National Zoo

Mystery Baby's first trip to the zoo today and this is the only picture I got of him.  He spent most of the time in the Baby Bjorn on me.  And part of that time asleep.  

 

 I think we've taken a picture of the kids with this panda statue on each of our visits.  

Disregard the closed eyes, the sun was bright.

 Highlights: The pandas were out and one was super close for us to see.  The fall colors made the lions, elephants, etc. look especially nice.  We *almost* got to see a female orangutang use the "monkey bar" line that they use to travel between their "Think Tank" and their home.  We went in the butterfly room part of the invertebrate exhibit... I don't think I've been in there before.  We saw an adorable burrowing owl.   And the super cute baby gorilla was still there (he's now four years old) and still so teeny.

Sadly, we missed the new sea lion exhibit, but we were trying to be fast to get back for soccer practice, scouts, activity days and to drive my parents to their hotel for their early flight home tomorrow morning.

We saw an alligator, to which Little Guy had this conversation:
  "Hi.  I have an alligator at home.  He's green.  Next time I'll bring him and you can meet."

National Zoo

I got a Facebook message a couple weeks ago from a friend in Kansas who was spending their family's spring break in Williamsburg, VA and Washington, DC so we met up with them at the National Zoo on Friday morning and had a fun visit.

National Zoo

(You can see an elephant by Buddy's leg in this picture of all three kids).

The weather was wonderful last week so I advertised on Facebook that we were taking a trip to the zoo if anyone wanted to join us last Thursday. Five other moms came with 11 other kids and one husband. Plus B drove us there, took the Metro to the Library of Congress to get a library card (an assignment for one of his classes this semester) and then rode the Metro back and joined us at the zoo.

We went to the zoo in the late summer/early fall of 2009 when we first moved here and it was hot and crowded and we got rained out. The pandas are my favorite since they are sort of a zoo rarity. The pandas still weren't outside on this trip, but the crowds were small enough that we got a great view of them inside. In the films below, we were totally alone watching the second panda eating the bamboo for a few minutes before the crowd from the first panda joined us. There are only two pandas now. I think there were four last time we came but they went back to China (or wherever they were on loan from).

With no crowds and unusually great weather, we got a lot of attention from zoo volunteers explaining things to us about the monkeys vs. apes, the two year old baby gorilla and the giant silverback gorilla. In the invertebrate building we got to see a zoo volunteer feed a hermit crab and a spiked horned crab of some sort. There were seven lion cubs (born last summer/fall) that Buddy (our lion lover) was thrilled to see. It was a lot of fun. And the weather was fabulous. We went in the bird house... which I don't remember doing last time, and this giant blue pigeon-like bird (pictured above) walked past us. Little Guy liked him and called him the bird with sticking up hair.

You can mute this... although at the beginning you can hear Buddy giggle a little. There was a woman next to us talking nonstop about the panda. There are vitamins in the toy that the panda is trying to get out. They need vitamins since bamboo is all they eat and is a horrible diet.

Interview with Baby X about the Aquarium

National Aquarium in Baltimore

My March picture file is about to overflow... we've done a lot this month. Today was no different.

For Baby X's birthday in January, Grandma and Grandpa L wanted to send money for something fun we could take him to do. We decided to use that money for a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. My friend and former roommate, Kate, moved to Baltimore this summer and we've been trying to get together for months, so it was convenient that we were heading to Baltimore, and it also happened to be her spring break, so we met her there.

Strollers aren't allowed into the National Aquarium (too many escalators and people movers, etc.) so Baby X got to break in his doggy leash he got for Christmas. So far, he's just worn it around the house pretending to be a doggy.

None of the pictures are great because it was dark and full of reflective glass... but we tried.


Here are some month old sea horses PS wanted a picture of. Teeny.


Baby X loves fish. He yells "FISH!! FISH!!" excitedly every time we enter a pet store. So this was all especially fun for him.


Turtles. Baby X liked the turtles.

I splurged and paid a few extra dollars per ticket to see the dolphin show. It was worth it... the kids had a blast. Baby X kept saying, "dolphins. dolphins jump. up down. dolphins jumping." He sat on my lap and was mesmerized for the 20 or so minute length of the show.





Dolphin dancing... the kids think this is hilarious and incorporated it into their own dolphin show when we got home.


This was Buddy's favorite part. Plus there was a big splash (and we weren't in the Splash Zone).


