It's a zoo in here - African safari

On Sept 29 we took Matthew to the NC Zoo in Asheboro, NC. It was my first trip there as well. I researched all the animals that call the NC Zoo home. I made a list of all the animals I thought Matthew would like to see and tried to map a route to see as much as possible with a toddler. The NC Zoo is HUGE, as anyone who is been there can attest to. It is over 500 acres and the 5+ miles of trails meander through the hilly forested region of Asheboro. Without a plan and a map I am sure that people miss out on some of the exhibits simply because they can't find them. I didn't want that to be us.

No amount of asking others about their trips to the zoo or reading the specs online prepared me for how massive the zoo is. I geared myself up for all the walking, or so I thought. But I was always bringing up the rear of our group and panting half the time. The 30% chance of rain was a sure thing. It started sprinkling almost immediately. So we put Matthew's rain jacket on and loaded him into the stroller. Brian and I made a quick stop at the first gift shop to buy ponchos. Then we set out to walk 500 miles in the wilderness beginning in Africa.

Our first glimpse of animals was zebras and ostriches grazing about the "Forest Edge" of Africa. The giraffes were supposed to be there as well, but when it is wet or raining the giraffes aren't allowed outside to play. The slippery, hilly conditions cause the giraffes to fall and may lead to broken necks and legs. I was pretty sad about not being able to see the giraffes. That is the animal I was most looking forward to seeing once I found out that the polar bears were on a two year vacation while their habitat undergoes an 8 million dollar renovation.

Then we headed to the "Bushlands" and saw the red river hogs. Which was really just one hog, don't know where the others were - probably staying out of the rain. Working in the swine industry, I wasn't overly impressed with the wild hog. Matthew liked him.










Then came the LIONS who are also a part of the Bushlands. Only a male and female were on display (I don't know if they have more or not). The lions exhibited typical aloof feline behavior. They were laying on the far side of the exhibit, so we walked over to try to get a better glimpse of them. Matthew tried to get their attention with "Hey Mr. Lion" but that didn't work. I took several shots of them laying down.

Then we started walking again to the next exhibit, but since we had to pass by the final viewing area of the lions we decided to look at them some more. They are magnificent creatures. While we were leaning over to catch one last glimpse of them on the far side of their home, the male looked my way. Thankfully I was holding the camera over my head with my arm stretched out over the railing and rapid firing the camera so that I caught a picture of his face. WOW. Then he got up and started walking our way. The lioness grudgingly got up and followed along. Matthew thought they were coming to see him and be his friend. They were really just seeking the shelter of a larger tree. But he can think that the lions like him.

Next up was the "Kitera Forest", home of the chimpanzees (or as Matthew called them "chimazees"). The chimp habitat has a really cool tree for them to climb. The coolest thing about the chimp exhibit is that the wall separating them from zoo patrons is all glass. Whenever anyone is in the little shelters by the glass wall, the chimps head over. They seem as curious about us as we are about them. One chimp came out of the tree and over to the observation wall to eat a snack. Matthew was afraid to walk right up to the wall at first, but when I convinced him that the chimp couldn't get to him, he was in total awe of being so close to a "monk-monk". The chimp watched Matthew and everyone else that was in the observation shelter.

We saw a mama chimp carrying her baby. It was really cool to see how the baby just held on. Another mother of a toddler and I both commented on how it would be nice if our own children would learn to hold on so that we could carry them "hands free" like mama chimp does.

And then all the chimps start quickly moving to the far side of the enclosure (except for mama chimp who waddled along slowly like a pregnant woman). A few minutes later they all appeared with what looked like lettuce leaves. It must have been breakfast time for the chimps. The mama went over to who I like to think was daddy chimp. She sat down beside him on a log. The baby reached for daddy and mama (in my mind) said "would you take this kid so I can eat in peace?". Daddy turned his back and went on eating his breakfast. The baby picked up a stick and began to play with it. I am sure mama was thinking "I hope that keeps him busy for five minutes so I can sit and eat." (I am sure that only another mother would put these "human" thoughts in the mind of a chimp, but for a few minutes I felt a kindred spirit with this mama.)

