The "Zzzzoo"

This morning, Sam and I took Banner to the zoo for the first time. To say it was great would be an understatement. We had a blast, and Banner seemed to be taking it all in. I was a bit worried about how a trip to the zoo (which is 30+ minutes from our house) would go given Banner would have to miss a nap. We opted for him to miss his morning nap; it would be cooler, and we could just get up and go. He woke up at 7:15, and since the zoo doesn't open until 9:00, we had a little time to finish making lunches, get ready and packed up, and head out the door. Somehow, though, we ended up leaving the house around 9:00 - much later than anticipated. I was hoping Banner might fall asleep on the way there for a short catnap, but no luck.

When we got there, Banner was intrigued by all the animals. The first animals he saw were the penguins, and his face in this first picture (below) describes his curiosity throughout the day. We loved showing him the animals - at times having to point them out to him - and then signing to him the animal we were looking at. His favorite part, though, was when we'd let him out of the stroller and let him explore on his own. He'd get quite talkative and squealy during these times and would liven up a lot! Interested in the animals when he was out of the stroller? Not so much. He was more preoccupied with studying the ground, the Velcro on his shoes, walking circles around and around the zoo map which he placed on the ground near his feet, and trying to pick up things to put in his mouth. He also really enjoyed the Children's Zoo area, particularly the stream of water we let him splash around in (although he tried numerous times to drink the water; he may have succeeded once or twice). By then, we knew it was time for lunch, so we enjoyed some air conditioning at the food court and ate the yummy lunch I had packed prior to leaving (see photos below).

About ten minutes after we put Banner in the car, he passed out! He hasn't slept in the car in many, many months. I'm glad to know he still can/will if he's tired enough. Unfortunately, he woke up as we pulled into the garage, and now he's been in his crib for an hour talking and playing. No good nap today, I guess! (And THAT really bothers me. But, we'll see how the rest of the evening/night/tomorrow goes! EEK!)

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the reason I titled this post The "Zzzzoo." In the middle of our visit, Banner turned to Sam (who was carrying B at the time) and said, "zzzzoo." We were a bit shocked but kept repeating it back to him, and he kept repeating it back to us. Even when we got home hours later, he kept saying "zzzzo" or "zahh" or "zoo" as I got him ready for his nap play time in his crib.

Enjoy some pictures below! And a big thank you to Mom, Bob, Brock, Mischelle, Kira, Erick, Caden, Mara, and Brycen for our zoo membership! We had a great time!

Curiosity and Intrigue at this new place!

Penguins!

Seeing his first real elephant with Daddy

"Look!"

Watching the elephants

Loved the Sahara!

Can't get over these eyelashes!

Banner feeding the giraffe some lettuce

Mommy & Banner - hard to get B's attention

Too much going on to get eyes towards the camera

The gorilla looks overwhelmed. Banner says, "Oy oy oy oy oy oy!"

Chillin' out!

Banner waves to the gorilla

Loving walking around!

"I think I'll just sit right here!"

Monkeys!

"It's okay. They're not real."

Banner & Daddy in the dark

Love!

This one's for Zaide!

Sam's stance as he is trying not to get frustrated with Banner's obsession with the gravel (and not the fish).

Play time!

Lunches by Mommy

 

The lunches were my attempt at a bit of creativity. Sam and I had the "ZOO" sandwiches which were made of peanut butter (and one had honey on it - my favorite!). Other than that, we each had a bit of everything (and I packed a lot since you just never know what kind of foods Banner will eat or not these picky days). On this day, he ate a few bites of banana, a few bites of his tortilla/cheese animal sandwiches, a slice of orange, a few blueberries, a couple peas, and more than enough goldfish and animal crackers. He also tried a few bites of my "Zoochini" flowers but turned them down - a huge surprise, as he normally LOVES zucchini. I had fun making this random assortment lunch. My favorite is the animal print cupcake liners. (I turned them inside out so we could enjoy the design more while celebrating Banner's first zoo experience.) I say overall it was a great day. Can't wait to go back for more, especially as Banner becomes more knowledgeable and interested in all the animals, their noises, their signs, their habitats. Oh, and can't wait to hear my sweet boy continue to keep saying ZZZOOO!