Only Lions and Birds that Fly

Last Friday, I took a personal day and spent the whole day with Mallory and the boys! It was my first day off in 10 weeks, and I was soooo in need of it! This working everyday thing is really getting to me! Ha! 

First thing in the morning I took Brooks for his 9 month well check. Everything is looking good and he continues to be a healthy and happy baby! Here are his 9 month stats: 

Weight- 18 lbs 2.2 oz @ 15%

Height- 28.5 in @ 55%

Head Circumference 45 cm. @45% 

He is still our tiniest baby by far! He is 5 lbs. less than Nolan was at 9 months! And almost 3 lbs. less than Heath! And he is a couple inches shorter than they were too. His head is the same size as Nolan's was. Sometimes I think it looks a little big on his tiny body! Hopefully he'll grow into it! 

After his appointment we ran home and picked up Mallory and the boys and headed straight downtown to the Denver Zoo! On the way down we asked the boys which animals they were most excited to see. Heath said, "only lions!" and Nolan said, "Birds that fly!" 

It was the perfect day to go to the zoo- mid 70's and sunny! When we were buying our tickets we saw a sign posted that read, "Bird World Closed Today." Sorry Nolan. No birds for you today! Normally this wouldn't bother me...I can't stand birds. But it made me sad to know that for some reason my 4 year old boy really wanted to check out birds today and wouldn't be able to! So Mallory and I were on the look out for birds in all other areas of the zoo that we could point out to Nolan. 

It was so fun watching the boys get really excited about each new animal we saw. Too bad Heath also had a big disappointment...there were no lions to be seen! We swung by their habitat 2 times and didn't spot any. 

 We watched this leopard jump out from behind the rocks. It was pretty awesome! 

The Polar Bear was sleeping in the sun, we were hoping to catch him swimming, but no such luck. It was a lazy sort of day for the animals. 

These Sea Lions were so funny! 

We made sure to check out the new elephant exhibits. We didn't see their shows, but they were beautiful and their new home was very cool! 

Brooks went along for the ride and was great in the stroller- looking around, checking the animals out, and sleeping off and on! 

The penguins were one of our favorite animals of the day! They were super active- swimming wildly, jumping in and out of the water, and splashing each other. They were so cute...and a bird! Not a flying one...but a bird! 

It can't be a trip to the zoo without a stop at the jump zone! 

Nolan was also full of facts about these flamingos...also birds! Why this boy likes birds, I'll never know! I blame it on "the bird book" at Oma & Opa's house! Ha! 

In the monkey house we spotted this guy...a TITI! Heath used to call Mallory "Ti Ti", so, of course, we had to snap a picture with it! It's a term of endearment! 

Does Nolan take after his Mommy and have l-o-n-g arms?! 

This ape was sleeping right up by the glass. Nolan asked me a bunch of questions about evolution because he spotted some signs comparing man vs. ape! Oh my! How do I explain this to my inquisitive 4 year old?! I tried my best! 

 Love these smiling, happy faces! I needed this fun day with them! 

And of course, more spoiling from Auntie took place! The boys each got to pick something out at the gift shop. Nolan wanted a stuffed animal of course. His imagination runs wild with them! After much deliberation we decided that a bird would be the best option since it was his animal of the day! So he found this fun peacock. It is a really beautiful stuffed animal and very well made. Nolan named him "Zazu". He is really good at naming animals and always comes up with something good. 

And Heath, being typical Heath, went with his sweet tooth, and picked out a sucker! He's a cheap date, but was TOTALLY happy with his blue lollipop! Bigger is not better to him. Sweet is always best! $1.19 was all it took and he was thrilled because it matched his shirt! Silly boy! 

 It was a special day for the boys full of so many great memories! They're are still talking about it.