Sunday, June 19, 2011

VIDEO: Holden and the Hippos

The hippo exhibit has always been one of my favorite places to visit at the Saint Louis Zoo -- it's simply awesome, and you always get to see happy and active hippos. Over the winter, it has been closed, so Holden hasn't had a chance to see the Hippos in a long time. But we went to the zoo last Sunday morning, and we got to see the hippos back -- and up close and personal.

Hidden was SO excited to see the hippos (so was daddy), so we hung there for a while. This great video shows Holden almost beside himself with excitement, saying his version of "hippo" over and over. He even made a friend while viewing the hippos (you'll see the kid in the blue hat).

Oh, and by the way, the best time to visit the Saint Louis Zoo is Sunday morning around 8:30 or 9:00am. You totally beat the crowds, it's not so hot, parking is tolerable, and you can visit the Children's Zoo for free until 9am.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Abstract Concepts

Holden has recently been picking up on some pretty cool abstract concepts, thanks in part to some of the lessons he's been learning at school. And one of these, appropriately enough to our heat wave, is "hot." This is one of his favorite words as of late, probably because he keeps hearing his parents complaining about how hot it is outside. A few weeks ago, his class had a lesson on opposites, and that's where he picked up on the concept.

He seems to understand it in a variety of ways. For example--we were at the Missouri Botanical Gardens over the weekend, and he reached down, touched the ground, and said "hot." When we returned to get in the car and told him it was time to get into his carseat, he said, "no, hot." And now, whenever go outside, he tells us its hot. Quite the meteorologist.

"Happy" is the other new favorite word in his lexicon. I'm not sure if he fully understands it, but he does get the concept that we smile and laugh when we're "happy." And, incidentally, hearing him say "happy" is just adorable. Now we just have to teach him that we would all be "happier" if it wasn't so darn "hot" out.