One thing I do need to point out- strollers are NOT convenient at this place. There are several big hills where the rams are really out of the way, or can’t bring the stroller to where we are sitting at the dog show, etc. We should have just done the Baby Bjorn or sling.

Bailey was a little skeptical of this cow. It was HUGE. Seriously- I forget how big cows are until I see one up close. This was the closest she would let us get for a picture.

Here we are at the cow milking place, waiting for it to start. We got a spot up front so that Bailey could actually see.

I tried to help Bailey milk the cow. She got scared but wanted me to do it. All I have to say is, it felt like a furry boob. Who would have known that udders are furry? I was so grossed out after touching it (so I’m NOT a farm girl, lol) and Jonathon snapped this picture right as I turned around. Nice, isn’t it?

I am NOT a dog person, but this show was really cool. They did lots of tricks, caught frisbees, ran an obstacle course, and had long jump contests into the pool.

It was a really hot day, but we waited in line to do the bumper boats first thing. I think the girls asked when it would be their turn at least fifty million times!

Bailey is still at the age where she thinks she is playing all the games and we don’t have to put money in. I will be sad when she outgrows that. In the meantime I just can’t send her to an arcade with her Grandma or I know she will pay for her to “really” play the games. Kinda like she busted me on calling the ice cream truck the Bell Truck. But that’s a story for another day.

Ella wearing her mom’s sunglasses- too cute!

I love when Bailey hangs out with Ella. They have such a great time together and can find fun in just about anything. They were having a blast playing on the doctor’s table together. I am thankful for their friendship.

And both of my cuties in front of the elephant fountain… this is like a landmark for Bailey now. She loves seeing it as we walk into the zoo.

We love the Zoomagination Station. It’s an indoor free exploration/classroom/play area. You can pick up free tickets to visit for an hour during the day. They don’t let more than like 20 people in at one time, so it’s never crowded. I’ve also discovered it is the perfect break in the day to feed the baby and cool off a bit. Bailey was having fun with the sea creatures at the water table.

We rode the train all the way around the zoo, and I think Ella is now obsessed with the train like Bailey is. We really can’t visit without going on the train. And I have to admit, I like it too!

And this last picture- Bailey’s new “thing” is getting a map at the zoo and consulting it after each exhibit that we visit. Only she looks at it for a LONG time, turns it different directions, etc. It’s really cute and kind of funny!

Sometimes, we see a lot of animals there. Mostly elk (duh), deer, bison, and ducks/geese. Today we only saw a few geese and then a herd of buffalo that were really close to the road. One was about five feet from our car. Bailey thought it was pretty cool and wanted me to open her window so she could wave. Taylor slept through the whole thing.

At one point we stopped at a “viewing area” (there are certain places where you are allowed to get out of the car- NOT in the bison area though). There was a wooden feed bin type thing so I decided to make it a learning opportunity. I talked to Bailey about how it was a manger like what Jesus slept in as a baby. I showed her how the animals food was in there, but Mary put her baby in one just like that because he didn’t have his own crib. I love trying to help things “click” for her.

After we were done at Lone Elk, we decided to stop by the Wild Bird Sanctuary. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was right next door and it was free! It was actually kind of cool. Local moms- we will have to do a playdate there one day. I wouldn’t say it’s exciting for adults unless you are really into birds. But cool for kids to see, lots of room to run around, an “animal hospital” you can go inside, and another building with a gift shop and other animals that we didn’t get a chance to check out. And it’s something different. Bailey enjoyed seeing all the owls, hawks, eagles, and other large birds. They are in outdoor cages just a few feet past a fence.

Once again, Taylor was really impressed…

The whole thing is a big long path that you walk down and there are cages and perches on each side. I would say it’s a half mile walk maybe. There are spots where you could bring a picnic or snack and sit to eat as well. The path was gravel, which was annoying for me because Bailey LOVES to play with rocks and throw them. It took us about twenty minutes to walk ten feet because she kept sitting down to play in the rocks.

I’m so glad my dad was able to come with us and make it easier for me to get out of the house with the kids!

