The Curse of the Pull-Ups

For a long time, I thought pull-ups were a genius invention. The protection of a diaper, the independence of underwear. Brilliant! But now, I am cursing them. In fact, I'm cursing the whole pull-ups/daycare/potty training combo. Here's the deal:

A while back when Jacob was making good potty training progress, I bought a pack of pull-ups. I went the cheap route, just in case, and got the Wegmans brand.  Originally my plan was to put them on over the big boy underwear to give Jacob the chance to feel wetness without risking damage to our carpeting. Then I began to realize that either Jacob's bladder wasn't ready or the underwear didn't really mask the diaper's presence (or a bit of both), and I gave it up for a while.

We used the pull-ups here and there since, mostly when we were home for a while, for easy potty access, and Jacob showed enthusiasm about the whole thing. It was easier to pull the pull-up up and down than to constantly put his diaper back on if it was dry enough. But it was never consistent because the enthusiasm didn't last long.  Inevitably I would get frustrated when Jacob didn't want to use the potty and used his pull-up as nothing more than a more expensive diaper, and we'd go back to diapers until Jacob showed promise again. But even then, every time he begs to wear one, he doesn't use the potty and it gets wet. And because pull-ups are absorbent like diapers, he doesn't care. 

Admittedly, kids are suckers for consistency so this probably hasn't been a great environment for encouraging real potty training. I'll admit that some of this is my fault. I should be more diligent about reminding him to use the potty. I should set timers and I should force him to sit. But I don't, I get busy, and even when I do remember, the struggle to pull him away from his toys is enough to make me want to forget. At the same time, I don't want to make a big deal about it and have him rebel.  I know that it's as much a challenge to get me to stick with the program as it is him, but we're rapidly approaching his third birthday, which was my target for hardcore potty training, if necessary.

Of course, now that we're there, I'm not sure I want to burn a week's vacation just sitting at home trying to get him trained. I keep having this feeling that potty training has become a part of the power struggle, and it's not going to happen until Jacob values dry pants over getting his way. He knows he's not supposed to pee or poop in his pants--regardless of his underwear of choice--but he does. And he lies about it when we ask him if he's dry. I know now he can hold it, as he's done it before. So ultimately it's an issue with dragging himself away from his playtime and getting it done.

At daycare they use the potty at predictable intervals and there's peer pressure. The other day they asked me to send pull-ups in with him, since they're wasting a lot of diapers when he's dry at potty time. I sent in some of what I had, only to have them come back home because they were the "wrong ones"--meaning, they need the ones with velcro on the sides. I get that it's hard to use the ones without because it means you have to take off their pants and shoes to put on a new one, but still...The only ones with that feature are Huggies (though apparently Target has that too), which means that not only are the cheapest ones (Wegmans) not an option, but now I have to spend even more than the pull-ups were already costing. But last Thursday night we stopped at Target and I picked up a pack of Huggies Pull-Ups, just like the other kids wear. Jacob seemed very excited.

Well, this morning I came in and one of his teachers asked if he was wearing a pull-up. I said no, because we always just put a diaper on in the morning. Per what I said earlier, I generally only try the pull-ups when Jacob's home for a while and we have a shot at using the potty consistently. She said that he hadn't been as dry the last couple days with the pull-ups, so maybe the diapers were confusing him. Ugh. Maybe. Or, ummm, maybe he stopped trying because he got what he wanted. I don't think he's confused. I just think he doesn't care. Is that too negative of me?

So, tomorrow morning perhaps we'll put on a pull-up and see if he makes it through dry. If not...I don't know. When we were at Target on Thursday I also bought a couple pairs of plastic pants. I thought those were a thing of the past (or at least of old school cloth diapering), but no, they're still around. And they're cheap. My thinking is that we might be able to pull off big boy underwear and plastic pants. I have to go back and exchange the ones I got for a smaller size, because 1) they look huge; 2) Jacob is skinny; and 3) we're only putting them over underwear, not diapers. We may try that at home and see how it goes. I don't think daycare will be up for that, but you never know.