We all really enjoyed the chimps. Their faces were so expressive, or so it seemed to me. I just wanted to hug them, especially that little baby one.








After the chimps, we visited "Lemur Island". Since the lemurs were curled up in their little nest, it was a short visit.




We began our uphill trek to the "Watani Grasslands" to see the elephants, rhinos, antelope, gazelles, gemsbok, waterbucks, ostriches, and kudu (according to the map). We didn't see any waterbucks or antelopes that I am aware of. And from a distance it is hard to tell gemsbok and Thomas's gazelles apart. The gazelles are what we saw first. The herd may have contained the other similar creatures, but as they were laying down and far off it is hard to say.

Matthew rode on a rhino and chivalrously dried it off with his hiney for the little girl waiting to ride next.

The rhinos were intially pretty far off. But then these crazy people in a white pickup truck started driving near the distant rhino herd and honking at them. If that wasn't insane enough other people were walking along beside the truck shouting and banging on the truck to try to convince the rhinos to move toward the front of the habitat so that we mere spectators could get a better look at them. I don't know what those people get paid, but I am sure it isn't enough to justify the potential risk in a charging angry rhino.

Eventually as we walked around the grasslands I was able to get some decent shots of the rhinos that had moved marginally closer to the front of the exhibit. Thank goodness for zoom on my camera.

The gemsbok (I think) moved closer so we could see them better. I guess they look a little like a goat.

The the kudu started moving in closer. They actually came all the way to the front of the enclosure. They have such beautiful coats. These creatures are so much prettier than white-tail deer.

Then we walked along the path and discovered the spot where hay had been put out for the elephants. I have seen elephants before - at the circus and state fair. But that is nothing compared to seeing them in what is a close replication to their natural environment. They were casually eating hay using their trunks to pick it up and put it in their mouths. At about this point I think Matthew was already overwhelmed by all the neat animals that he has only seen in picture books, heck I have only seen some of them in picture books myself. Around this time I found myself in complete awe of the world that God created. I mean how did He come up with the designs for all these animals? It is utterly amazing to see God's masterpiece up close. I don't know how people can walk outside everyday and even question the existence of a God who created the world and every natural thing in it. It is far too much of a miracle to have any other explanation. I am a scientist and I know that only the existence of a creator can explain the wonderful world we live in.

Matthew had to ride the baby elephant and speak to the miniature elephant statue.

There was a random ostrich hanging out with the elephants. Maybe he thought he was an elephant. Or maybe the other ostriches ostracized him.

While touring the grasslands, Leslie called to tell me she had arrived with her entourage. After a couple of phone calls to discover that we weren't actually walking towards each other, we decided to meet up at the gorillas. It is a good thing we got to the gorillas when we did. They were about to take naps (at this point I would have liked to curl up with them and take one too). Matthew and I walked up to the glass wall of the gorilla habitat and looked at the large alpha male. He did briefly make eye contact. He was pretty awesome. All that separated us from him was a thick piece of glass. He didn't really do anything but sit there and then lie down.

So we moved down the length of the glass to try to catch a glimpse of one of the gorilla babies born this summer. We learned something interesting while standing there gazing at this mama gorilla. The alpha female had the youngest baby. He was born the beginning of August. Just a few days prior to our trip to the zoo, this mama kidnapped the other baby gorilla. She has so far refused to give back the stolen baby. She is nursing and taking care of both of them. The other mama just sits in the center and cries for her lost baby. The keepers don't know what to do. They don't know if this is a natural thing or not. They do know that it has never happened in captivity before. They hope that she will return the baby without any human intervention. It is so sad. It is quite amazing that God gave the maternal instinct to animals as well. I mean this other gorilla is mourning her baby. She sees him and wants him, but she dare not approach the alpha female to get him back. I guess that is one major difference in human mamas and animal ones. There is no way that I wouldn't challenge some other woman taking my baby. The mama with both babies had her back to us for awhile. She did finally roll over and Matthew and I were able to catch a quick glimpse of one of the babies. The other was tucked away where we couldn't see it well. By the time Leslie arrived, mama had turned her back on us again.



