First Trip to the Zoo!

Yesterday marked Emma's very FIRST trip to the zoo! Yes, I know she is almost nine months old and until yesterday had yet to visit a zoo... Believe it or not, up in good old North Carolina, we do not have a real zoo. The closest thing we have to a zoo are a handful of those snake houses you see on the side of the highway. Great place to live huh? Since childhood I have always loved animals and of course loved the zoo. Being from San Antonio I have had access to one of the top zoo's in the nation and even in the world for most of my life. You can imagine how elated I was to finally be able to share a place which I have so many fond memories of with my daughter. Emma loves animals, to a degree that I believe to be uncommon among children her age, which made this experience even more exciting. On top of yesterday being her first trip to the zoo it was also her very first playdate with a very special little boy, Jameson Tripp Shipley. Most adorable little boy I think I have ever seen, and such a ladies man at that! Tripp is the son of my friend Morgan who I played Tennis with my freshman year of high school. He is just a few months ahead of Emma so her and I have been wanting to get the two of them together for quite some time now. Let me just say that all four of us had an absolute blast! Despite it being the last day of January the weather was beautiful! Sunny with temperatures in the low 80's! Below are just a handful of the photos taken along with descriptions. Enjoy!

Here is a picture of Tripp standing in front of one of the giant blocks in front of the toddler center. The toddler center was by far the highlight of the day. Perfect place for anyone with children!

This is the middle room of the Discovery House. It has a man made indoor pond where older toddlers can play with plastic fishing poles and pretend to "Fish." The younger ones can of course have a blast splashing amid the water while trashing their clothes which as we all know, is something children love doing. Along with the pond this room also has a 100+ gallon fish tank with curtains designed for puppet shows against an aquatic back splash. Very cool!

Here is Miss Emma crawling her way over to the pond in hopes of climbing in. She loves water and has no fear when it comes to it so she was quite intrigued by this exhibit. I did allow her to splash in it but only for a few moments because as you can see, she was trashing her brand new white socks! No good!

Such a flexible girl. She can do full on splits (this is nothing) and does them upwards of 20 times a day. It would not surprise me if she turned out to be a gymnast due to her natural flexibility and petite genes.

These photos were taken in the aquatic tunnel in the midst of the toddler center. It was absolutely breathtaking and made for a perfect photo opportunity! This is a freshwater tank filled with various varieties of catfish, some of which were upwards of 10 pounds! Incredible!

Emma and Tripp were both completely in awe of the sight in front of them. We were lucky enough to have several very friendly fish that had no problem swimming back and forth in front of the kiddos giving them a great view.

Beautiful Miss Morgan and her handsome little boy. These shots came out beautiful, the background being almost surreal thanks to my new camera from the husband. I know nothing about photography so these photos are a true testament to that camera's abilities. I highly recommend a Panasonic Lumix hd fz40 to anyone who enjoys taking photos!

Mister Tripp to curious and intrigued!

This was to me, one of the coolest things in the discovery center... In the back room there was a small tunnel. If you crawl into the tunnel (which I did), you get to the back and are amid a glass bubble. This glass bubble places you in the center of the groundhog exhibit at eye level with the little critters! As an adult I thought this was awesome so I can only imagine how incredible something like that is from a child's perspective.

Tripp checking out the tunnel.

You could also view the groundhog exhibit through the large glass window that spanned across the entirety of the back room.

Emma pulling up, which she is getting pretty proficient at, so that she could check out the little critters.

The front room of the discovery center had a play kitchen which Emma and Tripp both really enjoyed.

Taking orders via telephone!

Tripp putting together a "Meal."

"Yummmm, bread!"

More pulling up, boy am I in trouble!

Morgan snuggling both babies inside the hippo exhibit.

Watching the hippos do tricks through the glass. This was the best hippo exhibit I have ever seen!

Relaxing, watching the birds, and eating some fresh berries and baby mum-mums.

Pretty Mommy and baby at the zoo entrance.

This chunky little goober has my whole heart.

Our beautiful babies after a nice day at the zoo together. Their first "Date."

After the zoo Morgan and I took the kiddos for a ride on the brackenridge train which goes through a beautiful park in San Antonio. Her and I both rode this train as children.

Emma and Tripp both loved the train ride!

Back at home in Aunt Chars lap playing with her gift from Mommy. While at the zoo she kept ditching her bottle over the edge of her stroller. So, problem solved! A lion water bottle from the zoo gift shop. I place the bottle into the case, put it around her neck, no longer allowing her to throw it onto the ground!

What a fun day and a great adventure to add to the books! We are thankful for good friends and for the chance to enjoy such a fun and educational outing. Hopefully we will be able to partake in a few more adventures with Morgan and Tripp before we head back home to North Carolina.