Wild Birthday for Dad

Friday was Andy's birthday. What better way for a 38-year old to spend his birthday than by going to the zoo? (Especially when Morgan really wanted to go, too.)

Our first stop was familiar territory for Morgan... the hippos.

Next up, it was the rhinoceros, who was too busy napping to say hi. Morgan said "Rhino sleepy. Rhino tired."

A new exhibit at the zoo this year are life-sized animals made entirely of Lego blocks. (Animals and Legos -- two of Morgan's favorite things.)

Here are the Lego penguins...

And here, Morgan and Mom get up close to the real penguins.

Here's the Lego polar bear...

And here, Morgan checks out a real bear.

Morgan was very excited to see the giraffes. "Too tall," she said.

In the petting zoo section, Morgan spotted this frog statue. "I need to ride frog," she declared.

Be careful when disguising yourself as a giant carrot, Morgan. There are lots of hungry animals roaming around.

Morgan loved the otter exhibit (even though she thought they were seals at first). Morgan's expert animal analysis of the otters: "Otters go splash in water!"

Morgan was also really excited to the monkeys and gorillas.

She saw big ones...

Little ones...

Lego ones...

And big ones that she insisted were "teenie"... well, as teenie as a 200+ lb gorilla can be, I guess.

"Mommy -- that gorilla is teenie"

In the "big cat" exhibit, Morgan saw a mommy and daddy lion, and a tiger.

"Tiger go swim in water", proclaimed Morgan.

In four hours, Morgan saw every animal from A to Z... in fact, a visit to the zebras was our final pitstop of the day.

It was a lot to take-in for a soon-to-be 2-year old (not to mention a newly minted 38-year old). Before we reached the highway, Morgan was zonked out in the back seat.

Easter Fun!

After a busy Saturday (see: "Cooper Turns Two" below) and a long drive home, we woke up in South Jersey on Sunday morning.

Last year, Morgan started walking days before Easter. This year, she climbed down the stairs and raced across the room to see her Easter basket, filled with bubbles, Play-Doh, alphabet flashcards, Legos, and the Nutshell Library books (one of Andy's favorites from when we was little.)

After a pancake breakfast, we got dressed and headed outside to hunt for Easter eggs in the back yard.

Finding Easter eggs is a good way to work up a thirst. So we took a juice break.

These pictures show off Morgan's natural talents for posing for juice ads. (Motts or Smuckers, if you're reading this, call me.)

After lunch, Morgan took a 3-and-a-half hour nap (see: "Cooper Turns Two" below). When she finally woke up, it was time to dye Easter eggs.

Needless to say, Morgan thought this was a pretty good time.

Since the weather was so nice, we decided to eat our Easter dinner outside. Ariella's menu included Dr. Pepper glazed ham, asparagus risotto, and broiled potatoes.

After dinner, we finished off our day with Peeps-flavored Water Ice. So Morgan displayed her natural talents for posing for Water Ice ads. (Rita's, if you're reading this, call me.)

Cooper Turns Two

We spent Friday and Saturday in Schenectady, NY celebrating the 2nd birthday of Morgan's pal Cooper. Now that Coop is 2, it means we're at four weeks and counting before Morgan enters her terrible two's.

We started the weekend by opening some presents. Morgan, being a connoisseur of wooden play food, decided Cooper would really enjoy a toy sandwich set to use in his new kitchen. Yum.

When Cooper's grandparents and uncles arrived, Cooper enjoyed another round of presents -- including a fun tunnel to crawl through.

In the afternoon, we ventured off to Cooper's "official" birthday party at a toddler-friendly gym. Morgan had a blast playing in the ball pit with Cooper and his pal Aiden, sliding down the slide, shaking maracas, popping bubbles, and hanging from the trapeze. (Phew!)

After all that, it was finally time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out candles. Morgan studied everything, and took notes for her big day next month.

"So, Mom... let me make sure I've got this straight. First we open presents. Then we play games. Then everybody sings. Then I get to eat cake. Did I miss anything? I want to make sure I get this right when it's my turn to be 2."

Last but not least, everyone got a turn to ride the zip line. (Okay, Cooper and Morgan both got 2 turns... knowing the birthday boy has its benefits.)

Domestic Princess

This morning while we were packing for our trip to Schenectady for Cooper's 2nd birthday party, Morgan decided it was a good time to try on her Princess outfit (a hand-me-down from Katie.)

Once she was dressed up, Morgan decided it was time to wash some laundry in the bathroom sink. (It's nice to see that even though she's a princess, she's still just an average gal.)

Birthday Bonanza!

This week kicked-off our 5-month birthday marathon. Someone we know will be blowing out candles every couple of weeks from now until August.

On Thursday, Mayie (aka Paula) turned [age classified] while Aunt Aimee celebrated the Big 4-0. Unfortunately, we weren't able to celebrate their big day in person. But, on Saturday morning, we were able to go to a birthday party for Buttons the Hippo at Adventure Aquarium.

Before Buttons came out for her party, Morgan checked out another new exhibit at the aquarium: the rare and exotic "Giant Daddy Head" (species: cranium paterus maximus).

Finally, Buttons and Genny came out and quickly gobbled up a mountain of hay and birthday watermelon while everyone sang "Happy Birthday".

Another big attraction at the Hippo birthday party was the guest appearance by the Backyardigans. Unfortunately, Morgan still has an irrational fear of adults dressed up as cartoon characters. So we had to take pictures of Tyrone the Moose hugging other peoples' kids instead. (Oh well, maybe next year.)

Outside the aquarium, Morgan climbed aboard the giant sea turtle and smiled pretty for the camera. (So at least we got one "keeper" photo for Mayie and Aimee's birthday.)

A Beautiful Weekend

After last weekend was a total wash-out, we made sure we took full advantage of the beautiful weather. On Saturday morning, we travelled up to Fishkill, NY to see our friends Lance and Lina. Jeff, Nicole and Cooper came for a visit, too. So, all together, we had 3 pregnant women, 2 toddlers, 3 dads-to-be, and one little dog (Max) who was completely intimidated by the 2 toddlers.

Shortly after arriving, we walked to the park in Lance & Lina's development. Cooper, being the daredevil boy that he is, liked to hurl himself down the slide at top speed. Meanwhile, Morgan preferred to use her feet as brakes and just enjoy the ride.

After we got back from the park, Morgan and Cooper spent the rest of the day giving Lance and Lina a taste of what their house will be like when they become parents. They raced around the house, opened and closed the door to the deck, and generally got themselves all tuckered out.

After all that excitement on Saturday, Morgan was ready for a quiet day at home on Sunday. We picked up some fresh sand and brought Morgan's sandbox out of the shed.

She spent about 2 hours making sandcastles, sand cupcakes, and (her personal favorite) sand all over her pants and feet.