We had a fun day celebrating Curt's birthday today. He is off playing golf right now...the perfect end to his day. :) Curt opening up his presents this afternoon. I think his favorite was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for the Wii. He played it for quite a while when Ben was napping. Time for birthday cake. I tried a new recipe and it was delicious! The middle tasted like a chocolate mousse. After having a big piece, we decided a little goes a long way with this cake. It is yummy, but very rich. For some reason, Ben doesn't really like to try sweets that much. (Is he really my child?) :) I gave him some cake to try and after a couple bites he would have nothing to do with it. He would much rather munch on his pretzel fish!

Today is Curt's birthday. It's a big one...he turned 30! He decided to take the day off of work and spend it with me and Benjamin. He has never been to the zoo and wanted to check it out. It was a perfect morning. The weather was great and it wasn't too busy. Ben and a close encounter with a hyena. I could not believe he came that close to the glass! Beating away at the drums. He has serious rhythm. :) Ben got so excited to see the giraffes up close. Curt took him over to feed a piece of lettuce to the giraffe. The giraffe stuck his tongue out so fast to grab it that I didn't get that part in the picture. Leaving the African Safari part of the zoo. It is misty and Ben kept wiping his eyes to try to get it out of his face! Curt and Ben riding the carousel. Hanging out on the log ride...since Curt never goes to the zoo, I thought he needed the full experience! Ben playing on "Little Poof" the train. Petting the goats. They weren't too nibbley today. B...

Yesterday we met Glenda and her kids Jillian and Evan at the park. We decided on a park with water because it was SUPER hot out! Ben had fun playing in the water. He is getting more brave, but still won't run though it. After we were all done playing and eating lunch with our friends, we packed up the jeep and got ready to head home. As I turned the key, all I heard was a faint "click, click, click." I tried to call Curt right away to see if I could catch him at work, but I couldn't get a hold of him. I ran after Glenda as she was backing out. She offered to take us home, which was such a blessing on a hot day with a little guy ready for a nap. Later, I got a hold of Curt and he went to check it out. He couldn't get it started with jumper cables and called for a tow truck. After a long wait for him, the tow truck arrived and they were able to get it started. (They said not to turn it off until he was somewhere he could get the connections cleaned and possibly a n...

You come inside looking like this! Ben really wanted to go outside this afternoon. After about 20 minutes, he was a hot sweaty mess and it was time to come in for a cold drink. Tomorrow we are going to a park with a splash pad. That will be a good way to be outdoors without Ben (and me) getting too overheated!

This morning "Mark's Ark" came to the library for a visit. He brought several different animals for the kids to see and pet. Patty and Olivia came too and we sat together on a rather hard floor. The kids enjoyed seeing the animals, although Ben started getting restless after a half hour. We skipped out as Mark (I'm assuming his name was Mark, but I'm really not positive...for blogging purposes I'll just call him that :)) was showing the last animal and grabbed some lunch at Culver's. Ben reaching out to pet a bearded dragon. He loves animals and didn't seem nervous to pet any of them. Olivia petting a baby duck. Mark said that it was only a couple weeks old. Mark showing the kids a hedgehog. Ben waiting for his turn to pet the hedgehog. He asked for a volunteer with long hair. I'm not sure this poor girl knew what she was in for. He brushed her hair using the hedgehog. Pretty crazy!

On Thursday night we left to drive up to my parent's house. We had a weekend planned with many activities. Friday morning, Curt left with Derek to go play golf and see a Detroit Tigers game. Friday evening my cousin was getting married, so Ben and I went to that with the rest of my family. He only made it through about 10 minutes of the wedding. I caught some of the rest of it from the hallway. At the reception he did really well sitting on my lap (and the laps of other family members :)). We left the reception during a huge thunderstorm. The roads got more flooded than I have ever seen them! Saturday, we enjoyed some fun in the pool with my sister's kids. It was a sunny, hot day...perfect for the pool. I also got to go to dinner with my friend Rachel. It was so nice to be able to visit with her without the kiddos. Overall we had a great weekend visiting with family and friends. Ben's cousin Emma reading him a book. Emma loves to read and Ben loves to be read to...perfect ...

Ben and I met some friends at the park this morning. He had a good time running around on the equipment, swinging, and going for a walk in his stroller. It's fun to watch him interact with toys and try to figure them out. All the fun wore him out and he took a nap right after we got home!

We decided to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather by taking a trip to the park. We went to Buckner Park, a new park to the south of us. It has nice equipment for the kids to play on and a splash pad. Ben loved every minute of it! Smiling at daddy while he was climbing the stairs. Ben making some noise with the music toy. Wheeee! Trying out the splash pad. Curt coaxed Ben through the sprinkling frog. He got pretty wet! He wasn't so excited about the frog getting him so wet. He had to run to daddy for a hug. He liked watching a bucket tip and pour water on the kids beneath it. Stretching to reach the fountain of water. We packed a lunch to eat while we were there. It was nice to sit in the sun and eat together. We had such a good time playing at the park together...it was a perfect way to spend the day.

A few days ago, I bought some playdough for Ben. He hasn't used it before so I wasn't sure how he would like it. I put our plastic table cloth on the floor and let the fun begin! Making shapes...okay, if I'm being honest...I made the shapes and Ben played with them. His motor skills are not that advanced. :) Having fun, squishing the playdough around. Trying to see how much playdough he can hold at one time.

Last night, we let Ben watch a Little Einstein episode before bed. He climbed up on our orange chair and sat down. After a few minutes, he laid down and got comfy, snuggling his bear. We had to get a picture because he looked so cute watching his show. :)

Ben and I finally got to the zoo today and it was CRAZY busy! The new African Journey opens to the public tomorrow and members could get a sneak peek today. It seems as if everyone in the city of Ft. Wayne is a member and wanted to get to the zoo right when it opened. The main parking lot was full when we arrived, which has never happened to me on a weekday. People were everywhere! As we waited in the African Journey, I snapped a pic of part of the line behind us. It's hard to tell but the line winds around and goes a LONG ways. It was slow going through this part. Ben did a great job being patient. The line we had to follow through seemed long, but it was nothing compared to what was behind us still waiting to get through. It will be nice to see this part of the zoo again when it's not crowded. Ben loved watching the giraffes. This part wasn't as congested, so we were able to sit and watch them for a while. It will be fun to feed them someday! Ben getting friendly with ...