Birthday Trip

We had a fun first birthday for Kyler and everything went very smoothly (which was sort of unexpected). We got up early in the morning and got the car packed. Kyler was still asleep when we were ready to go so we just stuck him in the car in his jammies.

Kyler was in a pretty interesting sleeping position the morning of his 1st birthday.

Kyler didn't enjoy sitting in the car seat for over two hours on the way to Omaha but we made it. We dropped off the dogs at a (very inexpensive) boarding facility and then we were off to enjoy our day. We had lunch at Dinker's - they are famous for their burgers and onion rings. Then it was time to hit the zoo. The first stop was the giraffes. Kyler was a little concerned with the huge think walked right over to him but then thought it was pretty exciting and gave a big smile. We watched for a while before walking around outside to see the other animals.

Kyler's reaction to the huge giraffe walking toward us.

"Hey rhinos, look over here!"

This big guy came and sat right next to Ky.

Kyler and baby gorilla riding on the mama gorilla.

Ky enjoyed watching the koi fish gather under the bridge where we could feed them. He also liked the aquarium where we watched a couple of penguins race through the water and he loved seeing the stingrays swim over top of us in the big shark tank. After that, it was getting close to dinner time so we went to the Old Market to have dinner at Spaghetti Works. Brett and I weren't impressed but Kyler did pretty good on his pasta (one of his favorite foods). We also stopped for ice cream at Ted and Wally's which was amazing. We got cake batter flavor since Kyler didn't get an actual birthday cake on his birthday.

These are what they actually use to make the ice cream.

When we got to the hotel, we went straight to the pool for a swim. Unfortunately the pool water was freezing so that limited our fun some. But Kyler was a trouper and powered through the cold to have a good time. He smiled and splashed a little and liked being pulled around in his tube, knocking the toys and balls off of it.

This was one of Kyler's favorite things at the zoo. He had a blast crawling through the tube and having his dad chase after him.

The next day we headed back to the zoo to finish up with the petting zoo and some of the indoor exhibits. On the way to the petting zoo, we stopped to see what the monkeys were up to. They were very loud and kept Ky's attention for quite a while. Kyler was excited to get up close to the goats at the petting zoo. We also got to ride the carousel and the train. When the train whistle blew very loudly, Kyler jumped about 3 inches but he didn't cry.

This lemur was hanging right above a walkway just inches from us.

The rest of the weekend we were in Seneca for a friend's wedding and cousin's graduation from high school. Kyler enjoyed all of his friends and family, especially Papa Tig. He would cry sometimes when Papa would leave the room or go outside and would get so excited and start laughing when he spotted his papa.

All in all, Ky had a great first birthday (as far as we can tell and besides all the time constricted to the car seat and stroller). The weather surprisingly cooperated at the zoo and we just had some sprinkles on Friday. He even came home with a bit of a tan after hanging outside most of today with his second cousins pulling him around in the wagon. I think he'll sleep well at home tomorrow!