Stay tuned for the next leg of our adventure - a prehistoric forest.

My boy is growing up even more

So what's going on with Matthew lately? Well, my little fella is growing up. I am amazed by how much he has changed over the past year. He has so much personality. He learns new stuff everyday. Since the beginning of the summer he has been in the classroom designated for three year olds at daycare. There are several other two year olds in there as well. But he is also getting to interact with older, bigger children. He is learning to share (a work in progress), he is learning to stick up for himself (by biting the boy that pushed him down), he is learning to care about others' feelings, etc. With this move to the new classroom came some trepidation on my part (as has been the case with previous moves that I felt happened too soon). But he seems to be thriving. He is with his friends (several of them moved up with him). And he loves Mrs. Joan. He still misses his old teachers and must go hug them goodbye every afternoon. He did start getting bitten when he moved up. And there for a few weeks, he started using biting as a problem solver as well. But hopefully we have taken care of that. At two years old he has experienced the "no TV" punishment. He was very sad to not be allowed to watch cartoons for 2 days, after he bit someone 2 days in a row. Who would have thought I would have to ground my two year old? Matthew is learning about sports now from Brian. He really likes baseball. He likes to pretend to play. He will steal Brian's cap and put it on backwards (cause you can't play ball without your cap). He will hold his imaginary bat and swing when you "pitch" to him. He will also take a cloth bag and put in on his hand pretending it is a ball glove. My big boy can sing "Take me out to the Ballgame." Now he only really sings every other line. But boy does he belt it out with gusto, especially "1, 2, 3 strikes you're out at the old BALLGAME!!!!".

While Matthew was away at Me-Ma and Pappy's, we converted his crib to a toddler bed and got him some new big boy sheets. We told him that when we got home he was going to start sleeping in his room instead of in ours. That was quite a transition. But he has been in his own room since July 22. There have been some long nights where he wakes up 3, 4, or even 5 times a night and needs comforting to go back to sleep. But there are also some nights where he sleeps through the night.  He still doesn't go in there all by himself and go to sleep. I have to sit with him. But he likes sleeping in his big boy bed. He is so proud of himself. He sleeps with like ten stuffed animals. But the main thing is that he sleeps in his own room. And I know that in time he won't need my presence to fall asleep or in the middle of the night. Now I will try to appreciate the fact that he needs me, when I am awakened out of a dead sleep at 2 am to go chase the memory of a bad dream away.

He says his prayers every night. We say pretty much the same thing every night (if I happen to forget part of it, he is quick to remind me what I left out). But all on his own he says God bless ..... and he lists all the people he wants God to bless (Me-Ma, Pappy, Pop-Pop, Gma, Bailey the dog, Flop Flop the stuffed bunny, etc). He wants God to bless all those he loves. He lists A LOT of relatives (aunts, uncles, cousins). He also prays blessings on his teachers and some of his classmates (even the boy who pushes him around). It is so sweet to watch him pray. I don't think he fully understands what he is doing. But he is very sincere. And I have seen God's blessings poured out on people that Matthew prays for. That shouldn't suprise me either - God is faithful and who should I expect Him to be more faithful to answer than an innocent child? He is starting to try to potty again. I am not pushing it or making him potty. I just ask him frequently if he would like to try to potty. He sometimes wants to and sometimes he doesn't. He loves the Care Bears right now. I loved them when I was a kid. They currently don't make any Care Bear toys, just the TV show. So I bought him some small Care Bear figures on Ebay. (I am getting to relive a piece of my childhood as we play Care Bears with little figures just like I used to have.) We set potty goals for him to earn new Care Bears. This is working OK for him.

