Thomas' Date
Yesterday we took Thomas out for his pre-Cora date. As with Henry, he couldn't wrap his little mind around the idea of going out without his brother and begged Henry to join us. He finally agreed to go out alone and we drove him to the zoo.
When we got there, we told him we were planning to brush the goats and feed some ducks, but it was his day to choose what we did when. He looked us in the eye and said, "I want to play drums, THEN brush goats. That's my plan!" We marched (he literally marched) to the African exhibit, stopping. of course, to drink from the lion fountain. We gave him the freedom to walk and do whatever he wanted, and, like any little brother, he soaked up the chance to make his own decisions. It took us almost an hour to get to the drums because there were so many things he wanted to see along the way, including the "hi-henas " (hyenas) and mice (mongoose family). We even stopped to look at a hedgehog, but he didn't want to touch it "betause it's not my favite." We finally made it to the drums and he was in his little element pounding on them.
Next came the goats, after a not-so-short stop at the egg walk, Little Poof train, and misty splash pad. True to Thomas form, he marched straight up to the biggest goat and began to brush. In just a few moments, though, the goat had half of his shirt in its mouth and was continuing to chomp its way toward his belly! In his bravest little voice, he shouted, "No, Goat! No eating me!" And tried to push it away. I tried to pry the shirt free and push the goat back, but to no avail. Apparently he was set on having it for lunch. I finally scooped Thomas up and tried to carry him away from the feasting, but (no surprise!) he wanted back down to brush the goats. For the next several minutes we were accosted constantly: they ate our shorts, hands, backpack... Finally we gave up and left. What an experience! Thomas talked about it all day, how the goat tried to eat him and he told him to stop.
Having had enough of an encounter with hungry animals, we decided to forego feeding the ducks and went to a frozen yogurt shop instead. It's a place similar to Red Mango where you get your own yogurt and mix-ins and pay by the ounce. He LOVED it. The only thing that made it better was the kid-sized table he got all to himself. Every other bite came with a comment like, "Mmm, this be hummy!" or, "I hike this ice team!" We'd told him we were headed there after the zoo and he said, "That'd be a DATE!" Not sure what kind of impression he has of dates...
It was great just to get both boys out alone and give them some added attention that they may lack in the months to come. Who knows? Maybe this will become a yearly tradition!
When we got there, we told him we were planning to brush the goats and feed some ducks, but it was his day to choose what we did when. He looked us in the eye and said, "I want to play drums, THEN brush goats. That's my plan!" We marched (he literally marched) to the African exhibit, stopping. of course, to drink from the lion fountain. We gave him the freedom to walk and do whatever he wanted, and, like any little brother, he soaked up the chance to make his own decisions. It took us almost an hour to get to the drums because there were so many things he wanted to see along the way, including the "hi-henas " (hyenas) and mice (mongoose family). We even stopped to look at a hedgehog, but he didn't want to touch it "betause it's not my favite." We finally made it to the drums and he was in his little element pounding on them.
Next came the goats, after a not-so-short stop at the egg walk, Little Poof train, and misty splash pad. True to Thomas form, he marched straight up to the biggest goat and began to brush. In just a few moments, though, the goat had half of his shirt in its mouth and was continuing to chomp its way toward his belly! In his bravest little voice, he shouted, "No, Goat! No eating me!" And tried to push it away. I tried to pry the shirt free and push the goat back, but to no avail. Apparently he was set on having it for lunch. I finally scooped Thomas up and tried to carry him away from the feasting, but (no surprise!) he wanted back down to brush the goats. For the next several minutes we were accosted constantly: they ate our shorts, hands, backpack... Finally we gave up and left. What an experience! Thomas talked about it all day, how the goat tried to eat him and he told him to stop.
Having had enough of an encounter with hungry animals, we decided to forego feeding the ducks and went to a frozen yogurt shop instead. It's a place similar to Red Mango where you get your own yogurt and mix-ins and pay by the ounce. He LOVED it. The only thing that made it better was the kid-sized table he got all to himself. Every other bite came with a comment like, "Mmm, this be hummy!" or, "I hike this ice team!" We'd told him we were headed there after the zoo and he said, "That'd be a DATE!" Not sure what kind of impression he has of dates...
It was great just to get both boys out alone and give them some added attention that they may lack in the months to come. Who knows? Maybe this will become a yearly tradition!
