Things Collin Learned at the Zoo

Collin's second favorite place on earth, after Disneyland of course, is the zoo. So, as his birthday celebration, we took him and Gracie, along with her parents and Baby Ben there today. It was an educational experience for Mr. Collin; starting with waiting out front for our friends to arrive.

Collin learned that despite his "girth" he still fits through narrow spaces...just barely, and with shouts of "help! Mama, help!" every inch of the way. You'd think after one try at this, he'd not make another attempt, but no, this is great fun to repeat.

He also learned that ants crawling on trees are most certainly viewed at the closest of range.

And, if you know our boy at all, you would most definitely know that he would re-learn that lunch is obviously the best part of any day outing to any place at all. Today's lunch: corn dog and chips. What could be better than a hot dog? A hot dog that's breaded and deep fried, that's what!A few more lunches like this and he will no longer fit through the aforementioned small space.

The family, including Collin, learned that when you bring other people to the zoo with you (including capable adults that can work a camera) you can actually get a family photo! That doesn't necessarily mean you'll get a good photo; not because they can't take good pictures, because they can; but, because someone (a-hem, Collin!) doesn't always cooperate by smiling. Still, it's nice to have all three of us in a shot together. This is us, coexisting in the same space. See, we were together! Not that you can tell we were all at the same place, considering Daddy and Collin appear to be dressed for weather that was all together different than what Mommy was dressed for. One of us is somehow programmed with a different thermostat than the others. Guess which one?

Collin also learned a bit about the art of sucking up. Can you guess what was going on here? Yep, there's some snuggling happening. What you don't know is why. He was pulling my necklace a bit too much and I told him if he didn't stop it, I was going to get him out of the goat line and we wouldn't' get to pet the goats. He didn't have to know it was an empty threat. So, instead of just stopping, he decided to hug me...a lot. I think he liked the first hug so much, he just kept doing it. Daddy was Johnny-on-the-spot with the camera and I didn't mind being on the receiving end of so much snuggles either. Collin learned that hugging does get you places with Mommy.....

Like, into the goat pen. The first time we went to the zoo, he was all about the goat pen. The second time, he was nervous. This time, he had learned that the goats were freaking awesome. He seriously ran from goat to goat, figuring that they ALL needed brushing.

The overall lesson of the zoo experience was that tonight, when we did our "talk about day" before bed, he assessed that we can't have a tiger at home because "tigers bite fingers," an idea he came up with all on his own, and that we "brush goats fun." So, I think he had a pretty good day and somehow learned something. I think that's overall a good thing.