Oh, Brian decided that Matthew needed a cap gun. I being a girl had never played with a cap gun before (hence the reason I didn't say NO). Brian wanted to see how Matthew would react when it was fired the first time. The trigger was too tight for Matthew to pull it himself. So Brian just walked in the living room, took aim and fired. Matthew was looking at him. I don't know who jumped more, me or Matthew. I had no idea that it was going to be so loud or that real gun powder was in it. But Matthew's reaction was priceless. His eyes got really big. He put his hand on his chest and clutched at his heart and said, "You hurt me real bad" in an "I've just been shot voice". Then he fell over. I think he truly thought Brian had shot him. A few seconds later when he realized he wasn't dead, he wanted to play with the new pow-pow gun.

Labor Day weekend

For Labor Day this year we decided to extend our long weekend by taking a couple of extra days off from work. We figured that since we hadn't really taken a vacation this year that we could use the extra time off. So bright and early Thursday morning we headed to Lake Gaston to spend a couple of days with Pop-Pop. Matthew was very excited about going to the "ake". Pop-pop had promised him if he was a good boy at school the whole week before then he would take him shopping to get a new toy. (We had been having some problems with Matthew biting at daycare. Mostly it was just one child who is a little older and bigger than Matthew. Matthew was using biting as an equalizer in their disagreements.) All week long Pop-pop would ask Matthew if he had been a good boy. Matthew's response was always "I ain't bite nobody today". So he chose a Spiderman hideout (as he calls it Spieman cave). He didn't care that we were at the Lake, he just wanted to sit on the living room floor and play with his new toy. He did enjoy driving the golf cart around, but he definitely doesn't have a license to drive. He kept getting distracted by everything he saw along the way. We spent time at the little playground at the Lake. Matthew preferred playing at the playgound to swimming in the pool.

The grownups would have rather been in the pool. It was very hot to stand in the sand while Matthew ran around. He also enjoyed showing off for Aunt Debbie and Uncle Everette and Rebecca. He danced and sang and was pretty much the life of his own little party.

There wasn't a conveinent place for him to sleep by himself at the Lake, so I worried that having to share a bed with me would negate the six weeks he has been sleeping in a room and bed on his own (but it didn't). On Saturday morning we got up and headed to Tunis. Matthew was excited about playing with Ayden and seeing Baby Keeton. We went for a boat ride (several in fact).

Matthew bravely jumped off the back of the boat (and the side and front too).

He also went for his first inner tube ride sitting in Brian's lap. He really enjoyed that and wanted to go faster. 15 mph wasn't fast enough for him (but it was for Daddy).

Ayden took a turn riding as well. Then Brian rode holding both Matthew and Ayden. That trip didn't last as long.

Brian and Brandon rode the tube together. Pappy had some fun swerving and circling trying to throw off his son-in-laws. Matthew and Ayden were a little worried initially about their daddies, but soon they were laughing at them. They really thought it was funny when Brandon fell off.

Matthew just really enjoyed playing in the river. (Oh how I remember those days. Matthew and Ayden both seemed to catch river-itis, which means that they wanted to swim, jump or ride "just one more time". That phrase really brings back memories.)

I know Fall isn't officially here. But traditionally Labor Day signals the end of summer. So goodbye Summer, until next year. We had a blast.

More Summer FUN

This summer has been a lot of fun for our little family. As I am sure you can tell from the previous posts about museum trips, daycations, park visits, boat rides, water gun fights, etc. Matthew really enjoys being outside. And even though I don't care for the heat and humidity that we have endured this summer, it is worth putting up with it for a little while to watch him play and explore. The pool has been a welcome activity. It is worth the circle of dead grass under the weight of the pool to have some relief from the hot sun. The pool we got this year is big enough for all three os us to sit in. Now if we are all in it, then there is really nowhere for Matthew to play, but it does allow us to briefly cool off.

The slide offered a lot of additional fun for Matthew. He was content for awhile just sliding normally down it.

Then he started going head first down it.

And backwards.

Then came the jumping off the top of the slide. I cringed the first few times, but Brian was right there making sure he didn't get hurt.

He had so much fun this summer splashing around, swimming and putting his face in the water. I think we will store this pool for next summer. The little inflatable one that we got last year probably won't make it again. But his hard plastic one (much like the ones I played in as a kid) should weather the elements in the barn until next summer.