Family Alive

More photos for you! We’ve had a teriffic time with Aunk Kat visiting this week. Sadly, she had to go home and back to school today. This marks the end of our busy summer of hosting guests – first, my mom and dad in June, then the Hafflys earlier this month, and finally, Kat. Who’ll come visit us next? It could be you! I’ll have the sheets changed and the bedroom clean in a day or so!

Anyway, we had a most fun trip to the zoo yesterday. Although it was hot, the Birmingham Zoo is full of fun things to do. First, we headed over to the giraffes. Last time we were there with the Hafflys, Analise fed them, so of course, we wanted to do that again. I didn’t get the great picture that Corrie got, but she still enjoyed it just the same. I did get some cute pictures of the new baby giraffe, though! Mama giraffe and I have a lot in common, nursing and snuggling our little ones!

The baby giraffe would occassionally take off running, first towards the ostriches, sending them scattering with their feathers flapping. Then he would quiet down, but take off in little circles around the feeding station. His long legs were flailed when he ran, but he was quick! It was so cute!

Then we headed over toward the birds, walking by the alligators on the way. It was feeding time! There were 3 baby alligators, who splashed around snatching chunks of meat. I’m amazed they didn’t grab each other in the process. The big guy in this picture didn’t seem to be hungry, but 3 others big ones in the water right below our feet grabbed all the meat chunks and dead rats that got tossed their way. And then they made these huge gulping alligator burps. It was GREAT!

Our next stop was the lorikeet aviary, our second favorite experience behind the giraffes. You can buy a cup of nectar and feed the birds in their enclosure. Other times, it has been overwhelming as 5-10 or more birds land on you, all vying for a spot around the cup of nectar. This time, though, they were not as frantic and settled on Kat’s arm one at a time. Analise enjoyed seeing them up close. Kat loves birds and has a little parrotlet at home. When all the nectar was gone, the birds found her ankle tasty, licking her until we left!

We finally caught a picture of Analise and Kat, with both of them smiling when we rode the train. Here are a couple cute pictures of Kat and Josiah from last night, too. It’s hard to catch his smiles on camera, though, because he prefers when people get up close to him. His smile just melts you, but he saves them until you really focus on him close up. He loves to gurgle and coo at you, like he’s trying to tell you how much he loves you. It was so cute!