North Carolina Zoo

In May of 2021, we visited the North Carolina Zoo for the first time. We made it a big family day with all of my siblings and parents coming down and meeting us there for the day. 

It was a long drive for us, but it was well worth the trip. We only had two kids at the time, but they love animals, so we knew it would be a great time. 

The Zoo is big and spread out. As you drive to it, it seems to be in the middle of nowhere (not in a big city, etc.). There are lots of animals to see inside and lots of walking to be done. There are restaurants and a gift shop as well.

Parking

The NC Zoo has two main parking lots. The North American Lot is open year-round. The Africa Lot is open only April-October. Parking is free at this zoo. Bus & RV parking is also available. There are electric car charging stations.

Tickets 

At the time we went, we had to make a reservation and purchase tickets ahead of time (because it wasn’t long after the pandemic).

Note:

If you have a Zoo or Aquarium membership check to see if you get a discount. At the time we went we didn’t have one but we currently do have an aquarium membership in NC which gets us in free to this zoo now. Many zoo/aquarium memberships can get you up to 50% off on tickets when you visit other big zoos.

Animals

The Zoo has many exhibits with animals based on their home geographical locations. Some of the exhibits are only open during warmer seasonal times, but we were able to see most of the animals during our visit at the end of May.

North America

Home to animals of North America, including polar bears, black bears, red wolves & hundreds more native to North America. It features these exhibits:

• The Prairie Habitat features American Bison & Elk.
• Honey Bee Garden
• Grizzly Bear Habitat
• The Streamside Habitat features a Barred Owl, Bobcat, Copperhead snake, Cottonmouth snake, North American River Otter, Timber Rattlesnake & Longnose Gar.
• The Cypress Swamp Habitat features an Alligator Snapping Turtle, American Alligator, Barking Treefrog & Cougar.
• Marsh Habitat
• The Rocky Coast Habitat features an Arctic Fox, Harbor Seal, Polar Bear & Horned Puffin.
• Red Wolf Habitat 
• Black Bear Habitat 

Africa

Home to animals of Africa, including chimpanzees, giraffes, gorillas, zebras & elephants. It features these exhibits:

• Baboons Habitat
• The Forest Glade Habitat features the Western Lowland Gorillas
• Lemur Island Habitat 
• The Kitera Forest Habitat features Chimpanzees
• Zebra & Giraffe Habitat 
• Red River Hogs Habitat 
• The Watani Grasslands Habitat features the Addra Gazelle, African Elephant, Bongo, Waterbuck, Fringe-eared Oryx, Greater Kudu, Southern White Rhinoceros & Thomson’s Gazelle.
• African Lion Habitat 

Desert

The Desert Habitat features a Blue-tongued Skink, Desert Pupfish, Desert Tortoise, Gila Monster, Ocelot, Vampire Bat, Spiny-tailed Monitor, Ornate Uromastyx, Beaded Lizard, Sidewinder, Laughing Kookaburra, Sand Cat, African Pancake Tortoise, Crested Coua & many Desert plants.

Other Attractions 

Other attractions include an outdoor carousel, a Giraffe deck for feeding the Giraffes, tree house trek, and the Kaleidescape Butterfly Garden. There is a Giant Garden Friends playground for kids, a kid zone & hiking trails. There is also a zoofari ride and ropes course.

Note:

Some of these attractions may be at an extra expense.

Note:

Some of these attractions may be seasonal only so check on availability/times they are open beforehand.

North Carolina Zoo is located at: 4401 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro, NC 27205. For more information about the zoo and/or to plan your visit, check out their website here: https://www.nczoo.org/

There is plenty to keep you busy at this zoo all day! So many animals to see and fun little statues for photo ops. Some animals or exhibits may be seasonal and not available all year round. Our highlight of this zoo trip was the Kaleidoscope Butterfly Garden. It was so much fun!

If you’re in North Carolina and have kids or just love animals, then you should give North Carolina Zoo a try!

Summer Pregnancy Announcement Ideas

Summer is my favorite season. I love the warm weather, beach days, and fun adventures. If you have a bun in the oven, what better time to announce a pregnancy than during summer?

I haven’t been able to do a summer announcement yet due to timing with my kids, but in hopes of helping to bring inspiration to anyone looking to announce a pregnancy soon — I have collected this list of the cutest summer-themed pregnancy announcements that I have come across. Enjoy!

Summer Onesie

A lot of people do baby announcements with baby onesies that have a cute saying. Buy a cute summer-themed onesie or, if you’re a big DIYer, make it yourself. Then put the onesie on display for your announcement photo.

Summer Wreath Around Ultrasound

Some of my favorite announcement ideas are the simple ones with just an ultrasound photo and a couple of cute items around it. Why not do the same for your summer-themed announcement too? Try a simple flat lay photo with an ultrasound photo and a summer wreath around it. Sometimes the simplest photos are the most elegant.

