Do I Sense a Giraffe Theme?

Elizabeth has been asking to go to the Zoo for some time now, but the weather has been so cold and rainy that we have not been able to go. I promised her that the first warm day that we had free, I would take her to the Zoo. Well yesterday was the day!

Elizabeth was so excited when we arrived. She put on her sunglasses, climbed into her wagon, grabbed a map and said "come on, let's go!"


I made her stop long enough for a quick self-portrait and for a big bag of Kettle Corn. I sure do love my little girl!


Elizabeth loves to look at all of the monkeys. Because it was cool outside, all of the animals were really active. The monkeys were jumping and running and climbing. Elizabeth thought it was the coolest thing ever.


We both loved the Elephant Show. It is fun to learn about the elephants and to hear about what the zoo keepers do in order to train them. I think the new baby elephant, Zuri, is the cutest thing that I have ever seen.


When we got to the giraffe area, Elizabeth was so excited to see that one of the giraffes was sitting down. She thought that it was so funny that he would be sitting on the ground. I never really thought about it until today...but I don't think that I have ever seen a giraffe sit down.


After a quick snack (pretzels, apple slices, and some lemonade) we were off to the carousel. Elizabeth was so excited to ride on the giraffe, because it is mommy's favorite. She did inform me though that next time she will be riding the ladybug with Papa.


Since it was Elizabeth's birthday this week, I let her loose in the gift shop to pick something out (dangerous...I know). After walking around the shop at least five time, and looking at every toy more than once, Elizabeth decided on this darling little giraffe baby wrapped in a blanket.


I do have to say though, that when we first went into the gift shop, Elizabeth kept picking stuff out for her baby brother. It took quite a bit of convincing before she started looking at things for herself.

On the way out of the Zoo, we had to take our new little baby giraffe on a train ride. Elizabeth loved sitting on the bench, all by herself, and waving to all of the animals that are on display during the ride.


I had an amazing day with my little sweetheart. I am so blessed to be able to have these amazing experiences with her. I don't know if she will remember the fun little activities that I do with her...but believe me, I always will!

The Zoo

Matt, Elizabeth and I headed to the Zoo for a family fun day. Matt usually works on Saturdays, so when he found out that he had today off, he told us that he wanted to do something fun. The only stipulation was that he did not want to bring his camera...he just wanted to focus on having fun with his girls! We decided that since the weather was nice, we would take a trip to the Zoo.

On the way to the Zoo, we ran into road construction and traffic. It was quite the ordeal, so when we pulled up to the Zoo and saw all of the cars, Matt decided that we should go somewhere else...he had had enough! I quickly made a U-Turn and Elizabeth started freaking out. She was in the backseat screaming "I want to have fun with Daddy!" over...and over...and over. Matt felt really bad and said that we could stay! He couldn't stand to break our little girl's heart.

We are so glad that we ended up staying. It took us a little while to find parking but once we were in...the zoo was great. It was not too hot, it didn't seem as crowded as we thought it was going to be, and more importantly all the animals were out and active. Matt and I both agreed that this was our favorite trip to the Zoo...ever. We got to see penguins swimming, bears wrestling, and lots of baby animals. I could have died when I saw the adorable little elephant and giraffe.

I am so blessed and my heart is so full. I am so happy that I had this time to spend with my little family. Thanks Matt and Elizabeth for an amazing time!

A Day at the Zoo with Hailee

Elizabeth and I were invited to go to the Hogle Zoo with some friends that we met at Gymboree. I was so excited to go, especially since Elizabeth has not been to the zoo since last Fall. She is really interested in animals now, so I knew that she would love the zoo.


Elizabeth was so excited to have a friend to spend the day with. As we were driving to the zoo, Elizabeth kept calling for Hailee. The girls were so cute together. It was so adorable to see the two of them in their wagons.


Elizabeth loved all of the animals. Each time we saw a new animal, she wanted to get out of her wagon to get a closer look. If I had to guess, I would say that the bears were her favorite, with the giraffes coming in at a close second.


I just love seeing Elizabeth so happy. She would get so excited with each new animal that she saw. It was so cute because she would name the animal or do the animal sound each time she saw a new one. She had a huge grin on her face the entire day.


Elizabeth and Hailee were so excited to go on the Carousel. Elizabeth had a little meltdown on the line to buy tickets. Luckily, the line was not very long so we were on the ride before too long. The girls looks so cute riding next to each other. Hailee did a great job of getting off once the ride was over...but Elizabeth was another story. I had to pry her legs and arms from around the pole in order to get her off.


Every once in a while, we would get the girls out of their wagons so that they could walk around and get a closer look at some of the animals. Melissa and I were really proud of our girls for how they got back in their wagons...without complaining...when it was time to move to the next area.


Just before we left, we took the girls on the train. Elizabeth was extremely excited...until we got on...then she was terrified. She clung to me and would not let go. For the first little bit, she sat on my lap with her head on my shoulder, and would not move. I finally convinced her to turn around...but she still had to be on my lap. What a silly girl!


It made me so happy to spend the day, doing something fun, with my little girl. She is an absolute doll. She did great the whole day and totally loves her wagon.


I am so glad that we were able to go with Melissa and Hailee. We had a really great time. Thanks girls, It was so nice to spend the afternoon with you...and thanks for getting us in with your zoo membership!


Look at that face...you can tell that she was loving every minute!


Elizabeth had so much fun and was totally exhausted by the end of the trip. She fell asleep before we even backed out of the parking spot.