I will say that it is more effort to get both kids out of the house. I am kind of thankful Taylor is a boy, because at least I don’t have to worry about fixing his hair or finding accessories to match his outfit. Or putting his earrings in. So he’s pretty quick to get ready, but I have to make sure he has eaten well before leaving. I also travel a LOT lighter than I did when Bailey was this age. I just bring the small black diaper bag from the hospital, for BOTH of them. He is breastfeeding so we don’t need any food related items. Basically I bring diapers for him, an extra outfit, and a burp cloth and then for her I just bring a diaper. I usually throw a binkie in his carseat just in case, and a blanket- which can double as a nursing coverup.

It takes longer to get the kids in and out of the car now, because I use the stroller for his carseat if we are walking any distance at all. We have a rule that Bailey has a choice, she can either hold my hand or hold on to the stroller. She usually “helps” push the stroller. She has done really well with this rule. One thing I have to take note of though. Our mall is really nice. The stores are average to upscale. The area is middle class to upper middle class. But the parking garage? Is disgusting. There are huge puddles all over the floor, the ceiling leaks and water drips on your head. There are cracks everywhere. I don’t know if all metal buildings are like this but it is really gross.

So we got our shopping done yesterday at Gymboree, and then I got brave and went to Motherhood to get a new nursing br@. While we were there, I let her play with the toys in the kid area and I sat in a fitting room with the curtain open (so I could see her) and fed the baby. Then we headed home. I was pretty pleased at how it went with both of them.

Here is a sneak peek of one of her new outfits!

Bailey liked her ice cream but said that she didn’t want any sprinkles next time. How was I supposed to know? She loves sprinkles on cookies!

Then afterward, we (I) convinced Jonathon to go shopping at Target all together. Bailey wanted to just sit and read in the cart. It never ceases to amaze me how much she enjoys reading.

Happy birthday to my Jonathon! I love you and I’m so glad to have you as my husband.

Here she is right after we got out of the van and put on her costume. Clearly she’s not thrilled and Jonathon was a little frazzled after wrestling her into the princess dress!

But then she met a friendly penguin who wanted to give her some candy, and it was all better.

We had to wait in line a lot to get candy, which was the boring part of the morning. We had to try to entertain her as we stood around in huge groups of people waiting to move through the areas where the foot traffic bottlenecked.

Bailey decided it was more fun to pass time by running around in the grass.

We finished off the morning with a picnic lunch and some candy tasting

She wanted to explore all the dark hay bale mazes and I was wishing I brought a flashlight. She did the tire swings and big slide over and over with Daddy. I tried to get her to wear her sunglasses so she won’t need wrinkle cream when she gets older…

She rode on the little tractor-

Just like last year! Remember this?

There were tons of great photo opportunities. She didn’t want to sit still for too long, though!

We rode on a hayride through the fields and saw the different crops. I tried to explain that we were on a farm and the farmers were growing vegetables.

We shared a funnel cake (well, I think Jonathon and Bailey might have gotten a few bites anyway) and barbecue beef brisket sandwiches and lemonade.

Bailey got to choose her own pumpkin and then insisted on pulling it all the way to the car all. by. herself. in the wagon. Which took quite a while.

But she was in a great mood all day, and we really had a nice time. The bigger she gets, the more Jonathon sees that it is actually fun to go do activities as a family. It’s much easier to convince him now than it used to be.

Riding the tram with Kenzie

Here is Bailey in front of a fence. This is significant because she loves to CLIMB these fences and has fallen into the chicken pen and the guinea pig pen multiple times because she leans over too far.

We went on the carousel after Bailey talked me into it. She has a really hard time with motion (like carousels, swings etc) because of her vestibular dysfunction. I knew she would hate it but I didn’t want to tell her no because I don’t want to limit what she thinks she’s capable of… if that makes sense… so we went on the carousel. For about a week afterwards all she would tell me was “I go up and down on the carousel. I too scary carousel!” Broke my heart. Here she is just a second before the panic set in, though:

I hate that she can’t do what her friends do. She wants to. She is so brave and such a happy little girl but I just don’t want anything to hold her back. It’s like when she runs and crashes into things on purpose… people stare and I just want to say LOOK HOW GOOD SHE IS! DON’T STARE AT HER!! She is perfect to me. And when she tells me “I too wiggly, Mommy” it always makes me smile.

