the family that wendt: independence

Miss Independence celebrated her second Independence Day this week (though, honestly, her first wasn't noteworthy). I wanted to do something special to celebrate, but every "event" I found didn't start until the evening and with her recent recurrence of sleep issues and night terrors, I wanted to stick to her nighttime routine. So fireworks were out. We shifted our fun up into the morning and went to the zoo. I let Squirt explore freely - pretty much for the first time ever - following close behind. She was fiercely independent yesterday, and it was fun to see her discover the exhibits for herself. She loved the big cats (is anyone surprised?), excitedly proclaiming "Radar!" when one of the mountain lions approached her. We also went on the train tour of the zoo, which is something neither of us have done. She was pretty excited until I wouldn't let her get up and leave halfway through... We stayed and wandered the zoo longer than I think we ever have, so we were pretty tuckered out when we got home. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and playing at home. Squirt discovered the wonders of Momma's sunglasses and found a new, slightly less roomy "boat." All in all, it was a pretty relaxing day. Just don't ask me about the camel spider incident that night...