Zoo maniacs

So I had to put a few more zoo pictures on my blog. We went back to the zoo on Saturday with Brent, and we had a great day! Drew was able to tell me on this trip what a snake says. :)

Here's me and Drew in the orangutan building.

Brent is helping Drew look over a fence at a pigmy hippo.

First trip to the zoo

Today I took Drew to the zoo for the first time, and we bought a year-pass so we can go any time we like from now on. The zoo is HUGE! We went around 10 and didn't leave until about 1:30 and we barely got to half the animals -- and that was rushing through things just so we could see what they had.

One of the first places we went was the reptile exhibit. We kind of sped through it, but Drew loved the huge snakes, especially the big python that just stuck his nose close to Drew's through the glass. Then we went to the aquarium and saw sea lions and otters. Then you can go inside and see them swimming from under water. Drew really enjoyed that. Plus he enjoyed the colorful fish (one of the few animals he already knows the sign for).

It was fun that the zoo has sprayers everywhere you go so you don't die in Oklahoma's humidity and heat. And it was hot! They also have statues of animals all over. This little rhinoceros was just Drew's size. He thought it was weird at first, but then he even started patting it.

Drew's comfort objects are his three kitties -- a lion, a leopard and a tiger -- that my mom bought him before he was born. So he absolutely loved all the big cat exhibits. At this spot we found three lion cubs. Then we got to see a carab (??? - a smaller, pointy eared cat) and a big tiger.

Since Drew loved the lions the best, I thought we should get him a memento of his favorite animal for his first trip to the zoo. I tried to let him choose which stuffed lion he wanted (there were about 10 in the gift shop), and he wanted ALL of them. So I picked this one because I liked it the best. It was so hot we didn't have much of an appetite when we got home, and Drew had seen so many new things, he completely crashed when we got home. It was so fun! I can't wait to take him back -- they have a little train that goes around the whole zoo and a couple of playgrounds. Plus we can stay and look at the animals a little more. I'm so glad it's only like a mile up the road from our apartment. :)

Our new car

So we broke down and bought a new car. The plan was to share our Malibu and Brent would take the bus when he could. However, we don't have a stop as close to our place as we had hoped, plus Brent is concerned about the time he needs to spend studying. We didn't want transportation to be a worry, so we started shopping the dealerships. We ended up finding this Dodge Caliber for a pretty good deal. It's the very base model (which means, unfortunately, no power anything -- and no air conditioning), but we still got it for thousands less than it's worth. It's fun to drive because it's a manual, and it's got lots of storage in the back.

We also got new couches -- light brown microfiber. We're still waiting on an ottoman, but it's soooo nice to have comfy couches again. We were using our rocker and camping chairs. We're mostly moved in except for hanging up a few last pictures. We're enjoying our apartment fitness center and pool. We've had a couple of thunderstorms, which have been really cool to watch. I'm still having a hard time adjusting to the humidity. I feel like I'm sweating constantly the second I step out the door. We're excited to start exploring the city -- we have a zoo, science museum and huge theater complex about a mile down the road. As soon as Brent gets done with anatomy on Aug. 15, we'll try to catch a Triple-A Redhawks game. We hear the stadium is awesome.

Little monkey man

Drew has turned into a little monkey (just like his Aunt Sarah). He now has to climb on everything! He's figured out how to climb on our dining chairs. He still needs a little help for other furniture, but it seems he's on something he can't get down from every time I turn around.

Noooooo!

So Drew is finally learning to talk. His first unofficial word has been "uh-oh." But now we have an actual word, which is "no," of course. And he always says it with such passion! He's learned a few more new signs, like "please" and "thank you." He's starting to understand what "no" means, although he uses the sign when he's actually communicating. He says the word only when we ask him to. He also says "dada" and "caca" (for dirty or yucky).

Happy Fourth of July!

We spent our first holiday in Oklahoma at the Edmond (just north of where we live) celebration. We ended up going for dinner at this crazy little place called FlaTire Burgers. It was pretty good though! Then we went to the campus of University of Central Oklahoma. They had inflatable toys, but the lines were huge! So we just played on the grass, waiting for the fireworks.

Drew got really bored and wanted to run off on his own, so we bought him one of those glow stick things, which kept him mostly entertained until the fireworks started. We certainly miss our family, especially around holidays, but it wasn't too bad. :)

Our new home

We're getting settled into our new place. As I unpacked Drew's toys, I wish you could all see how his eyes lit up, especially as he started to recognize the toys as his own. We're getting into the full swing of things -- I've been running errands while Brent is getting into his anatomy class. Luckily we get a break already with July 4.

Today Drew just kept running back into his room to play with his toys.



When Brent got home, we tried out our pool at the Lincoln apartments. It's really nice, although we didn't stay too long. The sun had already gone behind a building and Drew was getting cold. But he LOVES the water!



Drew is such a daddy's boy! He loves it when Brent gets home. He really enjoyed swimming to each of us. He even learned to jump (or fall) off the side into our arms.