we just never know what we will get to see or do at the okc zoo

Well we woke up early as usual with mild temps...in the low 70's and the weather guy said we would get in the low 90's but after lunch!  This is a break for us in the record heat we have been having with heat indexes in the 100's!  So this smart mommy said we are going to the zoo and will be there when they open at 9am and leave before lunch...well we made it there by 9am however the weather cooperated SO MUCH that we stayed until 1:45pm instead!  And this post has a TON of photos...stuff caught Dalton's eye today that hasn't normally so I tried to get some pics and the animals were all out since it was early and NOT to hot!

and no he was not chasing the peacock...just following at a fast pace

we got there just as the one grizzly jumped in the water...my photo taking skills weren't quick enough to capture it

Dalton says...I LOVE RACOON'S...really not before today...funny kid

the turtle and his shadow...ever since the Aquarium and the turtle feeding he has been pretty interested in these little guys

just some prairie dogs in the Oklahoma exhibit...having an early lunch I guess there were a few squirrels in there too

these alligators rarely move a muscle...and if you look close you can see this one on the bottom has some pointy teeth showing

sleepy cougar...already down for his afternoon nap

the littlest black bear of the three

this one was BIG and he or she just walked on out and put their front legs over this tree trunk and kind of sighed...just another lazy day at the zoo

the American elk...Dalton thought about the book if you give a moose a muffin...of course I tried to tell him it was an elk and he wasn't having any of that it's a moose mommy...okay let's keep moving

we got there just in time for story time...put on by the Junior League of OKC

they read a couple of stories, hand out a snack and a juice box and have a zoo keeper bring an animal out...pretty cool it was some medium sized dragon lizard or something...they even had a cool craft but Dalton was ready to move on

some of Dalton's favorite non-animal sites at the zoo...the large mower

several other club cars and a truck with a trailer bed...cool stuff

poor guy was so excited to ride the tram and then it was too full and he had to watch it drive by...luckily the next one came along within about 5 minutes

Dalton not wanting his picture taken after the nice lady sitting in front of us offered to take it...figures

Dalton had his first icee drink today at the zoo...he thought it was pretty yummo

these two pictures are a perfect example of his personality these days...he's either in a rage or oh so happy...those pics were taken less than a minute apart from each other...love my feisty little guy

the 75 cents carousel is worth every penny...it's located at the front gate...it's a great way to get him to head to the front and leave the zoo without being VERY SAD

Dalton and mommy had a great day at the zoo and have much more to blog about...Toy Story 3 in 3D, Father's Day and a special day when his oldest cousin came over and spent the day! One day I will catch up but the zoo trip was freshest on me so it got priority...stay tunned for the rest!  And of course 4th of July is this weekend...hoping we get to see the parade and some fireworks!

car show auction & anniversary of the day mommy & daddy met 8 years ago

Eight years ago this mommy was working as an event planner for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and daddy was volunteering his auctioneer skills at one of my many events...The Summer Sizzler Car Show & Motorcycle Poker Run!  We had spoke via email and exchanged voice mails but did not meet until that day...one of our mutual friends had been wanting us to meet...wink wink!  And had hoped we would hit it off...well guess what daddy asked mommy for a date that day and we have been together ever since...so I guess we hit it off!  This mommy obviously doesn't work for MDA anymore I work for Dalton Thomas if you haven't noticed and he is a pretty demanding little guy!  But daddy still does the auction for the MDA at this particular event because #1 it's a great cause and #2 it's where he met his lovely wife...aka ME! 

