Dallas Zoo!

And with this last post, I'm all caught up. I've been making posts since we started the extended version of Return of the King. Oh. My. Gosh! We finished it about 20 minutes ago. Haha!

That said, this has been the coolest day in a very long time. We rode the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) out to the Dallas Zoo and it. was. AWESOME! Derek's first trip to the zoo, too. I think he really liked it! I loved seeing all the animals and was so very pleased that they weren't just lying around and that my camera took awesome pictures! Mom Heath has a lot more (since my camera died) and I'll probably add the best ones in a later post. For now, here are my favorites. Make sure not to miss the ones of Derek sprinkled in - they're hilarious!

Derek trying to eat Mom Heath's sunglasses

Mom Heath patiently showing him what glasses are for. We're on the DART here.

No, it's not a real snake.

See? There are a TON of these copper statues all over the zoo!

We took Derek into the aviary in the kid's section and the cockatiel you see on Mitch's head plopped right down on Derek's head a few seconds after we entered the aviary. Derek's hair was pretty slippery, so it opted for Mitch's cotton hat.

Cockatiel!

Naked mole rats!

Mongoose - they eat cobras!

Derek didn't realize the goat was real. He patted it and hugged it and then tried to squeeze it's ear. It flicked it's ear and Derek freaked out - he realized it was real. He didn't want to pet anymore goats.

A stuffed Alligator Gar eating Elmo. Priceless.

Gorgeous tiger!

Derek on another cool statue. He looks a little off balance because he was waving his arms around (his sign for "all done")

Awesome chameleon!

Stunning Panther Chameleon! WOW!

King Cobra - Cool!

Horned Viper

Super cool Harpie Eagle!

Derk fought and fought going to sleep. Don't worry, we laid him down in the stroller after I snapped a picture. :)

Ostrich

Zebra strikes a pose

African Elephants

I love cheetahs!

Gorgeous!

Yes, this is me feeding a giraffe. Best. Day. Ever.

Mitch thought it was cool too. Yes, we washed our hands afterwards.

Derek next to the lions. He wasn't sure what to think...

Build A Bear

Picture this: a busy store, a fluffy, fleecy puppy, two aunts and a nephew. Add it all up and you get a really good time. It was fun to watch Derek dink dink dink around the store and look at at all there was to look at.

For those of you unfamiliar with Build A Bear, it's a wonderful place where kids can go to make their own stuffed animals. You pick a bear/dog/cat/whatever they have available and then you move on to the stuffing station. You pick out a stuffed heart that has a unique tracking number in it (kind of like a microchip) and usually the Build A Bear staff member has you do some kind of silly dance and then kiss the heart before you put it in the stuffed animal. Then, the staff member stuffs the animal to the desired softness/firmness. Then you move on to a cleaning station to brush off any left over stuffing. Then you can pick out an outfit to dress your animal or (my personal preference) just go check out with a super cool stuffed animal! Thanks Nana, Aunt Amy and Aunt Valerie! And thanks to Mitch for coming with us to the mall. :)

Just finished stuffing. Derek kissed the heart all by himself. :)

Behold, Luke Dawg (and Amy and Val)! He's on the light-hearted side of the force.



At first....

but then - a happy ending!

Trip to Houston

Derek, Mitch and I took a trip to Houston at the end of March. Derek did really well up until the last hour. Then Mitch had the brilliant idea to share gummi worms with Derek. I was a little apprehensive, but it ended up giving rise to all the following awesome moments. He was so cute!!


"Touch"

Lovin' those gummi worms!

Hey!

Smile and eat at the same time... not pretty.

Derek's second ever gummi worm. I wanted to make sure I had both hands ready if he choked on the first one. lol

Derek, can you say "Dada?"

Derek, can you say "Mama?"

Playing at the Park

Took a trip to the park with some friends. Derek's first trip to a park with friends. :) He had a blast and didn't get sunburned. Yay!

Derek Newton and Derek Heath :)

I think he liked it

Going for a ride

Her mom's comment? "I'll be sure to keep an eye on him when they get older." Love it!

Definitely not having fun

Not having fun

Why is that camera in my face, Mom?

Kind of his new thing

He wants so badly to ride it

Picnic Down South

Mom Heath and Dad Heath have a piece of property south of Dallas. 5 acres, no house yet. Not sure if they plan to retire down there or not, but it's a beautiful little spot. We drove down so Mitch and I could see it and we had a picnic down there.

Learning about flowers

I think I like these...

Yep! These are cool!

Learning about hats

Nah, I think I'll pass, Dad.

Playing with his Toys

If at first you don't succeed...

...Try going backwards.

Too cute!!

His best friend

He likes to help Mommy around the house

Playing with the rocking horse at Grandma and Grandpa Heath's

Ride 'em Cowboy!!