Gpa L, Peyton, Gma & Gpa B, Madeline and I wandered around Sunset Zoo this afternoon. That place sure has changed since I last visited there when I was in elementary school! Our timing was pretty fortunate -- we arrived right at feeding time so most of the creatures were very active in their enclosures.
The girls and the grandpas watching the flamingos
Madeline and I are enjoying an extended Thanksgiving holiday here in KS. We're blessed to have both sets of grandparents within 20 minutes of each other out here, so we're enjoying time with all of them.
We're used to seeing the turkeys parade across Gma and Gpa B's backyard, but this morning a new friend arrived on the scene. Our deer friend seemed to be just as curious about the creatures trapped behind the window as we were about her (him?).
We made it. Madeline and I survived our flights to get us from NC to KS. I was really anxious about how it would all work -- would I be able to lug all of our carry-ons to and fro in addition to pushing her in a stroller (heck no, we're not paying extra to check luggage if we don't have to!), would I be able to effectively distract and corral her single-handedly during the flights, would her extra-tallness cause airline officials to question her age, would she even tolerate being "trapped" in an airplane for a couple hours at a time? But a few deep breaths later and with a resolve to only think positively about the adventure before us, we made it through security and boarded the plane. We even made it through a 45 minute wait on the tarmac* before we took off. God bless the folks who sat next to us on our two flights. They were so kind to me and engaging with M. One man even made her a puppet out of a barf bag.
Things that are now standard in our arsenal for toddler travel distractions: washable crayons, a plastic slinky, small tubs of Playdough, a few small plastic cookie cutters, and podcasts of Sesame Street's "Word on the Street". Here's hoping that they still do the trick when we return back to NC in a few weeks!
*Who knew that tarmac was short for tarmacadam? Oh the things you learn via Google...
Phew! Summary of past couple of weeks:
Had a fun Mom's Night Out at Satisfactions with the playgroup gals. Pizza + beer = good.
Madeline got some kind of virus and so we were on fever watch for a few days and hold-and-cuddle duty for a number of nights.
She's sprouted two new teeth on the bottom to bring her total chomper count to eight.
Gpa and Gma L surprised us with a fantastic Little Tikes car for M. She loves sitting in her Cozy Coupe and saying "Beep, beep" instead of actually honking the horn. Today, Linus was going all "Dukes of Hazzard" on it and climbing in without opening the door. I think the kiddos are going to have some good times with this!
I've been designing and trying to crank out Christmas cards for some clients -- yes, I'm now selling my handmade cards!
Spent some fun times with Gma L, Beth and Peyton this past week: playing with the greatest plastic playhouse product ever (it looks like an RV camper!) at Gpa & Gma L's house, meeting new puppy Jack, and exploring the Museum of Life and Science. 
I was really trying to get a cute picture of M eating yogurt all by herself (and not completely slathering her hair with it), but after uploading the pics to the computer I noticed the amazing fountain of hair she had going that morning. That's some powerful static electricity!
It's been a good day. Lovely birthday wishes from near and far and even some surprise presents. Thanks for your kindness!
After a couple days of rain and gray clouds, today's blue skies and warm sunshine were begging us to play outside. So we did. Gpa L brought over a little playset for Madeline this past weekend and she absolutely loves it. She's able to climb the ladder, go down the slide and even get into the chair-swing all by herself.
The three of us celebrated tonight with dinner at Fratello's. The gnocchi was very yummy.
Tonight we met up with my friend Jennah (also a Theta and a fellow Advisory Board member) and ate dinner at the Armadillo Grill on Duke's campus in order to support the Theta chapter's philanthropic event, Queso for CASA. Please click on the link to learn more about CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).
Amy, Madeline, Gillian (the organizer for the event --
We celebrated tonight with our friends Kelly and Kalonji who are eagerly anticipating the birth of their little boy next month. Their baby shower was pretty atypical as far as those things are concerned: it was equally populated by men and women, most of the attention was focused on the football games on TV, and you had to make a special request if you wanted the non-alcoholic punch. Madeline took it upon herself to rearrange the decorations... repeatedly.
