Lowry Park Zoo

We decided to go to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa for our last day of Florida fun. It was a blast! It is probably the best zoo that I have ever been to (with the exception of the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, perhaps). So many different animals, and so many fun activities for kids. Alexandra had a great time looking at all of the animals. It was a really bright, sunny, and HOT day!

Here's Christopher hanging out with a fruit bat.

Alexandra taking a drink from her personalized sippy cup.

Christopher feeding a giraffe!!

Alexandra helping her daddy figure out what to see next.

This is probably the coolest thing that we saw. This is a mama white tiger nursing her two cubs.

The cubs ran off to play.

They got too close to the water. . .

And one of them fell in! The mama roared at the two of them, and they quickly got away from the water and ran back over to her. Every mama understands when another mama says, "hey kids, quit messin' around and get back over here!!"

This is Alexandra on the plane ride back home. The flight wasn't full, so they let us bring on her carseat. She only sat in her own seat for 20 minutes or so, but it was enough to give me a much needed break!

We had a wonderful time in Florida! Even if Emily doesn't live there anymore, we hope to come back soon. . .perhaps to visit Disneyworld. . . .

Manatees and Ducks

We visited Mote Aquarium while in Sarasota. Emily used to work here, but has now moved to Colorado (the week after our visit!). We were happy to get a personalized tour of the aquarium before she left!

Christopher and I thought it would be hilarious for Emily to jump over her stuffed shark here at Mote. She didn't understand the TV reference. What makes us feel really old, though, is that when we explained it, she didn't know who the Fonz was!!

One of the biggest attractions at Mote were the manatees. We saw them sleeping in a far corner of their tank the day that we were there. Here's how Alexandra and I compare to a mommy and baby manatee.

That evening, we fed the ducks at Emily's apartment complex. Alexandra thinks her Auntie Em's impression of a duck is hysterical!

Shopping!

No vacation would have been complete for our family without a trip to the outlet mall! I have to post these two photos, because they cracked Emily up. Alexandra has always loved to go shopping with me. Laura and I have taken her out to the outlet mall in Leesburg, VA for like 6 hours of shopping fun. She loves it! We also love Gymboree. Thank you, Aunt Cynthia, for our first gift card (and introduction) to this wonderful store.

Anyway, here is Alexandra examining the clothes in her size on the sale rack at Gymboree.



Emily called her name, and she looked up and gave her this pose.

Shopping and smiling for photos - two of our favorite things!

Swimming Pool

While in Florida, we also took Alexandra swimming in the pool for the first time. She has a cute float that also shades her from the sun. It was a lot of fun! We're looking forward to warmer weather at home so that we can go swimming again!

Getting into the float (with a little help from Uncle Mike).

It's fun to float around in the pool!

Baby at the beach

Alexandra went to the beach for the first time while in Florida! My parents and Mike were staying at Siesta Key in Sarasota, which has got to be one of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever seen. She seemed to like the water (although she was a little bit scared at first), and, while she played with the sand, never tried to eat it! She also got to wear her adorable swimsuit for the first time. No sunburn, no sand digested, so we're going to put this outing in the "win" column :)

Here she is dipping her toes into the ocean for the first time with Daddy. . .

And again with Mommy!

Sandy bottom.

Emily buried Mike in the sand, and we thought it would be hillarious for Alexandra to crawl on him. And it was!

Jungle Gardens

The first place that we visited while in Florida was Jungle Gardens in Sarasota. We were so happy to have met up with my mom, dad, and brother Mike, who were also visiting Emily. Jungle Gardens had a lot of animals, and interactive activities that you could do with them.

Here's Mike wresting an alligator.

Here are Christopher and Alexandra with the flamingos that we fed.

One of the flamingos started biting Christopher's arm, and then started preening his hair.

It was $3 to hold a baby alligator. We did not get a response when Christopher asked, "Yes, but how much to fight with it?"

Here I am with the bird that I got to hold.

More to come!

Big events

Our family had big events recently for Alexandra and Christopher.

Alexandra:

I have packed away all the clothes that are too small for Alexandra, which ended up being an emotional event. I had so many fun memories in her different outfits that it was so sad to think that she wouldn't ever wear those clothes again. Guess we'll just have to have another baby!

A couple of weeks ago, Alexandra demonstrated why we needed to lower her crib and always put her to bed in a sleep sack - the sleep sack restricts her movements so she can not stand up (as demonstrated in the photo below).

Alexandra now likes to "walk" around downstairs (with mommy's help).

We're getting better with a sippy cup. She still won't let me help her with it, though. Oh, and she's started clapping, which is adorable. If I ever figure out how to upload videos, I'll share that. In the photo below, she's super excited either about her sippy cup or the upcoming visit with Grandee and Granddad.


Christopher:

Christopher turned the big 3-0 on March 26th! We had a party for him with friends, and then one with family. We recently returned from our trip to Florida (blogging forthcoming), where Christopher got to feed flamingos, ducks, and a giraffe. He also got to hold an aligator and a parrot, and see a kangaroo and wallaby for the first time.

Here's a photo from the party with friends:

And here's a photo from the party with family!

Stay tuned for fun photos from Florida!