It's at this point that I'm cursing the whole daycare thing, though. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the opportunity to work, and I'm happy that he seems generally happy there. But I have to imagine potty training is a heck of a lot easier for stay-at-home moms. They have the time to be consistent all day at home, and don't have to worry about taking vacation days to make it happen.  Back in the day when stay-at-home moms ruled, they probably didn't need to invent pull-ups because everyone just did potty training "boot camp" style and got it done. Us working parents don't have ample access to time to devote to it, so we rely on crutches like pull-ups and hope it gets us through until our child decides they're ready.  I mean, what if I take off a whole week and work on it, only to fail?  I've just wasted a week of vacation AND I have that much less time to use later to try it again when things are really getting desperate.  I'd really like to do something with our vacation this summer besides potty training--though a few days at home would be fine since I have carpet to replace, carpet to clean and a fireplace and central air system that could probably use some inspecting. 

But when it comes right down to it, I'm not sure our stubborn yet adorable child is mentally ready to be a big boy (despite his protestations to the contrary).  If he's letting a silly thing like a power struggle, or even a two-minute break from playtime, come between him and his beloved sports-themed big boy underwear, that tells me there's a bigger underlying issue at hand and we may be (nearly) powerless to overcome it for now.  Not that we won't try.  In the meantime I'll work on overcoming my laziness about the whole thing and see if we can make the plastic pants work at all.  If some underwear needs to be sacrificed in the meantime, so be it. We need to make this happen soon, and apparently no potty prize, potty chart, fancy undies, guilt, peer pressure, or gentle encouragement is going to do the trick.  Back to the drawing board...

Tuesday Tidbits

I finally got the video to post from Sunday's baseball playing...enjoy :)

I mentioned that Jacob went in the bounce house on Saturday, and that was a bit of an accomplishment.  Somehow Jacob has become a bit of a nervous child when it comes to things most kids think are fun.  He holds on for dear life on tiny slides at the playground, and won't go near the big ones.  At his little friend's birthday party it was like pulling teeth to get him into the climbing structure, and getting him down the big tube slide was a challenge.  Last week we had to pay $9 (!) for a field trip to a place called Jump Club, which is basically the same sort of thing--climbing structures, bounce houses, etc.  According to his teacher, he didn't do any of the stuff his friends were doing.  He was completely content to run around with a ball and ride in the cars (though not sure if that's a Little Tikes car or the ones you pay a quarter to turn on).  I guess as long as he's happy, that's great, but I'm losing hope that Jacob is going to be the roller coaster buddy I've longed to have since I married Craig, who is not a fan of things that drop or spin.  I also don't want him to have irrational fears about things that are fun and generally safe.  I'm still not sure where the slide fears came from, because he used to like them.  So, when I saw the bounce house on Saturday, I encouraged him to go in.  I went in with him, showed him how to bounce, and for a few minutes at least, he enjoyed it.  He went back in briefly with his cousins, too.  Small steps.

Jacob and Craig have been making up for lost time when it comes to playing outside.  Since Craig got home, Jaco's been begging to go outside all the time.  Fortunately the weather has cooperated. It works out well for me, too, because I have a ton of stuff to do most of the time and the time alone lets me do it.  Most of the time it's cooking dinner, nothing fun or exciting.  Jacob is loving it, though. 

Craig is readjusting to life at home and playing catch-up.  He's been keeping up with the lawn and working on getting the pool open.  There's a little uncertainty regarding his job since it's looking promising that the Buffalo Sabres will be buying the Amerks sometime soon.  The Knighthawks would not be part of the deal since the Sabres already own the Bandits, so it's pretty much a question of whether he'd stick with the Sabres or end up continuing to work with the teams' current owner for the Knighthawks and the Nationals, the summer outdoor lacrosse team he's currently doing some work for.  Hopefully nothing life-altering either way (unless it's a big raise somewhere along the way--ha!), but it definitely adds a little intrigue to our summer.  As a fan it's a cool thing, because the fan base and general excitement level has been decimated since the Sabres and Amerks parted ways a few years back. 

