It's a Zoo in Here!

So, today started off relaxing...for Ollie and Daddy that is. I got up at 6:45 with Ollie, fed him his breakfast, and passed him off to Daddy so I could get some chores finished before we went to the zoo. When I went into our bedroom to change the sheets, this is what I found. Those two really know how to kick back!

Meanwhile, I did three loads of laundry, cleaned the basement bathroom, packed Ollie's bag, packed snacks and a cooler, checked my email, and got myself ready to go. I was so productive before 8:00 this morning that I felt like a Marine.

Finally, I was able to drag the boys out of bed and get them ready just minutes before Grammie and Poppy picked us up. We started off having issues getting the car seat installed and adjusted in Grammie's van, which threw our entire schedule off balance. Little did I know how big of a deal this would end up being.

First, we headed to Bob Evan's for breakfast. Ollie was Mr. Personality for 99% of our meal, flirting with the server and making friends with anybody walking by our table. Just as we were finishing up our meal, he started whimpering and frowning. Daddy changed his diaper, and even though we were at Bobby E's, it was just wet. Finally we broke our streak of horrific diaper changes at Bob Evan's! I took this as a good sign of what was to come, but I misunderstood the foreshadowing.

Now we were off to the zoo. Ollie dozed in the van, but never really fell sound asleep. Just as we were pulling onto Vine Street, he woke up and immediately started crying. While Poppy struggled to find a parking lot that wasn't full, Daddy and Grammie tried to figure out what was bothering Ollie. I just sang Old MacDonald. We waited in line to pay for what seemed like 50 minutes since Ollie was screaming by this point, but probably only took about 5 minutes.

Finally we parked and started unloading, but Ollie still would not calm down. By this time, tensions were high and tempers were flaring. He wouldn't eat food, take his bottle, or drink water. Eventually, I grabbed him for Daddy and started walking up and down the aisle singing Love Me Tender. This calmed him enough to put him in the stroller so we could attempt to leave the parking lot. At this point, Daddy was crabby, Grammie was nervous, Poppy was confused, and I was angry. Sounds like a great way to start the zoo expedition!

He finally seemed to be calmed down enough to start enjoying the sights. That is until Daddy and Poppy insisted on going into the Reptile House. I'm sure Ollie sensed my uneasiness about waiting outside with all of those big, scary snakes lurking within yards, so he started acting up again. We tried food, we tried water, we tried singing, we tried rocking, we tried strolling. Nothing was working. We ended up on a bench with Daddy rocking and me signing, which eventually lulled Ollie to sleep.

Luckily, when he woke up he was in a much better mood and actually smiled when Grammie bought him a hat and toy. Now we were ready to really see some sights!

The first exhibits he really enjoyed were the bears. The black bears were sleeping, but the polar bears were putting on a show. He couldn't take his eyes off the biggest bear as he stretched, that is until we spotted the swimming bear.



Now he was in such a normal mood, we decided it was a great time to ride on Daddy's shoulders for the first time. This was great idea, because this actually made him HAPPY! He smiled, jabber-jawed, and giggled. Finally!
After a long day at the zoo, none of us could wait to get home. Especially Ollie. Daddy and I figured he would take a nap as soon as we walked through the door, but we were wrong. He couldn't wait to play on the floor with all of his toys. I guess the little guy has been away too much this week and just wanted to kick back at home.

Before bed Ollie had to take a bath to wash the tear stains off his face and the zoo smell from his butt. Everything Daddy did made him giggle, which made us happy considering the tough time we were having this morning.



We're off to church in the morning, so I really need to head off to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be less exciting than today!