But back to our day at Grant’s Farm before I get myself upset.

Emily and Ella, and Jen and Wyatt were also there with us but I didn’t get any pictures of them. I am bad about forgetting to get my camera out once I get busy!

Later that day, I put Bailey’s hair into what we call “a big girl ponytail” for the first time. (a.k.a. one ponytail in the back instead of pigtails. Not my favorite because she looks too grown up!)

Anyway- I have all these pictures that I want to share. I’ll start with some from a zoo trip a few weeks ago with Daddy. We bought a zoo membership that day so now we get “free” train rides, children’s zoo visits, etc. There is one random pic of her at home… The next ones are from another day when we went to Grant’s Farm with Daddy. Then the last two are from my Dad’s birthday in July.

Posing for pictures before we left- my little model-

The LONG car ride… We went with my friend Jen and her kids Adelle and Wyatt. I was glad we at least had company since we had to wait like a half hour in traffic around the zoo. Besides, Bailey is obsessed with Adelle (Ah-daw) and Wyatt.

Looking at the gators

Here she is on the train- doesn’t she look thrilled? I think she was getting tired!

But then when I asked her to smile she got really cheesy!

Here she is in the “baby area” which lasted all of about five minutes…

And being silly with Daddy!

Our goal is to do one fun activity as a family each weekend. Jonathon is off work most Fridays now for the summer, so we have more time to go do stuff. And he is starting to learn that it’s actually FUN to take Bailey places. Maybe even more fun that working on his computers…. maybe….

Tram ride

They said this little guy had just been born the day before. It was so cute- he was just trying to get his legs to work and he was so wobbly!

Feeding the goats “the safe way” through the fence

And snack time… isn’t that always the highlight of every event?

Ready for nap the other day, she was singing a cute song and I just love her in t-shirts, she looks so cuddly and sweet!

First day of summer camp through our school district- the parents stay and play, and it was lots of fun. We made a birdfeeder, did water play, free time, play dough, and got to go outside!

Oh and a picture from Gabe’s birthday party back in February- I just found this!

Have a great weekend!

She was IN LOVE with Chuck E. Cheese (the mouse) and called him Key-Mouse. She wanted to watch him sing on stage the whole time. She also liked this ride with him and it took her picture and printed it out during the ride.

She loved climbing through the tubes like at McDonalds. She looks scared in this picture but I’m not sure why because she was waving and laughing up there. And if you have ever gone to any type of play area with Bailey- she is the fearless one who heads straight to the top and tries to play with the older kids. I have to try to catch glimpses of her once in a while through the tunnel windows.

The cake… she ate ALL the icing and it was so sweet. Huge sugar high but I’m just glad she’s eating!

And the birthday party had a Minnie Mouse theme. Bailey wanted to pose over and over next to the cardboard Minnie and get her picture taken.

One thing I love about C.E.C. is that EVERY ride is only 25 cents. Which lasts a loooong time for a two year old. I think we got ten tokens and were hard pressed to use them all. I mean the birthday provided us with the tokens… but for future reference it would be very inexpensive to go there and play for a while.

Magic House playdate with Addison

Botanical Gardens- it was so hot… it got a lot more humid than I expected and what was supposed to be an overcast day turned into a muggy, sweaty day. I don’t do summer in St. Louis, I melt when it gets above about 85. Just ask anyone who knows me IRL, I quit coming to playdates last year for the month of August, unless they were at the pool. I am thinking this year we might potty train in August since we won’t leave the house!

But we still had fun with our friends- Ella, Kaitlynn, and Brady (whose mom just started selling Avon too!)

We got to go down the hill (I think it was more like I chased Bailey down the hill when she took off running) to see the pond. We had fun walking across the bridge and exploring. It didn’t even faze her that there was a huge pond. It scares me how fearless she is and how she is so impulsive. It was HOT, but she didn’t seem to care.

We saw this duck up close and she thought that was pretty cool.

Then on the way back up the hill, one of those big furry bumblebees got in my flip flop and stung the bottom of my foot- it was still hanging on and I had to flick it off and then oh did it hurt. Plus I had to limp all the way up the hill on my tip toes of that foot while carrying Bailey who was having a fit. But there were a lot of dandelions so I didn’t want her to get stung too! Bad mommy decisions.

