Wild times :)

After our first trip to the zoo with Theodore, we made a second. To Tanganika outside of Wichita.

The major differences were: 1) it wasn't 800 degrees outside. In fact, it was cold. 2) Far less exhibits. 3) Far less people. 4) We were closer to the animals, so I think kiddo got to see them a bit better.




Seriously, look at how close we were! I think it helped that it wasn't free day at the zoo. When we were there, throngs of children were pounding on the glass. If I were an animal on exhibit, I'd have gone on strike.


Theodore REALLY liked the kangaroos. The staff let us pet them; they were surprisingly soft. They don't look it, but almost as soft as a kitten.




Aaaaand, the bird house.

PHOTO TIP: This is shot with my point and shoot. We were under a shade, but the birds were in a bright area. Because I wanted to have light on Robin + T, I forced my flash to go off. This means the people in the front have light on them, and I can still see things in the light background.

This tip would be handy in this sort of instance. but also in front of something like a bright window. If you are photographing someone who is standing in front of a bright window and not forcing the flash to go off, they will be all dark and you will see perfectly out of the window. Just be careful about the glare of the flash on a window. You might want to stand at an angle.


Evidently someone forgot to feed the birds that morning. When we walked in, the birds swarmed. I honestly thought Theodore would freak out, but he was a really good sport!

PHOTO TIP: Again, the flash was forced in the above photo. Look at it compared to the one below. You're able to see us a bit better b/c of the flash.




They liked Robin. Despite her avian name, she didn't love them back as much.

Green thumb?

When we were visiting my in-laws over Labor Day weekend, we visited the retirement community. Of course, Theodore was a bit hit. He seemed into the watering can ... so we'll see if he gets his mom's brown-ish thumb or his grandma's black thumb. Or if he goes more along the lines of Uncle Paul or Auntie Karen with a more green color to that thumb.

Theodore's 1st Birthday Party

I made a brief post last month when our nephew turned 1. I've now had time to sift through the photos and share. There are LOTS, so get cozy.


Check out the crowd!

After he woke up from his nap, it was time for presents.


Check out that grin!


"Auntie Karen, what the heck are you doing???"


Opening.


As with kids, though, the bag or box the gift comes in is almost always better than the gift itself.




He seemed pretty excited!


Leftie. For sure.



"Quit it already, Auntie Karen."


Next up: Cake!


Sans milk.


Getting strapped in & ready. No clue what's coming. Robin's been strict about no sweets until he was 1. So poor kid didn't know what he had to look forward to. ;)


Closer to showtime, but he's not sure what's going on.


Patiently waiting. If he knew how good his cake was, he wouldn't have been so patient.


(left) after; (right) before. :)


Dad is giving him an assist on the candle, but as you can see, Theodore already has his fingers in the frosting. Smart kid.


"Hmm, not sure what this is but I like it."


A little more ....


Aaaand, out comes the candle.


Chow time.


Leftie. All.The.Way.


Cute baby cupcakes.


Eating Auntie Karen's ice cream. This kid loved it. He's smart like that.


I love Theodore in this series. In the top, he's looking for more cake that was caught in his bib (which had a pouch to catch food), then he's looking up, and finally at me. Silly goose.


After, he was banging on the door b/c daddy was outside cooking dinner.

Theodore's 1st trip to the zoo

A week ago, it was free day at the Zoo, so Robin and I decided to take Theodore ....


In the car. NO idea what's coming.


In the stroller. I'm sure he's thinking "what are you two ladies blithering about?"


It was hot and awful, but we made it to see a few exhibits.


I didn't exactly have the right lens on for this photo, but whatever.

It was amusing, because sometimes you could tell he could see the animal, and he'd grab the bars and peer in. But if we took him out of his stroller, he'd look for a minute, then try to climb right back in. (we're guessing he was overwhelmed with the massive volume of people around; the place was, well, a ZOO of visitors). Sometimes we wondered if he really saw the animals ... he seemed pretty distracted by the other visitors.

99 Red Balloons

Spent Saturday morning babysitting Nephew Theodore. We hung out, and did a few balloon drops with leftover balloons from his birthday party.

And did lots of singing and dancing to "99 Red Balloons." I happen to think it'd be a fabulous idea for a kid b-day party ... getting 99 red balloons and finding someplace to put them all! Fun all around! :)


Lots going on, photos/stories to share (hopefully soon!).

Nephew Theodore turns 1!!! :)

WOW. Has it REALLY been a year since Theodore was born?

Today Erik and I are taking some quality time with his parents, who are our houseguests, so there won't be a big post here. Please, however, feel free to skip over to the Heartland Blog to see some takes from our nephew's first birthday party. :)

I will have more here later though. PROMISE!

Theodore + Bailey II

Theodore is a BIG fan of Bailey, if you can't tell from this photo!


Bailey also happens to be a big fan of kids in general. Sometimes she has a hard time controlling her excitement (impulse control issues), but she does fairly well.

When Theodore was eating dinner, a portion of it ended up on the floor. "We're going to have to get out the vacuum," Robin said. "Nope," I responded, "we've got a dog."

Bailey was sitting by my seat, but she saw morsels start to fall from the table like manna from heaven. And she started to whine and squeal. You would have thought I had a T-bone dangled in front of her nose, not some peas and pork chop bits across the room on the floor. Geez.


This is from Dinner #2. Just Theodore and I. You'll notice how interested Bailey is in what Theo's doing.

Swim time! :) pt. 2

OOOOK. As Robin wrote on her blog, we had company over the weekend. Good times were had by all.

I have some photos + videos to share. Actually, I'll break them into 2 posts. Sound good?

First the videos, because they're super cute :)




I think at the point we have kids, I'll want a video camera or something with video that has a higher quality than my little camera has. But for now this is OK (love you, Theo! Not a reflection on my affection, I promise!)


He's got a toofer coming in .... so of course he liked gnawing on the noodle. Pssst, kid, that isn't ours!






I kept switching back and forth from the "automatic" setting on the camera (the 2 above), which used a flash, to the "manual" setting w/o a flash (below). With a flash, kids are more prone to know you're taking their picture. Sans flash, you're more likely to capture them "just being kids" .... but in a low light situation, it's not always a pretty end photo. Sigh, what to do?


Unfortunately, the lifeguards at the Y here in town won't let us go down the big slide together :( but we'll just have to go back to the big city for that!

We "bobbed" and went under water. He did fairly well with that. And even better this time at floating on his back with some assistance (side note: my first job was as a lifeguard, teaching swim lessons. Probably one of my most favorite jobs. Ever.)


I've never seen such wrinkled feet after the pool. (TIP: used macro feature on camera to get this).


After bath time.


:)

Swim time! :)

A few weeks ago, I took my No. 1 nephew swimming in the big pool for the first time! :) Theodore has fun with his wading pool at home, but this was his first foray into the big leagues. :)


I thought this Y was zero-depth entry, but I was wrong. Oh well, good times were still had.


The lifeguard turned on the big slide and told me I could take him down. Mommy Robin agreed, and we hit the action.

Here's a video from the event.


This was his FIRST time down, and I used the sides to slow us down. I didn't know if he'd freak out or anything. Also, at the top, we put our fingers in the moving water to let him experience it. The next few times, we went down more quickly. :)


And here is the water feature. Later on I stood up and we went under it. I think that was smarter. The water is really choppy at the bottom, and is more smooth and "together' up high.



All done! (his "deer in the headlights" look highly amuses me).