Spiderman at the zoo

When we go the email that the Houston Zoo was having a special visit from Spiderman and Captain America, James and I knew we wanted to take the kids. Connor and Megan had recently discovered an old-school Spiderman cartoon on Netflix and all the kids have an interest in superheroes right now, thanks to the recent Marvel movies.

Knowing the zoo would likely be crowded, we tried to get in early. With a later-than-wanted start, we managed to get there right as the zoo opened and we still had to park in the back parking lot. Even with a beeline to the meeting place, we had an almost 30 minute wait to see the masked duo and we were the lucky ones. By the time we had our picture done and left the building, the line was twice as long and on our way out of the zoo it had doubled once again.

The moment Connor caught sight of Spiderman, he demanded my attention and pointed him out. He then stared at the spot, waiting for the people to move so he could catch yet another glimpse.

Once we were at the front, he got a little shy. Spiderman was great, crouching down and interacting with him. Connor still wasn't sure what to make of them, though he couldn't stop watching.

The girls were equally excited to meet them, giggling and giving them high fives. By the time we took the picture, Connor had lost interest and was walking away, so I had to jump in. Of course, once we stood next to Spiderman, he couldn't stop grinning at his new hero.

Once the visit was over, we wandered to some of Cadence's favorite exhibits and the girls got to show James everything.

And, as always, a sidenote: Today was Connor's first day of nursery. It would have been last week, but that was Stake Conference, so this week James dropped him off (learning from past mistakes). I hovered in the hallway hoping for an immediate update and kept peeking through the windows before I finally had to go to where my class waited for me. James did peek in and assured me all had gone well, spurring exclamations from my small group of teens over his beardless face. I did my best to not rush to pick him up afterward. It wasn't that I missed him, it was actually nice to listen to the Relief Society lesson and not have him attempt to dive off the folding chairs for fun. Mostly, I wanted to hear how he had done from his new teachers. As it always goes, they were all smiles and raved about how sweet and quiet he was (that made me smother a laugh).

And, of course, the nursery leaders did mention how much they loved his little grin. Look at all the attitude conveyed in that smile. ;-)

The Zoo... again? You betcha!

Making the most of our zoo membership before it expires next month (Boo at the Zoo will happen before it expires, so we won't miss anything if I don't get the chance to renew it before that happens). We've actually done two separate trips since the beginning of the month. The majority of the pictures are from our visit today, which was made during moderate temps with a nice breeze. The first two pictures are from our more daring venture, when it was so humid I was mentally pleading with Mother Nature to just make it rain already (it finally did on our way home and then for the rest of the week).

At the elephant baths. The kids were fascinated by the baby elephant (8 months old now!) and the tricks the zookeepers were coaxing the elephants into doing.

Can you tell how hot it was from Megan's pink cheeks and damp hair?

Staring at the great hornbill. Connor claimed free reign of the zoo for the first half of our visit.

I've been making a conscious effort to be in more pictures with the kids, thus turning Megan into the photographer for a bit.

Knowing what was next, Connor launched himself from the stroller and ran for the drums. I had to drag him away.

Another inclusive picture. Too bad you can't see the chimp.

Climbing all over the rhino cutout.

I needed at least one of Megan and I, so here's a selfie. I love Megan's smile!

Getting to pet a baby alligator. We also got to pet 2 types of lizards and a snake. Quite adventurous!

We also got to wander through the "big bugs" exhibit, since it was free today. No pictures, since Connor had worn himself out by running willy-nilly through the zoo and Megan was too eager to move on to the next bug each time I stopped to fish my camera out.

For a quick general school update for Cadence (since I know this is how several family members keep up to date with our family going ons): She's doing SO well! Any concerns I might have had are gone. Behavior is reported daily, with purple being excellent, green being default/good, and then the yellow, orange, red for misbehavior. Cadence's daily behavior record has significantly more purple than green. She is loving school and I've had a recent reminder how lucky we are to be in a school that does more explorative learning than non-stop worksheets in kindergarten. Daily Cadence goes to PE, music, art or the library, and she also does "workstations" in her class daily. Some of the stations are worksheets, but others are cutting, coloring and pasting a book on that day's subject, while others involve building with blocks as a group or walking around the room with a clipboard to write down words they see or even just an "art table", where they're given basic supplies and free reign.

