Zoo Fun with Pop-Pop

Daniel checks out the zebra.

And the giraffe.

I love pictures of Daniel walking hand-in-hand with the guys in his life...

Check out the grizzly bear standing up!

Daniel loved the bird/snake/lizard house!

Daniel ducks as he walks through the tunnel...though he sure didn't have to!

Fun in the sandbox!

Check out Daniel's legs- how is he even sitting like that??

What a great smile!

Daniel being silly...love the belly shot!

On Friday, Daniel and I took Grandpa Gary to the zoo with us. We had BEAUTIFUL weather- it started out a little chilly, but really warmed up nicely and the sun was shining among blue skies the whole day. We couldn't have asked for a better day!

First thing Daniel wanted to do when we got there was go on the "up-down" of course! So Pop-pop took him for a ride on the carousel, but true to Daniel's two-year-old nature lately, he wanted to get off after it went around only once. That's Daniel for you these days- he wants something one minute and the next he's changed his mind! I think he's just exercising his two-ness and his ability to ask and get and then say never mind.

Daniel has really been getting good at naming so many animals these days. And as is often common in little kids (believe me, I know from teaching), he gets a few of them mixed up from time to time. Like the giraffe and zebra. So we've really been teaching these two in particular and I wanted to be sure to stop by them on our visit. He named the zebra immediately! Yay! And he had fun watching the giraffes, too.

We got to see the grizzly bear in action, thanks to a demonstration that we just happened to be right there for! It was awesome! And since it wasn't too crowded at the zoo today, we could actually see pretty well, too.

I think Daniel's favorite part of the zoo was the Feathers & Scales building. There were lots of displays down low enough that Daniel could walk up to and see into by himself and that made it so much fun. The cages were floor to ceiling and he had fun watching the birds fly, walk, and hop around. We had a lot of fun in that building.

We also spent some time in the Hamill Family Play Zoo, especially in their giant sandbox outside. Daniel was a little upset when we left the sandbox and didn't go back to it later. He kept saying "more sandbox", even signing for more (which he hardly ever does anymore) just in case we really didn't understand! Poor guy. At this point, he was just tired. He had fun running down the empty path past the old bear exhibits, as we headed to the park as promised, which again, he was really just too tired for. So then we headed home, and you can bet Daniel slept the whole way home!

We had a great time! Thanks for coming with us, Pop-Pop!