Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh My!

Ok, well skip the lions and tigers, but we had bears, Uncle Ivan, Dylan and Zoe on this trip to the zoo.  We packed up for a day and headed out about 100 miles or so to our state's zoo.  This was the kids first trip to this particular zoo so it was exciting to see their reactions. 

Unfortunately for D&Z, the animals all have very nice and very large habitats which is a bit hard for toddlers.  These wonderful settings for the animals can make it hard to even view the animals and also creates a good bit of distance between exhibits which means "boring" for toddlers.  While the kids enjoyed seeing the animals we were able to visit, I think some of their favorite things were the attractions between exhibits. 

Mommy and Dylan at the Elephant Exhibit - Mommy loves elephants! And since Mommy is usually behind the camera, it's nice to be in front of it for a change.  (Thanks, Daddy for taking this shot!)

Wait!  Is Dylan hugging Zoe or holding her to keep her safe?  What a great big brother!

Dylan is taking him and Zoe for a ride on the Elephant Tracking Helicopter

Do we have a future pilot on our hands? 

D&Z loved climbing all the animal statues, but for some reason these beetles were Dylan's favorite. 

Zoe cooling down in the mist.  I didn't think we'd ever be able to get her away from the mist spray.

The Crocodile Hunter Dylan

Check out this handsome dude on the carousel!

Dylan rode on a gorilla.  That was his favorite animal at the zoo.

Zoe picked a cheetah to ride on.

The biggest hit of the day was the chalkboard wall in the Kid Zone.  They had barrels of water with paint brushes and tons of side walk chalk.  Dylan painted that wall a dozen or more times.  Zoe drew on the wall with chalk and then painted over it.  As soon as parts of the wall were getting dry, they'd paint those parts again.  What a great entertainment idea.  I know the kids spent at least half an hour doing this.  We were the ones who told them it was time to move on. I'm need to find out how to recreate something like this at home.

Oh my, what a great and wonderful trip!

Earth Day

Uncle Ivan came to visit us for several days and we were looking for some fun outdoor activities to do with the kids.  Some of David's team from work put on an exhibit booth at a local museum's outdoor trail for Earth Day.  David wanted to go show support for his employees and we thought it'd be a fun day for the kids.  Well Earth Day at the museum ended up surpassing all of our expectations.

There were all kinds of exhibits, crafts, food and more lined up all over a beautiful walking trail through the woods.  Dylan really enjoyed all the craft exhibits.  I can't tell you how many crafts we brought home.  The kids learned how to drink like a butterfly.  Zoe enjoyed exploring all the nature around here such as the sticks, bugs, and leaves.  Dylan's favorite activity was definitely the bounce house while Zoe's favorite activity was learning to play the bongo drums. 

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll skip the words and share these pictures instead.

Our little monkey climbers!

Zoe looking all innocent after I had told her "no."

Zoe playing the bongo drums.  This was her absolute favorite thing of the day.

Now she's ready to teach Dylan.

Such a natural musician and dancer.

Now everyone come join in to play including Daddy.

Dylan the Explorer

D&Z couldn't resist a picture with a big doggy.  Well Dylan couldn't.  I think Zoe was trying to escape.

Dylan coming down the huge inflatable bounce house slide head first.  This boy has no fear!

Hey Mommy!

Dylan would get airborne being so little coming down this giant slide.

Dressing Ourselves

Getting Dylan dressed has become such an ordeal and a feat that I've been trying to figure out how to survive such a simple task. So I decided that it is time to start working with Dylan on helping him learn how to dress himself.  He still needs a lot of help and guidance, but I feel that is expected.  He's learning that the tag in his clothes go in the back and that one leg goes through each side of the pants or else you can't walk right.  And most importantly his involvement in the process has helped us both survive this morning and night ritual much more peacefully.  Of course I must admit I have found that offering a "reward" of a peppermint for his cooperation and "trying" to dress himself helps dramatically along with words of praise and affirmation. 

The other morning Dylan was all set to earn his accolades and peppermint by dressing himself.  I usually have him get started and then I help out.  (This is what ideally happens as long as we are not in a time crunch.)  So we were both sitting on the floor in the kitchen.  As usual Dylan did a fantastic job of taking his PJs off.  Then the first thing we do after undressing is put our clean underwear on our bottom.  Dylan thought it would be "hysterical" to put his underwear on his head and then run around and dance and sing.  I had to just let this moment be and let go and so I watched him enjoying making himself laugh.  I was laughing too at him which he found delightful.  Dylan asked "Mommy, is this funny?"  I told him it was.  Then he looked at me and said "I am hysterical!"  That's my Dylan!  Always the entertainer and always looking to get a laugh out of you.

Dylan is so proud of his own "silliness." 

Dancing around and making Mommy laugh.

How can you not love this face?

Bon Jovi

It is no wonder that my kids love to sing and dance.  I have loved music for as long as I can remember living.  Even though God didn't bless me with the gift of a great voice, he did bless me with a deep rooted appreciation for music, rhythm, and a keen ear.  I love music of any kind and just about any genre.

There is just something about a song, the combination of the music and lyrics, that can just touch a place in your heart, light a spark deep within, or can change your mood. 

I'm going to the Bon Jovi concert and have been playing all things Bon Jovi on the ipod for the last several days.  (Note to Dylan and Zoe:  When you read this blog entry years from now, you'll know that your mom was hip.)  But as I listened to some of the same old favorites, the lyrics stood out in a different way this time as they made me think of things I'd like to say to Dylan and Zoe if only I had those words. 

Dylan and Zoe, here are some lyrics I want to share with you from my heart to yours that are from Mommy's favorite band of all time. 

"Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow

And that your saints and sinners bleed.

We weren't born to follow.

You gotta stand up for what you believe."

