Reflections of the Rasmussens: April 2010

Monday, April 26, 2010

The St. Louis Zoo

When we told Alex we were going to the Zoo to look at animals, he had a very specific list of the animals he wanted to visit:

Lions

Monkey George

(monkeys, because he loves his Easter Curious George book from Grandma and Grandpa)

Seals

Penguins

It was cold and rainy, but we were determined to make it to all these animals AND see the stingray exhibit (see the next entry). First, we went to Cat Country.

Then, we went to see the monkeys, and they were all a lot of fun. Some of them were very, very curious about Grace.

Childrenae Rasmussenum

(a.k.a. Our little monkeys)

This monkey was having a lot of fun playing with his toy.

Super-duper long tailed and haired monkey.

Next, we grabbed some lunch to take cover from the rain, and then went to watch the Sea Lions eat their lunch!

Alex was into it, and was listening intently to the Zookeeper who had a microphone on and told the onlookers some fun facts about Sea Lions.

Like...when sea lions eat their fish, they flip them around and swallow them head first because that is the direction of the fish's scales, and that way they don't get caught in their throat.

Grandma Pam and Grace watch the Sea Lions.

We then made our way over to the Penguin exhibit, but sadly, it was closed for the day!

Luckily, there were some penguins on the outside, so we took cover under a tree and watched them for a few minutes.

Mom disclosure: I am aware that my daughter does not have any socks and shoes on. We gave it three attempts and she made it clear to us that she had no desire to wear socks and shoes even if it was cold and rainy.

Then, we were fortunate receivers of some goodwill. A very nice family offered to give us some train passes that they weren't going to be able to use. Mom volunteered to walk the stroller back to the front of the zoo and meet us so we could all take a train ride (the conductor would not allow our gigantic stroller onto the train).

So, we got to ride the train back to the front entrance and boy did Alex and Grace love it!

So, we were able to get to all of Alex's requests, and got a super train ride bonus! Totally worth a little bit of rain!

Stingray Fun at Caribbean Cove!

Years ago, in a galaxy far far away, my mom, brother, and I were supposed to go on a Stingray excursion while on a cruise. But because of weather conditions that day, we weren't able to get into the water and swim with the stingrays as planned.

Finally, our thirst and need to feel the stingrays has been quenched!

The St. Louis Zoo has had a Stingray Exhibit these last two years, and the day we left for St. Louis, I saw a commercial on TV saying that they were back!

So, we put a trip to the Zoo on the top of our 'To Do' list, and I am so glad that we did!

It was awesome!

Daddy and Alex had lots of fun! Alex was a little bit too intimidated to stick his arm too far into the water, but was perfectly content to lay on the edge in the comfort and safety of Daddy's arms.

Grandma's vindication!

The stingrays felt amazing...very smooth, but also bumpy. They seemed to like being petted a little bit, and you could really feel their bodies. I think I was expecting them to feel hard, but only the outer part was hard, the middle of their bodies really felt soft and 'body' like. Did I mention how awesome this was?!

Stingray's tails grow like our hair and nails do, so the zookeepers trim them with the same clippers used to clip dog nails.

The exhibit had both Cownose and Southern stingrays. All of the stingrays in these pictures are Cownose, the Southern stingrays were much larger, black, and swam at the very bottom of the pool. None of us got to touch those, but that was okay with me because like I said, they were larger (and maybe a little bit scarier).

Thanks to all the stingrays that let us pet them...you guys are so so sweet and gentle and I wish we could visit you every day!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Buddha Moms!

Chris took these pictures last October during a parade at an Apple Butter Festival (which, by the way, we searched all over for apple butter and never did find any.)
When we got home and I was going through the film, I couldn't believe that my friend Nancy and I had been sitting in almost the exact same position.

I couldn't help but think that we looked like: Buddha Moms!

Maybe it's just me, but every time I see these pics it's the first thought that goes through my head.

I've been wanting to add these to the blog for a long time, I just haven't gotten around to it.

Now, lo and behold,

Buddha Moms!

Follow Ups:

Cute!

S-C-A-R-Y!

(I found her like this after I kept hearing whimpering from where I was in the kitchen. She never screamed or cried out, just a little whimper here and there.)

ALEX:
...He's still going, and going, and going...
But sad news today:
After almost three years of having children,
today,
...one threw up!
...our little man :(

Luckily,
my main man was home
and took care of the situation
(or should I say, situationS!)

The good news is that
it appears to have just been
an hour bug.

He looks like he's feeling fine,
ate a full dinner,
had chocolate milk,
and is now sleeping!

Marshmallow?

This is Alex's new favorite toy.

Mom: "Alex, what is that? What are you playing with?"
Alex: "Marshmallow!"

pssst: Real Answer: Pull Bouy! :)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Nature vs. Nurture

Every human is different:

no one is exactly alike.

And for this, I am thankful.

I have always wondered about personalities and how people become who they are. How much is predetermined before birth, or how big of an impact outside influences (environment) actually have on a persons personality.

Moms' tell me all the time that they can see their children's personalities, some when the child has just been born; others, even before the birth.

But I have to wonder if it is actually the babies personality, or if it is a trait the mother desires the baby to have.

In this area, I often feel like I don't have many stories to contribute. There was the one time that Alex threw a fit at the store over an orange swimsuit, and then again many months later demanding the shoes with the orange stripe. But to me, all this means is that he liked the color orange from an early age.

And then I had it.

The gestalt.

Just because I don't understand or am not picking up on my children's early personality traits doesn't mean they aren't there. 'Personality' is all encompassing. It is WHO you are.

So, a couple of days ago I decided to keep a watchful eye on my oldest little pumpkin because of course, now my thoughts had moved to: What am I missing? What is he showing me about himself that I am not seeing? When I look back at these days, what am I going to forget about, that was clearly an early sign of his developing personality?

I couldn't believe it. The answer was right in front of me, and this all comes back to something Jayne said to me while she was here which was basically:

"Our children are smarter than us."

Now, keep in mind, Alex has been meticulously lining up all things with wheels for well over a year now. And just because I don't understand it, doesn't mean it's not there, and doesn't mean it doesn't mean something.

But I have no idea what it means,

you know what I mean?

It might mean he's good at keeping all of his...ducks in a row.

Ha!