A New Zoo.

I'm not really a zoo lover.

It stinks, you can't use straws in your diet coke, and there are lots and lots of hills that make pushing a 40 lb boy very difficult.

But, the kids love the Zoo...so to the Zoo I go.

Deak has been interested in "things" for a couple of years now.  He enjoys his shows, his buttons, and his music; stuff he "knows."  But, getting Deak to be interested in things I think he "should" be interested in, has been a process that waxes and wanes somewhere within the land of acceptance. Places like the "zoo," haven't always been his favorite because although he could sometimes see the animals, it has not always been easy for him to go through the mental process of "Oh hey, that's a tiger. I like tigers. The tiger is moving towards me. That is funny, etc. etc" because he only attends the zoo once or twice a year.  It is not a daily event.

 Those executive functioning (brain) tasks that piece together all the aspects of our world and make clean and precise thought-processes which develop into emotional and behavioral reactions, happen in inside a "typical" child's brain within seconds.  But, they take a lot longer for my Deak.  He works very, very hard to develop the proper mental schemas for specific situations and than works very, very hard to pull those schemas out at the appropriate time.  He understands most of the world, but new situations are confusing because they are not readily accessible inside his mental book of "stuff I do." New experiences, even though they are fun, can lead to a lot of frustration for a little guy just trying his best to process and react.

So, that psychology lesson leads me to this:

Deak loved the Zoo. 
Like, for real, loved the Zoo.  His cognitive fortitude has really grown by leaps and bounds this year.  For the first time, I am taking him places (the park, the zoo, the pool) and he is loving every second.  His processing speed is now more equipped to keep up with his surroundings, and he gets to enjoy the good stuff...which means, I get to enjoy the good stuff.

(and although I do not want to tempt fate...)

It is lovely.

Proof that this kid had an awesome day...

 Loving the leopard/cheetah thing that kept coming right up to the glass...

All the crazies together, as best as we can get...

 I kinda like this girl...

Cousin Taylor

Cousin Camden, who never leaves the house without his shades.

Cousin Crosby, hanging out in the stroller.

Loving the baby elephant with her Mama...We watched them for a good 10 minutes.

Emotionally, this raising my Ring 18 boy thing, can best be described as a roller coaster on crack.

But the joy...oh, the joy...when he learns something new, or discovers something for the first time, is absolute divinity.

Looking forward to more adventures for the next couple of weeks before my Deak heads in for neural-spinal surgery to release his tethered spinal cord.

Soaking up summer while we can.