KC Zoo & Aquarium

To take advantage of the last bit of my maternity leave, and to celebrate Ledger's upcoming 3rd birthday with Uncle Josh and Aunt Emmy (who can't make it to Salina for the party), we traveled to Kansas City to go to the KC Zoo and the new KC Sea Life Aquarium.  On Saturday, the weather was perfect for our zoo trip.  Warm, overcast, slight breeze -- PERFECT! :)  Our favorite exhibits were the new polar bear exhibit, the chimpanzees, and the sealion show.

Ledger ate a big plate of beans at Mi Ranchito for dinner Saturday night.

On Sunday, we went to the new Sea Life Aquarium.  It was really a beautiful aquarium with lots of opportunities for the kids to crawl in and around some of the tanks.  The biggest aquarium that held the sharks had a very small viewing area, so we weren't able to spend as much time as we would have liked there.  Ledger especially loved the sting rays and sharks! :)

It was also the opening weekend for Lego Land Discovery Center.
We didn't go, but we posed with the Lego guy.

We finished the day by having lunch at Fritz's in Crown Center.  It's an old-fashioned hamburger joint where you order your food via the phone at your table and then an electric train on an elevated track delivers your food to the table.  Ledger was pretty enthralled by the trains, as you can imagine. :)

We loved spending the weekend with the Perkins' family.  The zoo and aquarium were great, but just getting to spend some time with family is our favorite activity.  Here are some pictures of Kinley (5.5 mo.), Ledger (almost 3 yrs.), and Locke (5 weeks) cuddling in bed.

Little Locke

As with any parent, I love taking pictures of my baby boys.  Since I am soaking up my last bit of maternity leave, Locke is frequently the object of my lens since we spend all day together.

We caught the tail end of a sleep smile.  SO CUTE!

Check out my guns!!

Hmmm... What shall we do now?

Purple Pride!

Last weekend we were looking for a fun, free activity to do around town and decided to go to the K-State Salina open house to see the airplanes and helicopters on display.  We also enjoyed the free purple pride ice cream and purple cotton candy.  Nothing like a Saturday morning sugar high! :)

Funny Faces

Locke, 1 month old

Ledger, 1 month old

Locke - 1 Month Old

Today, Locke is 1 month old.  He is steadily gaining weight (unofficial weight is now over 10 pounds), gaining neck control, and starting to develop a little personality.  He continues to be a great nurser, although we've recently begun to suspect that Locke suffers from silent acid reflux.  In the evenings, he gets pretty fussy after his feedings and he grunts and groans and stretches and arches his back and occasionally spits up just a little bit.  We are working on elevating him for half an hour after feedings and trying some new methods to decrease his discomfort.  It is difficult for Chris and I to watch him feel bad and not be able to give him any relief.  Next week we will visit the pediatrician and see what she recommends.  He is also still fighting off a pretty significant baby acne outbreak.  The experts tell us that it really just takes time, so we are waiting it out.  (Ledger went through this too and eventually it disappeared.)  Overall, he is still a pretty easy baby.  At night, he will usually sleep in 3-4 hour stretches -- which makes Mommy VERY happy.  He has given us some glimpses of gassy smiles and I can't wait until he starts to smile regularly -- I know it will just light up my heart.  So far, he has really enjoyed the baths he has taken and completely relaxes in the water (unlike his big brother at this age!).

We hired a photographer to take Locke's "newborn" photos and she came to our house for two separate sessions totaling more than 5 hours of photo time in an attempt to "get the picture" while he was being fussy and uncooperative.  She hasn't given us the CD yet, but the preview proofs that we've seen have been really good.  We can't wait to see the finished product.

We sure do love this baby and especially love seeing how he and his brother interact together.  I can't wait to watch this kid grow and develop and move into some of the exciting next stages.