A Trip to See Elephants

Last weekend we drove to Providence RI to see the elephants at the zoo there.

They were pretty neat.

After we visited the elephants in their outdoor space we walked around the zoo. Ally was fascinated with the map. Here she is trying to figure out where we are.

Love the shoulder shrug and outstretched hand..."I'm not really sure..."

Ally asked for the camera and took this picture of the fountain.

After the fountain we walked for a while and saw, buffalo, antelope, some African sheep, a great blue heron, storks and finally made our way to the giraffes.

At our zoo they are never this close.

At the giraffes we heard that the elephants get a bath at 1145. So we made our way to that building. We were early and Becky and I wanted to go look at other animals and come back but Ally would have none of that. She weaved her way to the front of the crowd for a spot right up front. Of course she demanded I stand right behind her in the crowd. But all was well. The elephants were running late and we waited 30 minutes

for them to be led in to the shower room. I thought it was adorable that they walked holding each other's tails.

We waited some more for the baths to start.

While we waited the giraffes came in the other side of the facility for their lunch. Ally did not even glance at them. She was so focused on the elephants.

Finally 30 minutes after we got there the bath started. Ally did not complain about the wait once. She was so patient. Becky and I took turns going outside for a water break and fresh air.

I just could not believe it when the elephants laid down. It was amazing. Then the zoo keeper scrubbed behind her ears. (All of the elephants are girls.)

This girl loved it.

She would not leave. The crowd of people left and we stayed watching for 30 minutes. Ally was enthralled.

We finally left and had a picnic lunch of pbj and water. Then it was off to find the otters. Ally was determined to see the otters, since she was a Blue Otter at school this past year.

We found the ant eater, red pandas, harbor seals, a moon bear, a griffon, and many other creatures but no otter. By this time we were all getting hot and tired.

But finally we saw the otter - its in the pond behind Ally and Becky.

It was a nice zoo and a great day.

What we do

Dinner at our house takes FOREVER. Seriously - 45-75 minutes. Becky and I of course are fast eaters and have cleaned our plates in about 10-15 minutes. But not Ally. She dawdles and chews so s-l-o-w-l-y I can hardly stand it. Most nights she takes a potty break in the middle of eating which extends the time too. Its just killer for Becky and I. We have a deal that one of us can get up and do something (laundry, dishes, other chores) but one of us has to stay at the table with Ally. Truth be told I think the easy job is the chores. Its just agonizing to sit with her and try and talk, but of course she won't respond if her mouth is full, which is most of the time. I have heard of people setting a timer for the kids to eat in a set amount of time. But Ally needs to eat and if we said dinner was over in 30 minutes she would be ok with that. She really just doesn't care that much about food or eating. Dessert is not even an incentive. If we say "eat your carrots (or yogurt or even chips) and you can have dessert" she frequently say "that's ok I don't want dessert" and will stop eating. But if we sit with her she will eventually finish her plate and sometimes a bowl of cereal too. One night to pass the time Becky decided to count how many frosted mini wheats (AKA "shredded wheat" in our house) they are in a box.

Can you guess? Becky guessed 70. I guessed 100.

We were both wrong. This box had 198.

And Ally - she was eating her Greek yogurt, baby carrots and wheat thins for dinner. And making faces at mommy while I tried to take a picture of her!

Another Concert

We attended another concert of our favorite children's singer recently. This one was at a local hotel that runs a summer kids concert series. It was a very different venue. There was almost no seating so we sat on the floor and many kids danced near the "stage". But the music was wonderful as always and we really had a nice time.

The singer, Elizabeth M.itchell with her daughter - her husband sings with them and its a family gig.

Ally clung to Becky or I the entire concert. She brought her baby Lucy with her, and her softy blanket and kept them clutched to her for dear life. I was very thankful for softy since I wore a dress with a short tight skirt and sitting on the floor in it was not very ladylike, so the blanket kept me covered.

Ally really loved the music - she would tape her feet and sing along, but refused to stand up or be out of our lap. Its the crowd thing - lots of people she does not know and the loud music make her the cuddliest 4 year old on the planet!

After the concert we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Cambridge, which happens to be in the same hotel as the concert. And they had a kids special dessert for free for concert goers. It was a fun time. Made even more so, because I remembered the restaurant had a great breakfast and ordered Ally cheerios for dinner! Which she ate all of and it was a much better choice for her than anything on the children's menu.

We are really enjoying our summer.

More Fountain Fun

Its becoming a frequent after dinner activity for us to go to the park and have Ally play in the fountain. I should take some pictures of her monkey bar skills too - as that is part of the event, swings, monkey bars and the fountain. Its a great way to use up some energy before bed time.

Love Love Love this smile and sheer joy.

The fun this night was collecting water in her hands

and running

to get mama all wet

Of course getting her hair soaked was still a hit

but this time it was for art. She was making pictures on the rocks with the water dripping off her head.

Ta Da!!! The artist with her masterpiece behind her.

Hammock Fun

We went to a BBQ at some friends' on Saturday and they had a hammock in the back yard.

It was a hot day and so relaxing in the hammock was a hit.

Our own band

One day I came home from work and Ally asked me to play in her band with her. So I did. There I am shaking the fish food as a shaker instrument and blowing the tube. Ally is using beads as a drumstick on a wooden toy and blowing into a kazoo.

It would be hard to say we were musical but we certainly made a lot of noise!

Playing by herself

One after noon this week Ally played by herself in her room for a long time (at least an hour). She was very busy.
It was fascinating to see the groupings around her room she made. This is all the little people all lined up with their bus and airplane. Behind them are 4 small rubber duckies.

On her rug were letters

The Toy Story figures were in a line

All the trucks and cars (motor vehicles) were piled in the corner next to baby Lucy's crib.

There was even 1 large fish and 3 small fish gathered together.

Sesame Street characters all together.

A giraffe family

Monster's Inc Sully and Mike were at one leg of the rocking chair.

And a solo elephant was at the other side of the chair.

2 small penguins and a larger wind up one.

on the left is a dog and a prarie dog and then the play patio things were together, the gazebo, the fence, and cafe set for the little people.

I did not get the opportunity to talk with Ally about her motivation and reasoning behind it. She was not even home when I took all the pictures. Becky took the first one of Ally while she was working on all of this and I was at work. Then I came home, they went to our local pool to swim and I saw this in Ally's room. I just had to grab the camera and document it.