I've filled out the paperwork to have her tested for GT (gifted track). She'll be tested at some point throughout the year and then we'll get results in April. It feels vain to be nominating my own child. Doesn't every parent know their child is brilliant?

18 month stats

It's just been one of those weeks, ya know?

We'll start with the happy stuff. Connor is 18 months! Unfortunately, his first day of nursery was trumped by Stake Conference, so his first day of nursery has been pushed to next week. Though, to be honest, he's already gone once. I subbed for the second half of junior nursery and let him wander around. He was perfectly fine. I imagine as long as we have James do the drop-off, he'll have no issues adjusting. Toys, snacks, and other kids? What's not to love? All it's missing is a pet of some sort.

His check-up was first thing yesterday morning. I have yet to switch to a pediatrician closer to our new home, though I have officially decided the distance is too far. I will be switching the girls for their annual check-ups in November. However, I will continue taking Connor to the current pediatrician for his 2-year check-up due to his heart murmur. The pediatrician is not concerned, but did tell me if it is still there at 2 years, she wants to refer him to a cardiologist and I'd like to see that through. The girls' heart murmurs had healed themselves by their first year, so...

Despite starting out as Chunky Charlie, our stubborn toddler has slimmed down and is pretty much the same size as his sisters. A half inch shorter than Cadence at this age, but the same weight.

Height: 32.5" (50th percentile)
Weight: 23lbs (25th percentile)

His physical milestones are above and beyond. He keeps up with the girls on the playground, climbs over everything (we had to take the girls' bunk beds apart because even blocking off the ladder didn't work). He's been wielding a spoon successfully for quite awhile (pudding has been really inspiration for him). He even puts on his own shorts and sandals, though sometimes his legs end up in the same hole.

The only frustrating point is talking. He'll boss Beau around like there's no tomorrow, but ask him to use words to communicate with people and all he does is "ma!" and "ugh!" while pointing or yelling. However, he understands most of what we tell him, so I'm chalking it up to his stubbornness and figure he's just saving up words and once he talks, he'll surprise us with how quickly he picks them up.

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Cadence also went to the doctor yesterday. We got a notice that her immunizations were not up to snuff, since two of her shots were given a week earlier than acceptable (had to be given after her 4th birthday or she needs an extra one). The doctor was most apologetic, to the point it started to get awkward, because it's something she and her office are aware of and are usually on the ball for. She claimed this was the first time in almost ten years that she's had to give the 4th shot, because they always schedule the 3rd one for after 4th birthdays.

Either way, Cadence had to get the shot. Luckily, they were able to combined both needed vaccines into one shot and, despite crying about it as we drove to the doctor's, Cadence put on a brave face and only whimpered a little during the actual shot. My big, brave girl!

We also all got the flu vaccine, except for Connor. We'll have to take him in later once they have the one for under 2. Megan wasn't thrilled with it, but I did mine first (nasal vaccine for the win!) and then she got hers.

Car Woes

Intermittently for the past year or so, my car would make a gurgling-type noise while decelerating or idling. It was ignored initially, because it happened rarely. But, as things tend to do, it gradually got worse until I realized it was doing it more often than not. This became more obvious as I did a lot of idling while dropping Cadence off at school. Finally, it grew from irritation to concern and after the guys at the Jiffy Lube (oil change and state inspection appointment) were clueless over it, I went to google. It was several days of trying various combinations and combing through forum posts and maintenance articles.

I finally found a youtube video that sounded similar to my engine and blamed the IAC valve. I had already been considering this, even though most complaints about the valve involved a different noise complaint (a whining/humming sound). We opted for the cheap fix first: take the piece out, clean it out and see if it made a difference.

