Day at the ZOO 3.1

There are a lot more Zoo pictures, but my mom has decided she's too sleepy to help me post more right now. So check back in a few days and I'll post up the Africa journey soon!!

Day at the ZOO 3.0

(See Day at the Zoo parts 1.0 and 2.0 for beginning of story)

The last part of Austraila is an Outback Sheep Farm. Even thought it was a Sheep Farm, they had camels, too! My mom was convinced that camels were just in Africa, but Dad said they must be in Australia too if they were in the Outback section of the zoo! Maybe I should google that, too. Did you know that google has officially been added to the dictionary as both a noun - for a website called Google and for a verb - to google something means to look it up! Interesting sidebar there... So back at the Outback, the sheep were more interested in me than I was in them. They were bigger than Ophelia but smaller than Turk. And I'm used to them being all up in my face, so a sheep was nothing to me. After we left the Outback, it was time to get some lunch. But I had my eyes on this giant contraption that went round and round and round and round playing circus music. My mom told me it was called a carousel. So we jumped on! Mom wanted to set me on the giraffe, but since I had just seen my first mob of kangaroo, I wanted to be on the Roo!
So after we all ate some lunch, we walked over to the Sea Lions! We made it just in time for the show, too! I learned the difference between a Sea Lion and a Seal... Something with ears. Okay, so I didn't pay that close of attention.
As you can see, I was watching, but I was busy with my grapes...
Then the action was right in front of us! One of the training ladies was demonstrating different tricks they could do with the Sea Lions. And all the action was right there in front of me! Then the Sea Lion got impatient and barked out really loud! I have never in my life heard such a terrible noise!! It shook me to my bones. That bark still haunts me in my sleep. I started bawling and screaming bloody murder, so needless to say, we left the show right away....

Day at the ZOO 2.0

(See Day at the Zoo 1.0 for beginning of the story - should be the post below this one)


After we walked through the cat houses, my parents were thirsty, but the stupid machine ate my mom's dollar. At least the Zoo is stocked full of water fountains. Next on the trail is Austraila, where all the kangaroo's run free with you! They don't let you get close enough to touch them, but a whole slew of them (what is the word for a group of kangaroos? Gaggle? Herd? Flock? I just googled it and the correct phrase is a MOB of kangaroos!) was right there on the path!!! So of course we stopped for a photo op...

Dad set me on a tree limb so the mob would be right behind me...
I leaned towards Dad to tell him I thought one of them farted!
Then one of them took off and I watched it jump jump jump over the grass. Man that tail is strong!
A little ways down the path a small Joey was off by himself... This photo doesn't show how small he was, but he was maybe the size of a housecat. He was so cute!

Day at the ZOO 1.0

After a barrage of phone calls on Friday morning about the health and procedures of Great Grandpa Vencil, my parents made the executive decision that we'd visit him in the hospital after we spend the entire day at the ZOO!!!!

Our original plan was to drive up to the Henry Dorley Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. It's only about two hours away and as acclaimed as the San Diego Zoo! They have this aquarium that you walk UNDER so the sharks all swim above you! They have these big domes - one with a rainforest and another with a desert. And the strangest animal pairings - Giraffes and Penguins are together! I guess they are special warm weather penguins or something. Dad said maybe we could drive up there next spring.

So on Friday, we headed to Swope Park to walk through the Kansas City Zoo!!! MY FIRST TIME EVER!!! The zoo is best known for two areas - Australia and African animals. These two sections don't have cages or pens for their animals, but instead they are free roaming! It's so much more humane for the animals, but sometimes it makes the animals be farther away to view. But at the same time, you feel like you are really in these locales! The zoo has done a great job of creating the environments.

The weather was PERFECT for a zoo day, and since it was during the work week, the zoo wasn't very full with lots of kids. It was mostly parents with small children like me in strollers! But it was rather sunny! Thankfully, I had my beautiful pink sunglasses from Grant Kathy!!