When we got up to the top she had some snacks and then went back to play on the playground while I poked at my foot- which felt like it was on fire. I haven’t been stung since I was like 8 years old and I don’t recommend it. But Bailey loves Goldfish crackers and she seemed oblivious to my pain. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and scare her but she didn’t notice anyway.

Then right before we left this kid pushed her (not trying to push her off, just pushed her out of the way and turns out he was deaf and couldn’t talk to her anyway) but she went flying off one of those gaps where you can slide down a pole. KWIM? It was about the height of my head so over five feet- I just saw her go flying to the ground and then laying there in a heap screaming. At least she was screaming but I was thinking for sure broken bones! She bit her tongue and it was pretty bloody and she had a little bump/scrape on her chin but I think that’s it!

For a day or two she kept saying “Boy push you!” and “Beelay fall boom park!” POor girl, there was nothing I could have done but it was so awful to watch.

And yes, I had Bailey’s stroller. She hates it with a passion and so I don’t make her get in it too often. Only if we are walking really far. And usually if we are going through a parking lot. If we ever have another child I guess I don’t need to invest in a double stroller. Really the stroller is just my diaper bag carrier. And when we go shopping it’s my clothes rack!

I love that you ride a tram to get into the park. I would say the ride is about 15 minutes but can be longer on a really busy day or if there are a lot of animals in the road. The rule is that kids sit toward the inside and adults sit on the seats along the edge. So that you don’t lose stuff… or a kid… well today I turned and reached toward Bailey who was sitting on the inside and somehow my shoe (Birkenstock sandal) went FLYING off and landed on the ground. If you know me IRL you know that I tend to have outbursts so of course without even thinking I was all “OMG my shoe! My shoe is over there!” And the tram tour guide started asking me on the microphone about it. He couldn’t get the driver’s attention in time to stop (the tram is like four 10-row cars long) so they had to radio the next tram to pick it up. So then on the microphone he had to ask me what color my shoe was and everything. I’m glad they got it for me because that would be like walking through the zoo without a shoe… ick! Plus not a cheap shoe, either.

Here is Bailey before the tram ride started and before the shoe incident.

She fed a goat with a bottle for the first time today. She asked me about it a couple times. I kept trying to blow it off because I know the goats are a little psycho sometimes if you go in their pen. Like they will start nipping at your clothes, nudging you (not gently, either!) and put their front feet up on your leg to reach the bottles. Bailey was NOT happy with just feeding them through the fence- she wanted to go in there. This picture was taken within the first ten seconds while it was still fun, before she had three goats climbing on her and fighting over a bottle. She kind of freaked out and I was trying to get the lens cap on my camera and stuff it in my pocket because the goat area is so dusty AND I was afraid they would bite at it. Now when I ask her about feeding the goats she says, “No no goats! All done goats!” We will probably try another time through the fence.

And toward the end of our visit, by the camels. You can buy food to feed the camels and Bailey is always sticking her hand in the food dispensers to see if there is anything in there. They’re like those gumball/candy machines where you put in a quarter and turn the dial. She is such a scavenger.

Overall it was a really fun day and I am looking forward to going back! I am so glad we got a parking pass again so that we can go whenever we want. It is a great way to spend a morning because it’s closer than the zoo and smaller/less crowded so the kids can run around more.

We got there a few minutes before Kenzie and were able to get a few “touristy” pictures outside. Check out Bailey’s grimace in the second one. She’s saying Cheese!

There was a lot to see inside. There were aquariums with live animals, displays of pretend animals, things to climb on and explore, and even a library area. Bailey really liked the fish and turtles.

Here they are in the puppet show area. It was SO hard to get both girls looking out the holes at the same time. And yes, we are inside and she still has her sunglasses on.

We can’t forget Baby Tristan! He was sooo good the whole time we were there. He just slept and looked around, and then woke up toward the end and ate. He even tolerated Bailey grabbing his feet and patting him way too many times. I got to hold him for a few minutes and it’s hard to imagine that Bailey was ever that small. I know she was never that calm!

The sweetest picture of the girls