Last year we took Dalton for the first time and just like this year it was blazing hot with a temperature in the high 90's and a heat index even higher.  Last year he wasn't very excited this year but he was a little more into the cars, etc. this year but the DJ was VERY LOUD and he DID NOT LIKE that AT ALL!  But he was able to enjoy some cold icy treats like a HUGE popsicle and an ice cream sandwich as well as a hot dog and of course bottled water!  Even Dalton thought it was hot and was ready to go inside...we even checked out the porta potty...we are officially potty trained now that we have hit the porta potty!  I was able to snap a couple of pictures so take a look...

dalton's choice award goes to....the cool truck with TWO 4-wheelers in the back

there were two coca-cola cars and he kept being drawn to them so we took his picture...BIG CHEESE! 

he was EVEN MORE impressed with the big refrigerated ice truck...mommy would have been impressed if we could have gotten in for a short while...you may notice the porta potties in the background Dalton spotted them and wanted to know what they were...and now he knows

the guy with the microphone is daddy...raising money for MDA...GO daddy!

treating Dalton to some blue bell treats to cool ourselves down...this was the first of two treats and then he wanted a hot dog

the look on his face says it all...could it be any hotter in the shade...I don't think so

we even used our little people fans (green thing on the table) that we got at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 it helped a little

do i dare say officially potty trained...

We have made the mad dashes in public places...we have used our portable potty when we were out with no bathroom in sight...we only wear pull ups at night and most nights he wakes up dry or gets up and needs to go potty and with the help of a potty chart for #2 I think we are officially done...other than one accident with #2 in 2 weeks!  So I think I will do the happy dance or is it the pee pee dance either one...it doesn't matter to me this mommy and daddy are dancing and so is our bank account!  People have told us that you feel like you have gotten a raise when your kid finally gets out of diapers...we shall see!

A couple of weeks ago Dalton saw a commercial for the "pillow pet" he had to have one!  And the funny thing was I had saw them at the mall over Christmas and had almost bought one and then didn't!  So we used this pillow pet as a reward...bribery to get him to do #2 on the big boy potty he just wasn't interested in it and was a little bit scared which is pretty typical!  I knew he could he just needed a little PUSH!  And the potty chart worked...5 poops later we were on the Internet ordering our pillow pet and after showing him ALL of the choices he remained strong that he wanted the lady bug...at least it wasn't the purple unicorn!  He has always been a fan of the lady bug and Big Bird does have a friend named Mike the lady bug...not all lady bugs are ladies you know!  The website said 3-4 weeks for delivery...really?!?!?!?  So Dalton has asked every day since we ordered if the package was on each plane that he saw and then he watched and watched for the package truck to come to our house!  Well much to our surprise less than a week later it was on our door step...sure glad I didn't pay the extra $9.99 for speedy delivery of 5-7 days since it got to our house that quick anyway!  To say he was excited is an understatement...he was jumping up and down and then he kept saying he's smiling at me I think he likes me! 

SEE...

he's a pillow and...

a pet...Dalton slept on him last night and says he is very comfy and I must agree they are VERY COMFY...maybe there is a pillow pet in this mommy's future...stay tuned

We also ventured to the pet store to get Dalton pet #2 aka fish #2!  His cousins were kind enough to get him a fish and all the stuff for his 2nd birthday when he was VERY MUCH into Elmo but that fish just wasn't very excited to be at our house and did not last very long and luckily Dalton doesn't remember too much about it!  He has been wanting a guinea pig and luckily the lady at the pet store said they recommend ages 7 and up for the guinea pigs...the only furry creature we will be having at our home will be a dog some day!  So we decided to get a fish instead...of course he spotted the clown fish...NEMO right away...sorry no saltwater fish we have a small bowl.  So we went with the ever popular beta...Crowntail male that his oldest cousin was kind enough to help him pick out!  He has no name and Dalton has no interest in giving him a name and gets a bit grouchy when you ask...not sure why!  Perhaps one day...I like the name firecracker...the fish is feisty and red...we shall see!  So far so good Dalton is still interested in the fish and he likes to keep him in the living room during the day and in his room at night and has even given him his daily food!  He likes to check on him and says that he's cute!

