Frankenmuth

Now onto Frankenmuth. We stayed at the coolest hotel. The entire décor was German inspired as was the food. There were five pools including one with a waterfall and a lazy river, mini golf, an arcade, a huge playhouse with a slide, and a couple bars. Seriously we could have stayed at the hotel the entire time and had a blast.

Our first outing was to Frankenmuth’s zoo and it was hands down the craziest zoo we’ve ever been too. The animals were in cages that were literally only a couple of feet away from us. We were thisclose to two lions. All that separated us from the lions was a chain link fence. Uhhhh, I think they could knock that thing down with their pinky finger. Never have I heard lions roar but they were going nuts trying to "talk" to the animals in the next cage over. It scared poor Parker and she cuddled up as close as she could to Kris. Parker loved the goats and loved feeding them even more. Perhaps the most exciting thing was that we saw a Bobcat! We’re almost positive that he came up from Athens.

Parker’s favorite thing by far was our dinner at a family style German restaurant. She was going absolutely nuts. I don’t think she stopped moving for a second. She was playing with spoons, the napkins, and crayons; she had a bowl of food that she was busy eating, putting in her lap, and putting back in the bowl; she was talking to people at other tables; she was smiling and laughing and making a huge mess. The entire meal was awesome.

We got home Monday afternoon and spent the rest of the day playing around the house and opening birthday gifts. We got Parker this ball pit and she is obsessed with climbing in and out of it. Syndey waits (not so) patiently outside of the tent while Parker lifts the tent flaps up and cracks up. Peek-a-boo with the dog is the best.

Parker’s most favorite gift was Baby Stella. This baby doll gets incredible reviews. It’s like the Sophie the Giraffe and American Doll of the toddler generation. I bought it so that Parker would have a baby doll but I didn’t expect her to be the least bit interested in it quite yet. I was so wrong though because Parker will not let her baby go. Stella goes everywhere with her; in the ball pit, around the house, and even in the rocking chair. Parker sits her in it and rocks her back and forth. Stella has a magnetic paci that Parker liked to give her. And our silly baby who never ever sits still for a moment actually sits in Kris’ lap for the longest time just playing with Baby Stella. My heart melts on a daily basis but it really melted when I saw Parker hug and kiss her new doll while in Kris’ lap. Yay for girly girls!

When I dropped Parker of at daycare on Tuesday we were greeted with birthday signs in her honor, cards, and gifts. One of the teachers in the Toddler II classroom got Parker an adorable outfit. We've gotten along really well with her, in fact she was the first person we met at the daycare, and she visits Parker all day long to hug and hold her. She calls Parker her third daughter. I think it's a truly amazing thing to have built such a great relationship with our daycare providers. To have people who are not family absolutely love and care for your child is very special. It takes a village to raise a child and I'm very happy with our village!

And I forgot to mention Parker's language developments in the previous post. She now says uh-oh, thank you, and duck :) Also, when we say bye-bye she waves to us and she's now giving us kisses. Love her to pieces!

I'm very much looking forward to this weekend. Tomorrow Parker has her 12 month well visit, Saturday we have a birthday party to go to, and Sunday we're off to the pumpkin patch! Happy (almost) weekend all!