Tragedy

Utah's Hogle Zoo says its 8-month-old giraffe, Jamar, was found dead in his enclosure over the weekend.

The baby giraffe was popular with visitors and staff after his birth last summer at the zoo.

Jamar apparently died early Sunday. Hogle Zoo veterinarians performed a necropsy and cited "failure to thrive" as the cause of death.

Inexperienced first-time mothers, like Jamar's mother Kipenzi, can have a weak maternal instinct. Zoo staff also say Jamar was an independent baby.

Staff say Jamar was at a critical weaning period in the transition from nursing to solid foods.I'm going to be a first time mom and my baby might be independent but I sure hope that I don't have weak maternal instincts....good thing small humans are a little more resilient right?

Do you think the editor kept their job?

Zoo-time Fun!

It's been almost 8 months since the last time we went to the zoo. But last year our zoo had all sorts of baby animals born and it was a blast. I love going to the zoo! I imagine that over the coming years it will become more and more fun as we grow our little family. Here are some pics of all the new animals that were born at our zoo last year.

The elephant Zuri (female): born August 10, 2009 at Hogle Zoo to Christie and father, Jackson (Pittsburgh Zoo).
The giraffe Baby Jamar (male): born July 30, 2009 at Hogle Zoo to Riley and Kipenzi (both living at the Hogle Zoo).
The three tiger cubs (my favorite) (all male): born June 2, 2009 at Hogle Zoo to Kazek and Basha (living at the Hogle zoo)named, Bronevik, Vikentii and Kirill.
And the snow leopard, Baby Himal (male): born May 7, 2009 at Hogle Zoo to Himesh and Nema (living at the Hogle Zoo).
Poor elephant was the only girl born last summer but it made for a very fun and exciting trip to the zoo. And, as usual, Oliver and I didn't take any pictures of the two of us, but we were running around and just as excited as any other child there that day.

Amazing Technology...

Friday we went to have our ultrasound done. They had just installed their brand new machine that morning which meant two things, first, we couldn't get a copy of our ultrasound on DVD or VHS because it wasn't hooked up yet, but second, that the picture was amazing. I was watching it on a project TV screen while Oliver and his mom watched the tech's screen. They say that it was amazing and the detail they could see was far better than what I saw. They even got to see the blood flow in color.Hand by face...
Crazy skeleton looking face...
Another profile with hand by face...
One of Oliver's favorite pics was the cute little foot...
And, we are happy to report that our child has not yet learned the importance of modesty. So for the first, and possibly last time of her life, we are posting a picture of her personal business for all the world to see. :) The three white lines indicate that she is a she (the labia and vaginal opening).

We are very happy and excited and will now embark on picking her name....ask us in August what we chose and will let you know when you meet her. Until then, by suggestion of my dad, we are lovingly calling her baby X.

Goodbye...

I decided it was time to clean out my closet. I can't stand to wake up in the morning, walk in the closet, and look at a bunch of clothes that don't fit. Since we have plenty of storage space in our house I am able to get them out of my closet, out of sight and out of mind. I have always struggled with my weight and I find it very discouraging to look at clothes that USED to fit and USED to be cute when I wore them. So I just packed them up and put them in boxes in the storage room downstairs. Now this is the current state of my closet. Empty skirt hangers...
And a ton of empty hangers!
Maybe I'll have to go shopping....or maybe I'll have to actually fold my laundry....hehehehe