I am going a little nuts these days.  I feel like I've been playing catch-up since Craig got back.  I have a million things on my mind, from planning Jacob's birthday party to a couple returns I have to do to crazy stuff at work and other things that need to be done around the house.  In addition, I haven't been able to rely on my normal de-stresser, running, because my knees have been bothering me since the workout after the Corporate Challenge.  I have no idea what happened, because I never felt any sort of pain...but ever since, one knee has clicked when I go up stairs, and the other has just felt unstable and like it's swelling up, but I don't think it is.  It's so odd.  I've tried to keep up a little running, but I can't do it for long and I probably just need to rest it, but I feel like I can't get a good workout in without bugging it.  If it keeps up, I'll probably have to rest it at some point.  Then this morning I went to the allergist to get tested and hopefully try another route to getting my smell and taste back.  I'm doubtful, but we'll see.  It was pretty painful--lots of needle sticks and itchiness--and I am indeed allergic to a lot of stuff.  The doctor recommended allergy shots, but I'm going to try Allegra and a nose spray first.  If I do some research and think that the shots will be worth it (they're not cheap, but it would be awesome if they could take the edge off when I'm pregnant), I'll give them a shot.  No quick fix, that's for sure.  While I was getting tested I cringed at the thought of having to do that with Jacob down the road.  It'll probably happen someday.  Boo.

I know there was more I wanted to talk about, but apparently I waited one day too long and it was all pushed out of my brain.  Darn.  I guess I'll just save it for another day... 

Weekend Review

It was another busy weekend for us as we were off to Buffalo for our nephew Luke's birthday party.  I'll admit that I find myself getting frustrated this time of year because as much as we love all the family/friend time (lots of birthday parties, graduations, and other picnics we attend) this time of year, it's hard to be away from home so much.  It's a busy time of year for yardwork (everything grows like crazy) and early summer activities (like opening our pool or shopping for porch furniture, among other things), so being away for a whole weekend--the only two days of the week where I can spend more than an hour or so at a time doing an out-of-the-house activity--inevitably sets things back.  That said, we wouldn't be anywhere else when it comes to family...hence why our late summers tend to be dominated too, this time by family reunions.  It's just unfortunate that all of the family time comes with a minimum three hours of travel roundtrip, lots of gas and toll costs, and a solid block of time away from a home that needs a lot of attention.  Needless to say, I'm excited that next weekend we're not going anywhere.

Anyway, Saturday I braved the sporadic and unexpected rain to go outside and do my weekly trimming/edging and do some trimming of the bushes near our porch.  It all needed to be done, and while it was a bit wet, it was my only chance.  I came back in and finished packing, and we headed out after lunch, in time for Jacob's nap.  Shortly after arrival in Buffalo, we headed off to our nephew's 5th birthday party.  I still remember visiting him in the hospital, and now he's off to kindergarten.  As usual, Jacob wandered around the house and kept finding new props to cart around and use as sports equipment.  At one point I found him up in the playroom like this: 

He's wearing a Power Rangers mask and riding a Smart Cycle (one of those video game bikes).  Such a goofball.  He did get in some time in the bounce house (more on that significance in another post) and spent a lot of time wandering around outside, sneaking fruit and Chex Mix from the table, and playing lacrosse.  He definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer, though he's getting better at hanging out with other kids around his age (or a little older).  It's unfortunate, I guess, that the other kids don't quite get his hyper-fandom when it comes to sports.

Later in the evening there was a baseball pinata, and Jacob put in a few respectable hits, once he figured out how it all worked...

