Tuesday, April 21, 2009

...and you act like one too

Yesterday I pried my cold-ridden Father out of his bed and essentially forced him to drive Charlie and I to the nearest train station, then guide us to the Calgary zoo.

Yes, the zoo. I've never much liked zoos but it was on my parents' List of Things To Do with Infant Grandchild and so on we went to tick it off. Handily this was a great excuse for me to catch up with old and very good friends of mine and their three youngest children who came along, basically, as spud-sitters.

We saw many animals. The spud even called some of them by name. He even went 'wow' and begged to be taken back to the elephants for a second go round; unfortunately all of this seems to be lost to him now as if you ask him 'Do you remember what you did yesterday' all he can tell you is 'Four trains!!!' because we had to take two C-trains into the zoo and two more back to the car. He also demanded we rent a little cart to drive him around in and then spent the entire day sitting in it and flirting with my friends' daughters or trying to push it into handy passers by.

Some of the time however he wanted to walk around and this is where having three babysitters who shared some of his interests was pretty great. It's a case of setting a thief to catch a thief. When your two year old darts off into an impenetrable crowd of zoo visitors, who better to dart after him and bring him back then another small person who can fit through the crowd? When he wants to climb the stairs over and over again in the elephant's viewing area, who better to handle the situation then a few responsible youngsters who also fancy a bit of a climb? It was great, I have to say, truly great to be able to watch him enjoy himself so much without lifting much of a finger. It's an argument for older siblings, really; I'm wondering if I can rent some.

Grandad for his part was dragged hither and thither and by the time we got home was wiped out completely. The spud awoke twice in the night: once to ask 'How many trains Mummy?' and once to say 'Two trains Mummy, two trains', each time plopping back to sleep immediately after I said 'Four trains, Charlie'. As he is sleeping in my bed here he has easy access, meaning that each time I woke up with his big eyes about two inches away from mine and his hot breath in my nose.

In the meantime, he finally got to see some real monkeys rather than his very favourite toy monkey puppet who travels everywhere with us; I just hope that the next time our monkey 'visits' I'm not going to be asked to mirror some real monkey actions as well; swinging from the ceiling I just might be able to manage; licking my privates however is totally out of the question.

11 comments:

Helen + ilana = Hi said...

Oh so all that yoga was for nothing then?????

orstable = where you keep the (h)orses silly!

Tim Atkinson said...

Absolutely right about the older siblings... Sally is invaluable with our Charlie. But he's not for hire - sorry!

Jen said...

I really love the zoo, and I think Dylan would enjoy going, but I am afraid I'll spend the whole day chasing him through crowds, as you said. I think I'll take an older kid along! Thanks for the idea!
I saw a picture of my friend on her blog, reading a book, and almost spit out my drink. She has four kids under age 6! She said they all play with each other, while she reads. Makes you rethink the whole one child idea, huh?!

Lisa @ Boondock Ramblings said...

Ah the zoo. When we went to our "semi-local" zoo most of the exhibits were closed. I told my husband that next time we are going on a weekend and making sure the exhibits are all open. What a disappointment. We did see some monkeys and a tiger or two, but nothing else very exciting. Oh and wolves.

And nothing licked it's crotch. That I can remember.

Sounds like Spud had a great time. Isn't it great when they are in your bed so they can say things like that in the middle of the night? Last night Jonathan kept telling me...something...not sure what it was in the end, but it was pretty funny. "Mama! Look!" while his eyes were closed the whole time. Whatever he was dreaming about must have been pretty cool!

Michelle said...

So great that your Dad gets to go on these outings with the Spud. It is exhausting yet rewarding to say the least! And I'm glad that you were able to enjoy the benefits of babysitters. As ever, you tell the story so well!

Anonymous said...

No crotch-licking? Spoil sport. I love the train dreams - bless!

Tara@Sticky Fingers said...

Zoo visits are a nightmare for us. Our two literally go wild. It's like they think they won't be allowed to see the animals unless they act like them!

Maternal Tales said...

My two just LOVE the zoo. Or at least it always seem as though they do until (like Spud) you ask them what their favorite part was. 'The climbing frame Mummy'. So annoying. I know they love it really...

Dorset Dispatches said...

You can't beat a good train. And I'mn impressed you can even think that you might be able to manage swinging from the ceiling - I'm the monkey grumpily storing stones and throwing them at people.

You said you knew a self-raising flour / baking powder-flour combo. Any pointers - my ratio just isn't working... as another collapsed cake yesterday proved... sigh...

DJ Kirkby said...

OMgawds! Can't stop laughing at your closing sentence! And now N3S wants to know what is so funny!

Sparx said...

Helen - don't make me laugh! I was never quite that flexible, sadly...

Dotterel - are you certain? I'd pay. ;)

Jen - everyone I know with two or more kids says the same thing - better than one!

Lisa - bad luck on your zoo trip, hope it works next time. I love the spud talking in his sleep too... sometimes...!!!

Michelle - thanks! You've got built-in babysitters for your littlest growing up now, lucky you!

More than Just a Mother - I know, sweet!

Tara - I saw some of that with other kids at the zoo - I reckon it won't be long before the spud is the same...

Maternal Tales - funnily enough my friends said the same - the climbing frame is all their kids want to see too...

Brit in Bosnia - very funny! Recipe coming to your site shortly.

DJ - oops... did you tell him?!