But I am all about glasses right now, so I pulled them off and tried to eat them almost immediately. Each time Mom put them on me, I jerked them right off! Finally she just stopped trying...
In the Kid Zone barn, a parrot looking bird was dancing for me! I couldn't take my eyes off his red feathers!
Then we walked over towards these Lemurs and my mom starting singing, "You've got to move it, move it." She's weird sometimes....
Down the path is the cat section... Ever seen a tiger sleeping in a log with a rock for a pillow? Well, now you have! There was a large beam in my way, so I couldn't see Mr. Tiger. Oh well... He was just sleeping anyway.

Update

If you have read the posts below, then you know that my Great Grandpa Vencil went into the hospital a few days ago. His lungs had filled with later and the first day through two different procedures they pulled 3 Liters of water out of his lungs. Now I have no clue how much that is, but my mom was trying to show me using the bottle of pop Dad has in the fridge. I couldn't believe he had that much extra fluid inside of him! Then Mom explained to me that the human body is 60% water....so I imagined my legs and torso full of water!

I went to see GGpa Vencil in the hospital and tried to see my Great Great Aunt Anna Jo (is that right? My Great Grandma's sister....) She's four rooms down from GGpa, but when I went to her room, she was down in surgery. My mom said she'd call tomorrow to find out more about her. Maybe tomorrow we'll go visit GGpa again.

Last week when I had visited him at his house, he tried to show me how to clap. I tried that day, but I didn't really understand the whole concept. But I've been practicing, so when I saw him in the hospital, I showed him how I can clap now. My mom made sure to tell him that he had taught me, which of course brought a HUGE smile to his face.

I LOVE YOU GGPA!

Big Day

Friday is going to be a big day for me.... definately not an indolent day, that's for sure! Seeing how we were supposed to be in Colorado right now, my parents are both off work tomorrow. So we decided to fill the day with adventure! A little bit of Africa, run with kangaroos, feed sea lions, you know - the typical Friday. A typical Friday at the ZOO that is!! My mother has been prepping me all week about the zoo, so I am pumped and ready to go.

But tonight my dreams of giraffe watching and meerkat gazing might have gone out the window. I don't mean to encumber you with my fears but I know something could be happening soon.... Tonight my Great Grandpa Vencil went into the hospital with water filling his lungs. If you go down on the page several posts, you will see him holding me. He's already doing dialysis three times a week and has lost about 50 pounds over the last several months. I'm scared because my mom and Grammy are scared... Just the other day Uncle Eric made a comment about how his work suddenly sent him here for three weeks and how he really felt the need to spend some time with GGpa Vencil, because, well, frankly GGpa is getting more and more frail everyday. Dialysis wears hard on your body.

Kids, let this be a lesson. Stick to the formula and breastmilk as long as possible. We don't want no stinking diabetes!

Depending on what happens in the morning at the hospital, my mom says we still might make it to the zoo. Say a little prayer - for Vencil not for me to make it to the zoo. *smile*

1, 2, 3, 4!!!

Count them up folks!!!

One and Two.... Right there in plain sight.

Three - look hard....

Four!!! It's there, I promise!!!

I'm talking about teeth people!! My fourth tooth broke through the skin yesterday! In fact, it's hurting right now. MOM!!! HOLD ME!!!

Cute Butts and Cell Phones

When people start telling you something over and over and over, you start to get self-conscious about it. Every always comments on either 1) my big round cheeks or 2) my big round butt. If I am sitting upright, they talk about my face cheeks. If I am laying on the ground, I tend to roll to my stomach, to which they comment about my butt cheeks. At least they think I am cute...

What do you think? Cute butt?

Since I was down on the ground, Uncle Eric got down on my level to chit chat a bit with me.

Then his cell phone rang and he talked a bit on it. I have no clue who could be more important at this moment than me!

So I decided to have my own cell phone conversation. I grabbed the nearest cell phone I saw and tried to call China...

After all the cell phone conversations were put to a halt, it was back to one on one time with Uncle Eric! Like I said in the "Joy of Family" post, he's in town for the next three weeks and I am looking forward chances of hanging out together. This is only the second time I've ever met him so I am excited he's here.

