It is the perfect way to spend our morning. We get there right when it opens, and are the only people there (or we didn't see anyone else anyway) for the first hour and a bit. After that there are a few school/daycare groups, but it is still not crowded at all. Such a nice leisurely way to spend our day.
I borrowed a double stroller (City Select) from Natalia (THANK YOU!!!). It allows Emilia to sleep for the first half of the excursion, and I carry her in the Beluga Baby wrap for the second half.
The first animal we see is the Zebra, and Dominic points excitedly towards it. It's not doing much, and Henry wonders out loud why it's being so still. Henry is so hilarious the whole time. He is more excited about the pine-cones ("Oh my GOODNESS! Look at the pinecones!!") than the cheetah, and keeps asking if we can go see the giraffes. We let it slip that we plan to stop for a snack break when we get to the giraffes.
Over all we have a wonderful time, and we're considering getting an annual pass sometime. That way we can go whenever we want, and don't have to worry about being disappointed if we miss an animal, or if the kids have a meltdown 30 minutes in.
Now for the pictures!
Dave is able to take the morning off and come along to help us out! He also doesn't want to miss out on Dom's first trip to the zoo :) I can't believe we forgot to take a family photo. We're so bad at that!
2 Mommies and 4.5 littles
Pointing to the Zebra!
Me: Do you see the camel?
Dom: *spits*
He looks relatively un-phased and unimpressed most of the time, but I assure you he is just taking it all in.
There are 3 black bears and they give us a great show! They are wrestling, come right up to the fence and show us how fast they can scurry up the tree
He's a bit more excited about the bears, "Rawwwwr"
We miss out on seeing Shadow the Grizzly bear. Glad these black bears make up for it!
David spots the cheetah coming towards the fence, so we meander down that way, and it paces back and forth in front of us, purring and staring. It is a very eerie creature. Katrina and I talk about how the other big cats seem cute and cuddly, while this one just seems scary.
We let the kids out to stretch their legs and play with rocks in front of the cheetah.
Why is Dominic such a giant?! These two are only 6 weeks apart.
Henry climbs the fence for a better view, and the two littler boys naturally want to follow suit!
Okay Henry, NOW it's time to go see the giraffes and have our snack.
After our snack we sit down on benches in front of the big cat cages. The tiger comes out of its enclosure and comes straight for us! Very cool!
This big guy was vocalizing and came up to the fence. He must not have liked a particular lady. In this photo I have captured him spraying pee through the fence right onto her! Definitely the funniest moment of the day.
Dominic only cries once the whole day, and that is when the female lion sneezes right in front of him. Daddy is sitting here making sure he knows it's all okay.
The King of the Jungle
The boys!
Loving the pea gravel!
I guess since Dom's love language is food, he wants to feed the giant pig some gravel(?)
Beautiful mama and her 2.5 babies
Dom normally naps from 12-2, but we didn't leave until after 12. He passes out HARD on the way home, and transfers well into his crib. He seems happy to be put into it.
Getting him back out after a 2.5 hour nap was a whole other story! I have to pick him right up out of his crib to even wake him up. Amazing what some fresh air and new experiences will do! I look forward to more of that this summer :)
I loved reading this! Fun to read someone else's telling of the same day. We had so much fun. Love watching those boys together, and soon the girls!
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