We took the grandson to the zoo this morning, which involved walking a few miles up a hill and around and around winding pathways. His grandparents are now totally wrecked and lying back with aching feet and the general malaise of exhaustion.
I don’t know why we do this. Oh, OK, he’s cute.
And he did seem to have a grand time at the zoo.
We just do the fun parts! I can’t even remember how fatiguing little kids were, but I’m getting reminded.
I’m sorry. I’m sure you wrote something but all I can see are cheeks I want to squoosh.
I like that second picture.
All babies should come with a WARNING.
We took our three-year-old grandson to the Seattle Zoo and he was totally unimpressed, preferring to play with the shiny gravel rocks in the walkway. Hopefully this means he will gravitate toward the physical sciences when he’s older, rather than a wimp subject like biology. :)
I remember a study that came out in the 70s, when I was in college. Don’t remember who did it, or anything, except it was one of the studies we undergrads, non-majors in Psychology, had to read. Anyway, while doing the study the experimenters had a college football player follow around a toddler and do what the toddler did. By 11 a.m., the football player was so exhausted that he crashed on the couch. The toddler was still going strong.
Just don’t forget the diaper bag. My parents took the kid for the day and forgot it. That was fun for them.
It’s a permanent mystery to caregivers why you pay a fuckton of money for the entrance fee so the can can play in a playground which they could have for free outside. But they want to go to the zoo!
Though the older they get, the more they’re interested in the animals.
The mildly deranged penguin’s hypothesis is the problem is the lack of cheeses. Or more accurately, the lack of aggressive cheeses. Most so-called “zoos” only contain long pigs and a some bored observers, usually with fur, scales, feathers, or fangs. Proper zoos have cheeses, who in the best zoos, chase and bite / eat / perform interpretative dance on the long pigs, to keep the furred, scaled, feathery, en-fanged observers entertained.
Aren’t grandkids fun? If we spend a weekend with just one of them, we collapse at the end of it and ask each other how we ever survived raising five of them. Kids are definitely for the young and strong.
I must say that it is nice having a grandson who is nineteen. We can leave for a couple of weeks and he will happily house and pet-sit, as long as I stock the refrigerator and give him a $100 gift card! Strange how much of the frozen hamburger and chicken disappears – probably to his apartment.
Chewimg the scenery? Is it too late to change his name to “Shatner”?
I have a blind elderly dog and she’s about as much effort as I can muster. I can’t imagine keeping up with the demands of a baby or toddler.
I do recall when said dog was a puppy and I was in much better shape, mostly cardio from keeping up with an overly energetic puppy. Chewed through several leashes and jumped like pogo stick during “walks”. Tried chewing through my fingers as she was pulling them off my hand. That hurt. Puppy teeth. Chewed through bed sheets too. Used to play tennis ball fetch and rope toy tug of war for hours.
She’s still quite peppy for almost 13 years old but mostly when demanding kibble with the requisite crumbled up chunks of Paul Newman as garnish. She loves Paul Newman treats more than me. Priorities. I am rated maybe #3 behind treats and a comfortable cushiony sleeping spot.
Toy rat terrier with way oversized bat ears. Babies, kittens, and puppies are cute. Neotenic mind control rays.
Who said he’s never going to be a movie star? That is one large load of charisma you’ve got there!
Giliell @6,
One of the nice things about living in the DC area is that the zoo and most of the museums are free. So if all the kids want to do is play with gravel or run back and forth in the corridor to the restrooms, that’s cool. And if they get whiny, you can leave without feeling cheated out of seeing every damn room.