erin was getting him ready for the nursery in church)

We were making some Halloween crafts (I'll have to take a shot of the final result later) and I fashioned this super-duper apron to protect Erin's clothes. It did the job. Here Pook was trying to make a scary face, but it turned out to be a cute face instead.

Erin discovered that she likes painting. Her artwork looks kinda cool.

A couple days later the painting craze continued, though painting on paper became passe and she moved into three dimensional art.

So it does not seem to be all about Erin I'll report on Danny's visit to his pediatrician for 2 months check up. He is doing great and is 10 lb and 22 1/2 inches. The slight crosseyedness is normal and as long as one of his eyes does not look to the side while the other one looks forward we are fine. Poor baby got his first dose of mass vaccination and was not happy about it. He developed a little fever from the jabs, but other than that it went well.

Ta ta for now!

10/10/10

I had to write down today's date this afternoon and it occurred to me that today is 10/10/10- a special date and a special day. Today Danny-boy received his name and a blessing during the sacrament. Papa gave the blessing and uncle Gibb, Burke and the bishop stood in the circle with him. He (that is Danny, not papa) did not cry and was awake. Though I do not entirely remember what was said I remember that the words were beautiful and sweet.

Andrew blessed Daniel to be surrounded by good examples in life and be a good example to others, be a worthy Priesthood holder and use it to serve those around, listen to Heavenly Father's council and follow it. I know that my baby is going and has already touched so many lives for good. Our little monkey is nothing but joy to us. Everywhere he goes he puts smiles even on gloomiest of faces. I feel so blessed to be his mama (even when I wake up at 5 am with an awful crick in my neck after having fallen asleep in the rocker while holding him).

We did not have that many people to invite to the blessing and I was a little bit sad seeing so few standing by Andrew after seeing stampedes of male relatives coming to bless other babies every fast Sunday. I envy it sometimes. I wish we could have parents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles galore in the area for just such occasions, though than I would most likely not appreciate having all those relations as much. Isn't it ironic that to greatly appreciate something you've got to experience the lack of it? My almost entire family resides on another continent and Andrew's in other states.

But I am so blessed to have my non-blood relations, uncle Gibb and aunt Theresa. They have accepted me as their own so many years ago and have since been there for me. I will always treasure their friendship and love. And I am grateful for Burke, who has long ago earned a title of My Missionary (a term mostly understood and known by LDS converts) and friend.

So it does not matter whether you are surrounded by a huge or small family as long as you are surrounded by those whom you love.

Elmo fans

Danny-boy sat through his first Elmo's World segment of Sesame Street today. I know, I know two months is way too young for becoming a slave to TV, but Erin was watching it and he could not stop staring. So here they are:
Erin insisted on sitting next to her brother and brought over her booster seat. I love the expression on Danny's face on the second photo. It is priceless, he he!Today was a fun day! Erin and I got to do some dancing, playing, coloring and even some zucchini fencing (I think the last, judging by Erin's laughter, was her favorite). After the fencing was over we shredded our weapons and put them in the freezer for some zucchini bread later. Later Erin got to play with her two friends, and (Oh my gosh!) there was no fighting and everyone shared (or did not want any of the toys the others were playing with). Though at some point I came downstairs and discovered the sliding door in the back wide open and not a soul in sight in the back yard.

Hence, I strapped Danny into the carrier-backpack thingy and of we went looking for Erin and her guests. I tracked them down to a construction area where they sat on a pile of pebbles and played house. Erin and Jasmine were cooking, than serving the results (piles of pebbles) to Alliyah who actually put them in her mouth and spat them out. She said it was okay because it was a pretend food. You've got to love 3-year-olds! I had to interrupt their fun as I found this activity unsanitary and corralled them closer to home to play house in a more suitable location.

What will tomorrow bring?
Ta ta for now!

The injuries

Erin is watching Cat in the Hat (she is turning out to be a devout Dr. Seuss fan), Danny is taking a nap and I have a moment of peace.

Both Erin and Danny have a similar trait-their nails grow at an insane speed. It seems like I have to trim them every other day. Hence my poor baby is scratched up, partly because of his little arms flying all over the place and partly due to Erin being sooo affectionate. That is not the worst though.

The little dude was napping in his bouncy seat yesterday while I left them two for a moment alone. The next thing I know he is screaming his head of and Erin is trying to shhh him. I am not a 100% sure what transpired, but my guess is that Erin tried to snap in the toy bar in place. Instead she whacked Danny in the right eye with one of the bar's end and continued to scratch his forehead with the same weapon. Seriously! How does the second child make it through the childhood? I am horrified what happens to number three when the oldest two join their forces.

My peace was short lived. Erin showed up to inform me that Danny has blood on his face and that she is going to clean it. I got downstairs in a record time and found my sweet little innocent defenseless child crying his eyes out, his face smeared in blood. Seriously! Erin, tried to tickle him and this is the result.

Oh this girl is grounded! From now on he is travelling around this house under my protection. And Erin, I am watching you!

