A goat says meh

It's been an action-packed weekend and Monday for the little man. Yesterday we went to a belated birthday party for Zachary's good friend T. Grandma and I met many of his old friends (not just figuratively; he's definitely the youngest [the baby?] of the bunch, though it's generally by a matter of weeks or a few months), and he carted himself around, only occasionally getting into baby toy traffic jams. The boys were all active and running/toddling around (Zachary's the only non-walker of the group), while the girls seemed to be shy and chose quieter and more introspective activities. Meanwhile, it was nice to see some familiar faces that I hadn't seen since that parent-baby class. And the kids are all so unique and different, it's so neat to see their different dispositions already showing themselves even without yet talking.

This afternoon, grandma, Zachary, and I were off to the zoo for the first time in a few months. Zachary spent most of the time in the stroller sitting straight up and actively trying to scooch us forward to see the next critter. Occasionally he was even paying attention to the featured animal when we approached, though he was just as happy to play with his water bottle, the stroller, or most especially the zoo map:


He particularly liked the sea otters (which garnered this smile) and the farm animals. He was 'dah'-ing happily at a pair of goats, who then let out a loud bleat, which he attempted to imitate back at them. It was hilarious and super cute. We also got to finally check out the zoo's excellent Zoomazium, an indoor playground facility geared towards young kids. There were snakes to pet, a stage for some more organized activities, and some impressive climbing areas for the slightly older kids. But Zachary was perfectly happy exploring the play area for younger kids, with faux tree trunks for toddlers to cruise around.

After the zoo, we had a few minutes before mommy wrapped up work, so I took Zachary and grandma up to the top of a tall building in which my company has offices in downtown Bellevue, where you can go out onto a patio and see spectacular views of the city. Zachary started whining, and grandma suggested it was that he was annoyed that he couldn't see said spectacular views from the stroller. Sure enough, I pulled him out and he was all smiles as he looked down at the city, lake, and Seattle across the water. From there, we all met mommy for Rosh Hashanah dinner at a restaurant that has at least a tentative apples-and-honey connection (in that they sell cheesecake that contains apples, and probably another that has honey). We all had a nice meal together, though Zachary got bored and full by the time they delivered his "kids meal" of a very grown-up Cheesecake Factory-sized grilled cheese sandwich. Ah well, tomorrow's lunch!