His big cousin Walt dealt the crushing blow, and Jacob enjoyed picking up a bunch of candy and sampling some, too.  He really didn't want to leave the party, but everyone was tired and he went down quickly once he was in bed.  Ahhhh.

Sunday we went for some pancakes (served to us by the local Boy Scouts), and as usual Jacob ate a bunch.  He fell asleep sitting up on the couch next to Craig watching tennis (I guess that's one sport that doesn't captivate him, though he's been asking a lot of questions about it since.  Maybe the back-and-forth hypnotized him!), which he almost never does, and I took him upstairs to nap.  We ended up napping together for a bit, which is rare these days, and woke up in time to head out to the pool.  As usual, it was an absolute battle to get him ready for the pool.  He just wanted to play baseball, no matter how many times I explained that he needed to go into the pool for a bit since everyone would be in there and no one could play baseball with him. 

In the end, he had a blast in the pool.  As usual it was much more relaxing than our pool since it's super warm, but he liked riding on a shark and a dog and throwing balls.  He would hardly let go of me and only slightly grasped the concept of kicking and paddling.  He still won't keep his face up.  Ugh.  We probably need to do swimming lessons, but I have no idea how we're going to pull that off.  Anyway, he still had a great time, though since I was in the pool the whole time myself, I didn't get any pictures. 

The rest of the family came over and took over the pool as we finished up, and after dinner, a little baseball practice broke out.  Everyone took their turn with the tee, and Jacob held his own...

I'll have a video soon, but for some reason I can't upload it right now.  I think this picture is featuring a look he'll have on his baseball card someday.   

We left shortly thereafter, but unfortunately a movie was not enough to keep Jacob awake for the ride home.  So he napped from about 8pm-9pm (ugh) and didn't fall asleep until around 11.  Yikes.  We really have to rethink our trips home since this is the second time this has happened.  Today was generally okay all things considered, but he did delve into whiny-dom by the end of the evening.  Yuck.

Still, we had a good time this weekend and hopefully we'll have a blast at home four days from now...but still a long week ahead...

First Game of the Season

Jacob has been asking to go to a baseball game for weeks...probably since lacrosse season ended, actually.  Maybe even before that.  We kept telling him that he had to wait until the weather was warm and sunny, because we didn't want to sit in rain or cold to watch a game.  As it turned out, we had a LOT of that this spring, and when the weather did perk up, our schedule didn't allow us to go.  Before Craig came home from Prague I was thinking maybe we could hit up the Red Wings game on Memorial Day, but that didn't work out so we looked at going later during the homestand.  And last night was the night.

Fortunately, the weather was lovely, despite the strong wind we'd been having all day.  It was warm enough, very sunny, and the stadium blocked the wind a bit.  While Craig was getting our tickets, Jacob and I checked out the statue of the Red Wings' original owner, Morrie Silver.  Jacob thought it was a little boy and his daddy, which was sweet.

 I then encouraged Jacob to sit on the old stadium seats--which I think are from the Red Wings' former home, Silver Stadium--and got a couple cute pictures there...

It took us a while to get in, get some dinner, and get seated, but we were just in time to see the Red Wings go down 7-0 in the first inning.  Jacob was refusing to eat his hot dog, until we figured out that he just wanted to keep holding his glove and ball, rather than holding food.  So, whether or not we should have, we helped him eat.  We held the hot dog and handed him bites of a breadstick, just to make sure he ate.  Rest assured, he was happy as a clam the whole time! 

Once the Red Wings started getting some hits, Jacob was happy to see his favorite scoreboard feature, a pair of Mickey Mouse-like hands clapping, show up on the screen, and I took the opportunity to capture his smiles in pictures:

 It's not often I get smiles like that with a camera, so I took full advantage!

