Who needs a nap with so much weekend fun?!

This past weekend was incredibly busy, and I loved every minute of it. In fact, I didn't even have to take a formal nap on Friday or Saturday; however, I did manage to get in a few car zzzzz's. Since Dada has been out of town a lot over the past few weeks, he took Friday off to go to Zoo Atlanta with Mrs. Lisa, Baby Monroe, Mama, and me. It was my first trip to the zoo, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was more interested in trying to climb the fences than look at the animals, but, hey, fun is fun. Over the last month, I have gotten increasingly more independent, and trust me, I was quite independent before. At the zoo, I got really upset whenever Mom or Dad tried to pick me up to show me any of the animals; I can look on my own, people! I was also not very enthused when I had to get back in my stroller to go from exhibit to exhibit. I'm a big girl now, so in my opinion, I should be treated like one. Baby Monroe slept most of the time, so he didn't really get to see any of the animals. I did like seeing him though, and now, whenever I see a baby, I say, "Shhhh" because you aren't supposed to wake up sleeping babies. Monroe did wake up for lunch, and I was excited that he joined us - maybe not as excited as I was about the fries but definitely happy to see him awake. He even stayed awake through the Panda exhibit; at least, he chose the main exhibit, for which to stay awake. At the zoo, I got to see tons of different animals; however, the turtles were my absolute favorite. What can I say? I go all the way to the zoo to get excited about something I can see in my own backyard. These turtles were much bigger though. I even got to see a snapping turtle in the Reptile house. I also got a really big splinter from the bench in the Reptile house, but Super Mom came to the rescue and got it out with her teeth so that it didn't continue to bother me the entire time. I was mildly intertested in the elephants, which I called "Eeeeee" since that is the noise they make, but I was beyond excited about the little choo choo train in the kids' park; unfortunately, I didn't get to ride it this time. I definitely listened for it though, and I got to pretend to be a kangaroo as a consolation prize - total sham, I know. I was not overly enthused with the Panda bears; I blame it on a very understandable distraction. While standing right next to a Panda bear - behind glass, of course - the little girl next to me was eating ice cream. I don't think that I even really noticed the Panda, for my entire concentration was on that little cup of creamy goodness - priorities, people. I also thought that the baby Panda on one of the posters was Opie; I mean they are the same color! Dad has been calling Opie a baby Panda ever since. Before we left, Mom took me into the petting zoo; however, I didn't actually pet anything. Gross! I preferred to point at the pig and make oinking noises before turning my hat around backwards to show how cool I am. By the time we got to the car, I could barely keep my eyes open. I give the zoo, mainly the turtles, two thumbs up! Thanks for inviting us, Mrs. Lisa; I hope Baby Monroe enjoyed his zoo nap.

Saturday was even crazier than Friday. As soon as I ate breakfast, we were in the car and on our way downtown where we met up with Grandma, Aunt Steph, Uncle Ian, Mrs. Sharon, and Mr. Carl. Mom and Dad ran the Sweetwater 420 5K while I stayed with everyone else. According to Mom and Dad, the course was MUCH more difficult than anticipated due to the hills. Come to find out afterwards, it is one of the hardest 5K races in Atlanta. That being said, Mom and Dad did pretty well. Dad finished right under 32 minutes, and Mom came in right under 33 minutes. These weren't the times for which they had trained, but for the course, they were pleased. We all waited for them at the finish line; Mrs. Teri, Aunt Mal, and Chris even joined us. Mrs. Teri said that Pooh, who goes everywhere with me, made it easy to spot us in the crowd. Uncle Ian was in charge of taking pictures as Mom and Dad passed, and he got a bunch of pictures of Dad, but somehow, Mom snuck by unnoticed. Dad was concentrating so hard on crossing the finish line that he ran through the girls' side - silly, Dada. After the race, we all went to the Sweetwater 420 Festival. I got to run in the big grassy field, play with Chris, and swing through the air while holding Aunt Mal and Chris' hands. I had a ball listening to the bands while sitting with Aunt Stephanie and Grandma, and I even held up Aunt Steph's phone to show that I know what to do at a concert. Mom and Dad had a ball having a celebratory beer with their friends. I was beyond exhausted when we left, and I immediately fell asleep in my stroller with Pooh; however, I got an instantaneous second wind when Aunt Stephanie stopped and got me a balloon at the floral shop on the way to her house. In fact, I didn't even fall asleep in the car after my 2 minute nap in the stroller. It was an awesome 2 days followed by a very relaxing Sunday at home, which was much needed. Congrats on the race goes out to Mom, Dad, Mr. Joe, Mr. Ken, and Mrs. Melissa! I am looking forward to the possibility of strolling along with Mom and Dad in the Boulder Dash 5K next weekend. All of this running is really getting me in shape for summer, which is suprising since I usually eat during the entire ride.

To end an eventful weekend with a bang, I said my first unprompted phrase, aside from the "Help, please", "More, please", anything with please to get what I want repertoire. I walked into the kitchen, noticed that Opie's bowl was empty, looked at Mom, and said, "Opie more food". I sound like an incredibly caring sis; however, I really just like carrying the cup to his bowl and pouring the food into it. I mean, I don't want him to starve or anything; I actually hand feed him bits of his food on occasion, but dumping the food in his bowl, and sometimes on the floor, makes my day. I'm really starting to put words together to get my thoughts across, which is all well and fun until those thoughts don't mesh with Mom's.