I must've managed to learn the art of relaxation. Despite being sick every day of my vacation last week, I'm back to work feeling refreshed. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to be the only parent on vacation -- even with help from my sister and her family, Ryder was a handful. I never fully relaxed from parenting (two words: separation anxiety) but I did some serious R&R from my 9-5 job. I came home even sicker, stayed out of work yesterday but today I hit the ground running. Its nice to feel calm & centered at work again.
Ryder had a blast, being center of attention. He had his first trip to the zoo and freaked out in the penguin & puffin exhibit. To his credit, the penguins were within touching distance and they did splash us a few times, which had Ryder clawing to get away from me and to Maggie, who was standing the farthest away. Poor babes then discovered there was another exhibit directly behind him. The stuff of nightmares, I'm sure. Aggressive, angry, I'm-gonna-get-you flightless birds. LOL He was very much relieved that the rest of the animals were behind fences and sometimes netting. Every animal he saw he'd point to and say "woof woof". Gazelle? "Woof woof". Giraffe? "Woof woof". Snow leopard? You get the idea.
My sweet picky eater also discovered the crack that is McDonald's Chicken McNuggets. Ryder, who won't eat much, devoured three nuggets. Unbelievable! I would've disowned him had he not happily munched down on a pile of Vietnamese charbroiled pork from my com dac biet plate at my favorite St. Louis restaurant later in the week. There's hope for him yet.
I'll post pics soon, probably the ones of Ryder playing the piano. He is his father's son.
