Daddy-Daughter Date #4: Trip to the Zoo

Today we went to the Zoo of Acadiana.  Bethel has been there three times, thanks to Granddaddy Dill, who gave us a year's membership.  Sarah had to work today, so the girls and I loaded up and went in the red van.  I worked hard to find clothes for them that matched, and eventually I had them in outfits that matched each other, thought not necessarily themselves.

Bethel talked the whole way.  "Daddy, we are going on lots of dates!  Me, you, and one baby.  Auntie Anne has two babies.  She calls them Caleb!  Keep driving, we are late for work.  Daddy, I will work at the zoo! That is a big truck.  This bridge is fun.  We are going down!" etc.  Eden fell asleep.

As we drove up, Bethel saw the sign and said, "Z-O-O, that spells zoo.  Daddy, we are here!"

The zoo here is pretty good for a town of its size.  In the petting section we saw "Llama, Llama, Red Pajama", a donkey, a very pot-bellied pig, some goats, and three large tortoises.  Next we saw the giraffes, which are Bethel's current favorite animal, and one of them walked over to the fence and leaned over.  He was very friendly.

Around the corner we saw a "turtle school", and, as luck would have it, one of the pupils was just leaving.  A peacock was following us down the trail at a safe distance, and as we rounded the next corner he saw a lady he wanted to impress and opened his feathers.  It was pretty spectacular.

At the next exhibit, Bethel said, "Daddy, those are real alligators."  Sarah told me later that last time they were there the alligators were not moving, and Bethel did not believe they were real.  Finally, just before they left, one moved and she was convinced.

As we were leaving the alligators, Eden woke up, smiled, and went back to sleep.

Bethel's favorite place in the zoo is the playground.  When we arrived, I discovered that Bethel's shoes, which she had put on herself, had been on backwards since we left home.  She was not immediately convinced when I told her this.

The playground lived up to our expectations, and the slide was particularly thrilling.  Bethel quickly determined that the path to optimal playground enjoyment was up only one certain steep ladder, through the green tube, around a corner, up an extra step, to the "really tall twin" slides, and down the far "twin" slide (not the identical near one, which was regarded with a distaste that implied its total inferiority).  She followed this same route exactly umpteen times, often pausing to wait for the way to clear before continuing.

 

Eventually we had to continue our expedition.  We were very interested to see some uninterested zebras, and we were uninterested in an interested white tiger.

Then we saw an ostrich with an anger problem.  He was poking his head out whenever someone was within biting range.  I tried to get a picture of one of these dives, but he was too fast.


We saw some porcupines and decided that their Daddy must have done their hair as well.



We were about to leave when Bethel said "Daddy, we have-ta gotta see the sleepy bear."  I did not remember a bear, but sure enough the map showed that somehow we had missed a bear and he was sleepy.

Once again, I pointed us to the exit when Bethel said, "We didn't see the snakes!"   This I had not forgotten, but I did not want to look scared in front of my two year old daughter, so off we went.  It turns out she shares none of my phobia, and she had to examine each one of them as closely as possible.  I stood back and took pictures.  I am glad she is not scared of them, but by the time we left I was completely unnerved.

On the way home, Bethel fell into a contented sleep (Eden just stayed sleeping), and an hour and a half later we were home, full of mom's tasty leftover enchiladas, and taking our naps.

Daddy-Daughter Date #3: Shadow Theater & Tea Party

For Daddy-Daughter Date #3 we had thought about going several places, but from past experience we've learned that Saturday is a bad day to go to any kid’s places.  Bethel is not in preschool, so we have the freedom to go to parks, libraries, and the zoo while the other kids are in school.  Today we decided to stay home and create something.

I let Bethel pick the cds to listen to, and throughout the morning we listened to "The Legends of Bluegrass", "The Statler Brothers Farewell Album", and "George Gershwin Favorites".

The project we chose was a shadow theater.  While Eden was down for her morning nap, we took a big cereal box (Raisin Bran Crunch is Bethel and my favorite) and we cut a hole on both sides.

We did not get very far before we heard a squawk in the girls’ room.  Eden gotten her foot caught and was sleepily trying to free herself.  She did not go back to sleep, but was her usual cheery self anyway.

Bethel thought we should paint the box before we went any further, so we set up a paint station and went to work.  We used everyone's favorite colors; green for mommy, blue for daddy, and "light red" for Bethel.  We decided that Eden's favorite color is probably yellow, mostly because yellow was all that was left.

Bethel quickly determined that it was most important to paint the inside of the box, though when the project was done you would not be able to see that part.   Electricians and plumbers like to keep their work neat even though it will be covered up, and at least Bethel and I will know it is beautiful inside the shadow theater.

Next we had to wait for the paint to dry, and we decided that this would be an ideal time to play dress up.  Very soon the living room was filled with hipsters and other fashion elite.  You may also notice that we changed Bethel's shirt due to some wayward paint.

 Then we put Eden in the Bumbo and got the "giant purple ball".  We discovered that if you give Eden the "giant purple ball", she will try to eat it, but knock it away.  Bethel was sure that this meant she wanted to play catch, and for quite a while they rolled the ball back in forth with more excitement than the original inventors of "catch" must have had.