no name fish swimming in his new home with his friend Elmo to keep him company and of course Dalton's face is usually right up at the glass too

rain rain didn't go away

Today we received a ridiculous amount of rain in an incredibly short amount of time which made flooding inevitable!  Yards, streets, homes, businesses flooded and people being stranded in cars and homes...pretty scary stuff!  Lucky for us it was just our back yard and front yard and they went down when we got a short break...it rained from about 3am-noon with a short break and then some more after that...what a mess!  We have had record breaking weather this year with blizzards this past winter, spring storm with record breaking hail and now this record breaking rainfall there are parts of Edmond reporting 11+ inches of rain.  I hope we are not headed for a record breaking heat wave to top it all off that would not be pleasant!  I tried to get a few pictures without getting drenched and there was much more water than what I took pictures of I just wasn't willing to get that wet:) 

luckily our backyard slopes downhill...these were a couple of the streams of water racing down to the bottom of the yard

the bottom of the yard...it made for some great puddle stomping when the rain let up and the water level went back down

Dalton thought it would be a good idea to bake a cake...he likes the frosting part!  We had been talking about doing it for a couple of days and since today we were stuck inside it worked out just great...daddy worked from home today so he got to enjoy the cake too!  We decided to have a pretend birthday party!...we still had left over plates, hats, etc and a couple of Dollar store finds for presents.  At first it was going to be mommy's birthday if I would share the cake and of course it eventually ended up being Dalton's...surprise surprise!  We...uhm Dalton couldn't decide if he wanted cake or cupcakes so he finally went with cupcakes for him and cake for daddy so that's what we did!  He helped mix the batter and mix the fantastic frosting his picks again...orange, blue and purple!  He really digs mixing two colors like the blue and red to get purple he was so proud he took it in the living room to show daddy...and thank goodness the purple frosting didn't end up on the floor!

the best and worst part about baking cakes

cakes and cupcakes...yummo

dalton sitting after dinner listening to mommy and daddy singing Happy pretend birthday to Dalton...he even got to open 2 presents...a Nemo puzzle and some Toy Story 3 stickers...he kept saying thank you mommy...apparently the birthday party made his day

trying to blow out the candles...not having much luck

daddy to the rescue...he got them blown out this time...notice his overalls...they are part of his Bob the Builder costume...we played Bob the Builder and Wendy earlier today and built skyscraper buildings and pounded away with our hammers to fix them up

what was your favorite thing about today?

That is the question that I ask Dalton every single night as we lay down and talk about our day...usually one never really knows what will come out of a three year old mouth but today...this mommy didn't even need to ask but I did anyway!

Daddy had been in Tulsa since Friday afternoon and had promised to take us out for Chinese food upon his return.  So he did and Dalton loves it there because of the LARGE fish tank, the chicken strips & french fries and of course the ice cream dessert!  Mommy loves it because I don't have to cook it, we don't have to wait on our food...thank you buffet and daddy loves it because he really likes the good customer service and he doesn't have to do dishes!  And none of us could have imagined what we would love about it tonight...

The Village Fire Dept. arrived right behind us at the restaurant...luckily for dinner and not because they were responding to a 911 call!  All four of the guys were SUPER nice and approached Dalton right away...he had that star struck look in his eyes!  We explained what a HUGE fan he is of firefighters...he has all the gear, watches all the shows and loves to play firefighter with the water hose!  Soooo...they told him that if he ate a good dinner that afterwards they would let him check out the firetruck!  YIPPEE!  Needless to say he ate a good dinner!  Mommy wasn't sure if he would actually get in it or not...we had just been to a safety fair at the YMCA by our house earlier today (thanks to Aunt Joanna for calling us and letting us know) and he didn't even want to look in it...too shy or nervous not sure which.  But tonight was different daddy crawled up first and then Dalton decided it was okay...they had all of their gear or apparatus (Dalton actually said that word tonight...funny guy)!  They even let him try on a real helmet, sit in the driver seat and invited him to come to the station...he asked if they had a firefighter pole at their fire station...they don't!  I guess there will be a later post about the visit to the fire station...we pass by their station on Sunday on our way to church...can't wait!  And yes when I asked Dalton tonight what his favorite thing about today was he said the fire fighters! 

i am so glad i had my camera in the car...as much as he loves loves loves fire trucks i am glad to finally have a picture of him in one with a BIG smile on his handsome face

 blurry but too cute not to include it...i think daddy was jealous he didn't get to sit in the drivers seat...they asked Dalton if he wanted to turn on the siren he said...no thanks

A few more of Dalton's favorite things about this past week...

