Zoo!

I'd say our zoo trip was definitely successful!  I think the kids still have a long way to go before they can really get a whole lot out of it, but I think everyone had fun and the kids were at least somewhat aware of the animals.  I'll let the pictures tell the story:

 

Not sure what this gesture is, but she looks excited, right?  This was the first exhibit we saw.

The giraffes were our favorite exhibit because they were so beautiful and you could get very close to them.  For $2, you could feed them some lettuce, but we decided to save that for another time.  We counted 9 giraffes in the zoo's exhibit, including a baby.

It seemed we never could get Sophie to look at the camera.

A silverback gorilla.

A giant turtle.

Sophie and I are about the enter The Range of the Jaguar!  Like many of the other animals, they were sleeping when we saw them.

 

Warthog!

 

John and Sophie overlooking the rhino exhibit.

The elephants were our second favorite exhibit.  They were really interesting to watch, and we got to observe them during a scheduled "Elephant Encounter" where their handler gave them some commands ("speak," "ears," stomping each foot, etc) and coaxed one of them into the water so we could be right next to her and watch her eat whole apples and heads of cauliflower.  I liked that the zoo seemed to treat their animals very well; the trainer said that all the "tricks" were not for show, but for them to check the elephant's health periodically.  He also mentioned how the elephant was feeling many times, and at that exhibit and others, there was a lot of information about the animals' emotions and social life.

Lots of flamingos!

Thought Sophie would love the fountain, especially in the 80-degree weather, but she was too scared to touch it.

Recently, Sophie said to me, "I'm not Sophie.  I'm sweetie pie!"

Sophie hasn't been eating much these days.  At the zoo, instead of eating her lunch, she mostly just played with her animal crackers, having them talk to each other and ride on each others' backs.

The zoo also had a robotic dinosaur exhibit, where these guys would roar and shake their heads at us from among the trees.  This one, a Pachycephalosaurus, was Sophie's favorite, even before we realized that it is featured in a kids' song she knows well.

The Big Dude.

The zoo also had a little splash ground with sea mammals that squirted water.  It was a great break for the kids after a long day of walking around the zoo.  They especially loved this manatee!

Dada sacrificing his dryness for his daughter's enjoyment.

Manatee again.

Manatee with Dada.

On our way out, we stopped at the giraffe exhibit one more time and caught the baby nursing what must be its mama.  She tolerated it for a while, then gave baby the brush-off.  I know the feeling well.

Maybe next year, we'll drive up to Atlanta to see the aquarium.  I think Sophie will really like it.  She seems particularly interested in fish and ocean animals.