Florida (the post with a bunch of animals)

So... catching up isn't really working out for me. I'll skip a few things and instead share some photos of the good times we had visiting Jon's parents in Florida.

One of our first outings was to go to the Brevard County Zoo. This was Henry's first zoo experience and I so excited for him-- it was ridiculous.

We got to the zoo just after Henry had fallen asleep in the car, so he was out of it at first, but was so happy once we got through the gate and made it to the petting zoo. He loved that he got to pet a goat and check out the llamas, armadillo, and sheep.

This goat made Henry giggle.

He loved this giant fish tank full of big fish.

 
We then walked over to the giraffe area-- where you can feed them carrots from a platform. Henry was very intrigued by the giraffe, but she didn't make him laugh.

The birds were a mixed bag. The cockatiels were delightful. They are super social, were totally okay sharing their treats with their neighbors, and would just nuzzle up against people. They were really happy to eat, but also put up with just hanging out on your hand for a while.

Can't you just feel his joy in this moment?

I don't know what this little guy was, but he was pretty neat, too.

 

But the lorikeets? They were stink-pots. This is me feeding one before I learned of their true nature. Now I regret I ever gave them anything.

Devil bird.

 Here is a list of behaviors to prove my beliefs about lorikeets: they don't share, they squawk crazy loud, and they nip. And one of the buggers nipped Henry, really hard. Poor little guy was so freaked out that he burst out crying and Jon couldn't leave because he had like three lorikeets perched on him, so I swooped in and carried Henry back to the safety of the cockatiels. Thankfully Henry was still okay with them-- so at least I know he won't end up with ornithophobia. Maybe just a fear of lorikeets specifically. And I'd get that.

Here, kitty, kitty.

Prettiest vulture I ever did see.

 And, our total touristy photo:

Jon and Henry as sea turtles.

So, Henry's first zoo experience was a hit. Besides the above pictured, he loved seeing the small primates and the parrots along the trails. He just loves, loves animals. He just lights up and smiles and giggles. It is the sweetest thing. That zoo is pretty awesome, too. It isn't the biggest I've been to, but they have zip-lines (that go over treetops and the alligator lake), a canoe tour, and an up-close-and-personal with the rhinos.

Merritt Island. We went here a couple of times-- for a short walk around some place that we stumbled upon, and then to see the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. We were surprised by what we loved and by what we didn't.

A walk around the visitor center.

My love and I walking on our own for a bit.

Jon and his folks

Jon and I did a five mile hike on our own while Jon's folks hung out with Henry. We weren't super impressed with it. If we were big-time bird watchers, maybe. There were a lot of those people out on that trail. The trail sounded awesome on paper, and we thought Jon would get a lot of good photos out of it, but for us it was just a big windy loop with a bunch of the same kind of marshland and a few interesting birds. We saw many more birds from the car and elsewhere. Although, Jon tells me that I nearly stepped on a giant snake when Jon's folks called to tell us that Henry was awake and needed me. Momma's got priorities, right? I then walk/jogged 1/2 mile in flip-flops and earned myself a prize blister. Not my brightest, shiniest moment.

Marshland

Prints on marshland mud

Yeah, yeah... more marshland...

Alligator in the wild. Pretty cool.

 We then went on to talk a shorter hike through some hammocks. We saw more live oak and palm trees growing side by side. Oh, and heaps and heaps of epiphytes. And, interestingly, I learned that it was in that area of Florida that the original wild oranges were grown, and the descendents of those first trees lived in that area, too.

Spanish Moss!

This place was magical.

Jon and I decided we were in love with the hammocks out there and decided to seek more out. It was so neat walking around totally enveloped by this mix of trees and plants. Oh, and the light filtering through... it was heavenly.


A surprisingly awesome place: Jungle Adventures Nature Park. Jon's mom found it in some of her literature, but then we drove over to where it is located (Christmas, Florida), and the outside didn't look very promising. There was a very kitschy giant alligator and very few cars in the parking lot. But we figured we had made the drive, and it was something to do outdoors, so we went. And we absolutely loved it.

Bears to greet you.

First, we took the boat tour where we learned that the state tree of Florida (the Cabbage Palmetto) is, in fact, not a tree. We also learned that alligators eat one another or parts of one another. Another tidbit-- parts of the original Tarzan movie were filmed there, and the actor playing Tarzan was too scared to swim across an alligator-infested waterway there. So the owner of the place did it. Bravery? Stupidity? Mental illness? I'm not sure, but the guy didn't get eaten, so I guess that worked out for him.

Oh yes, our tour guide said that if you can see a line of teeth on the outside of their mouths, those are crocodiles. And they house a handful of those as well. She also told us that there is a certain lichen that only grows in clean-air environments that is bright pink. I had been wondering what that was. I was happy to learn that it was a good thing.