This is the best of all the pictures I got after the dolphin show... you can barely see a couple dolphins in the background.

After the show PS asked the dolphin trainer taking questions what the most fun part of being a dolphin trainer was. She said working with the dolphins, forming a relationship with them and getting to know them as individuals, etc. PS was very brave. She has added dolphin trainer to her VERY long list of future careers.

The kid area had dress-up props.

Buddy as a dolphin.


Baby X as a fish.


I was surprised by how much he wanted to wear this and not take it off.


PS as a dolphin.


Their first synchronized dolphin show (with puppets). When we got home, they took turns being the dolphins and the dolphin trainers.


Shark jaw. PS liked this.


Jellyfish. These spooked/bored the kids. I thought they were neat.

The favorites.
Princess Sparkley: Nemo fish, dolphin show, sting rays, baby sea horses, rain forest room
Buddy: dolphin show, rain forest room, escalators that were flat (not steps) but still inclined
Baby X: octopus (even though at the time it freaked him out a bit), dolphins, turtles
Me: dolphin show, sting rays

National Zoo

Last Saturday I took the kids to the National Zoo in DC.

top to bottom
left to right

a Panda
below the Panda, Baby X being a cutie
to the right of those 2 tiny pictures, Baby X excited about those little animals being near him
Buddy with an elephant/excavator construction sign
Buddy examining some cow poop
next row: Buddy and PS with the zebras
an elephant shrew... possibly the cutest thing I've seen
Baby X with his tongue out letting me know that this animal is a doggy
last row: the kids with a statue of a Panda
the kids with an adorable picture of a Panda
PS and Buddy in a mister


The day started out hot. The zoo is free, parking is not, but B had dropped us off so had about 2.5 hours, so mainly I wanted to see the Pandas, so that was the goal. I figured we'll go back again before we move (it is free afterall) so it wasn't important to see every animal and spend hours at the zoo that day. About an hour before B came and got us it started raining. We finished the outer loop of the zoo which is most of the animals, so we hung out under a tree for awhile until it was raining so hard that the tree wasn't protecting us from the rain anymore. Then we made our way across the zoo and back to the petting zoo area where B had dropped us off (got soaked) and spent the reminder of our time seeing the farm animals under the barn roof.

Forest Park

We've promised our kids that we'd take them on a boat ride in the lake at Forest Park near the St. Louis zoo for three years. Since this was probably our last trip to St. Louis before we move (other than the one where we drive through as we're moving) we decided this had to be the trip. B and I had gone on a boat ride a couple of years ago for our anniversary.

We started the day at the zoo. We were envisioning horrible crowds since it was Memorial Day, in Missouri, at a free zoo. We were lucky (sort of) though because it was raining. It wasn't crowded. We got slowly drenched, but it was mostly just a stead drizzle. And we got to see a baby camel. I love baby animals. Baby X enjoyed the penguins most and finally mastered the sign for bird.

We also paid extra to ride the train... another promise we'd made to the kids. $5 a person (except for Baby X)!!! But I guess I shouldn't complain since admission to the zoo is free.

We also paid extra for the new sting ray exhibit. I'd pet sting rays before at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, or somewhere of the sort. So I thought the kids would enjoy it. Buddy assured me that he wasn't going to touch one, but he'd like to see them. PS thought she'd maybe touch one. Buddy ended up loving it and after about 10 minutes of just watching them, he decided to touch them and ended up petting quite a few. PS was much more scared and only barely touched a couple.

Then we headed to the lake and the boat ride. B's mom was meeting us at the lake to sit with Baby X while we took the two older kids on the boat. By now it had stopped raining so we thought we'd have to hurry over there before a line formed for the boat rentals. When we went for our anniversary we had to wait quite awhile for an available boat. We didn't need to hurry. There was only one other boat on the lake and it was heading in as we headed out. B picked a row boat rather than a paddle (or is it pedal) boat so that our kids weren't falling out the back while we went. After about 15 minutes it started to rain. The guy in charge of the boats told us if it was under 40 minutes we could get a rain check and that if it started to rain, to stop under one of the bridges. We had just passed under the last, and best bridge when it started to rain so we turned around pretty quickly but it seemed to be letting up so we kept going. By the time we got to the final (and worst) bridge it was pouring, but the bridge was just a metal grate that did nothing to keep us dry so we decided to just head all the way back to the dock rather than sit still getting wet when it could just get worse. Needless to say, we got a rain check. And drenched. And the kids got in a huge, horribly embarrassing (the dock is also a fancy restaurant) fight over their umbrella while we waited for B to get the car.

