Chicken Photo shoot:

Murray strutting his stuff....

And making a racket...

...and the cutest little boy feeding watermelon to Chloe the bunny!

Just Being Boys... zoo 2.0

       
                                           

Setting Yoda Free

Ok, so there is back story...

About a month or so ago my children found a baby snake at my moms house. The oldest, decided it was a perfectly sane pet. And what did we do about it? Bought a cage and many crickets. He named it Yoda. He loved him- kinda in that way Lenny loved the rabbit in 'Of Mice and Men'... not the good, safe, gentle love. So, mom limited the interaction to save her sanity and possibly the life of a little green gardner snake. That lasted a little while, however it got cold and Yoda began to psudo-hibernate. (If it goes into hibernation with temperatures not staying low enough the snakes metabolism wont slow enough and it will starve.) I didn't want that on my conscience! So, the catch and release program was installed. Here documents the release.

First Steps:

My darling little #2 took his first freestanding steps yesterday. 10 months old and wanting to walk! Crawling is so 2010. Walking HERE WE COME!

Zoo-pa-loo

Family outing:

We spent a little bit of time at the zoo yesterday. It was N's second visit. Both were joyful but sleepy events for him. We regularly duck in and out of the zoo since we have the luxury of a membership allowing it to be our playground. Here are a few shots of the event.

Steve's Chicken Shack:

Over the past few weeks we've planned and executed our latest building venture! We're very proud to say that it was mostly recycled and in the end cost us very little! Steve slaved away in the hot sun (and partial cloud coverage, and shade..) I helped little bits as I could, mostly preping the recycled lumber (ie pulling old nails out... whoo-hoo). And L. helped Steve measure the wood and measure everything else within sight.

It's a simple 4x8 rectangle with two windows and 1 door. My mom and dad come to help frame it and slap the roof on. Steve finished up with the walls and door. There's even a cute little chicken door. It's not complete but shouldn't take much more effort. I want to paint it green and we still need to fashion a door for the chicken exit and raise the fence for the run area. I'm also excited about finding the future pet/chickens. I have been keeping tabs on the local free ads and also craigslist. I suppose if I am not too late, I might order them from Murry McMurry Hatchery!

Here are some pictures of our process!

AND...

Tiger in the Tree:

Well, not really. We used that position a lot when L. was little and gassy.. but the tiger prowls again!!!! About a year ago we went to Ohio for a family visit and Aunt C. found this cute cute cute Tiger Pillow/stuffed friend. Turns out L. LOVES  him. At night after his bedtime ba-ba he rolls over, arm thrown over tiger.  We had an after bath playtime and I had to grab the camera and snap, snap, snap! Such a cute kid!

Here he is resting after the wrestling match:

Here L. is giving Tiger a kiss:

My sweet boy has his daddy's eyes:

Weekend in the Deep South

Georgia is our neighbor here in South Carolina. I remember lots of weekends in Savanah when my Sister lived there, prior to moving to Atlanta. Though I miss the care-free feeling I had when near the beach in Savanah, Atlanta is a new playground! 

We drove down Thursday night, to "just get there" (roadtrips with toddlers=not fun). Friday morning came and we hit the road again. We drove down through Buckhead and Midtown to Downtown Atlanta where car sightseeing began. (We had a strict budget!!) We saw the coke museum, the aquarium, then drove around the Olympic Centinnial Park,  and then winded our way via GPS to the Atlanta Zoo! 

Steve pointing out a creepy crawly in the Reptile House.

L. loved the Peek-a-boo effect of sticking his head through the hole.. 

then he laughed with glee when the next child appeared as a panda bear! 

L. was not boared at all petting the animals! 

Here is his first encounter with a Nigerian Dwarf Goat! 

(Sidenote: one of you lucky ladies out there will be joining our faimly soon!!! 

I was especially excited to see this breed here as we're hoping to fence an area in to have a goat for milking!

Sweet Treats after lunch. B1G1 at Bastin Robbins- can't beat it with a stick, even if you have to drive 10 miles to get there... We're on vacation! 

Getting down to business at the yard sale Saturday A.M.

L.i played in a box. 

We had a GEAT time at Auntie's house!

Pet for a day:

Backlogging Photos

First encounter with the doggie March 22nd...

Pearl wasn't glad to meet Levi.

High chair photo shoot April 7th:

....and this is our first play date with Joshua, March 12t, sorry for being out of order...
and not centered... yes these things bother me!

First: Trip to the Zoo

Today a great girlfriend of mine, Gwen, invited us to the zoo. It is such a fun place to visit. I love hanging out with her, whether at home or on the go. We always have a great time.

The first stop we made was at the Flamingo pen. These are my favorite exotic animals. Levi checked them out from the stroller. Next stop was the penguin display and bird house. These didn't seem to arouse any emotion. I suppose later for the boys they will become exciting. However, Gwen's 2 1/2 year old daughter LOVES birds. From there we cruised by the petting barn (Hooray for the goats and chickens!!!), the hyenas, alligator, giraffes, lions and monkeys.

Not only did we get some fresh, but chilly, air and a nice walk around we got to ride the Merry-Go-Round. By we, I mean L., W and C. I held L. up as the Panda Bear slowly swooshed up and down. He sat on the saddle and held onto the pole just like it was old hat. He loved it. The brightly painted animals, mirrors and music made it even better. It was a wonderful first visit to the Zoo. I think with the tips from Gwen found here we'll make it a weekly event next year.