Lots and lots of alligators there. Sometimes they do an alligator feeding, but they were being fat and lazy and just sunning themselves for the most part. Except when one sloshed and crawled right over another one and they both got all snappy for a moment. That was a bit too much excitement for me. (We were standing five feet away from them.)

No zoom here, folks. Photo taken through a chain-link fence.

They also have a petting-zoo, of sorts. After some time of walking around on our own, we got to hear a presentation on various animals that the place takes in. They have branched out from alligators and have taken in emu, foxes, deer, hybrid wolves, and a few others. Near the end of the presentation, they brought over some of the animals so that we could touch/hold them.

Everybody loves a baby alligator.

Tarantula--so soft and snuggly.

This is the only one that gave me pause. But I did it!

The scorpion isn't deadly, but its sting hurts about as much as a bee sting, which is no tickle. Luckily, this guy was an adult, and they stay that as they get older, their stingers don't pierce as easily. Whew. Too bad he still looked terrifying. (Can you see the fear in my eyes?)

Sweet little ball python.

At the end of our tour, we got to visit their "Indian Village" where Little Bear took over as our tour guide and told us a little about the native people of Florida and about the Seminole Indians specifically. I was totally fascinated. We learned that they lived in chickee huts. (Open structures with grass roofs and lofts.) Little Bear explained that the women and children slept upstairs in the loft area (for comfort and safety) while the men slept in hammocks lashed to the poles below so that they could rush to action if needed. One of my favorite moments was when Jon's mom innocently asked, "So if the men sleep downstairs in the hammocks and the women sleep upstairs, where do the little Seminole come from?" 

Another favorite moment was when Little Bear asked where everyone was from and when I said "Texas" his response was, "Well, then they must lie, not everything's bigger there." To which I replied, "I'm concentrated." He looked at me funny and then laughed and said, "Ok, I get it. For a second there I though you said you were constipated and that didn't make any sense." Yep, Little Bear was an awesome tour guide.

Little Bear and his "pet" cougar.

Oh, and as we were leaving, we saw them taking the wolves out for a walk. We were informed that they alternately walk the wolves and the cougars and panthers every night. How awesome would that job be?

This peacock walked us to our car.

 That's all for tonight, folks.

The latest little things

I have big things to catch up on. I have a trip to Texas, Christmas, traveling, and so many other things to write about.
But today I just wanted to mention a few cute things.
Henry has become much more snuggly. This has coincided with his ability to stand up while pulling up on things. Somehow, becoming more independent has made him also want to spend more time hugging and cuddling.
And I am totally okay with that.
He has also become a big kisser these days. He lays big sloppy ones down. And I mean BIG open-mouth guppy kisses-complete with slobber. So, kind of gross, but oh so endearing.
He also loves it when we assist him in walking around the house.
And the latest is he will find himself standing at the coffee table or somewhere wanting to hold something that takes his full attention and both hands, and he'll end up standing. Just standing there, not walking or anything, but still. Pretty great, right?

Ikea dresser

Before: 

After some (really frustrating) painting and sparkly new hardware: 

Maybe if I remember one of these days, I'll take a photo of the finished product with something other than my phone on a cloudy day... Please forgive the noise in the "After" photo. 

Not a toy

Jon and I took Henry to Zion for the afternoon over the weekend. We stopped for a bite to eat on the way there. We ordered, sat down, and started eating, trying to keep Henry entertained. He had been super fussy in the car and was not happy with the scenario at the restaurant. Henry doesn't like that there are things that we eat that we cannot share with him. So Jon put Henry on his knee and was bouncing him gently and talking to him. He was having nothing to do with at high chairs at that point. And then Henry started looking around and people-watching and some of the people were watching him right back and smiled at him. That made Henry giggle, which made this lady turn around. She looked at Henry, then Jon and I, then back at Henry and he gave her a great big smile. Then the lady's eyes got all big and she exclaimed, "Oh, he's real!" And upon seeing our confusion, went on to clarify, "I thought he was a doll!"
Because Jon obviously looks like the type to play with life-size baby dolls.
I assured her that Henry is very much real, and went back to eating. But a few minutes later, it must have still been on the woman's mind because she shared, "I think I must have thought he was a doll because of his eyes. So blue."
She kept looking at me, waiting for a response, so I said that he does have great big blue eyes, smiled at her, and went back to my lunch.
Not two minutes later, another couple walks in and this woman starts waving and smiling at Henry and then calls her husband over to look at him. She then starts talking to Henry as if his parents are not there. You know, mostly the usual, "Oh, aren't you so cute?! ... I could just eat you up.... Well, aren't you all smiles?" I honestly don't know how to respond to that. I mean, she was talking to Henry and not me. Was she expecting him to answer? And then as I got up to go to the restroom, she started talking to Henry again and asked him, "Do you think your mom would mind it very much if I took you home with me?"
Since I was walking right past their table, I did answer that one. "I'm pretty sure his mom would NOT like that at all." I said it with a smile, so that was ok, right? What would you do? She was kind of talking about kidnapping, after all.
I blame our odd dining experience on the location. That's what we get for eating in Hurricane.
And for my parent friends out there, do you just get used to being treated like you are invisible or do you insert yourself into the conversation? But even then, what do you say besides thank you? Do you gush stuff like, "Oh, I know, he's just toooooo cute, isn't he? Can you believe those sweet chunky thighs?" Or do you share something more truthful like, "Lady, you don't know the half of it. Do you know how much work it is keeping this baby happy, out of trouble, and entertained?"

