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oh what a day

my favorite little tiger.
since yesterday was martin luther king jr. day, john's daycare was closed for the day. on most holidays, my husband or i seem to be off on the holidays for the daycare, but last week i saw the posting on the door that they'd be closed and remembered being caught off guard by mlk day last year, too.

so my husband and i compared our schedules and realized it would be easier for me to take a day off, so john and i got a bonus day this weekend!

and what better to do with a bonus day than spend it at the zoo?

so john and i slept in a little, then watched dumbo (twice - hey, it's his favorite movie!) and then loaded up for the zoo. i decided not to bring the stroller, since i usually just wind up pushing the stroller while carrying john, and you know what? he did great. he walked a lot of the way, ran some of the way, and yes, i carried him towards the end, but we had a fine time.

we saw tigers, monkeys, elephants (always a favorite), birds, more monkeys, bison, elk, ostrich, zebra, giraffes, kangaroos, a very sleepy spectacled bear, pelicans, bongos, deer, and i'm sure i'm forgetting something. but on the way in, john had seen the lovely red  choo choo train and he just HAD to have a ride. so we hightailed back to the front of the zoo to board the train.

(an extra little bonus - a coworker of mine's father-in-law drives the train some days, and he was working, so john knew the conductor!)

the train was amazing. it's actually kind of a dumb little ride - it just does a loop around the very outside of the zoo, so you can't even really see any animals. there's a few places where you can just make out an exhibit or two, like the playground and petting zoo, but other than that it's just a trip through the woods.

but. BUT. check out this little face: 


that was the expression on john's face the entire 20 minute ride. he kept saying, "john and mommy on a choo choo train!" or "i'm having so much fun on a choo choo train!" or "we at the zoo on the choo choo train!" or similar. he was just ecstatic. he was SO good. he sat still and looked around. he snuggled against me and held my hand. and he was just so happy. it was amazing.

and after the choo choo train, we played on the playground for a little while until it was time to head out so we could go visit daddy at his office for a few minutes.

it was an amazing day. not a two-year-old fit to be had - just laughter and fun and looking at animals and listening to music in the car. what a perfect day with my favorite little man.

and believe it or not, it got better.

as i was getting john dressed for bed after his bath, he stopped me and grabbed my hand, saying, "mommy!" i looked at him and said, "yes, baby?"

and the rest of his words came very slowly, as he was clearly trying hard to put together the right words. it was obvious he was sharing an independent thought, not just repeating something he heard. "thank you," he said carefully, "you always ... the ... sweet mommy ... ever."

and i held him tight and told him that was the sweetest thing i think anyone's ever said to me.
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