Visiting the Pandas through a Little Boy's Eyes

Is it just me, or are zoos way more exciting when you are an adult with a small child?  I don't remember thinking that zoos were very fun places.  Most times when I remember going to the zoo, I remember that it was hot, crowded and smelled odd.  But this weekend we took Gabriel to the National Zoo and had a wonderful time.

In fact, I'd have to say that the best time to go to a zoo is likely in the Fall/early Winter.  It was definitely cooler, but by Canadian standards, absolutely doable.  But the animals were calm and it was much less crowded and smells weren't even detectable.

Highlights of our trip:

1) The Red Panda: more like a raccoon than a panda but the colours were very lively and bright.

2) The Pandas: they looked so cuddly and cute, but the way they snapped those bamboo shafts, Whoa!

3) The Elephant: the trainers had her doing all sorts of tricks.  They just waved their wand and called out commands.  Sort of like with Abe, except that they did it from inside a steal structure.  Hmmm...  Let's go with the fact that she's big and might not notice if she stepped on them, shall we.  I'd also like to note that the 3 inch diameter steel rods connected to 8 inch by 8 inch posts was a good indicator of elephant strength.  Yikes!

4) The tiger that stuck his tongue out at us.  I guess he wanted to stay inside where the food was, and didn't like that they made him go play outside.  Abe empathizes.

 

 5) The Ape:  Oh, the ape.  Everyone thought he was scratching.  But.  He wasn't.  He surprised us by catching his feces, hot out of the oven and then chowed down on it like he was eating an apple.  Hmmm.  Yum.  Well, another good indicator of the degrees of separation between us and them.

6) The Aquarium: I think this was Gabriel's favorite part.  But are we surprised?  After all, he is a water boy!  Can't keep this boy away from water.  The bright colours, soothing sounds.  He loved it!

Although I am pretty sure that Gabriel loved everything about the zoo.  He watched each animal with fascination--especially the panda.  And loved the accompanying animal sounds I made.

The downside of the zoo--animals in captivity... you know, I kind of feel bad. BUT, the best part about going to the zoo is seeing all of those REAL animals that you might never see anywhere else except in books.  And let's face it, REAL is sooo much cooler!

The day that Gabriel conquered his highchair....

... forcing it into submission with his brute strength and endless determination.  Having a boy is pretty entertaining, I must say.  We've had the pleasure of experiencing multiple playdates with friends of ours in the neighborhood.  And it is amazing to see the difference between these little girls and Gabriel.  Maybe Gabriel is just unusually "boyish," but he climbs all over the delicate, lovely and sweet Corinne and chubby, adorable and soft Giada.  Sweet Audette has got her own sense of determination, but she doesn't show the same bullish rough play that Gabriel does, even when he is being "gentle."  And by gentle, I mean reverberating thumps against Abe's body that Abe protests is not quite gentle enough.

Well, in a tenacious display of problem-solving and strength, Gabriel man-handled his highchair, wrestling into a corner in the dining room before steering it backward and all the way across the main floor into the living room.  You could see the wheels turning as he hit obstacles along the way.  Watching him achieve this rather impressive goal was a moment of mama pride, sort of like witnessing a hunter wrestle a bear to the ground, although likely a lot less frightening.  I felt like cheering, but tried to keep my camera steady enough to catch a few shots.

    

What could be more fun than a Pillow Pit?

So in our new place, we have tried to baby-proof pretty much everything.... But, Gabriel is pretty incredible at finding anything that isn't totally baby-proofed.  We've obviously gated the stairs, and yet the bottom two steps jut out from the wall, making it impossible to fully gate.  Gabriel has launched himself a few times.  We are a little concerned about the number of times this child has clunked his noggin.... so we had to do something.  Getting creative, we assembled a make-shift pillow pit to soften the blow.  Unfortunately, it has done more than prevented him from hitting his head, it has actually encouraged him to dive head first into the pit, often somersaulting!  (Who needs a Gymnboree when you can make your own at home, huh?)