Happy Hollow and Max's Munchies

[Preface: A while back we chatted with the kids' pediatrician because Max was having these episodes where he would just cry and scream uncontrollably, and then he'd just "snap out of it".  We wondering if maybe it could be related to the seizure he'd had or if it was a sign of anything else to worry about.  The doctor said that normally crying wouldn't be associated with seizures and pointed out that we had said most of these episodes happened after longer than normal naps or when he'd been playing for a long time.  She suspected he might just be hungry or suffering from low blood sugar and she suggested we try to feed him something - preferably something with a higher sugar count like fruit - quickly.  And wouldn't you know it, that worked!]

All summer, I'd been wanting to take the kids to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo.  Located across the street from San Jose Municipal Stadium, I'd heard about it from other toddler moms who said the kids would love it.  There is a big petting zoo/barn area as well as a mini zoo area and an amusement park with toddler-sized rides.

So we decided to take them after their final gymnastics class of the summer, since we'd be in the South Bay already.  That morning, Max woke up crazy.  He was screaming at the top of his lungs, sobbing, and refusing breakfast.  I asked Uncle to grab his milk for me, wrestled Max to the ground (a more difficult feat than you'd imagine), and forced the straw of his milk cup up to his mouth.  Though he protested, he finally gave in and took a swig, then pushed it away and cried some more, then took another big gulp of milk, let out a big sigh, looked at me calmly and said, "OK, Mommy, I have breakfast now?"

When he got into his high chair, I needed a moment to assemble his breakfast and he started to whine.  Just as he was about to burst out into tears, Daniel looked at him, pushed his cup closer to his hands and said, "Max, drink your milk," just like the characters in those Snickers commercials pointing out that their friends are really unpleasant when they get hungry.  Max took the suggestion and sucked down a little more milk while he waited.

Gymnastics went well, then we stopped for some french fries for the road and headed down to Happy Hollow.  We started at the amusement park, which is where all of our pictures come from.

The boys were barely tall enough for a couple of the rides, and Caroline squeaked through even though she was a little too short because they measured Max and then we fibbed and said they were all the same size, so we tried to focus on just the rides we knew they'd be allowed to ride.  This consisted of the kids crying while waiting in line, then squealing with joy during the two minutes of the ride, then sobbing hysterically as we took them back off the ride at the end.

For every ride, whether it was the slow "train" Danny the Dinosaur

Max was quite curious where Danny was taking us.

or the flying ladybugs,

or the racing fire and police cars, 

or the "Frog Hopper".   When we took the kids to this ride, the lovely young woman running it asked if one of the adults was going to ride with them.  We asked if we had to, and she said, no, but since they were so small, it might be a good idea.  And this is when, I believe, Uncle received his Uncle of the Year award.

The ride actually had to be stopped and lowered back down so we could get Max's legs back in the right spot!

They liked it so much, and cried so loud, that they were allowed to stay for a second ride.  (It helped that there was nobody else in line.)

From there we went to the puppet show, which was in the shade, and then across to the zoo.  I thought we would never get the boys away from the monkey cage!

(I don't know how I got the only picture possible without a monkey in it!)

And from there over to the petting zoo where Caroline learned the word "pony".  Her brothers preferred to feed "the little horsie".

The final stop was the carousel, with a long line and a bit of crying.

Caroline chose a hummingbird.

Daniel chose a seal.

Max chose an anteater (and did not let go of Uncle's hand the whole time, poor baby)

Caroline found a mirror on the wall!

At the end, nobody wanted to leave, of course, but Max was worst of all.  He sobbed and kicked his feet and hit at us.  It was obvious that he was hot and tired and hungry, so when we got him to the car and buckled him in, we found some granola bars in the bag and stuffed them in his mouth a piece at a time.  After about a bar and a half, he had calmed down, and a piece later he looked over and said, with a shy little smile, "Mommy? I happy now."

Better remember to keep snacks around for that one!

Let's Go, Oakland!

With very few day games left in the season, we opted to spend Wednesday at the A's-Blue Jays game in Oakland.  On our way in, we had to make a stop at the team store to get A's caps - the kids have Giants hats, but there's only so much your cuteness can buy you in a rival ballpark.

Daniel tried to talk us into the foam cowboy hat

and Caroline thought that would've been an awesome option, too.

But in the end, they settled for something more understated.

Max was keeping a firm grasp on that cap, while Daniel couldn't decide how he wanted to wear his cap.

But for Caroline, there's no choice -

all ballcaps, even ones with velcro closures and Stomper the elephant on them, must be worn backwards.

We found our totally awesome seats in section 113 and settled in.  The kids were excited to point at the field and join along with the fans as they clapped and cheered.

This is the view from the Mommy seats - Max's big head blocking out the batter, of course.

 The kids spotted Stomper, the A's elephant mascot, in the aisle next to us and Caroline developed a laser-like focus on him.  "I want see elephant! I want see Stomper!"  So when he turned down into the lower section of seats, she and Uncle, followed quickly by Daddy, Daniel, Max, and Mommy, scooted down to the walkway behind that section to meet up when he came back up the stairs.  Caroline was a little afraid at first, but once she saw Uncle hug Stomper, she figured it was all ok.  She got a hug and high five and Daniel scooted forward for some mascot love as well.  Max stayed a little closer to Daddy, not entirely sure what to make of the fuzzy friend.  (This shouldn't be much of a surprise, considering his reaction to the Easter Bunny and his early sucker punch to Santa's gut.)

And then it was time to get some hot dogs, or at least that's what Daniel wanted.  The rest of the day's noshes included popcorn, malts, and a bite of the cotton candy the folks behind us had purchased.

(that's a cup full of ice she's digging into)

Max didn't like the malt.  I'm not entirely sure he's really my child...

Daniel looked up at my sunglasses perched on top of my head and said, "Mommy, I put on you eyes?" Yep, he'd shed his hat at this point, but that wasn't stopping him from being one cool cucumber.

By the seventh inning, the kids were getting restless, so at the stretch we headed up to the "Fun Zone", where we'd been told Stomper would be stopping by for photo ops.  The "Fun Zone" is an area off the mezzanine level with a small toddler climbing structure, some batting/pitching cages, and some ride-on toys of the variety found outside of suburban grocery stores.  Luckily, we had a bunch of quarters.

Driving with Fozzie Bear

Riding an elephant

Daniel's shifting gears with Caroline along for the ride.

Max needed some extra cuddles from Daddy high up there on the elephant's back.

Caroline's turn to drive

Daniel's flying by with Big Bird

On the "carousel"

Max still wasn't into Stomper...

We escaped the "Fun Zone" by the middle of the eighth.  The walkway outside of it is behind the glassed-off seats of the loge and suites and we used the space to run races for a while.  Daddy ducked back to the press box and Caroline whined that she wanted to go back to the seats, which we wouldn't have reached until the 9th at this point, so we watched a few at bats from the top of the stairs before tricking the kids into running races out to the exit and down the big stair case to the parking lot.  Max very proudly walked down the last 30 steps without holding Mommy's hand!

It was tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth when we left, so I count that as the kids making it through a whole ballgame - their first!  (Sadly, the A's ended up losing 5-2 in 1 innings.)

All in all, a fun time out at the ol' ball yard!