Zoo

Wow, were we getting cabin fever after these past few days of rain.  What a welcome sight the sun was this morning!  Even Hannah noted it and requested to go outside first thing this morning (after we watched the Princess wedding fanfare, of course!).

We are really fortunately to live so close to a wonderful zoo.  I had really hoped that we'd get there quite often last year, but with a newborn, it just didn't happen.  So, today was my first solo venture to the zoo with both kids.  Actually, this was also Jack's first trip to a zoo EVER!  

It's still early in the season, so some of the animals are still hibernating and/or vacationing in warmer climates for the winter (this is Michigan after all!)  However, the penguins are always good to go in their indoor habitat.  Hannah was thrilled to see them in real life since she's seen so much of them in Mary Poppins!

It struck me as we were wandering around what a difference there is in Hannah this year compared with last year.  She liked the zoo last year, but this time she was so much more interactive with the exhibits.  She just couldn't get enough of all of the animals. 

One of her favorite stops was the farm animals.  I didn't let on that it was actually the petting portion of the zoo since honestly, I just didn't feel like carting Jack out of the stroller and going in to get our hands all dirty and germy.  Thankfully, the other parents must have had the same idea b/c nobody else was inside petting the animals either.  Hannah was totally happy just looking in from the outside.  She did notice all of the hand sanitizer dispensers around the area, though, and kept insisting on washing her hands.  Good girl!

This cute wooden train kept Hannah busy for quite awhile, as she ran back and forth and back and forth.  A great way to wear off all of that pent up energy from the past few days!

With the sun beaming down, Jack got to try out his shades. 

Look at those little paws.  I thought it would be fun to compare year-to-year, as long as they keep the display and I remember to take the picture!

Another thing I've noticed lately is that Hannah is really getting into other kids.  She tagged right along with her cousins on Easter, and today she wanted to jump right in with any other kids who looked like they might be playing.

After a couple of hours, we'd made it through.  Of course, we had to pay a visit to Nessie before we left.  Both kids did great, so I'm really hoping to get back for many more visits this summer.