A zoo-rific week

We've been enjoying sunny weather and the company of friends this past week. On Wednesday, Amy (Owen's mom) gave her PhD exit seminar, and we headed over to their house for an amazing feast in celebration of Amy's years of hard work. On Saturday, we celebrated Kirsten and Mark's wedding and reception in Cazadero and Occidental, respectively.

Earlier today, we headed to Oakland for Caden's first trip to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, and Caden had a great time seeing all of the animals (he kept calling all of the smaller animals "kee kee" = "kitty"). We met Tess and Michael (friends from Oregon) and their little guy Quinn to check out all of the cool animals there. Particular highlights included the flamingos (bright pink and easily discernable), the fruit bats (Caden enjoyed holding himself upright on the mesh and watching them hang from their awnings), the alligators (which we could watch both under and above the waterline), and the giraffes (obvious enough to hold his attention).

Finally, our friend Mark (not the same one who got married on Saturday) graduated with his PhD from Cal this morning, and we spent the afternoon visiting with Mark, Anne, and their families and friends at a celebratory open house. As always, Caden was very excited about their cat, Lucy, who was somewhat frightened by his constant babbling ("kee kee! kee kee! kee kee!") and waving.

Caden has been naming ("kee kee") all of the cats in his various books this week. It's really neat that he readily identifies both real cats and their abstract representations. He also now has a tooth! We've been paying attention to his upper gumline over the past couple of weeks, since the two top teeth are clearly working their way down. However, the new tooth snuck in on the bottom while we were distracted. Last night, while Caden was getting ready for bed, Mommy was running her finger across his gums, and there it was! Poor groggy guy, we had to get a flashlight and shine it in his face when all he wanted to do was sleep.


Look at the elephants, Caden
A giraffe contortionist


With Daddy at the wedding
Can't quite reach the pedals
With Mommy at Amy's party