St. Louis Zoo

We made a quick trip to St. Louis (less than 24 hours) on Saturday after I finished working my last baseball game of the season.  I had a bachelorette party to go to Saturday night so we decided to make an event out of it and all go down then go to the zoo on Sunday.  Karl and Ally enjoyed some time at the pool while I went out with friends.  Ally slept on the pull out mattress on the floor and did great.  Sunday we got moving and went to the zoo around 10:30am.  There was a race going on in the morning so we didn't want to get there too early and fight that crowd.  It was $15 to park but admission to the zoo is free. 

The zoo itself is huge! We started with Ally in her stroller and she went back and forth between the stroller and walking.  It was hot but there was a lot of shade and a few indoor things to do.  We saw a girl get soaked inside the penguin exhibit which was pretty funny.  It was feeding time and she was standing right by the edge of the tank and the penguin got its food then jumped into the water sending a huge splash onto her and her friends.  Ally loves animals of all kinds so she was just taking it all in.  Some were hard to see because of the heat, most were hiding under trees or close to the rocks.  We ate lunch, walked around with some ice cream to see the rest of the zoo then headed back to the car around 2:30.  Minimal whining from Ally and she passed out soon after we got on the highway.  We definitely would recommend the St. Louis Zoo and go back again.  Enjoy some pictures from our day:



Funny Things Ally Says- in the car

Last week when I was at work, Karl got to experience some blog-worthy car conversation with Ally.  He had to call right away to tell me about it.  What a funny kid!

Ally: Daddy, I dont want you to go to work
Karl: Why not? What should I do?
Ally: I want you to play with me and make me tacos

Happy Mother's Day

So happy to gave this girl in my life!  We were in Lafayette for the weekend to celebrate Grandpa Henry's 60th Birthday and Mother's Day.  The girls went and got nails done while the boys played some golf.  Ally chose yellow with sparkles.

No More Diapers

Ally has been diaper free since last week Thursday!  She decided that when her last package of pull ups was gone, she didn't want to wear them anymore.  Who are we to argue?  We are currently riding a 3 day dry streak and are looking forward to many more dry days.

She has been only wearing pull ups at night for several months and has been waking up dry a large majority of the time.  We have changed our bedtime routine to include books, potty and bed so as long as she goes just before climbing into bed, she has been doing great.  She is not yet to the point where she is recognizing when she does need to go while sleeping because the times she has wet the bed it hasn't even woken her up.  We thought for sure that she would wake up if she wet the bed so twice we have been caught by surprise in the mornings.  She is very proud of this accomplishment and loves hopping out of bed dry.  She also takes pride in her underwear selection and keeping them dry.  We agreed that if we can deal with the little extra laundry and baths, we should let her go diaper free and see what happens.  A very exciting milestone for her!

Recap Ally's potty training timeline:
May 2011- Ally decides to use the potty at school and we buy for home
July 2011- Transition into pull ups for every day use
November 2011- Ally only wearing pull ups at nap and travel times
May 2012- Underwear 24/7

Dinner Conversation

Me: Ally,what did you do at school today?
Ally: Eddie (her friend at school) mom called him sugar plum when she picked him up.
Me: Oh yea, that's silly. What do I call you?
Ally: I'm the princess. 
Me: That's right, you are my princess.
Ally: No, I'm grandma's princess.  And Daddy is the king and you are the mean step mother.

I didn't realize how similar Ally's life is to Cinderella's.