Zoo Day

Springtime came early! Or, maybe just for the day. Either way, it was close to 75 degrees yesterday so I gave myself a pep talk and decided to take the girls to the zoo. I prepared the night before to spend all day outside of the house with two kids on my own. It went surprisingly well.

The girls actually slept in a little bit (yay!) so we didn't get as early of a start as I had hoped but it was all good. We got dressed (jean jackets all around - except for me - I didn't want to be too matchy-matchy...) and stopped to get bagels for breakfast.

I'm sure we went as a kid, but I have only been to the Kansas City Zoo one other time in my adult life. It was before we had kids; Justin and I went with his sister and her family. All I remember is walking. A lot. From what I remembered, the zoo is pretty spread out and we had to walk for what seemed like miles in-between animal exhibits. It was also a hot summer day and I was probably hung over or something like that so my memories are probably a bit skewed, but I was not loving the zoo that day.

Anywho, having kids changes your perspective and what kid doesn't love the zoo? I felt obligated to take them. Plus, we were experiencing a heatwave in January so it was the perfect day to get out and about. I loaded up the van with snacks, drinks, and our new double stroller and told Gracyn that she had to ride with Leighton otherwise the leopards and cheetahs would eat her. Not really, but I was nervous she'd run off or not listen to me when it was time to move on so we did have a rather lengthy convo at breakfast about listening to mommy and being a big girl.

She did so great. She walked half the time but always stayed close by. The zoo was busy but since it covers 4821 square miles it didn't seem terribly crowded. Leighton slept pretty much the whole time and I timed it so we'd be at the penguin house when she needed to eat to take advantage of the private mother's room so I could nurse her quick.

We saw polar bears, elephants, tigers, seals, and I even pushed 40 pounds worth of children (plus all of our other crap) alllll the way to the very furthest corner of the zoo to see the chimpanzees. They were laying in the grass, not moving or doing anything interesting at all, but still - worth it.

Leighton was still hungry by the time we stopped for lunch so I nursed her again while we ate. First time nursing in public, too. Not a huge fan and even though we were in the corner and I was covered up I still felt like everyone was staring (even though they weren't...). Me pausing to take pictures to document this milestone probably didn't help facilitate my desire to be discreet either but, you know how it goes.

We had such a good time exploring and walking for miles and seeing all the "am-inals!!!!" We couldn't wait to get home and tell daddy all about it. The girls were asleep by the time we left the zoo parking lot and I ended the night with cuddles. And a beer. Because, duh.