The Zoo!!

My cousin Nicole and her family had a family membership to the Minnesota Zoo and invited Callen and I to join her and Parker for a day at the zoo. With her membership, she is able to have a guest come along with her for free. As we first walked in, our first stop was at the Moose area and we were shocked to see the moose so close to the rails. Normally they are so far in the back, but these guys decided that they could hang out up front on a quite Tuesday afternoon.

As we were walking by the bear exhibit, we were lucking enough to get there right when they were going to work on training the bears. Each bear had a shape that was theirs, the one in the picture had a star and then there were two others that had a circle and a square. The bear was to follow a little pole along the fence and would get a treat if he followed it correctly. He isn't attacking in the picture, he was told to stand up by his trainer.

One of the areas that I actually got to show Nicole was the aquarium area. She said that they hadn't been there before since getting the membership 2 months ago. It was nice to be able to show her something since she had been showing me everything before then. :-)

This aquarium had a shark in it that had just passed by when she took the picture. My camera is fast but not fast enough. You will note that Callen is no longer in his stroller. Yes, I planned ahead and so thankful I did. I borrowed this baby bjorn carrier from Jon and Kristine the night before "just in case" I would need it for the zoo. And of course within 30 min, he was tired of his stroller and wanted out. So I slipped on the carrier and he was happy as a clam snuggled up with mom.

All of the camels were out in picture view also. There were a bunch of them all cuddled up together. Which I don't know why b/c it was beautiful out.

Thank you Nicole and Parker for inviting us...we had a great time and was so nice to do when there were no crowds and we could amble along as we pleased. And what a great thing for us to do the week before I have to head back to work. Callen may not remember this trip to the zoo at 7.5 weeks old, but I will.

Daddy time

Jerad's job requires quite a bit of travel and it will be increasing in the next year or so as his projects mature. So it is great when he gets a chance to spend time with Callen. They get some cuddle time together and also with Nattie. I think Callen looks awfully comfortable. Can you see how fast Callen has grown in just these pictures?

One thing that Jerad loves the most is to be able to lay down and cuddle with Callen. He is just a little warm body that fits so perfect on his chest. (9 days old)

Of course, if Jerad is on the floor, Nattie thinks it is her time to cuddle with Jerad as that was the case before Callen came along so of course, Jerad includes Nattie in on cuddle time. And it is a great way to get Nattie used to Callen and show that he is part of our family. (13 days old)

At 5 weeks old, not only is he finally starting to fit into those "newborn" shorts we bought for him that fits a 3 month old, but he and Nattie are really starting to bond.

We got this little "lovey" blanket/bear that has silky and fuzzy fabric, that babies love, from Great Grandma and Grandpa Miland. He was (unintentionally) cuddling with it, but it was so cute I just had to get a picture of it. (5 weeks old)

Callen and Nattie are learning to respect each other at an early age. Callen is giving his very first treat to Nattie at 5.5 weeks old. Normally Nattie can get rather grabby when there are treats around, but she was so gentle taking it from Callen that we had to tell her she could have it about 5 times.

My new friends

So I have some new friends, and I have a feeling we will be wreaking some havoc on our parents in a few years.

Riley is my neighbor and is a very active little boy. He really really wanted to hold me but as soon as I was in his lap, he was done with me. And I thought I had a short attention span. :-) I think he will be teaching me a lot as I grow up in this neighborhood.

So Brad came to see me again with his parents. This used to be his swing but his mommy and daddy lent it to my parents as they didn't need it anymore. It has definitely been my favorite place to nap. But it looks like he wished it was still his as he was really intrigued by the mobile. He is about 10 months old and already crawling and really close to walking these days. I think we will be the best of friends and we will be rough housing in no time. But I just need to get a little bit stronger first. I would like to be able to hold my head up and sit up first. :-)

One Month Old!!

Our baby boy is one month old today. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. He is currently 11.8 lbs and 23.5 inches long. I think he may be a tall boy. We will see at his two month appointment where he stands percentage-wise.

This is also the time of the terrible skin conditions that newborns incur due to Mommy's hormones leaving their bodies. Callen just started getting the baby acne. We will see how long it takes for it to clear up. But if he gets fussy, I just tell people that he is just in a hormonal mood.

Just look at this kid, he is a chunk..do you notice the second chin? LOL But with his chunk, he also has the most kissable cheeks in which I do take advantage of everyday. He better just get used to having his mommy giving him kisses. He will be getting them all the time from here on out whether he likes it or not!!