Fort Worth Zoo

I took enough pictures that I decided to make our trip to the Fort Worth Zoo its own post. We had such a fun time looking at all the animals. We got there as soon as the zoo opened on Friday and spent around 3 hours walking around. I didn't take a picture of every exhibit, but I especially loved the different monkeys! One of the lions put on a big show of roaring and a white tiger nearly scared Grammy and me to death when it jumped against the glass!
We decided the meerkats reminded us of Hua,
and this kangaroo reminded us of Marley!
The zoo was awesome and had all kinds of animals, especially some I had never heard of. It also had a whole Texas section included wildlife and things from each region of the state.
Blake kept going back to look at the alligator. I guess she really liked it. I didn't care for it so much, but the fake one was fine with me!
Blake also loved this little guy. The real elephants were next door playing with giant barrels or balls, kicking them around. She hugged this one and tried to feed him Goldfish crackers.The penguins were adorable!! Blake tried to "get them" but they were way too fast. She would run her hand along the glass where they were swimming, but could never catch one! ha ha.
We will definitely be going back to the zoo!

The Rest of Thanksgiving

Wednesday afternoon we left for Frisco for the last part of Thanksgiving week. We got to see lots of family and some friends and had a great time!
Blake received lots of love and attention and enjoyed every second! She played with Susan and Grammy...loved on Big Daddy...helped cook Thanksgiving lunch...and played her little heart out. It was a great trip, and probably our last one as a family of three! I am thankful for so many things, but very thankful for the wonderful families Tim and I have.

Early Thanksgiving

Because we're all going to be out of town for Thanksgiving, my side of the family had our Thanksgiving over the weekend. Katie, Hector, Santiago, and Travis all flew in on Saturday to spend the first part of Thanksgiving week with us, and it was great to be all together! I hadn't seen them since the 4th of July. I had to work on Monday and Tuesday also, so Blake got extra play time with her cousin. She calls Santiago "awnt-na" or "awk-na" something like that... so Santiago decided two could play that game, and he started calling her that, too!
They danced, rode scooters, drew with sidewalk chalk, colored with crayons, rode horses, rode the tractor, fed the neighbor's roosters and turkeys, went for Mule-rides (the vehicle, not the animal!), and just had a great time together. I loved watching them interact! They would hold hands and hug each other, too. If only I could squish Texas up and make us all live closer together...
I took these pictures with my phone, but hopefully Travis will share the pictures he took... I didn't get a good one of the kiddos head-on.
Today we leave town and head to Frisco for Thanksgiving Part 2! We are excited to go see Grammy (or Mammy as Blake calls her) and Grandpa, and looking forward to more great food and hopefully a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo!

Yesterday I went for my 27 week check-up for Easton. I was supposed to do my gestational diabetes test, but the doctor's office was so busy that I didn't have time before the lab closed. I will go back Monday for that and to get my RhoGam shot. My blood pressure was 122/90, and Easton's heart rate measured at 150 (I guess bpm...) Everything is looking good! An update on the rest of our week and more pictures to come soon.

20 months

Blake is 4 months away from being a 2 year old! It's hard to believe! This silly little girl loves to play in shoes (mine or Tim's-it doesn't matter!)
Now that the weather is getting colder, it's time to sleep in footie pajamas and Blake loves them! She was so excited the night we tried them on for the first time and kept saying "ocka" (sock) and swinging her feet back and forth. She also kept patting herself on the tummy and chest to show us her cuteness!

At 20 months old, 4 new teeth have appeared! All 4 of Blake's eye teeth have popped through and are growing in (at the same time)... yay for teething. So now, Blake has 16 teeth.
Other happenings:

• wears size 4 diapers, mostly 18 month clothing, but some 24 month or 2T for length, and size 7 shoes, and weighs about 26 pounds
  
• Are saying lots of new words and some "sentences" like dada-duice-awww (She will tell me her daddy gave her juice and she thinks it was sweet)
• likes to get in our bed and call me and Tim to either side of her to cuddle
• sits on the potty before bath every night... so far nothing has happened!
• the word she uses most is no! but you usually have to wait and see what her action is because her answer doesn't always match. Like, do you want another bite? She'll say no, but then open her mouth wide for a bite.
  
• She is nodding her head up and down for yes, but only does that sparingly. (usually it's still no)
• likes to be independent and try to do things herself

(Thanks for the cute dress Aunt Katie and Uncle Hector!)

• is very silly! She loves to dance and make silly faces and noises to make you smile or laugh.
• loves baby dolls and stuffed animals. Blake carries them around in a single arm head-lock style, or hugged to her chest. She will pretend to feed them or give them a drink, and loves to put them "ny-ny" by covering them with a baby wipe or Kleenex!
  
• sleeps with Hippie (an already named, tie-dyed bunny). We have to have him before we can read our bedtime story.
• is an iPad genius! It's amazing to see such a little thing mastering the skill to do puzzles and play games and apps. She loves "her" (because she hates when Tim or I take a turn) "ipa!"