The Last Hurrah

I am the oldest in my family and I have a brother who is 2 1/2 years younger than me. For over four years, it was just the two of us and my parents before my next brother came along. My brother Ben and I like to joke that our lives went downhill once Danny was born. Don't get me wrong, we love Danny, and our family would not be complete without him, its just something we like to laugh about. Two of my favorite memories from before Danny was born were going swimming every Saturday as a family and having grocery shopping races. We would all go to the store together and then we would split the list. I would go with my mom and Ben would go with my dad. I honestly have no idea how many times we did these races, and maybe we really just did it once, but it sure stuck with me! But, we really did go swimming almost every Saturday, and it was a highlight of my week.

Anyway, a few days ago I was talking to my mom and she brought up this running joke about my life falling apart once Danny was born and we had a good laugh about it. But, it also got me thinking about how Marshall's life will change once this little one arrives. Marshall will just barely be 2 1/2 when she is born, so I'm not sure how much of his only-child life he will actually remember, but this morning I wanted to give him one last hurrah (and I also wanted to wear him out so he would take a nap)!

So, we bundled up and went to the zoo. We had a grand morning and he basically just ran around for two hours straight while I waddled around and tried to keep up with him. It was fun to see the animals, many of them were much more active with the cold weather, and we had a fun time.

The animal highlights for Marshall were the penguins, tiger, lions, gorillas, fish, and all the birds that were roaming free. He also enjoyed running around shooting pretend basketballs into the air and pushing his stroller. I definitely didn't mind him pushing the stroller and his slower pace, because by that time, I was completely exhausted.

So, that was our fun morning, I hope to always remember it, even if he doesn't. I know that I will still have more one-on-one time with him as the years go on, but it will just be different. But, here's to our wonderful morning at the zoo and Marshall who is sleeping soundly. :)

There were peacocks all over the zoo today. We really probably saw ten of them and many of them let us get very close. Marshall loved it.

Marshall chased these geese until they were smart enough to head for the snow.

My little helper. :)

Adorable little Marshall, who today, is only smiling with his eyes closed. :)