From "We Weren't Born to Follow"

"I'll be there till the stars don't shine.

Till the heavens burst and words don't rhyme.

And I know when I die you'll be on my mind

And I'll love you always"

From "Always"

"When everybody's in, and you're left out,

And you feel your drowning in a shadow of doubt

Everyone's a miracle in their own way

Just listen to yourself, not to what other people say...

When you wanna give up, and your hearts about to break

Remember that you're perfect, God makes no mistakes."

From "Welcome to Wherever You Are"

When you think that no one needs you, sees you or believes you

No one's there to understand

I am

I'll be there to be that someone

When you think that on one is there to hold your hand

I am

From "I Am" 

Spring Break

The other week was spring break and we had a blast!  Dylan was out of preschool for the week and I kept us busy, busy, busy!  Dylan and I both love living busy lives so we love to be on the go.  Zoe is more like her daddy in that she is just as content being at home or out and about.  So sorry, Zoe, if Dylan and I dragged you on a world tour!

Easter Monday David took off from work and we headed for Carowinds again!  We are certainly getting our moneys worth out of these passes.  The weather was beautiful and we had a lot of fun.  Dylan said he was going to ride the roller coaster, but once there he decided it was too scary.  That's ok, we'll try again another day.  Next time I am thinking of what I can do to negotiate with him to get him to try it out.  I think he'd love the coaster once he gets on it. 

Daddy and his little girl.  Look closely as Daddy is really wrapped around Zoe's little finger ;-)

Zoe on her favorite ride - the carousel

D&Z enjoying their ride

Daddy and Dylan on the boats.

Tuesday we spent the day with our great friends, Greta, Judson and Joyner.  We hit the park as it was another gorgeous day!  We played for several hours and had a picnic lunch as well.  I love every moment we get to spend with Greta and her Js!  Thankfully they live right in our neighborhood and we get to see them each week.  What a blessing! 

And thanks to Greta for capturing many great moments on her camera from our day together.

 Joyner loves Zoe and watches out for her.  You can just say Joyner's name and Zoe's face lights up!

This picture of our little guys just makes me smile. 

Friends for Life!

Thursday we headed to Dylan's buddy's David's house which also happens to be the home of my dear friend, Lanie.  David and Dylan are only a few weeks apart in age and can be thick as theives and partners in crime at times.  David loves playing with little Zoe bug too so it's so nice the dynamics work well.  Who said three's a crowd?  It's not when it is these three!  I love getting to hang out with them any chance we get.  Unfortunately neither Lanie nor I took any pictures...next time!

Friday we ventured down south of the border a bit and visited with my dear friend Wendy and her daughter Burnley.  We played in B's play room and then headed to the park to play and picnic.  I was feeling quite daring so we went back to their home and skipped naps.  The kids enjoyed a little down time watching Olivia on TV.  Burnley performed a fashion show for us which Dylan and Zoe enjoyed.  We ended the day back outside playing in the yard and of course blowing some bubbles!  We all had a great day and it was a nice treat skipping naps and spending the day together with some great friends.

Beautiful girls!  B and Z just love each other!

The kids played hide n seek.  This is the girls looking for Dylan.  Or are they???

Burnley was hiding in the bushes. She had to say something to help D&Z find her.

This week made me once again reflect at how blessed I am to have such a happy, healthy family and such warm, fun and loving friends! 

Happy Easter

I'm running a bit behind on blogging these days, but I really wanted to document our Easter holiday. 

This was our first holiday ever where it was just David, Dylan, Zoe and I on our own.  In the past we have spent many Easters in Delaware with David's side of the family.  It's always a nice time of year to go up and see Grandma and Grandad.  It's also nice as it's a bit warmer and it is a great time to get a lot of the siblings and cousins together to see each other as we don't get to do that often enough with everyone so spread out.  However we haven't made the trip up to Delaware at Easter since Zoe was born as it is no longer as economical to fly up for various reasons and the drive is quite an ordeal with the kids so we wanted to hold on a drive until we could be there longer than 3-4 days.  My side of the family all went out of town together which left the four us on our own.  While we missed not being surrounded by family on either side, we really enjoyed our holiday with just the four of us.

Easter Sunday was a gorgeous day.  We all got dressed and ready upstairs and then came down to see what the Easter bunny had left for Dylan and Zoe.  Dylan was really excited about his Easter basket and especially the Cars lego toys and the Astroboy DVD.  Zoe wasn't quite sure what all this Easter basket stuff was about, but she was quite excited by it.  However, I think the kids most enjoyed finding treats inside the plastic eggs in the basket.

We headed to church for the morning service which was amazing.  It was a great start to our day and reflection on what this day was truly all about.  Afterwards, we had brunch/lunch reservations at PF Changs.  The kids were on their best behavior and we all had a nice, fun family meal together.  After naps, we managed to finally dye our Easter eggs and decorate them with stickers.  Then we all went outside for the traditional Shellenbarger Easter egg hunt.  This is a tradition on David's side of the family and one we have brought into our own home.  David hid all the eggs which were a combination of dyed hard boiled eggs as well as the plastic eggs.  Zoe did an amazing job at finding most of the Easter eggs.  Dylan was a little more easily sidetracked by other things than just the task at hand.  The dyed Easter eggs were quite a temptation and both kids eventually decided they would rather just eat some eggs than hunt for them.  We stayed outside for the remainder of the day.  David grilled us a delicious dinner which included salmon and pineapple among some other things.  We all ate outside on our deck and played until it was getting too dark. 

When we were getting the kids down for the night, Dylan told me he didn't want Easter to go away and I thought to myself of how I didn't want it to go away either.  What a glorious day of love and celebration on many fronts and a reminder to me that this life is not being lived in vane or without cause.