We ate our "picnic"provided by B's mom in the car as we drove to my old roommate Karen and her husband Nate's home to visit with them. Karen is from western Kansas and they moved to St. Louis last summer. We've been trying to meet up over the last year and hadn't managed it yet. It was fun to visit with them and see how much their kids have grown. I babysat their oldest when she was just a baby and I was completely clueless about kids.




We ended our day by seeing the outside of Ulysses S. Grant's home and getting stamps for our National Parks passports (and using their bathrooms). Our kids have been to Grant's Farm before with Grandma and Grandpa M but B and I hadn't and it was sort of on the way home so we drove past so we could see it.

Dinosaur Exhibit at the St. Louis Zoo

Zoo

For my first birthday I went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, and for my 30th I took the kids to the Topeka Zoo. They are both about the same size although Santa Barbara might be slightly larger.


the kids and the giraffes


Princess Sparkley, Buddy and the elephants


Buddy and the hippos


the kids in the bird rain forest


Princess Sparkley and the Bald Eagles


The best part of the zoo for Buddy... the train. And it's not even in the zoo. It's part of the park, Gage Park outside the zoo. And is only $1 per person (2 and under free) for about a mile train ride around the park... including a tunnel and railroad crossings. Buddy was so excited. We never do the train at the St. Louis zoo because it's like $5 a person. So this is awesome. Afterwards he asked if some time when we are in Topeka can we just drive through Gage Park because he wants to be one of the cars that has to stop at the railroad crossing.


Me and the boys on the train. (photo by PS)


Princess Sparlkey wanted to be on her own row.

Deanna Rose

This is maybe my 4th trip to the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead in Overland Park, KS. It's a park/farm/petting zoo or sorts. And it's free. We came twice with our Kansas relatives before moving here, and this is our 3rd Music Class Summer Fun Friday field trip. Although last year only our family went on the Fun Friday field trip because it was rainy.

Princess Sparkley looks huge on this "pony."



Buddy riding a ... turtle??


It must have been bright.




Buddy steering an old timer tractor.


Farmer Buddy off to the fields.


Farmer Princess Sparkley following close behind.


Cute baby ducks!


Mom, Dad and 3 baby geese.


The big kids.


Our friend was across the pond and took our picture...
poor Baby X off by himself in the stroller contraption.

Here we go, to the zoo, fuzzy monkey how de do

I'm always surprised when we talk to people who don't go to zoos. It's one of the spots we hit on vacations. And almost every time we go to Grandma and Grandpa's. This trip was no exception.



bear


prairie dog


Buddy was going to through a fit over the fact that I wouldn't buy him these (he's got some issue lately) and Princess Sparkley had the great idea to take his picture with it. That seemed to appease him.


It's spring, so there were lots of baby animals. This is some sort of gazelle I believe. Buddy calls them Poptarts because they are stripey like the breakfast snack.



Baby X's first zoo trip.



The cutest baby animal ever... a baby Somalia Wild Ass. So cute. Like a zebra mixed with a donkey, both animals that I think are so cute.




Baby X chilling in the stroller.

St. Louis Zoo

The St. Louis zoo is great because it's free. So if we are looking for something fun for our kids to do while visiting Grandma and Grandpa, we can cruise over to the zoo. It's free, so there isn't any pressure to see ALL the animals. We just visit the ones we want to see. Or the ones we didn't get to see last time. So we went to the zoo yesterday (10-12-07).

Here are Princess Sparkley andBoy with the gorilla statue outside the gorilla exhibit.
Notice Princess Sparkley's pose.

Daddy holding up both kids at the sea lion exhibit. We were just passing by when we noticed the crowd and saw that the sea lion feeding was in ten minutes. So we stuck around to watch.

Sea Lions. Not seals.

Boy during his impersonation of what a sea lion sounds like.


We saw this baby elephant a year ago. I thought it would have grown up a lot more in a year but it's still so tiny (yet probably a thousand pounds).

This is her a year ago when we first saw her.


Mommy and baby Oct. 2007.


The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Our kids both insisted on having their own zoo map to carry and stopped occasionally to look at it. Wonder where they got that from?

Climbing on a giant statue of some sort of beetle.


Princess Sparkley climbing.