Later in the game we headed down for a walk, both to find Lori, who was also at the game, and to get a snack (I had been looking forward to getting crepe chips--crispy pieces of crepes with cinnamon sugar--from the Simply Crepes stand for months--and they only cost $1.25!), and start heading toward home.  Another goal was to find Spikes, the Red Wings mascot, so Jacob could get his ball and glove signed.  It took a while to find him (we did find Mittsy, the girl mascot prior to that), but we found him...

And once I got my crepe chips and we had checked out the team store, it was time to go home.  Despite the 7-0 first inning deficit, the Wings came back to win 10-9! We saw part of the comeback before we left, but we missed them officially taking the lead. Would have been nice to see it, but bedtime called!  As it was, Jacob fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep through putting on his pajamas!  And he slept all night, too.  I guess one exciting night of baseball was enough to completely tire him out!  He was such a good boy the whole time we were there, though, so we can't wait to do it again soon!

Organization on the Cheap

I'm not the best organizer ever.  If I put my mind to something and really spend time thinking about it, I can usually get things in pretty good shape, but I'll admit there are far too many disorganized zones around my house.  I've recently come to the conclusion that the organization/storage industry is simply evil.  I mean, I'm addicted to looking at various storage options, and always feel a little neater when I purchase a plastic bin, regardless of its intended use.  Yet the plethora of storage items available (and pretty ones, at that!) have led America as a whole to turn into pack rats.  We have all these things to store our stuff in, so we will keep it all!  Back in the day when things were disorganized, I suppose people waited until they got a box to put it in, or they just got rid of it.  I do pride myself on the fact that my crawl space is half empty and what's there is relatively well organized, but I'm sure that next time we move I will be cursing myself for not getting rid of more stuff over the years.  I do always start out with things organized, but eventually I'm short on time and just trying to jam things into places, rather than taking the time to make things neat and orderly.  Organization often takes time, and often, I don't have it.  But when I take the time, it's so nice to go back and experience the orderliness later.

I did try to organize Jacob's toys after Christmas, and while the toy corner in the living room is still generally a bit of a mess, I do like having bins and shelves to hide things away.  When there are balls all over the floor, it's nice to pull out a bin drawer, throw them all in, and be done with it.  I still wish Jacob's toys could be a bit more hidden on a regular basis, but hopefully we'll get there--no doubt just in time to have a second round of baby toys taking over the room.  Anyway...

One thing that I did that I really appreciate is that I went to the dollar store and bought a single plastic bin for all of Jacob's random crap.  And by random crap I mean the Happy Meal toys, the trinkets that come in the birthday goodie bags from his classmates or holiday gifts from his teachers, or any other small toy that doesn't happen to be part of his crew of hockey guys or baseball guys.  The bin I got is about a foot square at the top and tapers down.  It fits perfectly in the closed cabinet part of the shelf in his room, and it holds the toys perfectly.  Maybe too perfectly, since it's getting full already.  Here it is...

At a glance, I see so many things--maracas my parents brought Jacob from Mexico, a random hairbrush Jacob claimed as his own, a carved wooden box with a "bug" in it, a slinky Jacob got for Easter last year, Pac-Man ghosts (part of a shell game) from a Wendy's Kids Meal, a Buzz Lightyear Happy Meal toy I got when I was in college (I found it when we were moving and passed it along to Jacob), a couple other random fast food kids meal toys, a wooden clacking toy that Jacob got for his first birthday, and a wind-up toy (and its container) that Jacob got sometime last year when the Christian bookstore was giving out little freebies for a special event.  And that is just the beginning.  Remember the funny glasses Jacob was wearing a couple posts back?  Those were in there.  A poseable bunny, whistles, another slinky, and Lord knows what else all make their home in this bin.  And yes, periodically some of them make it out of the bin and out of his room to add to the living room clutter, but for the most part they stay contained here.  Saturday morning we actually got the bin out and sorted through it a bit.  And Jacob has been playing with a handful of things from it ever since--Buzz, the glasses, the wooden bug box--and I'm sure he'll cycle through most of what's in there from time to time. 