High chair

So I posed this question to my facebook friends today, but I am also asking any of my friends here who are also moms-- If you have a high chair that you love/loved can you give me some recommendations? And let me know what you love about it. Does it fold up compact? Is it easy to clean? Is it sturdy?

We're already at that phase. I can hardly believe it. While I was trying to put it off as long as possible, I think we really need one yesterday. This kid is a MESSY eater. It is fun to watch him, but the clean up is not so much fun. Especially because he wants to do it all by himself... So, any and all input would be happily received. Thanks!


12/8/12
Update: Okay, so we went with a fold-up Ikea chair with industrial washable fabric. It folds up really compact, and when it is opened up, it comes up right to the table so that Henry can eat right off of the table and there is one less surface to clean. We're pretty happy with it.

He styles his own hair

Lately, when Henry sleeps or naps, he wakes up looking like this-

Six months

Henry will be half a year old on Sunday. I can hardly believe it. I love this kid so much. It is amazing watching him learn and grow. He rolls over like a champ. He sits on his own really well. If he reaches for a toy waaaay out in front of him while sitting up, he basically folds in half, but can still pull himself upright from that position. When he reaches to far to one side, that's another story. He just topples over.
On the topic of crawling: it terrifies me. We are going to have to achieve a whole new level of baby-proofing. I'm still not entirely convinced that he won't skip crawling and go straight to running around the house. He has all of the mechanics of crawling down, but doesn't put them all together. When on our bed he does sort of crawl, with his face planted firmly on the mattress. On carpet he keeps his head up, but then doesn't put his knees under himself, so he just kind of scoots. And if I lay him on a blanket, he pulls any toys out of reach toward himself. Resourceful little guy. And loves to stand. You give him one finger of each hand and he'll stand of ages, and bop up and down, and stomp now and then. I've already been told to prepare for an aching back since it seems like he's going to want to walk and he'll need my assistance. I'm already envisioning hours spent as his shadow, bent over behind him, my hands used as a grip to stabilize his toddling walk.
And since this is our child and he has this from both sides, he will most certainly be a climber. So pretty soon we'll be anchoring furniture to our walls.
So I am enjoying my last few weeks of having an only somewhat mobile baby. You should see him when he gets into rolling though. If he spots something he wants and doesn't want to scoot to it, he just rolls and rolls and readjusts his trajectory if he needs to, and he gets what he wants.
Oh, and this boy is independent already. If he can reach something, he doesn't want it handed to him. Nope, he wants to pick it up on his own.
The kid is also teething. He has been for nearly a month now. I can feel a few teeth under the surface, but none have broken through yet. And the poor dear is struggling big time with it. We've gotten by with natural pain relief until just barely. Talking to my midwife, who is also big into natural remedies reminded me of what we as adults go through when we have dental pain. And we can understand what we're going through. So last night we used baby Advil and he slept for a good five hour stretch. And can I just say it made a huge difference- for all of us.
Some cute things he does:
When he's sleepy, if I'm carrying him, he'll snuggle his head into my neck and throw an arm over my shoulder. He could sleep for hours like that.
Also when he's sleepy- I'm not sure if does this to announce his sleepiness or to fight it, but he likes to blow raspberries on my arm or shoulder or to the room in general. Either way, I think it is hilarious.
He is obsessed with grass. More specifically, he loves yanking it out of the ground. If you put him on a blanket outside, he will make his way to an edge and will pull fistfuls of grass blades out like it is his personal mission to do so.
He cracks up when the dogs play. He has the cutest laugh when he is being amused by the fur babies. He also tries to touch, pet, and generally grab the dogs. He somehow knows that the cat won't put up with it because he is gentler with her (if she lets him close enough).
Ok, that's enough baby gushing for now.