The Calm Before the Storm

Well, "before the storm broke", the storm being Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, we had an awesome weekend. It all started at the Zoo on Saturday. This was the first time I've noticed Reese truly "getting it." You know, recognizing where we were, the animals we were seeing, saying the noises they make. It was pretty neat to see her into it and understanding it. The weather was absolutely beautiful that day and all the animals were out, too, which isn't always the case.

One of our first stops was to see the elephants. She ran to the elephant statue and insisted Daddy make an elephant trumpeting sound. Joe can actually make a very authentic elephant noise. It's impressive.

I can't make an elephant sound to save my life (it sounds like a kazoo), however, seal noises are a completely different story. Hey we all have our hidden "animal making sound" talents. What's yours? 

Mother-daughter picture.

Reese was SO EXCITED when we saw all the primates. There was one right up to the glass--looking straight at us. Reese kept going "hi" "hi" and laughing. She was also making her monkey noises. This is for sure her animal noise speciality.

One of our last stops was the Children's Zoo section. It has a waterfall that flows into a rock creek bed for the kids to play in. They also have a mini splash pad. This area of the Zoo is always a highlight.

This girl loves getting wet, so I always pack a change of clothes. After she got as wet as she possibly could (and changed) we headed to pet the goats. Since she didn't feel like petting the goats she instead sucked her thumb while bench sharing with a goat. Both are acceptable.

On Sunday we had a nice family day shopping. Reese did something at the mall for the first time. She rode a coin toy machine. Yep, she's never done it! We let her choose which one she wanted to ride and she went for the fire truck. Papa Bear would be so proud.

I had never wanted her to ride these things because I know how germ invested they are. This is actually laughable now that I know on the night this picture was taken Reese spiked a fever and then broke out into a rash the morning after. I know she didn't get it from this machine, but I wonder how many other kids caught the virus, already in her system, after she rode it?? Hmmm.

Well, tomorrow Reese will be returning to Mother's Day Out after beating this nasty, nasty virus. Did I mention it was NASTY? I must say thank goodness for M.D.O because this Momma needs a day's rest after the last couple of weeks!

We rode this storm out.
This post is to remind me how nice the calm was.

Sometimes all it takes is a good storm to appreciate the calm. It does for me at least.