Joy of Family

This past week I've had some great family moments! Spending precious moments with family is such a joy to me! And God has blessed with many many many people that love me!! And I love all of them, too. (I should be careful, otherwise this post could start to sound like a Hallmark card or something!)

First Katee came up for a visit, er, she went to her parents house and I went to see her. Her and Grant Kathy proceeded to put some gel in my hair for a little curl. Then I got to play with some of my cousins! Brenda brought her two daughters to my house, Lisa and Kim. Brenda is actually first cousin's with my Grammy. Lisa and my mommy are only two months apart in age and grew up together. Kim is older than my mom, and she has three children. Her only daughter Taylor came up to my house too! Kim and Taylor just live up the street from me, so hopefully as my adventerus spirit comes alive I can learn the ropes from Taylor!
This week I also got the chance to hang out with Zelpha! In this photo I think she was making funny noises to try and get me to smile, but I was too intrigued by her glasses I didn't make much facial expressions until my mom finally put the camera away.

Then Zelpha passed me off to Great Grandpa Vencil! He kept trying to tickle me, and again, I couldn't stop staring at the glasses. I have this new fascination with glasses, why does it seem like so many people have them? And I'm not allowed to touch them, but I want to so bad!
And last but not least, I was able to hang out with Uncle Eric! Yes folks, that's right. My Uncle Eric lives in Colorado so I have only met him once so far. My parents decided it was time for a vacation, so they bought us plane tickets to Denver!!! I was so excited about flying, yet quite nervous at the same time. Dad kept talking about mountains and how much I would love them. And Uncle Eric was so excited I was coming out there!

So here I am with Uncle Eric in front of Mt.... Wait a minute.... That is in MY LIVING ROOM. What's going on here? Ooooooh yeah, the restaurant that he works for needed him to come fill in as the chef here in Missouri for the next three weeks! The sad part is that my plane tickets are for two weekends away and he'll still be here!! Luckily, the airline let us cancel our tickets. Mom said I'll be able to fly next spring and we'll go visit him then and see mountains.

But in the meantime, Uncle Eric is here for three weeks!! I really wanted him to stay at my house with me so he could teach me to wrestle, but he has very bad allergies. So having Turk and Ophelia live here in the house with us, he sneezes about every 2.365 seconds when he walks in our door. Sometimes I'm sad we have dogs...

Road Construction Update

Every single day the road in front of my house changes. It's quite a pain at times, but once everything is done it will be so nice! These photos show the progress...

First our new driveway entry we got out of the deal! Then the almost done road...
Then the new construction up the street...

S'more S'mores please

Friday night. Cold weather. Friends about. Sounds like bonfire and s'more time to me! Earlier this spring we lost one of our dear friends. He was struck by lightening and never quite recovered, even got worms or something. So Dad and Gramps cut him up to pieces and we decided to burn him in a bonfire this past Friday. Don't worry, I'm just talking about a tree people!
It was pretty chilly outside - and the first time it had gotten cold weather outside this fall, so my mom bundled me up like we were in the Artic Circle or something. She put the hat on me, then she put these strange concoctions on my hands. I couldn't quite figure them out...
Soon several of our friends smelled the wood burning and heard the rustling of the Country Mart sack, knowing my mom had purchased the three vital items: chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers.
Later I was thankful my mom had bundled me up as warm as she did, after the sun went down, I was downright cold! Finally mom went inside and got this blanket for me. Not sure if I really needed it or Abby was cold, too. Soon all the adults were circled around the fire making s'mores, and I got passed off to Ben. I cuddled up in his arms and fell fast asleep. Meyer did the same thing in his mom's arms.

Eventually, even the adults were too cold, so everyone came inside for a round of games. Don't tell mom, but I invited Meyer into my bed with me! I'm a rebel, inviting boys into my bed already!

Dogs in Trees

Who said dogs can't climb trees?

My dogs almost can! They both went after a squirrel in our backyard and up the tree they went!!!