Oh, it made a difference all right. The sound got worse. Instead of happening most of the time, it happened every single time. I spent 2 days hating my car before I returned to google and confirmed cleaning the valve was an option, but most of the time didn't work. So, saying a prayer and going on a hunch, we put the money into the replacement part.

Once we compared the new part and the old part, we realized the valve was most definitely the problem. The rod is most likely not missing, it's probably just so gummed up, it's stuck out of sight. Either way, once the new part was in, my engine was so quiet at idle during this morning's drop-off at school, I kept having to roll down my window to listen for my normal V8 rumble.

Of course, now I can hear all the other squeaks and sounds the engine is making and I can't remember what's "normal", because all I'm used to anymore is the loud gurgle (made from air vibrations in the air intake system, specifically resulting is loud vibrations throughout, most strongly felt/heard at the air filter housing).

I am bummed I didn't get a picture of Connor. While James and I tinkered with the car, he came out and started touching the engine cover and got adorable smudges of car gunk all over his hands and face. I tried handing him a wrench to grab a picture, but he wouldn't sit still.

The dog also got my on my crap-list while we were fiddling with the car. The first time, he got in the front yard with Connor and then saw a cat. I basically threw Connor to James and sprinted after him. He hadn't gotten far before he found people, forgot the cat and cornered them in their truck. When I called for him, he ran straight to me and I dragged him home.

I obviously didn't learn my lesson, because two days later, when I was tinkering again, Connor opened the kitchen door to let both of them out into the garage (I'd left the garage door open so I could hear the kids while I was in the driveway). Same cat, same problem. I sprinted down the block once again. This time when I called for him, Beau realized I was mad and ran to another truck to beg them for their protection from my wrath. They betrayed him in the end, holding him so I could drag him back once again.

The car tinkering is not quite done. I want to clean out the throttle, just for good measure, and James has plans to change my brakes this weekend.

Also trying to decide whether or not to swing by the Jiffy Lube and tell them what the problem was so if they encounter the problem again, they can offer a suggestion to future customers.

My birthday

Having kids makes my birthday a rather quiet affair, at least when compared to theirs. However, the girls have been impatiently counting down to my birthday ever since Cadence started school (they may not understand how far apart the days are, but they DO understand the order of things. For example, they know the next big thing is Halloween).

The girls, super-sweet Megan specifically, spent all morning telling me "happy birthday" and coloring pictures for me. Megan even used her budding reading skills to write "Mommy, happy birthday" completely unprompted, though the concept of words being written/read left-to-right is still optional in her world, probably because being left-handed, it's easier to write "backward".

Turning 29 was not a huge deal. As I've mentioned to lots of people, 29 actually seems like a young number when you add in my 3 kids, at least in this day and age. I know I'm not the youngest person to have children numbered/aged like mine, but I am actually one of the youngest ones I associate with. However, to make me feel "old", we gave Connor his first haircut. I'd been debating it for awhile. The hair was uneven, several inches long behind one ear, and not behind the other. So, we grabbed James's hair clippers and buzzed it down to a reasonable 3/4" all over. In truth, he didn't look too much older when we finished. He actually reminds me of his 9 month pictures, since the boy hasn't really changed much since then, except his hair and height. :-P Still, he's super cute.

As for my birthday celebration itself? Saturday afternoon I splurged on a haircut that wasn't at Supercuts or Great Clips and added in some highlights. I also got a 2-hour break from parenting, which is nice in its own way. Currently, I'm fretting over how clustered/bright some of the highlights are, but I've been assured it should tone down in a week if I can just wait it out.

Finally, Sunday, we had the missionaries over for dinner and treated them out to steak and sausage, along with some roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli. The whole night was rounded out with a tasty layered cheesecake, regular on bottom, pumpkin on top. There was concern it wouldn't turn out when Connor turned the oven down on me and I didn't realize it until I thought it was done cooking. Luckily, overnight in the fridge allowed it to set up and it was delicious.

Heh... gotta love how a post about my birthday is 90% about the kids. Life as a mom, I suppose. :-)