Today, er, Monday the 14th, was my friend Donna-Ann's birthday! We woke up, unsure of what was going on, when I offered the idea of brunch and the Denver Zoo, since I'm a member. Dante, almost two and a spitfire in his own right, was being, well...a spitfire. His current favorite phrase is "bye bye" and I shuffled us both all over the apartment while my bemused husband looked on, sleepily. So I got us dressed and out the door, and Dante and I made it to the car in one piece. I buckled him in and we made our way to Le Peep for some good company and good food.
My girls were a bit later than us since I knew where the restaurant was, and Dante decided that being confined to a high chair was beneath him, and his way of retaliating was throwing crayons. Unfortunately, the waitress must've been tired, and a few things didn't occur to her. Things like letting me order his funny face pancake before my friends had arrived, or asking my friends when they got there if they'd like anything to drink. Whatever.
So after our delicious meal (and terrible service), we booked it over to the zoo for some sunshine and gorgeous creatures. I got Dante some fruit like I always do, and he got to eat cantaloupe, honey dew, watermelon and some grapes from the comfort of his stroller while the girls and I took turns pushing him. I let him out in the Primate Panorama area, and as soon as his Carter's sneakers hit the pavement, he was off and running! So after some chasing and some scolding, he finally calmed down enough for my liking when we got to the Great Apes. There was a crowd gathered around the orangutans and I had no idea why, so I coaxed him over to the gorillas. One was smack dab in front of the glass, but Dante was ENTHRALLED with a few cute little ladies. Again, he ran over to see the orangutans again and then I saw why: There was a new one! Mama had him on her back and she was climbing the ropes in her enclosure, and dear gods, I squeed like a Belieber. Wrangled Dante out the door and we went for the little area where the drums and small village were. While there, he got his first skinned knee. I was more upset than he was. (Still am, actually!)
So I got him cleaned up, and we started making our way to the giraffes, my favorite! Around the lions, we let Dante out of his stroller and herded him toward the giraffes. Somewhere around here he fell another two times, adding to his future scar count. Near the zebras (right next to the giraffes), he decided to be cranky and was attempting to walk on the curb that keeps people out of the animal enclosures. So I coerced him into following us to the giraffes, and he grabbed his sippy cup and pitched it over the wall. So, there we were and Dante's cup was in the grassy area between visitors and the giraffes. Imagine my delight. So I informed a passing zoo employee who then had to get on his walkie talkie to get a zookeeper over to retrieve the cup. I got the cup back from the zookeeper, Kayla put Dante back in his stroller and we booked it for our cars.
While we were leaving, I saw this 30-40 something lady and her 25 year old boyfriend walking about with a purse dog in a stroller. Being the legal eagle that I am, I informed a security guard. Dogs aren't allowed for so many reasons, I can't even fathom bringing one to the zoo. If I have to follow the rules, so do other people. My two cents...
So I got him home, put him down for a nap, and decided that although I had planned on getting laundry done while he slept, I was so wiped, I needed a nap, too. So I ate, played on Facebook and zonked out.
Woke up, and got the laundry together and got it over to the laundry room only to learn that one of the dryers was out of commission. JOY. Here I am with FIVE loads of laundry, two washers, one dryer, and only one night to do it all in. *grumble grumble*
In all our trips over there, Dante flirted with a couple neighbors, learned that his chalk can draw on the cement floors, and got one of those neighbor girls covered in banana and chalk. She was a pretty good sport about it...
Now both my boys are asleep and that last bit of clothes are drying....
These are my adventures. And I wouldn't trade them for anything.
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