dear pratt.

dear pratt,

we have had a wonderful few days. today, probably being one of the best.

we went to the zoo...and you LOVED it!

your daddy was so excited about seeing the zebras, giraffes and the lions with you. why? well, because you have three little canvases in your bathroom that the two of you discuss after your bath every night. dad tells you what they are, and then you mock the sounds back to him.

and then you turn off your bathroom light. clap for yourself and then walk into the hallway to point to the picture of our little family taken at chuck-e-cheese's. at madeline's birthday party. you love the picture. you point to each of us...and make a "d" sound. so funny.

anyway, back to the zoo. we went to church this morning and then immediately afterwards, drove into town to the zoo. we ate lunch on dad's tailgate. you had a hot dog and fries. and then we went on in. i apologize now for the two pictures i have. because it was a spur of the moment trip, i didn't have my camera. so daddy's phone worked as our camera for the day.



this was your first time there. you'd been to the zoo in chicago, but you were so much younger then.

your daddy carried you everywhere. we had a stroller, but it was useless. you couldn't see anything from the stroller. let's see. what all did you get to see.

the python. the bald eagles. totally depressed me for the entire day. their wings had been injured in the wild so they couldn't fly. so, so sad. zebras. giraffes...you LOVED them. i think it's because of their long necks. and they seem so sweet. the lions and tigers. no bears. the rhinos. the wart hogs. the anteater. which might be the worst looking animal ever. the dik dik. which looks like a miniature deer. it was tiny. and seemed quite nervous. you saw otter. one was trying to escape his den. (i hardly blame him). bush dogs. which were not impressive at all. i might as well look at stroker ace fulks all day. and porcupine. and they were hilarious. there were two of them. and they started fighting. those bristles look sharp too. woo wee. we saw elephants from a distance.

and of course...my all time favorite....THE MONKEYS!

i love monkeys. we saw spider monkeys. and something called a siamang. which loved us. i think. i mean, he kept showing out. swinging from branch to branch. we saw a few gorillas. or maybe just one, i think. we were in a hurry to leave because i had to be back home by 2.

but before we left...we made sure you got to ride on the zoo train! i can remember riding on that thing when i was little. or maybe i can just remember the pictures. either way, it was definately the highlight of your day. you kept switching from sitting with me, to sitting with your daddy.



the train and the giraffes. two of your favorites.

we love you so much. and we never knew the joy that could come from raising a child. had we known, we would have married long ago...and started this way back when.

when you grow up, and have a family of your own, you'll understand what it means to have a day at the zoo. it honestly could not have been better. it was a perfect, perfect day. in every sense of the word.

we love you pumpkin.