PS: I just sat down and clipped everyone's nails. And I suppose I could make Erin wear gloves around the house.

You are not tired!

It's been almost two months since my last post. Surviving a day and still having enough energy for a post has been challenging. Tonight I have only one child on my hands, the other one went to the circus with papa.

I have been enjoying our life as a family of four. It is definitely more challenging and takes some adjustment. Now I know that caring for an infant is easy, he he. Tossing a toddler into the mix, especially one as energetic as Erin, makes it exhausting. Danny is starting to sleep for 3-4 hours at a time at night and it makes all the difference. However, Erin occasionally shows up at my bedside at 5 am to inform me that her bed is wet. Add to that that she returns 2 hours later to let me know it is time to get up and to tell me: "You are not tired!" I've told her a couple of times in the morning when we brought Danny home that I was too tired to get up. It took her only a couple days to catch on that if she told me that I am not tired before I make a contradictory statement than by no means mother can be tired. Oh, the logic of a 3-year-old!

I can not believe that Danny has been with us for two months. By now he can hold his neck pretty well, he began to coo a day ago and he smiles at me. Hi is my sweet little guy, my Danny-boy (aka Dania, Daniusha, Danilka and vorobushek (a sparrow))! He is growing pretty fast, though every time I venture in public with him the same conversation keeps replaying:

"How old is he?"
"One month" or now "Two months"
"He is so tiny!"

Thank you for pointing it out! I was unaware that he is little.

We will find out what his stats are in a week. We are going in for his well check up and shots (poor dude!). We actually weighed him at about a month old on a kitchen scale in a roasting pan, he he. At that point he was getting close to 6 lb (he was born at 5 lb 3 oz).

The most wonderful part of these 2 months was that my mama came for three weeks. It is impossible to explain what it means to be with your mama after 5 years of being apart. Of course I see her on Skype several times a week but it is not the same. It was so hard to let her go back... The day she boarded the plane from Salt Lake was one of the saddest days of my life. The thought that I might not see her for another five years is painful...but it hurts even more knowing that she can not hold my babies any time she wants... It does not matter how old I will be, she will always be the most special person in the world to me. I hope I am to my babies what my mama is to me.

Ta ta for now!

Our 5 pounds of cuteness

Going home!

Erin is truly a wonderful big sister. She shares with the baby, wants to hold Danny all the time and does not stop declaring him to be CUTE!

Daniel Brent

I am currently drugged up so forgive me if something does not make sense, he he.
Andrew and I were woken up at 7:30 Wednesday morning by a phone call from RC Willey informing us that the new couch will be arriving between 9:30 and 12:30. Finally! We will have something nice to sit on! This happy thought though did not distract me enough not to notice that I was kinda feeling wet. I made a mad dash for the bathroom complaining about that bladder of mine only to discover (to my horror) that I was soaked with blood and more was coming ( I bet you wanted to hear and imagine this, he he ). Trying not to panic we dressed and Andrew woke Erin up telling her we need to go to the hospital. Our beautiful babe rolled out of bed and headed straight for her overnight bag. Very cute! We got in the car and after yelling at some slow pokes on the road got to the hospital in about 5 minutes. I wobbled upstairs to Labor and Delivery while Andrew and Erin parked. In about 40 minutes I was being prepped for a c section, Andrew was finishing his breakfast and Erin with her overnight bag was driving away from the hospital with aunt Theresa.

We scrubbed up. I was whisked away to get my spinal. After that began kicking in (very fast I might add) Andrew was brought to the OR. Three minutes later we heard our son cry. It was amazing. The moment I heard his voice I began crying myself. Andrew did not cry he just watched the surgery and no, he did not pass out. Here is our first photo together.

Our handsome baby boy came in at 5 Lb 3 oz and 17 1/2 inches. At 36 weeks his lungs work great and he is fully developed to go home with us. Here are some of the photos from his first day of life and I'll tell the rest of the story tomorrow. I'll just add that all is well and life is beautiful!

Erin's birthday !

Erin turned three! It sounds crazy that my baby is not a baby anymore. Time seems to be flying and at the same time just crawling by...That does not make sense, but it feels both ways simultaneously. It's been a wonderful ride and I would not have it any other way!



Pook was waiting for her party the entire week and as her birthday fell on Saturday this year we had it on her actual birthday. She got her first real party complete with decorations, cake and friends. Six little girls came, two five-year-olds Dwen and Jasmine) and four three-year-olds( Cecily, Arianna, Danielle and Alliyah). This number of guests turned out to be perfect! Everyone enjoyed themselves, including me and Andrew, he he.

For her birthday Erin got a backyard pool party. We blew up a pool and put out a slip and slide.

The put the slip and slide on the hill and turned it into a water ride that seemed to work better for our guests than the traditional run and plop on your belly lay out. Andrew was the lifeguard on duty and the ride attendant, though he said he is not sitting on that hill again pouring watter for almost an hour, he he.



Here is the Birthday girl!



After everyone had plenty of fun in the water we had Papa Murphy's pizzas, soda ( a special treat for Erin, he he), a veggie, cheese and fruit tray. It is a miracle what a toothpick does to a piece of food. Someone as picky as Erin will actually eat it!