Maternity Shirt

There are so many cute maternity shirts with items on the belly that are associated with the baby. Grab a summer-themed one and take a simple photo in it for the announcement. Easy to do, as cute as anything else, and you can wear the shirt for the rest of your pregnancy.

Summer Baby Item

Use a baby’s summer item for your announcement. Think a baby swimsuit, sunglasses, baby swim floaty, etc.

4th of July

If you’re planning on announcing around July 4th, try using that for inspiration with your announcement itself. Try a play on words with “red, white & due” or “our hearts are exploded with joy”. You could also use the song “Baby You’re a Firework”. You could use sparklers or smoke bombs.

Ice Cream Cone

This is probably my favorite of the summer themes I’ve seen. The possibilities are endless with ice cream cones. You could hold a cone in front of your belly, say you’re eating for two, or use a cutesy saying like “here’s the scoop”.

Flip Flops

I’ve seen quite a few cute announcements using shoes…make it summer with flip-flops. A pair for each parent, older siblings, and a tiny pair for baby.

Watermelon

Another great summer option I love is using watermelon. You could do something funny with “don’t eat watermelon seeds” or make it cutesy with “We’ve been keeping a juicy secret”, etc.

Beach

The beach is a great option if you’ll be visiting before your announcement. There are so many options. You could do a family photo with the ultrasound by the ocean, draw an announcement in the sand, or use shells for each member of the family, including the new baby.

Here’s the Tea

A great drink in summer is sweet tea. Why not use that as part of your theme? You could go with “here’s the tea” or “spilling the tea”. If you’re not a fan of sweet tea, you could always use hot tea too.

BBQ

Try a cooking/BBQ theme for a unique announcement. Think “Burgers on the grill, Bun in the oven” or “we’re cooking something special”.

S’mores

Another fun and unique theme would be to use s’mores. Strike up a campfire and use s’more supplies to make an “adding s’more love to our family” announcement. You could even have a fun family photoshoot cooking the s’mores to use in the announcement.

Summer announcements are some of my favorite out of baby announcements because there are so many fun options. Do you have a favorite summer pregnancy announcement idea? Let me know in the comments below!

Baby Names Inspired by Travel

Finding the perfect name for your baby can be a challenge. There are so many options out there. Do you have a favorite city/spot you visited? Why not name your child after it? I have compiled a list of about 38 names (for both genders) inspired by cities and locations across the world for all my travel lovers. You might find the perfect name for your little one.

Adelaide

Inspired by Adelaide, Australia.

Athens

Inspired by Athens, Greece.

Atlas

An Atlas is a book of maps or charts.

Aspen

Inspired by Aspen, Colorado, North America.

Bali

Inspired by Bali, a province of Indonesia.

Berlin

Inspired by Berlin, Germany.

Britain

Inspired by Great Britain.

Cairo

Inspired by Cairo, Egypt.

Canyon

Inspired by the Grand Canyon in Arizona, North America.

China

Inspired by the country of China.

Dublin

Inspired by Dublin, Ireland.

Everest

Inspired by Mount Everest in Asia.

Florence

Inspired by Florence, Italy.

Geneva

Inspired by Geneva, Switzerland.

Havana

Inspired by Havana, Cuba.

Holland

Inspired by the country of Holland in Europe.

Isla

A name that means “island”.

London

Inspired by London, England.

Lucia

Inspired by the island of St. Lucia.

Maui

Inspired by Maui, Hawaii.

Melbourne

Inspired by Melbourne, Australia.

Milan

Inspired by Milan, Italy.

Ocean

Inspired by the oceans of the world.

Paris

Inspired by Paris, France.

Petra

Inspired by Petra, Jordan.

Rhodes

Inspired by Rhodes, Greece.

Rio

Inspired by Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rocky

Inspired by the Rocky Mountains in North America.

Rome/Roman

Inspired by Rome, Italy.

Sahara

Inspired by the Sahara Desert in Africa.

Scott/Scottie

Inspired by Scotland.

Sicily

Inspired by Sicily, Italy.

Sky

Inspired by flying and the sky.

Sydney

Inspired by Sydney, Australia.

Taj

Inspired by the Taj Mahal in India.

Torini

Inspired by Santorini, Greece.

Vienna

Inspired by Vienna, Austria.

Zealand

Inspired by New Zealand.

I hope these names give you some inspiration while picking out the perfect name for your baby. I love names with special meanings, and if you love baseball, these are great options to consider.

If you are still looking for other options, check out these lists inspired by other categories: Baseball, Love, the East Coast, the West Coast, Flowers, the Sea, Christmas, Summer, and Fall.

