The Zoo and Uncle Visit

Last week, after one of my LASIK appointments, my sister-in-law and I took our kids to the Como Zoo in the Twin Cities. We had a great time and Captain got so excited when he got to see all the animals. He has a thing right now about animals, trucks, trains, and basically anything that moves. (Last night he kept saying "birl, birl" and I didn't quite understand. I thought that he may have been saying ball, but then he pointed straight outside at one of my hanging baskets of flowers and there were a couple of birds sitting there! What a smart kid.) It has to be the age, or maybe it is a boy thing, I guess we'll see. Anyhow, we all really enjoyed the zoo and the gardens that are around it. Even Burbles had a pretty good day. She was quite content riding around outside in the stroller.
Then we went to my Uncle P's house. My other uncle, C., from North Carolina was there. It was so great to see everyone. It was especially nice to see the kids interacting so well with their great-uncles and their second cousin. My uncle P took an interest in my sister-in-law's little girl, or maybe it was the other way around, but she really checked him out and you could tell that she developed a "little girl crush" on him while we were there (she is only 3). My Uncle C really has a way with babies (he is a new Grandpa himself) and when Burbles was having her evening melt-down, Uncle C was really great with her: talking to her soothingly, rocking her in the air in fluid motions, and just being so comforting to her. I'm sure that he is a wonderful Grandpa to his little granddaughter.
Then there was my cousin. We'll call him A. When we were younger, Uncle C's boys (he has 2) were always spending a lot of their time when they visited with my Uncle P's boys (he has 2). They would play video games and chase around. I was always a little jealous, but now I realize that it is just a boy thing... I got to see my cousin A interact with Captain the same way that my other cousins interacted with him. It was so cool. My cousin A has sure grown up lately (he is taller than his dad) and he is more mature and it was so neat that he was willing to spend time with my son.
All-in-all, it was a pretty good day.

This is me and the kids at the zoo. The cool shades are because of my surgery.

This is Captain at his finest.

This is Burbles. Isn't she cute?

Captain loves the balls. He didn't care at all about the sea lion.

This is my niece and Burbles. (I need to think of a name for my niece sometime soon...)

This is Captain riding a tortoise.

This is my niece and nephew and Captain on some giraffes.

This is my niece and nephew on the rocks near the pond in the Japanese Gardens.

This is my sister-in-law and Captain walking in the Japanese gardens.

Uncle C and Burbles