More on Tommy and his big day.

Tommy's Birthday was perfect.  This is the first year he really "got it".  He went to daycare and he didn't want cupcakes, just Popsicles. Technically, a blue "flavor-ice".  Boy, does that kid has the worst taste in sweets or what! But, it was his birthday, so he got what he wanted. 


We picked the kids up from daycare and then, as if I wasn't a bad enough parent, we took the boys to Sonic for dinner!  We had to be at the zoo at 5:30 and had a showing till 6, so we didn't have a lot of options. 


Tom and I were craving subs from 2nd Street Sub Shop in Royal Oak , but the kids don't do subs.  Tommy loves Sonic, and prior to the house being on the market, we had gone maybe 4 times.  I have to admit, we've probably gone 3 times in the past 4 weeks!  He had a grilled cheese and chocolate milk, it could have been worse. 


On the way to the zoo, I was driving.  I guess being 4 makes one an expert as to the rules of the road.  Tommy spent much of the 10 minute ride criticizing my driving.  He claimed it was too fast, yet he wanted to know "why is it taking so long?.  He asked me if I was "trying to get caught by the police" and reminded me that I had "kids in the car". Sheesh! Needless to say, Tom got a kick out of this.  


On the way, Tom also pulled up pictures from the day Tommy was born and showed him.  He enjoyed hearing about the first couple days of his life and looking at the photos. Here's my favorite.

It was a perfect day for the zoo!  The weather could not have been better.  We staked out a shady spot and scored a sought after picnic table for the get together and then we headed to the Otter house.  There used to just be one otter, so imagine my surprise to see that there are now 4! And they are crazy-fun! 


Turns out, the one we've been visiting for years, Whiskers, got a conjugal visit, so to speak, from another otter- on loan from another zoo.  One thing led to another and weeks later, three little fur balls were born.  (This article goes into more detail).

I can't get over how much fun we had watching the otter shenanigans. Mack kept yelling "Look Mommy, fun-nee!" and I pretty much had to drag Tommy out of there. If you look carefully at the picture above, you can see 3 of the otters. And here's a link to a video of them. 


We also hit up the reptile house. It was about 7:30 p.m. and the snakes, crocidiles and lizards were pretty active. This snake was right up against the glass, I just had to take a picture. 

One of the crocodiles was right along the glass in his (or her- didn't check) habitat.  He was awake and kept opening and shutting his mouth.  I was so fascinated, I completely forgot to take a picture.  Literally, there was a one inch plate of glass between us and he was looking right at us.  He really was creepy-though I imagined his teeth would be bigger and closer together.  Don't get me wrong, they were still scary.  Tommy had to pretty much drag me away from that one!

On the way out, Tommy saw this guy and just had to say hi. 

All and all, it was a wonderful day!