It sort of makes me laugh to think he has a junk box (or bin) already.  I certainly had random little crap that inexplicably kept my attention, and I think stuff like that actually enhances imaginations.  You know, the random items aren't exactly "established" toys.  They don't have playsets or other groups of toys that go with them, so to play with them it seems like you have to make up a story to go with them.  You know, Buzz Lightyear playing with Jacob's hockey guys is a stretch to us, but I don't think it's too much of a stretch for Jacob's imagination.  I don't know what was running through his head when he was running around with those silly glasses and his fire helmet, but for him it all made sense.

Regardless, I like that all of that little stuff has a home.  Even if it 's not always in there, I know there's a place that I can put it when it starts bugging me sitting somewhere else.  And it only cost me a buck.  Perhaps I should throw most of that stuff out, and someday perhaps I will, but for now it provides a way to keep all that stuff without it making me crazy. 

Oh, and when I snuck into Jacob's room last night to get the picture of the bin, I couldn't help but snap a picture of my sleeping little angel boy. 

In case you can't tell, he's at about a 45 degree angle, supported by numerous animals and blankets.  He's so perfect when he's sleeping.  Absolutely adorable.  Inevitably when I see him sleeping, I just want to cuddle up with him...and then I remember how much he thrashes in his sleep and recall that I don't enjoy the constant kicks in the stomach...so I quickly change my mind and simply appreciate the peace and quiet, but I'll admit I do miss the days when he would snuggle in and fall asleep on our chests.  Tonight he fell asleep in the car on our way home (more on our evening soon), and he stayed asleep through getting his pajamas on.  I savored a couple minutes of holding and rocking him before I put him in his crib.  It's been a while since I've held him like that, fast asleep and snuggly.  How times have changed...but I guess he'll always be my sweet baby boy...

The rest of the story...

When I went to check in on Jacob after he'd been in bed a good hour or so after his early bedtime, he sort of indicated that when he woke up in the morning, he would listen.  To test out that notion, I told Jacob that he could earn back his sticks if he was good at church.  Church has been a tough place for us, so I figured that if we could pull it off, it was a win-win.  And sure enough, he did well.  He had some moments, but unlike a lot of times, when I talked to him about the things he was attempting to do, he stopped.  Miracles happen. 

After lunch and nap, we headed off to my aunt and uncle's house here in town for a Memorial Day picnic.  My parents were there and we had a very nice time.  The food was great, the company was enjoyable, and Jacob exhausted himself playing with his cousins and my parents.  Here's a shot of Jacob "making a shot", with a little help from Uncle Mark!

 He was super cute trying to play basketball (among other sports)...

He went down quickly once we got home, and I spent part of the evening finally starting the one big project I wanted to do while Craig was gone--photographing and sorting Jacob's artwork.  I only got through a portion of it, but it went well as far as I can tell.  I photographed all of them, pulled out a bunch that would be good candidates for my framing project, and sorted out a batch that can be tossed.  Not many...mostly coloring book pages and anything unidentifiable.  The evening ended with a nasty thunderstorm, but thankfully, the frightening gusts of wind didn't do any damage and the frequent thunder and lightning didn't wake Jacob up.

This morning Craig called and let us know he was on the way home from Buffalo...finally!  It was so nice to see him finally walk in the door!  Shortly after he got in, he showed Jacob the souvenirs he brought him--a Czech t-shirt, a little Czech hockey guy to add to his collection, and a tiny little Czech jersey that's technically a window hanging but should fit one of his stuffed animals perfectly.

 And here's a picture of Craig's bronze medal as part of Team USA...

 After lunch and nap we headed off to visit friends and watch the NCAA Division I Lacrosse Championship.  Yesterday Craig's cousin Lucas won the Division II Championship with the Mercyhurst Lakers, Craig's alma mater.  The team is also coached by one of Craig's groomsmen at our wedding, so it's awesome that they won.  While we were there, Jacob unearthed a hockey helmet from the pile of toys.  He loved it, of course.

