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Katie has been begging for us to take her to the Zoo after we pick her up from school one day, so this past Friday I told her that I would take her if it was not raining. Luckily Ike was not making his appearance up our way yet (and we still have not seen much from him, thank goodness) so I packed up the car and picked Katie up from school. She had originally asked to bring Mia, but Mia has cheerleading on Friday so I knew she would not be able to go. So, Katie decided it would be Mommy-Daughter Date day, and Connor too of course. But her little boyfriend Jacob heard me say ZOO and he wanted to go, and I am always up for another adult on these trips ... but Katie said she did not want him to come. Poor little guy, broke his heart. He was crying!! He was so manly about it though, when Katie tried to talk to him he turned his back on her so she could not see his tears. I am not sure whether I can call him her boyfriend anymore. He would probably prefer a girlfriend that wants to spend time with him. Don't feel too bad, his Mom cheered him up by taking him bowling (and from what I heard he trounced his Mom and his Dad). Katie did not feel bad about it at the time, she had her heart set on it being us and she did not want that to change, but that night when I was tucking her in she asked if Jacob was still upset. She was worried that he was still crying. She did feel bad about it then ... after she had her fun. We had a long talk about hurting people's feelings, you know, the one we have to have about once a week. I should be happy that she is still young enough to WANT to spend time with me, instead of a cute boy, but I just wish she could do it without breaking that little guy's heart!
The Zoo turned out to be pretty boring. They were setting up for the Zoo Rendezvous, so there were tables everywhere and some of the exhibits were closed for cleaning. It was also pretty deserted. And, one of Katie's main reasons to go to the zoo is for an icee/flavored shaved ice thing. And they were not open!! She had even brought her own 3 dollars to buy it. You know she loves it if she is willing to spend her own money on it. Other than that it was a pretty good zoo trip.

Katie wanted to see the Penguins first, so we went to Penguin Rock, or whatever they want to call it. At first we thought there were no penguins, but we peeked around the back and they were all hiding. Then we headed to Once Upon a Farm, but she did not even want to walk through the whole area because she wanted to get her icee. It was horribly hot, so I was looking forward to having an icee myself! So, we took the quickest route to the other side of the park. Well, if you don't count the detour into the gift shop at the China exhibit - she picked out two pencils here, one for her and one for Mia. And then the icee cart was closed ... so we trudged over to the Northwest Passage to see the Polar Bears and the Sealions. Katie always loves to get in the "bubble" and this time there was no one else around so I put Connor in with her. Then it was back out through the African Animals. There was a new BABY GIRAFFE born on August 29th. He was so sweet! Then through the monkeys where we got to see our new Gorillas up close for the first time. And on to Katie's other favorite zoo time activity, the gift shop. It amazes me how hard it is for her to pick out the little trinket she wants. She has to look through the whole store and weigh her options. Connor was A LOT EASIER! Well, I guess he would be since he can't talk, but he loved what I picked out for him. A new ball and a straw-cup.
Katie picked out a bubble necklace shaped like a butterfly ... and LIPGLOSS shaped like a monkey head. The zoo was still open for 30 more minutes so we swung through Cat Country and she got to play on the playground for a few minutes. (her arm and hand are not perfect, but the last time we came to the zoo she could not climb this! She got to the top but did not have the strength in her right hand to climb onto the platform, but no problem this time!!)
And of course, both kids fell asleep on the way home. I on the other hand was kept awake by the lovely Memphis traffic, and trying to keep up with gas prices. I saw everything from 3.99 to 3.42. Some places were changing their prices as we drove by. The places with a decent price were PACKED!! Cars were in the street trying to get in. I was lucky with my car over half a tank, so I did not have to fight the lines. My neighbors did try to get gas. One of them got to the pump and all that was left was premium. The other got to the pump and nothing was left. I will just stay close to home so I don't have to worry too much about it.
Other than that we have just spent a lot of time splashing around in the pool. I have some great pics of Chip throwing Katie in the air, but he would hate me if I posted them. Connor went underwater for the first time!! And second and third. He did okay, but he did manage to drink some pool water. I think it was mainly because that is what he really wanted to do. Before Chip even tried to put him under, Connor was dipping his face into the water trying to drink.
Still hard to believe that Connor is 11 months old!! I have to start figuring out what to do for his FIRST BIRTHDAY! How can it have already been a year! I was looking through pictures from when he was born, and it is impossible to remember him being that small. I can't even think how he could have been that TINY! I hold my big chunk all the time and I can't imagine him weighing less. He still has no teeth. He is trying to walk. He will let go of the couch and take a step, but he never gets much past the one step. He babbles all the time, and he loves to pull Katie's hair (and annoy her in every way possible). He is still loving cars and anything with wheels. He is learning how to throw a ball. And, his eyes are turning brown, but his hair is still red! He tries to climb on everything he can climb on, and if he can't climb on it he will try to crawl in it. He is a perfect little tank!
And I totally missed another very important date in our family history. August 27th was the one year anniversary of Katie being SHOT FREE!! As hard as it is to remember Connor being tiny, it is not hard to remember giving Katie shots. It is fresh in my mind the dread we felt everyday as we prepared her insulin shots. I can remember exactly how it felt to sit there with the needle poised, praying not to hit a capillary and make her bleed. She was so brave, and rarely did she complain of it hurting, but that did not make it any easier for us. We felt the pain everytime we gave her that shot. Her re-diagnosis as being monogenic instead of regular Type 1 has completely changed our lives. And all for the better. She has so much more freedom now than she would have been allowed if she was still on insulin. I can't imagine letting her spend the night at someone elses house the way her sugar used to plummet. I can't imagine how many calls we would have received from the school about her sugar fluctuations. This was truly a miracle in her little life, and in ours. Now, if they could just find the outright cure ...