2011 Boo at the Zoo

Saturday Grandma, Grandpa, Garytt (aka The Cat in the Hat), and I went to the Topeka Zoo for Boo at the Zoo. Wow! It was very crowded there!

At first it was difficult to get Garytt to focus on anything but pushing his own stroller...we would have been better off to have just left the stroller in the car so it wouldn't have been such a distraction.



We first stopped at the giraffes. Here he is checking them out.





Chester from Cheeto's was at the zoo. We tried to get Garytt to go take a picture but he only wanted to watch from afar...I'm not sure if he was scared of Chester or if he was scared we wouldn't give him the stroller back.



Garytt's all time favorite animal is a lion! He loves to "roar" like a lion. So, we saw some stuffed lions and snapped a few pictures...but since they were actually lionesses, I don't think he realized they also "roar."



So, we decided we should probably head over to see the real lions. On they way, there was a lion statue. Garytt totally recognized it and started "roaring."



They had a viewing cave but that was still too far away for him to really see the lion well.



We continued on to the other viewing area where he was better able to see the lions and then he was all about roaring.





We also got to see the elephants, but Garytt was more interested in climbing the fence.



Garytt did do a little bit of trick-or-treating while we were at the zoo but he really didn't seem to get the concept.



There was also a small hay maze for the kids. We tried to take Garytt in there but there were too many big kids running around and jumping over the hay bales for my comfort.



By that time, Garytt seemed to be ready to go do something else. We had been there for about an hour or so and it was really quite warm. I think the temp was in the mid 70's and his costume is black and furry...so he was getting hot. We decided it was time to head out and go across the street to let him run around on the playground for a bit.

On the way to the playground, we actually stripped him out of the costume. He had a onesie on underneath and then I pulled on some pants I had with me...they didn't match too well but he had to be much more comfortable in short sleeves than in that hot cat costume.

Garytt really had a great time playing on the swings with Grandpa pushing him.







Garytt was so tired after his afternoon out with the animals that he crashed before we even made it home. It was a fun time and maybe next year he will understand the trick-or-treat part better.

I also want to give a special Thank You to Grandpa for toting Garytt around all day! It was a nice break for me and allowed me to get some pictures!

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa

Wednesday evening we went out to eat for dinner with my parents. While we were waiting for our food, Grandpa decided to help Garytt color. Garytt was a pretty good student.



Grandma didn't have to work most of the day on Thursday. So, we decided that we should take a quick trip over to Leavenworth for lunch with Garytt's Great Grandma. We had a quick lunch and then hung out at Great Grandma Skahan's for a little bit. She had a dancing Frankenstein on her coffee table that Garytt loved. I'm pretty sure we heard the song "Monster Mash" like 50 times while we were there.



When we got back to Topeka, we just hung out at my parents house. Grandma wanted to quickly vacuum the rug in the kitchen, which turned into a vacuuming lesson for Garytt since he was so eager to help.







When Grandpa got home from work on Thursday, he gave Garytt a broom to play with and showed him how to use it as a wooden stick horse...or a flying witches broom since it was nearly Halloween.





Garytt also enjoyed the long hallway at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He would run back and forth down the hallway when he would get a little wound up.





A calmer form of entertainment was pulling a toy Snoopy around. It takes more concentration for him to pull Snoopy and walk backward.



He also ended up mastering the art of turning with Snoopy.



Grandma also had Friday off of work. So, we decided we would go pick up Grandpa for lunch. Grandpa wanted to go to the cafe in Harley Davidson. Of course, that meant that after we ate, we had to go look around at the motorcycles.









Apparently, Garytt loved checking out all the bikes because when it was time to leave, he cried like Christmas was over. I was totally shocked that he was having that much fun at Harley! Of course, that made Grandpa pretty proud...hahaha.

We really enjoyed our time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa and just hanging out around the house!

Halloween Parade

Wednesday was a big day for Garytt! He started the day off by going with Grandma to work for the elementary school Halloween Parade. So, he got all dressed up in his Cat in the Hat costume! What a cutie!

We had to wait in the office for about 30 minutes or so before the parade began. So, it was a little bit difficult to keep Garytt occupied during that time. But Grandma found a glow stick, which he played with for a while and he found spinning in Grandma's chair pretty entertaining as well.


