A Day at the Zoo

I had fun with my boys today!  Jeremiah and I spent the morning at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with my friend Kimberly and her adorable sons Noah and Jonah.  We had such a wonderful time; it was so fun to get away and do something new.  Jeremiah was super excited the whole time.  I was so impressed with how interactive this zoo is.  A highlight was feeding the giraffes.  There were 17 (that I counted) down in a huge pit, so their heads are at the level of where we were standing.  They came right up to eat out of our hands.  Jeremiah wasn't too fond of the 18 inch tongues reaching out and grabbing food from his hands, so he'd throw it on the ground right in front of them and then run away giggling.  I was thoroughly entertained.  The grizzly bears were also up close and personal (through fiberglass), and hours later Jeremiah still got all excited saying, "brown bear eat fish!" since the bear jumped right into the water in front of us and swam with the fish.  He got to feed the birds with food glued to a popsicle stick, too. 

Everything was so exciting for Jeremiah, but I have to tell ya...he was just as excited looking at inanimate objects.  When we arrived, he noticed the bobcat (as in mini bulldozer, not the animal) working before he saw the giraffes.  Instead of looking at zebras, he wanted to watch the backhoe work.  And while the rest of us were all enthralled with the orangutans, Jeremiah pointed to the parking lot in the distance and exclaimed, "SCHOOL BUS!"  Next time I might save the money and take him to the local bus garage or construction site.  :)  

 The boys watching the otters play.

 So fun to walk through the small tunnel just for kids.

 Three little snow leopards

Why, hello there, Mr. Giraffe!

After the zoo, I got to spend the afternoon with Joshua.  He slept hard for 2.5 hours of kangaroo care.  I was there for two feeding sessions, but he was sleepy and showed no interest in latching on, so both times he ended up getting all of his food through the NG tube.  Right as I was about to leave, he was wide awake and looking like he wanted to play...not the best timing for me.

BIG WEIGHT GAIN TONIGHT!  Joshua gained 60 grams, up to 2050 gms or 4 lbs 8 oz.  He passed the 2 kg mark.  This morning they decided not to start the MCT oil (liquid french fries) because they thought that would make him gain weight, but not necessarily the kind of weight they'd want him to gain.  As the nurse reported to me, "the MCT oil might make him short and fat, and they want him long and lean."  At this point, I don't think we have to worry about him getting fat, but good to know he had a nice gain tonight. He may not need anything more than his current body building supplements.  Thank you so much for praying for his growth!