My little monkeys at the zoo

The zoo is getting to be more fun with Maya, now that she's aware of the animals and not just along for the stroller ride.  I took the kids in the spring, and she noticed the big animals this time, though I'm pretty sure she missed the ones like the wolf who sleeps by the fence, nor was she impressed by the snoozing lions.  

She preferred being out and about or in my arms, so she was happy to play in the African exhibit area with Collin.

Acting like silly monkeys with the chimpanzees in the background -

Though she was feet from the fence and the fence was at my shoulder height, Maya made a once-in-a-lifetime toss for an eleven-month-old of her Sophie la Giraffe teething toy, and it ended up inside the giraffe exhibit.

While we waited for the zookeepers to rescue the teething toy (mostly waited for them to remove the live giraffe choking hazard), we hopped over to the petting zoo for Maya's first time with the goats.

She wasn't really sure what to think -

Collin posing away -

He's just now picked up on the boy gene to climb all over things, getting more and more daring -

We headed back to the zoo the first Friday of June, meeting up with my friend Michelle and her two girls.  Before we strapped Maya in the stroller, we let her chase some pigeons in the pond outside the entrance.

As all second children, she wants to be just like her big brother, who took off after the birds as soon as we came to the path.

Continuing our streak of adding a taste of adventure to our zoo visits (the first one being Sophie the teething toy visiting her real giraffe brethren), Maya slipped in mud within the first 15 minutes inside the zoo, and then proceeded to get mud all over me when I picked her up and all over Collin when he caught a ride in the front part of the stroller.  Keeping it classy at the zoo!

The kid crew -

Michelle had wisely suggested bringing swim suits for the splash pad, and it was the perfect combination.  We saw animals for 30 minutes, cooled off in the sprinklers, ate lunch, and caught a few more animals as we exited.  Collin was a wild man, running around and fighting the water -

Maya wasn't sold on getting soaked, but she toddled around and splashed around in the tame bubblers -

Visiting the home stretch of animals and posing by the rhino cutout -

Back to Maya's favorite part, the chimpanzees.  She threw a mini tantrum when we left.

Can you see her happy expression in the reflection?

Mesmerized by the up-close look -

Both of my kids could stay here awhile - and since this is one of the rare, air conditioned spots in the zoo, we normally take our time!

We had a fun morning with friends, and the day effectively wore my kids out.  Look forward to many more visits . . . though I'd be okay waiting for the fall weather for our next one!