Being pregnant in the heat of the summer has some great advantages (being able to wear lighter clothes, an excuse to stay inside, swimming, to name a few) but it also has this one huge disadvantage - it's miserable being hugely pregnant in the summer heat. This is the second year in a row for me, you would think I'd be a pro at this by now!
You can see it on the faces of the many women walking around the zoo, yes, it's very distinctive the way we trot behind our husbands lagging along desperately seeking that next bit of shade! I allowed the boys to go ahead of my and my hugeness several times today, as I gulped water and stayed near the shade.
This was our (mine and Cooper's) 3rd trip to the zoo this year, and the first time Ben has come along with us. That meant of course I'd have super dad to push the stroller, and it would be so much easier to take pictures of Cooper enjoying his time at the zoo. It also meant that Ben could ride the carousel with Coop and I could keep my feet firmly planted on non-rotating ground!
Enjoy the pictures!
The last few times Cooper has ridden the carousel he has "chosen" different animals, first attempt he wanted to ride a cheetah, this was one of the times I was by myself with him and as the cheetah rose up off of it's starting position, it just keep going and going, I am only 4"11 and the cheetah started rising above my head, at this time Cooper was only 7 or 8 months old. So, for sure I wanted to keep a firm grasp on him. I managed to keep my hands on him and quickly moved to something a little more solid, I think it was a seal. Anyway, the next time we tried a bunny and he was very very wiggly, so I ended up sitting with him on the bench seat, he loved that. Today he rode the stationary giraffe (probably the favorite animal of the day!) and he seemed to wonder "why is my guy just standing here. All those other guys are going up and down." I bet he would have had fun on one of the other guys, but I mentioned to Ben how wiggly he was before, so he opted for the stationary carousel animal.
Even though you can't tell this pic was taken in the Lorikeet exhibit where the birds land on you and peck you on the arm. Well, Ben chose to get pecked, and I just took shots of Coop. The birds were beautiful but so is our boy!
The elephants were basically invisible to Cooper when I took him earlier this year. He was just not looking at them at all, I would point and say "oooh Elephant" and he would just look at them like they were big rocks. Well, today was different. Today he said "OOOH" at the elephants. That's what this last image shows him saying.
We were enjoying the wrinkles on the side of this young giraffe. We just thought they looked so fluffy!
The last image of the giraffe Cooper watched as the little guy came closer and closer and said "No, no" just like he says to the dog when she takes the toy that he is putting in her mouth and the way he tells the cats "no, no" to get out of his wagon. He thinks they really listen. I bet if that giraffe could have he would have walked right up to Coop and with his long tongue he would have licked Cooper right on the face, all the while he would be laughing saying "no, no" just like he does with his doggy. Isn't that what a giraffe is anyway, a really tall doggy?
Coop loves the meercats, I think they are kind of sneaky looking little guys.
This was in the petting zoo, the reason the pics are so far away is that I was tired, I need to sit on the bench and look from far away in the shade. Daddy and Coop had fun petting a camel. Apparently Cooper really enjoyed the camel's mouth and touched his lip. I found out when he got back and we were putting Cooper back in his stroller. I was getting some wipes out to wipe his hands and as I wiped the first hand I asked Ben, did he touch any animals, at that moment his other hand was in his mouth, Ben says, yeah, he touched the camel lips. Gross.
Hope you enjoyed our day as much as we did!