Tummy Time Tips & Tricks

Tummy time can be such a fun time, but it can also be an equally stressful time. Tummy time is important for development because it helps to strengthen a baby’s neck, arm, and shoulder muscles. Building muscles will help your baby as they grow and learn to roll over, sit, crawl, and eventually walk. Tummy time can also help babies build their motor skills.

Despite all of the benefits of tummy time, many babies don’t like it. Especially when they are young. All three of my kids hated doing tummy time in the early days. They would scream and get frustrated when they couldn’t move or lift their head yet. I had to find ways to get creative and make it fun instead of a chore.

I wanted to share with you a few tips and tricks that were helpful for my kids during our tummy time journeys. I hope that by sharing, they help someone else struggling with this phase.

1. Take Turns Between Tummy & Back

A big thing that helped for us was to switch back and forth between tummy time and back time. We would have tummy time for a while, and when baby got too upset, we would switch and do some back time. Then we’d take turns going back and forth for a little bit.

2. Lay Out Toys

Probably the biggest thing I’ve done for tummy time is to lay out toys within arm's reach or in front of baby’s face. Having something to look at helps with distracting baby during tummy time so they aren’t lying there bored.

3. Interact with Baby

Talk, sing, and play with baby. Anything to help with distracting the baby from their unhappiness while doing tummy time. Interact with them. Let them know they aren’t alone.

4. Use a Water Tummy Time Mat

Get a water mat. My third baby absolutely loved his water tummy time mat! You simply fill it with water, and it has toys that move inside so baby can play and move the items in the water. It was a lifesaver with my youngest, and I wish we’d had one with my older two.

5. Rotate Blankets & Mats

Use different blankets with colors and patterns underneath baby. And switch those blankets/mats out every so often to give baby something new to look at. Changing it up will help keep baby entertained with something new to look at.

6. Change the Location

And speaking of changing it up…try changing the location/room where you do tummy time. If you always do it in the same room and same spot, try mixing it up with a different room or location.

7. Go Outside

And last but not least, take tummy time outside. There is something about fresh air and being outside that babies just love (I know all of mine did). Try doing some tummy time outside to give your baby some new sights, smells, and sounds.

Bonus tip for encouraging crawling: Once baby is getting closer to crawling try putting toys, books, etc just outside of arms reach. This will help encourage movement for baby to reach for/try to get the toys.

 

I hope that these tips and tricks help make your tummy time journey a little bit smoother for you and baby! Do you have a tummy time tip that I didn’t mention? Let me know in the comments below!

DIY Bluey Birthday Party

For my daughter’s 6th birthday, she decided to go with a theme for one of her favorite TV shows, “Bluey”. As a family favorite show, I was excited to bring this theme to life! And since it is pretty popular, I was able to find quite a bit of stuff for it at local stores. It was also my daughter's golden birthday, so it was fun coming up with ways to incorporate gold pops of color throughout the theme. This is ultimately what I did to make the theme come to life.

Photo Backdrop

Supplies You’ll Need:

• Balloon arch kit
• Tape/rope
• Air pump (optional)

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. I got a balloon arch kit that came with everything at Target. It had blue and gold colors, so it was a perfect fit for our theme.
2. I blew up the balloons and attached them throughout the balloon arch. Having an air pump was a lifesaver because there were so many balloons!
3. Tape and/or use rope to secure the finished arch to the wall. I used both.

Birthday Outfit

Supplies You’ll Need:

• White t-shirt
• Blue, yellow, orange, black, red, white & gold Fabric paint
• Paintbrush

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Using a photo I found on Pinterest, I painted a black outline of both Bluey & Bingo.
2. Mix blue with white paint to create the different blue shades for Bluey and paint. Let dry.
3. Mix orange with white paint to create the different shades for Bingo and paint. Let dry.
4. Paint the yellow spots on Bluey. Let dry.
5. Paint the black spots on both characters. Let dry.
6. Paint the balloon red. Let dry.
7. Paint the number 6 in gold on top of the balloon.
8. Let the entire shirt dry overnight. Then wash or wear right away.

Cake

Supplies You’ll Need:

• Cake mix
• Candle
• Cake topper (optional)

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Mix and make the cake. We did an Oreo cake for ours.
2. Add a candle and any cake toppers you want.

Table Set

We used a Bluey tablecloth for eating and presents. We also used Bluey plates and napkins for our food.

Champagne Glasses

We used plastic champagne flutes with gold specks for our drinks to try in the gold colors.

Games

We had fun playing some of the very games they do in the show, like “pass the parcel” and “keepy uppy”. To help tie in the theme even more.

Bluey Ears

One of our favorites was these adorable Bluey ear headbands we got at Target. Both of my kids loved them! I only wish I could have also found a Bingo pair.

I hope these ideas help inspire you to create your own Bluey-themed party and have a great time with it. Happy creating!