Some Clouds, Some Lining, All Toddler

First the Lemons:

We received a call from school that our little Rocketship had contracted something called "Hand, Foot & Mouth" (or was it "Foot, Hand & Mouth"?). Anyways, we had never heard of it. So we picked her up and had the local pediatrician confirm it. She also confirmed that basically nothing could be done, or bought, or applied, etc. Basically, we would just need to "wait it out". Unfortunately, she also recommended that we reconsider the 10-kid+ birthday party we had scheduled for the weekend. We kinda thought that may happen, but hearing it from someone in a doctors' coat confirmed it for good.

So, we canceled the party (and the Bounce House E didn't even know she had coming!) and decided to lay low.

Now the Lemonade:

E was is really good spirits, especially considering she was "sick and contagious" and - because nobody said we couldn't - we decided to pack up and go to the Zoo! So we did. We tried to treat E as though this was a big birthday surprise! She had a really great time!

Our Little Monkey!

Now for a really special treat, S had arranged for E to actually feed a giraffe! We told her in advance and it was all she could talk about all day! The timing was juuuuuust a bit later than we would have chosen because of her nap, but after an ice cream bar to infuse her with sugar and help keep her up, it was finally time to feed the giraffe.

Here he is; this is Gifarri (if I remember correctly):

After a few minutes wait, it was finally our turn. You were given the choice of feeding him one of three things:

• Lettuce


• Somekind of whole wheat cracker


• Sliced sweet potato

The food handler gave the following advice; "He'll eat anything". Okay then.

I'll say! He really WILL eat anything! He completely licked her hand and pulled it into his mouth! Gifarri! Easy, boy!

What an amazing experience to be so close to this beautiful animal. It was definitely worth the asking price ($5!)

At the end of the day, we successfully accomplished our object. The kiddo had a great time and we completely tuckered her out!

Even Grandma Gigi had a great time! That's E's little stuffed giraffe, a present she was brought home from from one of S's work trips. She's had it for a little while, but never bothered to take it out of the house. We brought it/him with us today on speculation. She clutched him tight all day and something tells me he'll be one of her favorites...at least for a bit anyway.