monkeys, tigers, and huskers, oh my!!

Ha-Ha! Mom forgot a bib again!

Yes, it was an animal filled weekend....or at least that's how we planned it.  As Ryan had some go-kart racing spectating and softball practice to attend to on Saturday, Ben and I made plans with buddy Riley and mom Chrystal.  While searching for a Wee Sing book, I discovered Curious George himself was to appear at our local Barnes and Noble!!  We met early and walked for a while before grabbing coffee and heading to play at the train table and wait for George.  With all this fun, Ben had no morning nap and George's appearance was to begin very close to lunch time.  I had snacks on hand that satiated Ben but 11am came and went with no George.  Finally a store employee arrived and read a Curious George book.  She then announced she would read two more and then George would arrive.  Ben made it through one book and quickly began to fade so we exited, headed for a diaper change and thought we'd try to catch George after.  We spotted George on the way to the bathroom and would you believe that by the time we changed Ben's diaper, George was ALL DONE!!! With over 30 kids!!  The on-line event description even reminded parents to bring their cameras to take pictures with George!! Well, at least we now know what to expect from these types of events and might try again in a year or two when Ben has a little more of an attention span.

Riley waiting patiently for George

Ben waiting less patiently

"Riley, are you coming? This place is huge!"

outta here

The next part of our weekend was filled with tigers, gorillas, giraffes, and more.  Ryan was given two tickets to Zoobilee, our local zoo's biggest annual fundraiser, late Friday afternoon.  That set me on the path of finding a babysitter with little over 24 hours notice.  We had all but given up hope when we got word Saturday morning that Jeff, Carole, and Charlotte would be glad to have Ben join them for the evening.  Ryan and I attended Zoobilee two years ago and this year was even more fun with a baby break and as we hung out with a very fun group of people I used to work with.  We left by about 945 as with that group things could've headed south very quickly.  The Jones' live about as far away as you can get and still be in Wichita but the long drives were very worth the very fun date night.  The reports were that Ben had a great time and that he and Charlotte, who is a couple months older, were on about the same level of investigation of each other and shared the same lack of "gentleness." Ben must have had a great time and been very worn out as he slept till 7am and took a 3.5 hour nap at 9:30 am!

"I knight you, Sir Ben."

 

"And you, Princess Charlotte"

A couple of blue-eyed cuties

We had a very relaxing Sunday just doing laundry, watching football, and playing.  Ryan was sequestered to the office for some necessary paperwork and Ben and I cooked and prepped for friend Angela (the Husker) to join us in calzone making for dinner.  Her husband Brian finally comes home this week from a month away for work so we are hopeful the next dinner date will include both of them.

Sunday fun with Brother Luke.....

I can't conclude the weekend wrap-up with out a nod to "The Destroyer."  On Friday morning when Ben was refusing to nap I discovered him standing up and gnawing away on his crib.  Yes both the solid walnut and painted portions had been tried and he had white paint chips all around his mouth. He was very very proud of his accomplishment when I found him.  I quickly set up the pack 'n play and he finished his nap there.  He doesn't gnaw at night in the dark so he just forays into the playpen for daytime naps.  I ordered crib protectors which should arrive tomorrow so he can reclaim his stake as king of his crib.  His destruction inspired a little video that I put together during Friday's afternoon nap.  To watch, click here.