Trip to the Zoo

     June 2nd was my youngest daughter's birthday!  My precious baby Lilly is now two years old.  On her first birthday we took her to the Indianapolis Zoo, and that was something I really wanted to do again this year.  It looked as though it was going to rain, so I was super bummed out.  We looked and looked for different solutions for her special day, but nothing seemed as fun for her.  We had a back up plan, but were crossing our fingers that the weather would hold out for us.



     We woke up in the morning to a promising forecast.  Despite the small cells of rain that we saw, it looked like we might be able to do the zoo after all!

     We got to the zoo and had a great time!  We did as much outside stuff as we could at the beginning, saving the inside exhibits for the end.  At first, Lilly seemed to be just taking it all in.  Not really making much expression, but just staring at the animals.  A few animals in though, you could really tell she was enjoying herself.

     We started by just looking at some of the animals.  The tiger was pretty close and beautiful.  Lilly just stared, but when we left she waved "Bye Bye" to it.  After the tiger, she then waved "Bye Bye to all the animals"  Isn't that nice of her!  

     After seeing some animals, we came upon the dog show.  Ashley remembered it from last year and really wanted to watch it again, so we did.  Lilly was loving it!  She was clapping and laughing at all the dogs doing flips and catching the frisbees.  My favorite part is when they have a kid from the audience come up, hide his hat in the arena, and go sit back down in the stands.  They then had the dogs come out, sniff to find an article of clothing, and then sniff his way back to the child who belonged to the hat.  So amazing!

     The bird rooms were pretty cool.  you were able to walk through, with the birds flying all around you.  I had one even swiped my head when it flew by!  I'm not sure Ashley was very comfortable with it.  She seemed to walk through, the first room anyways, rather quickly.  Maybe she was just excited to wear the bird heads though.  The second we got out, she asked for me to take a picture of her and Lilly.  This picture just cracks me up!

   We saw lots more animals, and played a lot as well.  We got to see feeding time for the Elephants, and both girls were mesmerized watching the elephant pick up his hay to eat it.  My husband and I even really enjoyed watching it!  It was like the elephant was actually trying to eat with manners, and didn't shove it all in his mouth at once.  The girls actually enjoyed walking through the snake area, although I have no idea why. YUCK!   When it was time to pet the little sharks that they have, Ashley was all about it at first.  She watching my husband and myself do it, and then would step up, put her hand in the water, but pull away as soon as the shark came near.  Oh well, maybe next year!

  

     I think both girls' favorite was the dolphin show though.  Lilly was clapping and dancing and pointing through the whole thing.  The giggles that came from her were so cute.  When we were able to go to the viewing area underneath the water, Lilly seemed to be in awe.  She would just stand on the ledge, face squished against the glass, and stare.  When we went to the gift shop, we let Lilly pick out a stuffed animal for her birthday.  We walked around the store looking at animals and the only one that she really grabbed was the shark.  I'm almost positive she thinks it was the same thing as the dolphins that we saw.  She was hugging it, and looking at it and smiling and laughing.  She was in love with her new toy.  Adorableness to the max!

     The newest feature that they have at the Indianapolis Zoo is the Orangutan area.  It's a huge place where they can swing and play. On the inside where we are allowed, they have workers walking around with different artifacts such as the skeleton of the hands, to show how big they are, and the native fruit that they like to eat.  Lilly and Ashley both seemed to find these large creatures very interesting.  I love how in the picture, the orangutan is staring at Lilly, with her staring back!

     Ashley and Lilly had a blast at the zoo!  We only usually go about once a year.  That way it makes it more exciting for the girls when we do go.  I was so very thankful that the rain held out for the most part.  We only had to use the umbrella for a few minutes.  It was a beautiful trip that all 4 of us greatly enjoyed.  

     And it wore my sweet two year old out!