Fun with Drew

We've always heard the phrase 'you always want your children to have more than you did' by many parents. There is an innate sense of responsibility that us parents have towards our children and the yearning to provide the absolute most that we can is deep within our hearts.

Part of my desire as a mother is to take him out and experience as much as possible. I feel that he soaks up everything around him and therefore it can only do him good to expose him to as much as I can. Growing up, my parents were big on cultural activities around town and around the country and I feel blessed to have been surrounded by that. We saw and learned so much. Each week, I look forward to planning out little excursions on the weekends. It might not be huge events, but even a picnic at a new park, or a small exhibit can be an adventure for someone Drew's age and seeing him taking in something new makes me happy.

As zoo members, we will undoubtedly visit the zoo numerous times this year. I can assure you that each and every time will be a different experience, though, as we have already learned. On this past Saturday morning, we saw some kangaroo activity that a zookeeper mentioned she hasn't seen but only a few times in her tenure there. They were running all around their area racing back and forth and play-fighting with each other like little creatures who took one too many 'uppers'! It was a show that Drew couldn't take his eyes off of and we stood for a long time marveling at their speed, balance and funny ways.

Our friends showed us a little secret that we had not even known existed at the zoo. Tucked away in the Australian area was an area called the Lorakeet Landing. The enclosed room was filled with about 10-15 beautiful, singing, active lorakeets and I feel in love. These tame little creatures would fly right up, hoping you would have food and perch on a  post only a foot away. Their colors were beyond vivid and their songs were sweet. But not having a cage in between you and the bird was the best part.

After imitating the bears 'roar' and seeing numerous other animals, we were on our way out when I spotted a Ben and Jerry's. Mama can't resist ice cream when she's not calorie counting so we ordered the smallest size they had. Drew loves ice cream and got so excited with each and every bite. I wish it was part of every meal as I could never get enough of his adorable smiles. 

Later that evening we headed out to see what I had been SUPER excited for all week; a hot hair balloon launch of about 15 balloons! It's an annual event, part of a 4-day festival at a town about a half hours drive away. Unfortunately, after waiting about an hour, it sounded as though it was going to be too windy for the balloons to fly. We packed our blanket and snacks and headed toward the car knowing we could at least spend a bit of time walking around the festival.

In the back of my mind, I knew the minute we stepped away, they would launch those darn balloons. And guess what we saw 10 minutes after walking away?

They seemed to descend fast only confirming that it was, in fact, too windy for them all to launch. Drew still watched them soar, if only for a few minutes, before getting lost in the trees. As we sat and people watched after walking among the crowds for a bit, I smiled knowing that I found something fun that we could do each year here over the Holiday weekend. We will surely miss family, but starting our own family traditions is part of the responsibility parents take on. There were rides galore that Drew will enjoy next year, but for this year, the kettle corn made it all worth it. It was love at first bite.

As we headed toward the car after an eventful day with one sleepy monkey, we spotted the Chagrin Falls. They were beautiful, and a wonderful way to top of such a fun day. 

"You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back."              ~William D. Tammeus