The end before the beginning

Child 2 arrives tomorrow -- and with it a real name to replace Child 2 -- so today was the last day of our family of three. Turned out to be a great, relaxing day.

We decided to take Elise to Como Zoo in St. Paul in the morning. 

She had a great time there. She was fascinated by the monkeys, mildly interested in the grizzly bears (I'll admit: I'm a fan of the grizzlies), excited by the sight of giraffes, bored by the bison (who wouldn't be?) and told at least once: "No, you cannot stand on the ledge of the lion exhibit."

 The only zoo that lets you ride the animals.

 Clearly she and I both knew how goofy I looked. She just enjoyed it more.

She dug the monkeys.

 This was taken on our family safari earlier this summer.

When Elise gets nervous, she puts her hand on or near her face. Who knows why she's nervous here.

 Belly

The trip was going great until we inflicted perhaps life-long trauma on the poor kid.

We took her to the carousel.

This isn't any ol' rinky-dink carousel. This is vintage, a relic pulled from the Minnesota State Fair about 20 years ago -- after it had been on the fairgrounds for 50 years or more. It's pretty neat. We decided that I would take Elise and Anni would watch, camera at the ready.

It looks so fun...

However, any visions of Elise being the the jubilant, free-spirited kid savoring every bit of the ride disappeared as soon as the carnival-like music ramped up, the carousel started turning and Elise's horse (we'll call it "Glue") started moving up and down.

She did well for about the first full rotation. That was enough for her. She got spooked and did not want anything to do with Glue. So, I took her off the horse and held her for the rest of the ride. A carousel ride never seems long enough -- until you've got a toddler who, though not screaming, definitely wants off the darned thing.

Elise was, as they say, tuckered out after that ordeal, so we bid adieu to Glue and headed for home.

Back at the ranch, we tidied up and took care of a few last-minute errands, all the while talking to Elise about the baby she would soon see.

We dropped her off at Grammy and Grandpa's for the night, and she said her final goodbye to the belly before she says hello to the baby tomorrow.

The day concluded with a relaxing dinner for two at our favorite restaurant, The Strip Club in St. Paul.

And now, time for the last full night's sleep for a while...