Greenville Zoo

So there is this most adorable little zoo in Greenville, and we went a couple of weeks ago to meet some friends. I went to grad school with Katie and Paula, and Paula lives down in Greenville. We have not one, but FOUR boys between us, ranging from 2 months to 3 years. Here is a glimpse of our day!

This our amazing au pair Fran!

Buffalo Zoo

We've been looking forward to taking our kids to the Buffalo zoo since we first found out we were pregnant. Last year Drake was just too young, but we definitely knew we wanted to go this year. Sunday we decided to head out there! The original plan was to take all the cousins, but let me tell you just how near impossible that is. See, ALL three kids are on different nap schedules. Gavin takes a long morning nap, Lacey a long afternoon nap, and Drake takes a morning and afternoon nap. So, see our predicament? We got two out of the three there, with sweet lil' Eli along for the ride. Here are some photos:

Sweet boy arrived to the zoo asleep, and missed out on the first few animals.


First stop: The elephant house!










They were trying to catch a glimpse of the sea lions. After watching from above, they went down to a lower level to watch through glass windows.


Keeping him shaded was a job in itself. It was quite warm for Buffalo.


Lacey has a pimped out wagon. It has two seats, but they can be reconfigured to make Lacey a tray to eat on. We made the grave mistake of changing the table to a seat (for Drake), which involved moving her food. Can you say meltdown??? Do NOT move a hungry toddler's food!


Drake was pointing at the reindeers. It was the first time I'd seen real life reindeer.


Daddy pimping the double stroller. I seriously love our stroller.


The Blamire family!


Drake showing Daddy the polar bears











There was a train there, and Drake was BESIDE himself when he saw it. He loves the train at the zoo in SC, and my Mom always takes him on it. This time, he got to go with Daddy, Aunt Lindsay, and Lacey. So much fun!





I love this picture. Taking it with a flash darkens the glass, and you can't see the fish. Taking it without the flash (in the dark) means it comes out blurry since the shutter speed is so slow. And of course I didn't have a tripod. But it turned out really neat. I think I like the blur.

The Zoo!

I finally got all the photos from the zoo edited, and found time for a blog post. A week later, but it's done. Here's a smattering of the pics....

Let's get this one over with. Here is the bat.

Such cute little teddy bears.
They were technically fighting, but we told Drake they were hugging.
Gorillas!!!
Forgot the name of this one.

I seriously wanted to bring this little guy home with me. Don't you think I need a cute little monkey to go with my toddler and one month old?

Drake's face was such amazement at times.
Okay, I just loved this. The picture really doesn't do it justice. I'm not even sure what animals they are, but it appeared to be a Mom and baby. And the Mom was cleaning and licking the smaller one's hair in the back. SO sweet!
Hangin' with Grandpa
The GP's and Drake.

Drakey and Mommy, with the tortoise in the back.

I thought they were some big ass turtles. The zoo keeper peeps informed me that they are "tortoises".
Petting the tortoise. There were some zookeepers with them, and allowed Drake to pet the shell.
Thirsty! It was a little warm out, but not too hot.
Scamming Grandma for some goldfish snacks. All he has to do is bat his little blue eyes.
Just having a leafy snack.
He decided to put on a show and flap his ears.
"Look Mom-I'm sitting on an elephant!"
I love this little goober. I can honestly just eat him up.
This was the baby giraffe just born in the winter. She was 5'7" when she was born.
He was mesmerized by the giraffe. Especially since it was right at the fence eating.
This shot didn't really come out, b/c there were a million six year olds in my way. And I didn't feel appropriate to elbow one in the head just to get the shot. Although it would've been a cool shot. It's supposed to show Grandpa and Drake feeding the giraffe. Damn six year olds.
So, do you really want to know what my trip to the zoo was like? Well, it was pretty much exactly like this photo. Following Grandpa and Drake, while Drake pointed and dictated what came next. I can tell you who was running the show, and it wasn't me.
Mooooo!
Grandma and Eli.
Sweet Eli. This is pretty much what he did the entire trip. He either slept in the carrier, or in the Moby. Or ate of course. That's just how he rolls.
We had to hold him back here. Both Drake and the chicken wanted to "play" with each other. I'm not sure who would've won.
Checking out the cow.
Getting down to the chicken's level. Drake loved the farmhouse and barnyard.
Those have to be the sweetest little feet ever, hanging out from underneath the "hooter hider".
One of the things Grandma was looking forward to was taking Drake on a train ride. He LOVED it. This is Drake checking out his train car.
On the train
He got the caboose, only b/c Grandma sweet talked the person "loading" the train. Strong work!
He waved at me and Grandpa every time the train circled around!
What were you saying?
Can you tell what was going on here? You've got it! A full on temper tantrum. Limp body and all. Let's just say he wasn't happy about getting off the train. That's my little angel.
The screaming monkeys- they were SO loud!
He was pointing to the monkeys, just in case Grandma didn't hear them screaming.
Eli snuggled up all cozy, in his Moby wrap.
He was trying so hard to get to Eli, and wasn't happy that I blocked him.
Family shot!
Funny story behind this one....they worked quite hard to see over that fence, scared they might miss something. Only to walk ahead ten more feet, and discover the fence ended!
I think I was more excited than he was.
He looked for the GP's every time the carousel went around.
Grandpa introducing Drake to the birdies!
We bought a cup of nectar, and the birds will all come over to drink it. Perfect for photo-ops!
He tried so hard to catch a bird


Uh-oh. Houston, we have a problem. We aren't sure if the bird scared him somehow, or touched him, but whatever it was- Drake did NOT like it. It was weird, b/c he'd been in there about ten minutes already.
NOT happy. Not happy at all. (The fact that we were PAST lunchtime and naptime may have contributed.)
Snuggles from Grandma, who took him out of the bird "sanctuary".
A rare shot of Drake in the stroller.
The tiger seemed to be relaxing in the shade, but he kept roaring at something.
I forget what this animal is, but it has a bald pink butt, and it makes me giggle.