Due to our thorough work in certain spots, the paint was not yet dry, but it was time for a light luncheon and tea.  The tea set is from great-aunt Barbara and is one of Bethel's most prized possessions.  The gourmet cooking was courtesy of mom via leftovers.  Pink Bear and Giant Bear were invited and a good time was had by all.

 After lunch things flew by, the girls had naps and mommy came home.  However, later that day the paint had dried and, with the addition of a paper front and light from the window, our theater was up and running.

Daddy-Daughter Date #2: The Library

Today we went to the library.  The library is one of Bethel's favorite places, and she lights up whenever you tell her where we are going.



First, we got dressed to go, and she picked out her own shoes.



Next, since Sarah was gone, I fixed her hair.  She was not impressed, and she decided that she needed a third "clippy" with a flower on it.  Evidently, flower "clippies" are in.

There are a couple of libraries that we like, but our favorite one is in Lafayette.  It has a lot of books and a big children's section.  On the way there, I got a little lost, but don't tell Sarah.

Today we put together puzzles and colored.  We have been there enough times that we have a favorite puzzle.  Unfortunately, it had a piece missing which bothered my detail-oriented daughter a little.

The children's section is a great space for kids and has a lot of neat features.  There is a small round kid-sized door into the story area, and the doors to the restrooms are designed to look like outhouses.  My favorite idea is a wall covered in carpet to Velcro things to.  Today they had a large fire engine puzzle on the wall.  Bethel and I are pros at fire engine puzzles.

However, Bethel's favorite spot is not in the children's section.  Hers is in the teen section, where they have "the person chairs" and "the blue silly chairs".  She absolutely loves these.









Today, on the floor of the teen section, she noticed this letter "I".  (The cover for an outlet box.)  It was very exciting.  "I is for igloo, Daddy!"  Smart girl.

This particular library limits you to borrowing just fifty books, and several times we have come close to that.  Today, however, we left with a smaller stack, along with three movies, two read-along books, and one audio book for me.  On the way back, we chatted about how God created beautiful green trees. (Although, Bethel pointed out that some trees turn beige.)  We also discussed what we might do on our next date.

Daddy-Daughter Date #1: Pizza & Building Cards

On Saturday, we had our first date!  Sarah had been planning on going to a coffee shop to do some work while we had some Daddy time, but the roads ended up being so icy that she turned around and came back.  However, we were not to be deterred, and Mommy went to work on her computer while I put Eden down to sleep.   Eden is three months old and Bethel is two and a half years old.   As soon as Eden was asleep, Bethel and I put our aprons on and went to work.

Our first project was pizza, and comes from “88 Great Daddy-Daughter Dates” by Rob & Joanna Teigen on page 28.  For this we used the generic pizza crust mix.  All we really had to do was add water, and the instructions were all written out for us on the back.  This is perfect because Bethel and I are just learning how to cook things and easy is best for us.  Bethel got to pour the mix and water into the bowl, I stirred it, and then we let it rise for a while.

Our second project was cardboard building cards.  This idea comes from the “Childcraft” series.  I highly recommend that everyone get a set of “Childcraft” books.  Link to it on amazon here.  They are quite expensive to buy new (it is fifteen volumes), but thrift stores often have them used for very cheap.  This craft is from volume 11 entitled “Make and Do” and is on page 84.

I cut cereal boxes into squares while Bethel painted them.  Then I cut slits in the corners so that they could be stuck together.  Ours did not turn out quite as pretty as the picture in the book, but we had fun making them.  Here is a picture of the Peggottys enjoying the finished product after the paint had dried.

While Bethel was painting the building cards, I put the pizza crust in the oven for a few minutes.  Once it was back out and had cooled down, we put on the toppings.  I put on the sauce, and Bethel covered it with diced ham, pineapple, and cheese.  I put it back in the oven and a few minutes later we had pizza!

  

It tasted great!  Bethel was happy to have helped cook and Mommy was delighted to have lunch made.  Overall, our first “date” was a success.

Daddy-Daughter Dates

It happened one day when I was leaving for work.  I kissed my two year old daughter goodbye and she asked, “Where are you going?”  So I told her that I was leaving to go to the church.  “To play with Piper?” she asked.  Piper is another little girl at our church, and I realized that she thought that all my time away from her was spent playing with other kids.  Every time she went to the church building it was full of other kids learning and having fun with me.  She naturally assumed that that is how it is at the church building all the time.  This really got me.  In my mind I was being a great Dad, but in her mind I was daily committing the parental equivalent of adultery.

Since that time she has been to the church on other days and seen me at my desk, and I try to remember to tell her that I am going to work in my office.  She seems to understand it a little better.  But I also decided that I need to make sure that as she grows she gets a lot of play and learning time with just me.  My life is busy and now she has a sister (i.e. competition) so I need to have a plan for taking advantage of the time I have with her.

In my search for ideas I recently found a neat book entitled, “88 Great Daddy-Daughter Dates: Fun, Easy & Creative Ways to Build Memories Together” by Rob & Joanna Teigen.   It is a very useful book and chock full of great ideas.  Check it out on amazon here.  I have also found a number of other neat ideas on Pinterest and other places.

My wife, Sarah, is starting a new job and I will soon have the girls to myself every Saturday.    My plan is to have a fun activity planned for us at least two Saturdays a month, and to post about it here.  You guys can hold me accountable and watch our progress.