The Zoo

I've been wanting to take the boys to the zoo for a long time now and this week (with some much-needed encouragement from my sweet husband!) we finally went, and I'm so glad we did! It took Caedmon a little while to warm up to the idea of seeing the larger, more unfamiliar animals but once he realized that they were not going to be able to get to him, he was much more interested. We can leave the house and be inside the zoo in less than 15 minutes, which is so convenient, and it's been great to see our guys so interested in the animals. We're blessed to have this opportunity so close to home!

I wasn't sure what Isaac would think about the zoo but he definitely watches closely and is curious about the animals. He will sit in the stroller, point his finger, and say "dat!" (that!) or make other little exclamations, making sure I see what he sees.

One of Caedmon's favorite stops is a large enclosure filled with brightly colored birds. Today we bought a little stick with seeds stuck to it to feed the birds, and he quickly had a hungry little friend perched on the end of his stick. He was unsure about the situation at first but I was so proud of him for hanging onto the stick and letting the little bird munch away. I'm sure this will be a regular stop whenever we venture out to the zoo - and it probably won't be long before I'm buying two seed sticks each time!

We also discovered an indoor exhibit dedicated to reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Not far inside the door was a large glass wall giving a view of a deep pool full of large fish, crocodiles, and turtles. One turtle seemed to enjoy hanging out right up against the glass, and I wasn't sure if I was going to convince Caedmon (and Doug, who was brave enough to touch the glass by the turtle a few times) to keep walking and see the other aquariums and terrariums. We did go back several times to check on the turtle again.

Just outside the exhibit we found another friend that Caedmon thought was a ton of fun. The statute of a komodo dragon was the perfect size and height for him to sit on, stand on, and climb all over. I'm sure we'll be visiting this guy again soon too - and it won't be long before we'll have two climbers wanting to clamber all over him! When we went home and Caedmon excitedly told his Dada about our visit, this statue was one of the first things he remembered. His comment? "It has big teeth. To bite you!" I have no idea where that came from as I certainly didn't say anything of that nature - perhaps little boys' minds are just naturally inclined toward things that are big, sharp, and potentially dangerous!

Another trip to the farm

We were thankful to have an opportunity last weekend to get back to Grammy and Papa's for another visit. This time Kayla was visiting too and the kids had so much fun playing together! She and Caedmon are so close in age that they can do a lot of the same things (although he definitely has a rough-and-tumble boyish approach to everything and she's quite neat and dainty!) And she just loved getting to play with Isaac, patting and making a fuss over him much like she would one of her dolls.

The first morning we were there, the kids played outside while we finished getting ready to head out to the farm. As I snapped this picture, I realized that Caedmon was drinking from the sippy cup of milk that we absolutely couldn't find the night before and finally gave up searching for - it had been conveniently stashed in the little basket in the back of the tricycle. The look on his face is a pretty accurate indicator of the condition of the milk - it was very sour!

Back to the farm, back to the tank, back to rock throwing. What more could a little boy want? This time he was not content with small stones and clods but heaved the largest rocks he could find into the water. The loud splashes were very satisfying for him, although it was unlikely that they improved the results of fishing attempts that day!

We also visited Uncle Alan to see his brand new baby donkey. Caedmon was quite the little rancher with his blue jeans, farm shoes, and cinched up grain cap. He was eager to track down that little donkey and thoroughly check it out!

He and Kayla marched right up to the mama donkey, Dixie Lou, and had a good time patting her head and feeding her oats. Her little one was a little more timid so they didn't get as close to him but were content to watch her and let her nibble oats out of their hands.

This duo also had a chance to help Papa feed the cows and calves off the back of his truck, which they both think is so much fun, and also feed the chickens. They were pretty much two peas in a pod the whole weekend and we're looking forward to our next chance for them to visit!

Outdoorsmen

There has been little doubt for a long time that Caedmon is an outdoorsy kind of guy and enjoys almost anything that happens in our yard. Isaac is definitely cut from the same cloth - he gets so excited to see what's happening out our back door, is completely happy whenever we're outside, and gets pretty upset if he has to go back in the house when anyone else remains out of doors. We've discovered, as the warmer weather has come, that his enjoyment of water isn't limited to his baths. He will grab the hose when we're watering and tries to stick his hands in the spray, has plopped down with the hose and happily drenched himself, and a couple of weeks ago, discovered that the faucet where the hose is attached sprays a fine mist in an area about a foot around it, so he made himself comfortable right there, getting soaked from about his chest down. He thought it was so great!

Along with other backyard improvements in the last weeks was our decision to relocate our little vegetable garden to an area that's more out of the way and gets more sunlight. The boys really enjoyed digging in the dirt (and chewing on the spade, in Isaac's case!) and transplanting all our vegetables. Now they can see the garden from their bedroom windows, and Caedmon will list for me the different plants that are growing there.

He's been interested in all that's gone on in the garden and recently helped me plant the green bean seeds. After describing to him the process of planting, watering, growing, blooming, etc. and finally ending with the harvesting and eating of green beans, he decided to skip right to the last step and tried to eat the bean seeds that we were planting - instant gratification!

Our doing a good deal of digging, planting, and watering in the yard has opened a whole world of new possibilities and discoveries for Isaac which has recently included a fascination with squishy, sticky, slimy black mud. He took note of the watering I was doing in the garden and headed in on all fours, smearing his hands around and digging his toes (with shoes!) right in. I'm glad there's a little empty space around my tomato plants because otherwise, he would have gone right over them in his excitement. He had mud all over - there was no dawdling before bathtime that night, he went straight from the yard to the tub!

And just for fun, here's a bonus picture of our big-boy Caedmon eating Chickadees. It's easy to see by the grin on his face that this is one of his favorite snacks!

Sandbox

Several weekends ago we had a long-anticipated construction project become a reality in our backyard. With the assistance of Gramma Janet, Grampa Dude, MiMi and PawPaw, a huge pile of brick garden borders and paving stones became our new sandbox! It was an all-day job but definitely worth it, as I highly doubt there is a sturdier or more enjoyable sandbox in this city. Caedmon enthusiastically jumped right in after we added a few bags of sand!

There was no doubt that Caedmon would be a huge fan of the sandbox but I wasn't sure what Isaac would think, and I absolutely expected to have a problem with our little guy putting sand in his mouth. However, he has not eaten much at all, and seems to get as big a kick out of it as his big brother, eagerly exploring the soft texture of the sand with his fingers and scooping and scooting it around with buckets and shovels.

Caedmon loves to pour, mix, and dump the sand from one container to another, and was ready to take all his diggers outside right away. By now, we've accumulated enough diggers and dump trucks in the sandbox that there's almost not enough room for them to dig and dump!

I was also bracing myself for a good bit of sand-throwing and bickering over toys, but the boys have been so good about playing nicely in their own space, with only occasional squabbles. I've been so impressed! Such darling little boys.

Since the sandbox construction has been completed we've also planted several trees and are excited to see a little elm grow into a nice shade tree for that area of the yard. It's already providing a little sun protection here and there but we hope will shoot up quickly so that our guys can benefit from it's shade.