May 1st... The Zoo

This morning I took Wyatt to Starbucks for breakfast and then "got lost" on the way back to Cousin Brad's house.  Somehow we ended up in the parking lot of the San Antonio Zoo.  Wyatt quickly realized where we were and said, "Mom..we are at the Zoo!!  We should go in...I'm sure it's not locked!!"  So I replied with, "Why not? I think that's a great idea."  So we did.  And he thought we were just being spontaneous.  Mission accomplished. :)

My excited boy!!

The happy pig and the smiling goat!

Look at that smile!!

 Now...time to play in the water. His favorite part of the zoo.

 Then...as he was playing and having fun..he encountered a new situation.  He spotted two  snobby not-so-nice older girls building a sand castle. I told him he could go look at their castle..as long as he didn't touch it. As he walked up...one of the girls shook her head as if saying "don't come one step closer."  So he asked if he could see it.  They said, "We'll call you when we're done."  So Wyatt says "OK" and goes and plays some more.  A little later they were walking by Wyatt to collect some more sticks for the castle and Wyatt turns to them to ask if he could help.  They both looked at him like he was crazy and one said (with a ridiculous mean girl attitude), "We don't NEED you!" My heart broke in to pieces!! The mother in me wanted to walk up to those girls and give them a piece of my mind...but the teacher in me knew this was a great real-world learning opportunity for him. So I just sat and watched to see how my little boy would react.  He did perfect.  He did not yell at them.  He did not respond with a bad attitude.  He just stood for a second to take in the situation, then fell to his knees with disappointment...but he did not whine or cry.  After a little while, he got up and started walking away.  That is when I called to him to come sit next to me for a second.  He looked at me with his shoulders shrugged and said, "They said they don't NEED me mom."  He came and sat down next to me and I gave the same speech I have given hundreds of times as a teacher...but it never hurt my heart as much as it did this time.  "Wyatt...if those girls are being mean to you...then you don't need to play with them anyway.  You can go build your own sand castle or you can go make a new friend.  He looked up at me, smiled, eagerly said, "OK", then ran off and made a new friend.  I was SO PROUD of him.   

Wyatt's moment of rejection...it hurt to take this picture

 After we were done at the zoo (8 hours later), Granddad met us out front to ride the train through Breckenridge Park.  He finally got to eat the lollipop we bought at lunch.

And then, before the twenty minute ride was over, he was done.  Done...while the lollipop was still on his tongue.  Granddad had to take it away before he dropped it.

 It was a long, hard day.  But so much fun and lots of new memories!