Another Zoo Trip

Yesterday, to celebrate our new-found freedom, Eddie and I joined his grandma, aunt, and cousins for a trip to the zoo. Eddie was unsure of whether or not he wanted to go, telling me earlier in the day, "Not go zoo right now," then later crying "Go zoo!" Luckily, I did not wait for him to make up his mind. We went regardless.

We got to the zoo just before noon and unfortunately, Eddie fell asleep in the car on the way there. This is always a bad thing if we are not on our way home to put him in bed. He does not wake up happy after sleeping in the car. Maybe you can see why:

We were a bit early, so we waited in the car and I let him sleep as long as possible. Then I had to wake him up and get him out. As I suspected, he was very unhappy, bordering on hysterical, when he learned we were actually at the zoo. We sat by the fountain out front to wait for everyone else, Eddie clinging desperately to me all the while. He perked up a little when I showed him all the money in the fountain (he talked about that for the rest of the day), and cheered up even more when his favorite cousin, Sarah, showed up a few minutes later. Eventually I convinced him to sit in the stroller and in we went.

Eddie enjoyed seeing the monkeys and the elephants. He didn't want to stop looking at the baby elephant, so we were there for a while. We ate lunch, then went to see the tigers and giraffes. Even though there were 5 tigers on display and a couple of them were up and moving around, Eddie was more interested in the giant ball floating in the tiger's pond. He happily sat on the tiger statue and said "giddy-up!" while I took his picture.

After seeing the orangutans, we took a ride on the carousel, but I couldn't convince Eddie to actually ride on one of the animals. Instead, we sat on the peacock bench. Eddie seemed to enjoy the ride, but when we got off, he told me he would not ride the elephant next time.

As always, Eddie's favorite part of the zoo was playing with the "black ball" before we left. Of course, I forgot to pack him a change of clothes, so I couldn't let him get too wet. Here you can see how excited he was to splash:

The Not-So-Super 8

Since we had plans to spend Saturday at my grandma's house in Huntington, the three of us sallied forth on Friday to Price and checked into the Super 8 for what we imagined to be a luxurious night. Little did we know that Eddie is terrified of 2-star hotels. The following is a truncated transcript of the rest of our stay:

7:30 PM Dave checks in. Eddie screams and cries after being placed on the lobby floor. He insists that he will not swim in the pool.

7:35 PM Kristen and Eddie enter Room 226, the scene of Eddie's worst nightmares, apparently. Eddie screams and cries and demands that we go to "Cavin's house" (aka the Barton family cabin).

7:40 PM Eddie is given a cookie to help him come to grips with the Super 8.

8:00 PM Despite Eddie's protests, we head to the pool. This is, after all, our main purpose for staying in the Super 8.

8:15 PM Eddie is terrified of the pool. Perhaps he can read the sign on the wall that says "A swimming pool is like a community bathtub. Do not drink the water."

8:25 PM The other pool patrons vacate the premises and Eddie begins to warm up to the pool.

8:45 PM We leave the pool despite Eddie's protests.

9:00 PM Spongebob saves us from going to bed at 9:00.

9:30 PM Lights out! Eddie is placed in his pack & play.

9:31 PM Screams of "DADDY HOLD YOU!" ring through the Super 8.

9:40 PM Eddie joins us in the king size bed.

9:42 PM Eddie joins me on my side of the king size bed.

9:43 PM "Hi Mama!"

9:44 PM "Big bed."

9:45 PM "My pillow."

9:46 PM "Hi Mama!"

9:47 PM "BATMAN! BATMAN!"

9:48 PM Me: "Eddie, shh. It's time to sleep."

9:49 PM Eddie grabs my nose. "HONK!"

9:50 PM "Hi Mama!"

.....

10:40 PM "Love oo. Love oo."

10:43 PM SILENCE

10:45 PM Eddie sounds like he's asleep. I am perched on the edge of the bed and can feel him against my back and my head. I don't dare move.

11:15 PM I can't stand it any more and have to turn over. I move my head. Eddie is startled and wraps his arm around my neck.

11:20 PM I give up and roll over and learn that Eddie is wrapped around my head. Now he's wrapped around my face.

11:25 PM Eddie sits up. "Lay down," I say. He lays down across the bed the wrong way.

11:26 PM I reposition Eddie, despite the fear that this will wake him up. It doesn't.

11:27 PM We all sleep... poorly.

.....

5:59 AM "Wake up?"

6:00 AM "Hi Mama!"

6:01 AM "Knuckles!" Eddie punches the back of my head.

6:02 AM Me: "OW! Go back to sleep."

6:03 AM "NO! Lights on."

6:05 AM "Bonk head." Eddie headbutts me.

6:06 AM Me: "OW! Go back to sleep. It's still night time."

6:07 AM "Make day. Lights on."

.....

6:15 AM I give up. The lights are on and Spongebob saves us from an immediate breakfast.