Our First Family Vacation!

for our anniversary back in November we decided to take Clark with us because a) my parents were out of town and b) we thought it would be fun to have a last hurrah as a family of 3 before the new baby comes!  we stayed in a hotel in the city and took Clark to see all the sights for the first time.  the first day we went to NASA Space Center!

I think Clark's favorite part about NASA was getting soft serve ice-cream made for us by a robot (in a fancy vending machine).  we got one with m&ms and one with sprinkles and I think he ate more than I did! I must really love him because ice-cream and I are best friends :)

there was only one real toddler friendly area...you could make your own alien with these velcro body parts and there were a couple ship simulators that you could lay in or control your ship on a screen.  it was pretty packed though and Clark mostly just walked around people watching.  he was pretty clingy on this day and wanted me to carry him everywhere!

he refused to stick his head inside!

we ended NASA with a fun train ride to Orion Mission Control where I got to carry Clark up over 100 steps to this auditorium overlooking mission control and they gave the longest presentation ever!  it was probably only like 10 minutes but it was so quiet in there and we were the only ones with a baby.  he kept climbing over me out of our row and wanting to explore the lighted steps!  finally Mark just let him climb up and down and followed him.  haha, we really did have a good time though!

on day two we headed to the Houston Aquarium!  I think this was everyone's favorite place.  they had a lot of kid friendly things to do and Clark loves animals!  his favorite thing here was the white tigers.  they are so beautiful!

it's a good thing there was glass in between us!  look at those teeth!!

Clark loves when he's allowed to walk around out of the stroller.  he really takes in his surroundings and loves to explore.  he also has a lot of fun running away and trying to lose us...

I think Clark's favorite thing we did here was pet some sting rays!  he thought it was hilarious and really wished we had let him jump in and swim with them.  Mark almost dropped him!

Clark wanted to pet them over and over!

they had some carnival games and rides outside the aquarium.  we went on a fun train ride, Clark's first ferris wheel (it was way too long and he got really antsy up in the sky and wanted to get out), and his second time on a carousel.  he was really serious the whole time but I know he liked it.

hahaha, that is such a typical Clark face!

Clark was worn out after all the fun.  we took him to Sonic for lunch and then he took a nap in the car while we headed to Kemah boardwalk to spend the evening.  it was a loooong day for him...when he woke up, he was in such a daze at Kemah with all the people.  he was super mellow and content to just sit in the stroller and suck away on his binky.

we took him on his third train ride of the trip and another mini ferris wheel that was basically torture because he had to sit in his seat buckled in, heaven forbid!

the best part of the trip was later that evening.  Mark had promised me we could get ice-cream so we got a banana split to share.  it ended up being Clark's dinner (we gave him some oatmeal later at the hotel) and he LOVED it!  we sat in a booth at this arcade / diner with 50's music playing and Clark was dancing and giggling and being so hyper!  it was hilarious!!

I think ice-cream became Clark's new favorite food this trip

we were only an hour away from home but it felt like we were in another state!  we decided we're going to try and do family vacations, even if we don't go very far, every year because this one was so much fun.  every night Clark went to bed so easily because he was exhausted but then he would wake up in the early morning and come snuggle in the big hotel bed with us.  it wasn't the most romantic anniversary by any means, but it was one of my favorites!  I love my boys more than anything in the whole world.

Clark's first trip to the zoo!

we took Clark to the zoo last month for the first time and he had a blast!!  Clark loves going new places and he loves animals so he was truly in awe.

we went with my good friend Helen and her girls and she snapped some adorable photos.  she goes to the zoo practically every week so she knew her way around and we were able to see so much in just a few hours!  first stop: the aquarium!

Clark was fascinated by the huge fish there, some were bigger than him!  he enjoyed climbing on the rocks around the tanks (I think he was trying to get inside) and loved getting to crawl through this tunnel with the fish swimming all around him.  he makes the cutest little guppy, don't you think?!

after the aquarium, we headed over to the elephants.  they were playing outside together and were so close to us!  I don't remember the first time I ever saw an elephant but I'm sure my face looked something like this...

their ears are bigger than Clark!!!

hi Dumbo!

next we tried to catch a peek at the lions and tigers (and bears, ohh my) but they were all sleeping.  it was hard for Clark to spot any animals that weren't moving because they just blend in.  he did get up close and personal with a gorilla though!

the gorillas might be my favorite...they are just so humanlike and so smart!  the big, strong males are so powerful and intimidating.  I could watch them all day.  and once I saw a mama gorilla throwing her babies on her back and walking around with them and I about died.

Clark's favorite thing to do at the zoo was play in this little Native American playground.  he ran in and out of the tee pee's, banged on the drums, almost got drenched under this waterfall, and was obsessed with the fake fire pit.  he sat in it for a good five minutes, hahah.

the last animals we saw were Clark's favorite...can you guess what they were??

the giraffes!  I think he was amazed at how tall they are!!  we saw them eating leaves off the trees and then one came over to us and Clark just stared at him.

the last thing we did before leaving the zoo was ride the carousel.  it was a first (and maybe a last) for Clark.  he was SO impatient to get on while we waited for the group before us.  like he refused to be held but when I put him down he just tried to run back through the line and was going crazy because we couldn't go in.  then when we got in and picked an animal (a giraffe of course!) he went crazy and threw a tantrum while they were reading out the safety rules.  it was the longest 3 minute announcement of my life!  it probably didn't help he was so tired and ready for a nap.

if you look closely, you can see a tear rolling down his cheek

once it started going though he seemed to enjoy it but halfway through he wanted to switch animals!  this kid I tell ya!  he was the only one crying on that carousel!  then when Grandma yelled at him from the sidelines he turned around and flashed her the biggest smile!  hahaha!

on his second animal!

all in all though, it was a pretty great day!  I bought him a stuffed giraffe to remember his first trip to the zoo.  we will probably be back very soon!!