The Zoo

The weekend I was in Dallas, Jess and Tina grabbed the boys for a trip to the zoo. It was entirely kind of them to give John a break from his solo tour of duty and Joshy and Ben can never get enough of their time with their aunts. Of course, you couldn't tell from Joshy's facial expression. Let us just point back to the "I am too ornery to smile on command" phase referenced earlier.

The differences in temperament between Ben and Joshy still surprise me. Ben is far more mellow and relaxed than Joshy has ever had the slightest inclination to be. The shot of Tina working the stroller up the hill with Ben quite at his leisure inside, is the perfect depiction of his calm state of mind. Jess mentioned Joshy being nervous around the monkeys. Chimps? Either way, she kept attempting to get him to turn around for a picture, but he wouldn't turn his back to those guys. Not that I entirely blame him. That dude is as big as he is and sometimes when they look at you, it is like they know more than they are letting on. If ever there was an animal I could successfully mind meld with, my suspect is that it would be them. I adore cows. I always have. But in my time spent with them...well...there's just not much going on upstairs.

It is funny for me to see how much difference a year or two can make. Historically, we avoid the statues when we go to the zoo because the last time we attempted to photograph Joshy on one, it devolved into tears, screaming and terrified looks that made people wonder what we were doing to our child. Clearly we have made some headway.

Thanks again, Jess and Tina. I so appreciate you loving my boys.