My big brother Ben really gets me.  I stick out my tongue and he does, too.  Neat.

Aunt Liz and Uncle Ryan gave me some ice cream money for my birthday.  Well, it was finally hot enough to go for a treat, so we did!

Of course, I got cookies & cream, my favorite flavor.  Thanks Aunt Liz and Uncle Ryan!

Last week we went to the zoo to see all the animals.   And when I say “all”, I mean we made a list of what we wanted to see and we went to see them.  The zoo had everything but hippos.  Oh well, maybe next time!

First, the giraffes!

Then the gorillas.

and flamingos…

Then we went to see the monkeys.

Can you see the monkeys in this picture?

There was a real steam train that you could ride in the zoo.  And we did!

We saw the bears – and this one was good for taking pictures.  Can you spot the bald eagle?

Next up, sea lions.

We also saw lemurs, penguins (not the ice kind), tigers, a rhino, kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, emus, ostriches, zebras, wart hogs, polar bears, pelicans, and koala bears.  Wow!

I think we’ll have to go back, though, since Andrew slept through most of it.

Check out my upcoming spread.  Sweeeeet!

I’ve been spending more time in the Jumperoo lately. It’s fun to jump and also spin and grab the toys.

Who invented this thing?  Awesome!

Today I went for a bike ride a Spring Lake!  This is my first ride outside the neighborhood.

We went around twice (Ed. Note: about 4.5 miles).  Along the way we stopped to have blackberries,

see the boat launch,

and see the kayak rental place.  We also saw lots of ducks and geese.

Daddy says I did a really good job not running into anyone and also passing slower people.

I’m 6 and Ben’s only 5!  I’m 6 and Ben’s only 5!  I’m 6 and Ben’s only 5!  I’m 6 and Ben’s only 5!   Wooo  hooo!

(Ed. Note: We didn’t have the heart to explain to him about months and years…)

I’m making my own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches now.

I get a knife for each one, add the jelly first, then the peanut butter.  Yum!

Now that I’m grabbing things all the time, one of my favorite things to grab is my bug that M&D call ‘Diaper Bug’.  I think they call it that because I mostly get to grab it when I’m getting a new diaper.

He is very friendly and has lots of legs and things to grab.  He keeps me very busy!

Daddy took me to see the big fireworks show at the fairgrounds.  I got to stay up waaaay past my bedtime but it was OK because I took a good nap at rest time.  I took my ear protectors and raccoon mask in case I needed them.  We waited and waited for it to get dark, and just when it was getting dark and I couldn’t wait any longer, the show started!

Boom! Boom! Boooom!!!

Wow!  And at the end, they do a whole bunch of them at once!  The whole sky lights up!