A Zoo Visit

So, these pictures are about two weeks old - but the memories

are still fresh.  Sometimes I get sad and start feeling guilty that Max

spends so much time away from me during the week. Like, maybe I made

the wrong choice going back to work. Like his childhood is slipping through

my fingers and I'm missing all these little moments.  Other times, when

he's screaming in his high chair and I've carried him all over the house because

he refuses to walk anywhere and I feel like I'm going to lose my freaking mind

and pass the coffee already or I might kill someone - I know I made

the right choice.

 

All this to say, when I got to spend a few extra days with him after the New Year,

I didn't hate it. I felt like I got these little glimpses into this tiny person

he's becoming.  Something else you should know about me - I can only stay

home for so long.  Since Max usually starts cock-a-doodle-doing around

6:30, so that means I'm usually itching to get out of the house around 10:30.

That's just what we did on this particular day!

 

It was a particularly warm day (considering it was January) -

and so we ventured over to the Zoo! We had just the right amount of

time to explore Discovery Reef, Manatees, and the barn.

 

We had the whole reef to our self!  Max got to climb

the stairs, sit on the risers, walk all over, and press his

tiny nose up to the glass as much as he wanted. We looked

for big and little fish.  Laughed as the sharks went by.

And I snuck him some bites of my chocolate croissant from

Starbucks. He even went right up the glass and said "hi fish".

 



 

Being that both Papa Rob and I work at the Zoo, it may seem

like an unlikely place to take our child, but I find it to be quite the

opposite. I like to see things from his perspective. I like to imagine

what he's thinking when he looks at the animals.  It's also quite

helpful to see what he's capable of since I'm in charge of education

programming for children his age.

 

After checking out all the tanks in the reef - and Max telling me

the garden eels are "dancing" (and I melted into a puddle of mush on the floor),

we loaded the stroller back up and headed next door to manatee reef.

 

There are no pictures of Max with the manatees because

he was only interested in the stingrays and this blue boat.

The last time we visited, there were so many kids on the boat

that he couldn't get around to push all the buttons and steer - but this time -

we were still the only people in the exhibit. He could

push, pull, and steer till his heart's content!

 

I love the way he's standing on his tippy toes to reach the steering

wheel in the above picture.  A simple reminder that he's still

small and growing. And he'll still need me for a little while longer. :)

 

Last stop - "My Barn" - where we visited with the

mini horse, sheep, pigs, and goats.  Max had no fear as he

shoved his hand between the slats to pet the goats.

We practiced all our best animal sounds

and chatted about how the straw on the ground was not for eating.

 

We also laughed about the sheep (above) and how his curly hair

was like Max and Mommy's curly hair! haha :) 

Our last stop was the photobooth of course!  We are definitely

getting better at looking at the camera (as opposed to the flash) -

but those gems are in a scrapbook!

 

The morning flew by and before we knew it - we had to

stroll on back to the car and meet Daddy for lunch!

I just love that we can have these fun little mornings out together!

XOxo