Zoo Visits

For Christmas, my parents got Molly a membership to the Zoo which we LOVE! The Zoo is about 2 1/2 miles from our house so it is an easy location for quick or long visits. My parents were generous enough to get us two passes which means that we can bring along friends or Scott on our visits to the Zoo.



Our first stop is always to the Penguin exhibit before heading over to Zoomazium to run off some toddler energy. The Penguins were obsessed with Molly's coat on our last visit which made for some good laughs. The zookeeper even came over to giggle at them. 



Zoomazium is such a fun place! They have a smaller, fenced in area for toddlers and a larger area for the big kids. Molly runs around, climbs through the hollow tree, pounds on the poor fish tank, watches the goat TV and bangs on the African drums. It also gives me a bit of a break. 



I can stand and chat with the other Moms while our kids let out some of their energy. We don't have to worry too much about escaping (except Molly has learned how to slide out when other kids are leaving with their parents) or unsafe areas where the kids could get hurt. The staff also plays music and brings out some shaker instruments for the kids to all play with. 



Once all of Molly's energy is depleted, we usually head over to the eating area for lunch. It's such a great area with some food vendors (if I decide to eat at the Zoo), large tables and a billion highchairs which is so nice when I have multiple friends with me. 



Usually after lunch, we are getting close to naptime so I pack Molly into the stroller and we head over to say hello to the Gorillas. We know all their names and we like to play spot the baby. Her name is Uzumma and she nurses a lot. It is the sweetest thing to see. 



Molly starts to get sleepy after her visits with the Gorillas so we usually head home. If it is a nice day, I might take the long way back to the car as Molly snoozes in the stroller. If not, I hightail it back to the car to see if I can make it home before she falls asleep. Sometimes I am successful and other times I end up at Golden Gardens watching the water while she sleeps.