The Dallas Zoo - Our Little Animal
Our little critter had a great time on his first trip to the zoo!
His favorite part? His new wagon!
Please don't feed the animals!!
Our little critter had a great time on his first trip to the zoo!
His favorite part? His new wagon!
Please don't feed the animals!!
There were those who soar and those who slither. And then there were those who flirt.
Among the birds at the zoo was the owner of this awesome pad, the stork.
And the beautiful, long-legged flamingoes.
Plump little penguins,
and Sam's favorite bird, the Bald Eagle!
In the Butterfly House!
This guy was trying to digest the meal he'd just devoured - ten whole mice!
(they're all sitting in that pouch there, underneath his throat)
And then there was this handsome bird - and old California Condor. He's fifty-eight and loves to flirt!
Some scaly critters...
Mr. Boudreaux, showing off his choppers!
Peek-A-Boo!
Some of the tamer animals for the little ones!
Best buddies!
A pretty barn owl and a giant bunny. These bunnies can grow to be three feet long and twenty pounds!
Sam and I went into the goat pen with Gram and Pops to pet and feed the goats. One of the goats tried to munch on Pops' shorts! Naughty goat!
Checking out the ponies!
Checking out the fish pond with Gram and Granny.
Best buddies!
Get ready for some hungry - and sleepy - animals.
These were some of the prettiest animals at the zoo, but also some of the sleepiest. I didn't know lions yawned so much!
The elephants weren't quite as sleepy as the lions. They were all walking around, playing with the hay in their corner of the "savannah". I think elephants seem sweet. They are my second favorite animal at the zoo :) This one looks like she's giving us a sheepish little smile!
Don't worry - I wasn't really this close to Miss Cheetah, I was behind some glass. She just liked walking close to us, showing off her spots!
We took a vote Monday and all agreed the giraffe was the Straka Family Favorite Zoo Animal. These sweet babies came right up to us, looking for food. Some of the kids there were feeding them romaine lettuce, supposedly one of their favorite foods, so I just snapped away. I could have stayed there all day, taking pictures of these guys. There were so sweet.
The lady on the left deserves special mention. Her name is Katie. She's pregnant. And she will be pregnant for *gulp*
fifteen months
. In a row. And that's not all - she will spend those months
standing up
, and will continue to stand up right on through, including during the grand finale when her baby will drop to the ground from about six feet up.
Yikes.
Good luck with that, Katie. Better you than me, that's for sure.
One of the giraffes checking out Sam and Gram.
SLURP!!!
This camel was taking a break...
A rhino!
Ha! This zoo speaks my kid's language!
Granny Nell stopped by this week with some Easter surprises.
She brought Sam some fuzzy baby ducks that quack when you squeeze them and some Sesame Street critters. Needless to say Sam was quite happy! She stayed for lunch and had some alone time with Sam while I met with our insurance adjuster and contractor. Sam read her books, and they shared a cookie snack while watching Oswald. What a fun visit!
Boy, did this guy have fun at his party!
He got lots of great presents and had a ball being the center of attention! The highlights of the party - - big turtle, little turtle and "Aunt Bail" (Aunt Bell). He's mentioned her name almost every day since. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated our little boy's birthday, and a special thanks to Gram who saved all of my Sesame Street toys all these years. It made decorating for this party very easy - and very retro!!
Waiting, waiting, waiting for Granny... Finally! They're here!!
Pinch, pinch, pinch!
Enjoying birthday snacks with Gram
Great-Grandma Having a blast being the center of attention!
Cowboy Sam made an appearance, much to the delight of the Grannies and Grandpas
He liked his cake this year!
Helping Mommy put the finishing touches on the birthday cupcakes before our guests arrived!
Our Sesame Street friends helped us celebrate!
Happy Birthday Sam!
Sam's trying really hard to say "Granny Nell".
He's getting there and had lots of chances to practice the other night when we went down to Duncanville for a quick Thanksgiving visit. Not only did Granny make a fantastic pot pie for dinner, she had lots of toys and teddy bears to play with. But as it turned out, Sam's favorite toys that night were Granny's piano and full-length mirror. Might Sam be a musician someday? He looks pretty comfortable with those piano keys. Or perhaps he'll be an actor. Just look at that expressive face!
Buzzzzzz.
The day I got Sam's bee costume at our local children's resale shop, I stopped at a thrift store in town, just to look around. I found a bee "body" for grownups for $1.99. It was looking like Sam and I were meant to be a pair of sweet honeybees for Halloween this year. Brian asked if I could get my hands on some yellow duct tape so that he could join in the fun. A quick trip to the craft store for some duct tape, pipe cleaners and yellow pom-poms and our costumes were complete!
We invited the grandparents over to the hive for dinner and trick-or-treating. Sam made it just halfway down the block, stopping at only a few houses for treats, but that was plenty for us, too. We all ended up sitting on our porch with dessert and coffee and passed out candy to the neighborhood kids by the light of Daddy's second awesome jack-o-lantern.
What a Happy Halloween!.