Field trip to the zoo

This morning we weren't sure if Pal Zone was having their field trip to the zoo because of possible bad weather, so I called their office and was told they were. My friend Eileen and her son met us there. The kids got a cool zoo "passport" which has pictures of most of the animals and a place to put a sticker when the kids see it. It is a coloring book too. As we went around visiting the different animals, J enjoyed putting the sticker on. We went by the tiger enclosure where the tiger walks a path that's right against the windows where the kids view. J was standing up at the window and when the tiger came by I saw him start shaking and fall backwards. I was close so I caught him and held him while he calmed down. He was spooked! They have an area where the kids can feed the goats and J would hold out the food but when the goat's lips touched his hands he'd pull back (and drop the food). Eileen's son was bold letting them eat right out of his hand. I'm noticing J takes a bit to warm up to new activities like that. After making our way through the zoo, it was time for lunch with the Pal Zone folks. They had pizza and they even had little gift bags for the kids. Eileen left after we ate, but J wanted to stay and play in the park right outside the zoo. There were a lot of bigger kids around and a few times he got bumped into or knocked down, but I was always there to help or comfort. One of the times he got bumped, he started crying and two other little boys came over to comfort him and ask him if he was okay. I was holding J and they surrounded me to give him hugs. It was really sweet. We did the park for a long time, then J was looking tired so we left. On our way out, J says he wants to go in the zoo again. Since it's a free zoo, I thought why not so I took him in again. We were able to see a few animals that weren't out earlier. I was amazed at how much energy he still had as he got out to walk towards the end. On our way home to cap off the adventure, we stopped and shared an ice cream cone. He was out like a light once we got in the car. He did well for going six hours straight.

J took a three hour nap when we got home. I got some things done and even got to watch 20 minutes of a movie, Faith Like Potatoes. I got this from the library after I read about it in a book catalog. There was a long wait on it too. Hopefully, I can finish it up during naps over the next couple days. J had a very strange dinner tonight, yogurt and blueberries. He has Dora yogurt, but he specifically asked for "daddy's yogurt", so he had the Yoplait. He ate one and said "Oh, it's very good. It's really good." The first time he's said that. He wouldn't eat anything else beyond that (like some protein). He's off and on with that.

Tonight at the Y, I did the Cybex elliptical trainer. I call it elliptical but it's a little different. Either way, it's a hard workout. I've not been getting my 3x a week in lately. I need to get back into that. I haven't gained any weight, but I haven't lost any either. We indulged J and played outside before his bedtime. I was getting J ready for bed and he started reading his "Elmo and His Blanket" book. It has all these little picture windows he can open. He went through the book opening the windows and talking about what was in there in a funny Cookie monster-like voice like, "Bert's in the shower" or "Oscar the Grouch stinky garbage". I got the biggest kick out of it. The day's activities have finally caught up with me and I think it's time now for my bedtime.