The dinner was culminated by devouring of the cake. I made an out of scratch chocolate cake with homemade frosting. The cake looked pitiful ( I am not being modest here). I tried to make a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake with all eatable decorations for which I used rice crispy treats. I molded the clubhouse and the glove balloon out of the treats and covered them in frosting, but it turned out to be trickier than I expected, plus the hot temperature outside made it collapse. Nonetheless, it tasted good and Erin was super pleased with my efforts.



We sang the happy birthday song and Erin blew her candle out three times during it. I had to keep lighting it up which she thought was a great fun. Erin ate only her ice cream and the cake icing.



The next day however, Erin ate the cake, thus expanding her bread like food consumption beyond pizza crusts, raspberry muffins (it has to be specifically a muffin with raspberries), crackers and pretzels. For some reason bread just does not tempt her. Every time the sacrament bread comes by on Sunday she says out loud : "Bread! Yuck! Blew!"

Here is the entire gang!



After the cake it was time to open her presents. I attempted to take photos of Erin opening her packages, but Pook was surrounded by her guests (some of whom had wayyyy too much zeal helping her open all the presents) to such a degree that I could get nothing but the shots of her head. I gave up after a couple of shots!

Erin was thrilled to get her presents. Some of the highlights were a pack of bubbles and chalk, Mickey Mouse movies, a new baby doll, a Mickey Mouse pillow and dishes, a Little Mermaid swim suit, flip flops and a beach towel, and a Mickey Mouse clubhouse wall hanging. She also got some clothes, which was greatly appreciated by me, but Erin is not a girly girl so she did not ooh and ah over them, he he.

The wall hanging was a hit with Erin. Taking in the account that it cost just 6 buckos, it was a hit with Andrew and I as well.



To summarize this party experience I'll quote one of our three-year-old guests who declared: "This was the best party ever!". Have an amazing third year our wonderful Pook!

PS: Things I learned while making the cake:
1. Don't forget to flour the pan! Duh!
2. Make the cake the day ahead
3. Use climate appropriate frosting
4. Let rice crispy treats cool down completely before sticking everything together
5. Wear gloves while using food coloring
6. Invest in proper cake decor equipment
7. Enjoy the cake despite its looks!

A not so perfect night and a perfect day

You would think that an almost 3-year-old would enjoy a rodeo. I guess not our Erin. She would have enjoyed it IF she was the one riding horses and anything else on four legs participating in the show. We found that out on Wednesday night when we took her to the Strawberry days rodeo.

The weather was kinda nasty. The wind blew and rain loomed on the horizon, but I figured we'll just dress warm and bring umbrellas. Erin appeared to be excited to get close to all the animals. It is too bad that mine and Andrew's understanding of close was not the same as hers. She kept running along the fence trying to find the entrance into the arena until she saw how all other BIGGER kids got onto the rodeo grounds to catch that cash cow and ride the sheep. At that moment she darted in the direction of the gate. By the time Andrew got to her she was ready to swing her leg over that 4 foot entrance gate. The kid is fast! The next half hour was spent by Erin attempting to get into the enclosure with calves or sneak back onto the arena. Pook kept crying, kicking, whining and so forth. At that point Andrew took her home and I decided to stay by myself to "get out of at least one of our tickets some value back". I enjoyed it, though it would have been way more fun if Andrew were there.



The next day was Andrew's company's annual picnic at the Lagoon. Erin was coming with us for the first time. I really hoped that the night before was not an indication of how our fun Thursday would go. Despite the fiasco at the rodeo Lagoon day was absolutely perfect and wonderful. All three of us had a wonderful time!

We went later in the day as Erin would not last from morning till evening. For the first time I planed for everything, forgot nothing and came organized. At least that's what I though until I got out of a car in the Lagoon parking lot. That's when I realized that the tickets stayed on the kitchen counter at home! My glimmer of hope that Andrew grabbed the tickets died the moment I inquired about them! Andrew did not have the tickets. I was ready to cry and curse at the same time. To put it in the words of Ann of Green Gables - I was in the depth of despair. Erin was chirping about getting on the ferris wheel (where on earth did she learn what it was called and that you could ride on it?)and just beamed with happiness and curiosity. I could not crush this happiness by pointing out that buying new tickets was out of the question. However, the day was saved. Another set of tickets was delivered for us by Andrew's coworker in charge of the event and after a 15 minute delay we entered the park. The rest of the day was perfectly splendid.


I love her delighted expression! We started by riding the ferris wheel


Erin got to ride with papa




She stayed on this ride for a few turns. I love kids rides! They have NO lines!




Andrew got to get catapulted. Though it turned out to be not as adrenaline rushing as being slingshotted last year


Andrew also got to drag race


We all got to ride the carousel


Erin came back to this ride three times

We also went to the water park, the picnic and rode a train through the zoo. By the time we were done it was getting dark. I really can't think of anything what would have made the day more perfect.

Ta ta for now!