Sitting in Grandma's chair


Still in Grandma's chair


Opening cabinets


Walking around the office


Standing on his glow stick

I also spent some time reading to him in the office while we waited for the parade to start.



Here's a quick video of Garytt wandering around the office while we waited.



Pretty soon the grandson of the second grade teacher, Mrs. Willard, showed up for the parade. Connor is just a few months older the Garytt. He stopped by the office to put on his cow costume. Then he went to see Mrs. Willard. So, we decided we would go say "hi" to the second grade and Connor.

In this picture Connor is with Mr. Willard in the doorway. And we are laughing because my mom is having problems working my "fancy" camera. Apparently, using an actual view finder instead of the display screen is too old school. She got the hang of it though.



Mrs. Willard has a life size Frankenstein in her classroom...ok, well it is life size if you are about 2 years old. So, we wanted Connor and Garytt to pose by Frankenstein for a picture. Well, Connor was perfectly fine just standing there because he was quite shy with all the second graders around. Garytt, on the other hand, felt is was just another adventure and was eager to go meet all the kids. So, we didn't get a good picture with both of them in it.


Garytt is checking out the poster and Frankenstein


Trying to get Garytt to look towards the other camera


Look at how good Connor is at standing still


Yes, I still had to hold Garytt in place.

After that, it was time for the parade to start. So, we got in line and one of the second graders wanted to be Garytt's helper. So, she held one hand while I held the other and off we went.

In this video you first see Connor the cow coming down the hall with Mr. Willard and then you will see the Cat in the Hat leaving the classroom and heading down the hall.



The parade started inside and ended outside on the school track where all the parents were waiting with cameras. Garytt had an absolute blast parading around with the big kids. And once we made it outside where all the parents were, he was just smiling his cheesy smile at anyone who would look at him and who might take a picture of him. He's so funny! Here are a few pictures from the track.


Connor walking in the parade


Here comes The Cat in the Hat...Thing 2 is in the picture as well.










Closeup on the cat face


Off we go back into the building.

Once we were back inside, we had to find Thing 1 and Thing 2 (and they also had a Thing 3) to take a quick picture. After all, The Cat in the Hat needs to keep his Things around!



Finally, it was time to head home. So, he decided to crawl...I guess more like a cat? Silly boy.



After we left the school, I gave Garytt a bath to wash off all his cat makeup. Then we had lunch and headed out for a play date in Tonganoxie with some friends. The kids are all just getting big so fast!

I took just a few pictures while we were there.


Hannah and Garytt playing


Hannah is such a cutie pie!




Playing with magnets


Hannah, Samuel, and Beth


More magnet fun.


Finally got both of them looking in my direction

As always, it was a great afternoon visiting with friends. I enjoyed catching up with Stacy, Beth, and Julie while Garytt was busy playing with Hannah and Samuel.

Let me just say that after a day full of such adventure, Garytt was worn out and he was definitely ready for bedtime!

Play Date with Addison

This past Tuesday, Garytt and I went to Kansas City to meet up with our cousins Debbi and Addison. (Debbi is Addison's mom.) We got to eat at my favorite restaurant, Salsa Grill for Taco Tuesay! The kids were a little messy with the Mexican food but it was yummy!

After that, we decided to go to a park. The temperature on Tuesday was nearly 85 degrees, so we thought we should take advantage of the beautiful weather. It was, however, extremely windy and I thought the kids were going to blow over a few times. They didn't seem to mind.

At first, the kids seemed to just want to walk around the swings and play with the wood chips.











I thought that Garytt was a very social kid...but Addison is even more social. There was another little boy at the park and she kept watching him and waiting for an opportunity to go say "hi." She so adorable and has such a wonderful personality!


Garytt is playing with a swing while Addison is mingling.

Finally, the kids decided they actually wanted to swing after they saw two other boys swinging.





We finally made our way over to the slides.


They both wanted to climb up the slide but it was too steep.


So cute! It looks like they are holding hands even though they are just holding onto the slide.


Garytt is about ready to go.


Addison watches as Garytt slides down.

After a while it became obvious that both kids were getting pretty tired. So, we decided to call it a day and head back to Topeka. It was great to see Debbi and Addison and enjoy the wonderful weather!