Neoteric Preschool

Three days a week, my mother works from home. She works some ungodly hours for my sake and trust me, I love her for it! I'm only awake for about 2-3 hours of her work day, and and at least one of those hours I attend a Neoteric Preschool - aka my Excersaucer! This contraption sits not far from the computer desk and is teaching me all sorts of things! The sling I rest my bum in is teaching me how to build my leg muscles, especially when I bounce bounce bounce in it!! There are several chew toys built in, for my teething mouth (I have a new tooth coming in and another getting close...). But Miss Peggy, my Parent as Teacher, is proud that I am learning cause and effect from it.

I have learned if I put my hand on the clear ball, then slowly slide it forward just before releasing it back to me, it causes the ball to spin very fast! But best of all, the clear ball is filled with little tiny colorful balls that fill the entire room with sound when I spin it as fast as I can! I can do this literally for about ten minutes straight until my mom can't take the sound anymore. Here's a video of my mad skills....



I have also learned that if I twist my feet a certain way I can make my sling chair spin 360 degrees... And often times 720 degrees or 1080 degrees! I think three spins in a row is my max so far, but one day I will master more! My mom missed the video opportunity of this, but she did get me using my legs to move around in a circle! I can sit there and do this for about ten minutes as well!

Hair Clip and Mesh Bags

One day, Miss Diane's day care had to be closed so I had the fun chance to stay with my Grant Kathy all day!!! It was first time she had ever watched me for a full day, I was excited and I hope she's wasn't too nervous! I impressed her (and elicited a few laughs) when I made a "YUM" sound as she fed me.

But the most impressive that came out of the day - Grant Kathy discovered I have a little clump of longer hair right on top of my head! She put some gel in this cluster of hair and made it stick straight up with a tiny curl on the end! Everyone who saw me couldn't get over how beautiful I looked!

So the next day, my mom used a tiny clip in this same hair cluster and I didn't even care! I was more concerned with finding my Mesh Bag filled with grapes and getting it into my mouth...

But apparently I don't always get the right end in my mouth....
Which of course frustrates me to no end!!

Wedding Reception 2.0

Behold!! More wedding reception photos!! My mom tends to get a little shutter happy when I am around, so I would expect several posts of wedding receptions photos. Right?

Grandma and Great Grandma Mary were both so happy I came up for the wedding!

Look at these lovely red heads! I should have been in this photo, too! Aunt Leah, Grandma and Mom all three almost look like they have the exact same shade of red in this photo!

They just couldn't keep their hands off me!

Uncle Myles even volunteered to change my diaper, much to everyone's shock!! He almost put it on right... That's okay, he did a great job and he cuddled with me afterwards.

Here are some more people who love me! Above are cousins Bruce and Carol, and below are Susan and Jayne!

Wedding Reception 1.0

Because I have a third tooth coming in (top center right tooth!) I have been a bit fussy, so I made my mom miss most of the actual wedding, so we don't have any photos to show of that. After the wedding, everyone drove from the college to downtown Des Moines for the reception. Here are a bunch of photos of beautiful people who all love me!!

Great Grandma Mary has nine Great Grandchildren - with two more on the way! But I can dream that I am the favorite, can't I?

Grandpa Mark got his hands on me, so far I am his only grandchild - so I KNOW I'm his favorite right now!

Here Great Grandma Kathleen wanted to hold me. She didn't like it when my mom was playfully tossing me in the air, but it sure did make me giggle!

Aww!!! Check out the beautiful bride and groom!!! My mom loved her dress, especially the green sash!!
While we were waiting for dinner to be served, I was passed around to so many people. I enjoyed getting passed around, but there is always comfort in the arms of my daddy!

All Dressed Up

This past weekend my family traveled up to Des Moines for my cousin Megan's wedding at Simpson College. We all donned our pretty dresses; I wore my special dress that Misty and Shawn had made for me in India!! Yes folks, you read that right, India! They live in Northern India, near the China border, so the clothing style looks Asian. Misty told my mom to put a pretty sash around my waist, but we forgot to buy something, so I wore it loose. My mom brought some tights for me to wear, but it was a warm day so she didn't put them on me. Before we went into the wedding ceremony, we took a few moments for some photos with my immediate family and with Grandma.