We went to the mall with his Grandma Beverly...she wanted to buy him some summer clothes so we headed to the Disney store for a swim trunks & swim shirt and a couple of pairs of PJ's!  And of course that was his favorite part of the day...The Disney Store...they have SO MUCH Toy Story 3 stuff out that he goes NUTS...we can't wait to take him to see it at the movie theater!  And needless to say his least favorite thing to do on that day was get a hair cut...we took Grandma with us and I told him that he could pick out AnYtHiNg he wanted at the Dollar Store when he got done!  No crying during the hair cut he is just so darn ticklish and those clippers just make him crazy and the lady that cuts it makes me CRAZY but it has to be done!   He picked out a paint roller at the Dollar Store...he said it was a push lawn mower...one of our neighbors has a REAL push mower and it does kind of look like it!  I say it's your pick so that's what we got and this is what we did with it...

more magic paint...thank you Aunt Dawn again and again for that great idea last summer

very serious about his painting...his Grandma Beverly and Pa are having their house painted and he has been very interested in that and the nice guy who has been painting it for them

Another favorite thing was the spray park adventure with our play date pals Maddy and her brother Luke and of course their mommy Katie!  Thanks Katie for the great idea...

these two have come along way since their first summer in our blow up pools in the backyard

Dalton wasn't crazy about the spray park at first...lots of kids with very little supervision makes for a crazy place so we headed over to the regular playground...swinging is always a favorite

after a quick picnic lunch and changing out of our swim trunks...little swimmers diapers are a bunch of junk...Dalton decided he was ready to run around like a maniac and get wet...go figure so off go the clothes...that explains my child running around a public spray park in his pull up

more water running fun...yahoo

top 5 ways to stay cool when the temp is 99 degrees the first week in june

It has already been 99 degrees so we have been trying to stay sunburn free and heat exhaustion free!  And both of those things are hard to do with a VeRy AcTiVe three year old boy!  SO...we load up on sunscreen and make the best of it...so far no sunburns or heat exhaustion!

1.  Play a little frisbee barefoot of course...shoes are no longer a part of his wardrobe

He is getting better and it has only gone over the fence a couple of times...it's funny how many times the Frisbee ends up going behind him instead of in front of him...oops!

just like this time...it ended up back by the tree behind him!

2.  Train conductor hat...is light and airy and keeps the sun off his sweet cheeks!  When he is fighting me on sunscreen for his face!

he would fill it up with water and dump it on his head...now that's one way to keep cool...his cheeks are rosy from being hot not the sun...promise!  must have been time to head in for a popsicle...another great way to keep cool!

now that's the shade I am talking about!  No sun is getting on that face:)

3.  The one and two ring pools...lifesavers...he would play all day if we would let him!

Dalton and mommy with their toes in the kid pool...feels good!

Look at that jump...

we are putting our khaki colored pop up tent to good use this summer...it is one 10x10 square of shade we can count on all day everyday!  And the pool and a lawn chair fits under there in a fantastic way! 

coming in for a landing...and a BIG splash

SPLASH...he loved it and the cold water that landed on my felt good too!

i think he overshot this jump...no three year old were hurt...promise that he jumped right up and ran and jumped again!

4.  Let Dalton play outside early in the morning when he gets up and our backyard is mostly shade...check out the buzz light year pj's!

he was trying so hard not to smile that he ended up smiling and even had a chuckle or two!

5.  And if all else fails just go...

NAKED...

5 minutes earlier he had his pj's on and then I turn around and this is what I find!  ReAlLy yes rEaLlY!?!?!?!   he thought he was pretty funny...he had sand everywhere and when I say everywhere I mean everywhere...

Oh one more...drink LOTS of H20!

taking a break with a nice cold drink of water!