what the duck...

last saturday, our friends justin and kristina threw a birthday party for their son oliver who was turning two.  the theme was "farmer oliver" and everyone was asked to wear their overalls (if they had them) and boots, etc.  justin and i refrained from overall and boot-wearing since it was supposed to get up to 105 degrees, but my mom had just given emme the cutest pair of overalls, so she was totally ready for the occasion.  again, because it was psychotically hot, i opted to have emme rock said overalls dexy's midnight riders style: with no shirt underneath (google it - come on, eileen).

the highlight of the party was a traveling petting zoo that set up on oliver's deck and had bunnies, ducks, a hedgehog, a chinchilla, and a bearded dragon (a really awesome looking lizard).

beyond the outfit, emme was totally ready for this experience.  that child really has no fear.  she watched as all the older kids sat in the pen and took turns petting each animal.  as they gradually lost interest, i figured i could crawl in there with her and see what she would do.  as most people know, i am an intense animal lover, so i was in hog heaven with baby bunnies, etc.

anyway...emme went for it like a champ.  she was particularly enamored with the ducks, and those are what justin mostly captured pictures of.  she doesn't quite understand that you're supposed to be gentle with animals, so i had to watch her really carefully.  a few times, i would get distracted by something (there were so many cute animals to pet!), only to look down and see that she was clutching one of the duck's beaks (bills?) - and i mean really clamped down on it.  the ducks weren't crazy about that, but she's just a baby so they let it slide.  surprisingly, she also loved the bearded dragon.  totally takes after her mother there....

it was such a cute, fun party and gave me ideas for some birthdays down the road....