Saturday, December 15, 2007

Grampa's Visit


Bella looking up at Grampa

Grampa came to visit the first weekend in December. Our whole family took him to the aquarium on Saturday.


Outside the new Coca-cola museum
What a beautiful day!


Gabi watching baby zebra sharks


Grampa holding both girls


Grampa and the girls with the jellies


Gabi watching tropical fish eat broccoli


Grampa and the girls at the tropical fish tank


Gabi and Grampa laughing


Gabi kissing her sleepy sister


A diver trying to catch a horn shark


"Here! Eat this!"
I guess he doesn't want the shark to eat the garibaldi (that bright orange fish).


Gabi and Mom petting sea anemones.


This is actually a better view of the nocturnal Giant Octopus than we normally get.


Weedy Seadragons
I don't know where the Leafy Seadragons went...


Gabi and Grampa watching (and listening to) the sea lions


Gabi and Grampa pose as a sawfish swims by


Bella watching the Bonnethead Sharks and Cownose Rays


Mom and Bella at the aquarium


Mom and Bella see the sea turtle

After the aquarium, we went across the street to Centenial Olympic Park to play on the playground and check out the Christmas decorations. The water fountains were turned off because of the drought.


Gabi loved this bumpy slide


Bella tries the slide, too


Sisters sliding together


Gabi and Daddy check out the giant Christmas tree


Grampa and sleepy Bella in front of the tree


Daddy and Gabi looking at the deer lights


Watching the ice skaters at Olympic Park

On Sunday, we slept in. (Why do the girls let me sleep in when a grandparent is here and willing to wake up with them in the morning? Oh, well. I enjoyed my rest, anyway.) Then Gabi opened Christmas presents from Gramma Jane and Grampa.


"They are both the same!"
Gabi likes identifying "same" - especially if one is for her and the other for Bella.


Grampa fixed Gabi's closet door for her.
It works!


Grampa with the girls before we take him to the MARTA station.

When we say bedtime prayers, we usually start with thanking God for our family members. Last night, Gabi said, "Thank you for Grampa. He came here yesterday, but he is at the station now." (Well, that's certainly the last place that we saw him. Something tells me he isn't just hanging out at the train station until we see him next, though. Also, Grampa's visit was two weeks ago... Gabi's got the distinction between past, present, and future, but measuring time intervals is more difficult.)

Monday, December 10, 2007

Zoo Atlanta

We took Daddy to the zoo over Thanksgiving weekend.

Gabi and Bella with Daddy by the flamingos


Bella smiles at Mommy, who watches Gabi running by the lions


Would this be a lion hug?


The girls


Gabi sees the new meerkats


Bella and Mom by the giraffes


Gabi and Daddy watching the crazy ostrich run


Ostriches running back and forth around the giraffes


Daddy and Gabi check out the gorilla statues


A new joey is hanging out inside his mom's pouch


"Why should I look at the camera when there are cool animals here?"


Gabi grooming a sheep


Grooming a goat

At home, Gabi found her old Halloween costume and wanted to play dress-up.


Gabi wearing butterfly wings


Gabi wearing a purse as a hat


Daddy and Bella


Gabi rocking on Tigger

Just before Thanksgiving, we went to the zoo with Gabi's friends. With a two-year-old, sometimes the purpose of a zoo trip isn't to see animals. This particular day, Gabi wasn't interested in watching the animals. She just wanted to climb and sit on rocks and statues, so we ended up hanging out by ourselves. I've included a few animal pictures, lest you think we sat on rocks because there weren't any interesting critters around.


Kangaroo with a joey


Kookaburra


Gabi swinging on a bar by the pandas


Gabi hugging Mom in front of the orangutan


Gabi standing on the fake termite hill


Mom and Bella with a zebra


Gabi still hanging out on the termite hill...
She said she was driving a tractor.


Gabi sitting on a giant rock


Elephant


Gabi climbing around the lion statues