This weekend has been all moms, all the time. I kicked off the celebration yesterday with a lunch at my parents’ house with my mom and both of my grandmothers. We had a lovely time, although from looking at these pictures I need to take back the comments about being less puffy this time around…oy vey!
The next part of the celebration began bright and early this morning as we prepared to take Liam to the zoo for the first time. We piled in the car and went on the obligatory Dunkin Donuts run and then we were off to Grant Park.
We spent about 2.5 hours walking around and I think we actually got to see most things (except for the Tigers and Bears who are apparently hiding out until their new exhibit opens this summer). This was in no small part due to the fact that Liam’s idea of going to the zoo is apparently running through like his pants are on fire, looking at each exhibit until he spots the animal in question (or grows tired of looking) and then running off to the next thing shouting “Let’s go see sumfin’ else!” It’s not a coincidence that this is also Matt’s idea of going to the zoo…
Okay, on to the main attraction:
Flamingos!
(You can’t tell just how little sleep I had last night, can you…?)
“Look Liam! Can you see how the elephant is picking up leaves to eat with his…with his…Matt, what’s the long thing on the front of an elephant?” (Let no one ever tell you that pregnancy brain isn’t real…)
Lions and more lions and Liams, Oh My!
Meerkat Manor:
A boy and his meerkat:
“Look Liam! There’s a…oh geez…Matt, what’s that thing with the long neck called…?”
“It’s a giraffe, Mama!”
“Look Liam, there’s that animal with the stripes that your Mama can’t name to save her life…”
Zebra!
Gorilla gazing:
Gorilla!
Spying a Silverback:
Spying Silverback:
“Oooh! Mama! I see sumfin’! What’s dat?”
“Oooh! Dere’s a monkey up dere!”
More monkeys:
The best way to see the zoo:
Kimodo dragon:
Frogs!
Lizard!
Turtle!
Red Panda!
Otters!
One of the only things he was interested enough to stop and look at for longer than 20 seconds was the construction equipment for the new exhibit:
Panda!
“Oh my goodness! Oh my gosh! Dere’s da train!”
Train gazing:
“How fast can you go, Dad?”
“Wow, Dad. That was pretty fast! I think I should give it a try, too.”
“Look how fast I’m going, Dad!”
“I did it!”
Train!
Waiting patiently to ride the train:
“Here it comes! Here it comes!”
Riding the train:
“Oh, what’s that up there?”
Tunnel.
Tunnel!
Goats!
This is Liam’s “Mama, are you really taking another picture of me…? Really? Seriously?” face:
Giant tortoise!
This is Matt’s “Shannon, are you really taking another picture of me…? Really? Seriously?” face:
Bubbles!
While Liam and I were waiting in the car as Matt got lunch, the following conversation took place:
Shannon:Â Liam, what was your favorite thing at the zoo today?
Liam:Â Ummm…the peeing.
Shannon:Â The peeing?
Liam: Ummm, yes. The goat. The peeing goat, Mama.
We spent 2.5 hours walking almost every inch of the Atlanta Zoo and Liam’s favorite part was when the goat in the petting zoo peed while standing next to him. Of course it was…
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The Mother’s Day Caravan continued this afternoon as we pulled into Decatur with stops at Grammie and Pop’s and Gran and Granddaddy’s houses. Here are the pictures from this portion of the afternoon:
Gillian learns that half and half cannot be substituted for heavy cream when whipped cream is the goal…
But it was delicious, nonetheless (another lesson learned: that can of whipped cream that everyone has in the fridge can come in very handy from time to time):
Goober Peas:
Goober:
Liam’s version of playing catch:
Liam explores the pantry:
Helping Gran open her presents:
This is the exact moment at which I realized that my mother was making a grave mistake in showing Liam how to use a spray bottle and that I was the one who would pay:
And yet, she continued on:
This is the exact moment at which Liam realized that the direction in which he points the sprayer really matters:
Success!
And now, after what is possibly the longest blog post in the history of ever, I bid you goodnight and Happy Mother’s Day.