We stayed at my mom’s house this weekend and decided to take a trip to the zoo aka rip-off central. Look, I’m the first to admit that I’m pretty frugal with most things, so my opinion may be a bit skewed, but a simple day at the zoo shouldn’t set you and your mom back $80, should it? $40 to get in, $40 on crappy food.
I guess the part that makes me most bitter about our zoo experience, other than the fact that none of the animals were out and about and every square inch was being renovated, was that we had to pay the initial admission to get in and then an additional fee to do other “fun stuff” within the zoo. Want to ride the “train”? $5! Cha-ching. Want to play in the cool water part of the park? $5! Cha-ching. Basically, the zoo is like the nickel and dime DirecTV packages – you pay for basics, but if you want the truly cool stuff, expect to double your bill!
Being the cheap bastard that I am, I opted out of all of the fun stuff which was just wonderful every time Anna saw the train pass by. There’s only so many times you can tell your child the train is full and that we won’t fit before she starts giving you the side-eye and totally doubting you as a mom. And then the mom guilt sets in and you really feel like a piece of crap for not spending an extra $15 for the three of you to ride on the train for a whopping 5 minutes.
Nah, I don’t feel that bad.
Here are some pics of our day:
Yay, we’re finally here!
I tried to get her to stand on one leg like a flamingo. She obviously didn’t listen.
Anna’s lovely locks!
This child refuses to pose for a photo!
Now that’s how you take a nap!
Yes, that’s a tongue.
Soooo serious!
This picture makes me laugh.
The coat of many colors.
Sill refusing to look at the camera! Oh, and she refused to let go of that map for hours!
Despite the rip-off effect, we managed to have a very nice day at the zoo. The weather was mild, Anna was relatively well-behaved – it was a good day. I did realize, however, that she is impatient just like me. We’d see an animal, and before I could tell her a little about it, she’d say, “More animals, mommy!” No dilly dallying with Anna!
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Anna’s Birthday:
October 10th came and went rather quickly since it fell on a Monday. Anna’s actual birthday party is this Saturday, but I still wanted to honor my baby’s birth date and do a little something special for her. So, Joe and I blew up balloons the night before and put them all over her bedroom floor. Since I had to leave for work early that day and wanted to sing her Happy Birthday before I left, I decided to wake her up by showering her with balloons on her bed.
She woke up and said, “MOMMY, WHAT’S THIS?!” She was so excited. I really wish I had it on video because the images just don’t do it justice. I also snuck in one of the cupcakes that we bought for her daycare class. A child should never be without cake on her birthday!
Of course I’ve waited ‘til the last minute to do everything for her birthday party, so I have to spend most of my evenings this week getting everything prepared. I’m not sure if many people will show up since it seems to be a busy weekend for everyone, but that’s OK – she’ll still have a blast!
PSA: No, that’s not a ring-worm on her shoulder. It’s a mosquito bite. Yep, every bite she gets looks like that.
PSA: Yes, that’s her real hair. No, it’s not a fro wig.
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The New Baby Stuffs:
— Growth spurt! My weight increased 60% this past week.
(Seems like mine did, too.)
— There are taste buds all over the inside of my mouth.
— I touch my mouth—a lot!
— Now my arms don't seem so small compared to the rest of my body.
— From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.
The details:
How far along: 14 weeks
Total weight gain: According to Natalie’s naked scale, +4. Up 2 lbs. from last week, ouch!
Sleep habits: I’ve actually been sleeping a bit better. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I haven’t been having as many problems falling back asleep – even with Joe snoring in the background. My mind is also a lot more relaxed, less anxiety, so I don’t “think” too much when I wake up. This allows me to just fall back asleep without many issues. My dreams have been super intense and super vivid.
Maternity clothes: This past weekend I was convinced that I was officially bumped out. However, today, nada. It’s so insane to me how you can look 4 months pregnant on Monday and not pregnant at all on Tuesday. I blame it on the fact that all of my innards are shifting and perhaps this is making digesting a bit slower. All of the food just sits there creating a faux bump. Oh well, I’ll enjoy these last few weeks of flat bellydom because once I do bump out and can’t even put on socks, I’ll be missing this time of ease!
Best moment of the week: Not really baby related, but singing Happy Birthday to Anna Kate!
Food cravings: Sushi, sushi, sushi. And Flips chocolate covered pretzels. I tried the peanut butter ones, and they’re equally delicious. Hence why I probably gained 2 lbs. in a week!
Aversions: I will pretty much eat my arm at this point. The ravenous hunger has set in!
Symptoms: Shortness of breath is the only complaint I have this week. Oh, and I was super fatigued yesterday and fell asleep in Anna’s bed while she was cooking me dinner in her play kitchen.
Movement: No conclusive movement yet.
What I’m looking forward to: I’m really looking forward to finding out this baby’s sex. I don’t know if I can make it for another 6 weeks!
What I miss: Not too much this week.
Next appointment: November 1. I need to get a flu shot before this appointment or my OB will have my head on a platter!
See ya next week!
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2 comments:
you should get a zoo membership. then you'd go a lot more and carousel rides are only a buck. :D and you can get into the aquarium for free, too. (great for hot days.)
I LOVE THAT GIRL'S HAIR!! My goodness she's a beauty. Those zoo pics are great.
Happy Birthday Anna Kate. I hope you guys have a great party. :)
PS- I'm so glad you're doing pregnancy updates. They are so fun to read.
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