I just missed getting a picture of him in a Star Wars storm trooper helmet.  That was funnier, but this was cute.

Mr. Serious, hockey stick in hand.

All in all, it was a nice weekend, but they're never long enough.  It's been a crazy week and a half, and I think we're all exhausted.  Between Craig's travel and the time change, a busy week on this end, and the general letdown after it all, I think we could all use more time to recover.  We did what we could to make up for lost time today, and hopefully we'll have a little time this week before our busy summer weekends really get going.  But we're happy to have Craig home and it will be nice to get things back to normal.  As long of a week as it was, I think it went more quickly than I expected, and save for a couple really challenging periods, it was a nice time to bond with Jacob.  But I will gladly welcome Craig back and look forward to once again having backup and support, both physically and emotionally.  That, my friends, is huge.  And now, let the summer begin :)

Keeping Busy

Before I get too far into this post, you'll be happy to know that Craig is home, safe and sound.  It's been a long, busy week, and we're very happy to have him home.

Before that, however, we spent a lot of time just trying to keep busy...not that we needed a lot of help considering that our schedule is normally full enough!  As I mentioned, we had a picnic on Wednesday night.  It was a cool but pleasant night, and we had a really nice time eating out in the yard.  And yes, Jacob insisted on wearing his fireman helmet!

Friday I managed to get a little time to myself, which was much appreciated in the midst of over a week of being on call full time.  My boss sent me home early, so I had a couple hours to do whatever I wanted before it was time to pick Jacob up.  Of course, I could have gone and picked him up early, but considering the circumstances, I figured it would be better to get some alone time and pick him up feeling a bit more refreshed.  So, I went to Old Navy, which was having a great sale, and got six things (including a pair of my favorite jeans!) for $35...not bad!

Saturday we had a pleasant morning and early afternoon, and Jacob spent much of it running around looking like this:

The glasses are Handy Manny ones he got in some birthday goodie bag...never really enjoyed until now!

After his nap and squaring up with the neighbor who mowed our lawn while Craig was gone, we were (finally) off to the zoo!  It was a beautiful day for it, particularly since the day before was so cold (hence the jeans in the picture above--our house was freezing until the sun warmed it on Saturday!).  It was a lovely day for a walk, and we had fun seeing all the animals.  We saw the orangutans eat, the big tortoises, birds, frogs, snakes (which Jacob liked this time!), alligators, rhinos, and one of the polar bears.  We finally saw an otter on exhibit (usually the one they've had for years isn't visible when we're there, but there are now two more and one was out), and Jacob loved when it swam right up to where he was standing (on the other side of the glass, of course).  We saw a tiger eating a big hunk of meat, and caught just a glimpse of the penguins before they went off display for the night.  Most of them came right to the zookeeper when she called, a few hung back for a couple minutes, and one begrudgingly hid in a hole until the zookeeper came out to find it!  Here are a few pictures of the day:

Cute picture when we were looking at the small tortoises...

Face to face!

They just put in this little play area, and Jacob loved it!  Playing drums on the turtle...

And more on the alligator...

And saying hi to the alligator--that's his snout!

After the zoo we stopped at the playground on the road out.  Jacob had fun even though there were some bigger kids running amok.  He's still got a bit of a slide phobia, but he did well climbing.  We went to KFC for dinner, since he usually loves it there, and about halfway through the meal, evil Jacob came back--the same one that tortured me last Sunday.  We had to go to Wegmans after dinner, and his behavior was so appalling that I not only took away all his sticks, but put him in bed at 7:30 (waaaay earlier than usual) because I had no other recourse.  And rather than torture myself and risk totally freaking out on him, it seemed like my only option.  He stayed awake until his normal bedtime anyway, but he definitely seemed to get the message based on our Sunday...which I'll post more about soon!  Happy Memorial Day!