ZOOrific!!

Family fun!

So, we just LOVE the zoo around here! It is terrific(hints the ZOOrific title)!! We took Hayden for his first trip last year, and he had a great time, but of course this year he enjoyed it even more. He had so much fun watching and interacting with all the animals. We actually had a hard time getting him to walk away from some exhibits! I am so glad we live close enough to make a trip at least once a year, because I think it is something he will always look forward to. This year we went for the "Beat the Heat" deal(yes, it was a month ago... blog slacker, I know!) and I must say we didn't quite "beat" the heat. We did get there on time(surprise,surprise), but it was still smoking hot! Lucky for us it was quite shaded so we didn't completely die!!!:)

Being a silly boy with his PJ pics the night before the zoo...

Including growling like the lion on his shirt,

And kissing his oh so sweet giraffe!!!

I even got lucky and got one of him looking at the camera!:)

Showing us the Parakeets...

They looked so cool all perched up on this tree!

Another cool thing about the parakeet exhibit was that you could actually feed them. You could buy food on a stick and hold the stick out for the parakeets to come and get. We didn't actually do that this time, but we watched other people do it and it was really cool. They would come right up to the stick and perch themselves near it and eat. Tons of people even had the parakeet perched on one hand and the stick in the other while it was eating. I thought Hayden might get a little too scared this time to actually hold onto the stick without dropping it straight to the ground when the parakeet flew over, so we'll try it next time!!

He showed us each and every Elephant!

And this one even walked right over towards us! Look at those huge ears!:)

We were able to get really close to the giraffes which was awesome.
We watched this one eat for a good 5 minutes and it was really
cool. We were so close you could even see the wrinkles in
their skin and how matted their poor little tails were.
We all really enjoyed the giraffes!

And Hayden even got to pet one!!!:)

This guy was Hayden's favorite. I think he could have watched the
orangutan's swing ALL day. He literally burst into tears when
we had to leave to let other people watch! They were
putting on quite a show for us, but I had no idea it
was so entertaining for Hayden until we
attempted moving on. I wonder if he'll
always like them that much?!?

He also REALLY loved this slide! I can't even believe we let him play
on the playground because normally we don't take the time for it,
but it was a good call this day. He had so much fun! I couldn't
believe he would even do this slide, but he did and he
smiled the entire way down!:)

Loving it!

Last year we opted not to take him in the petting zoo, but this year
we just had to let him try it. Another good call on our part.
He was a little hesitant at first...

But warmed up to the idea of petting them pretty quickly.

And before long was petting them right by himself!:)
We even got to experience the hand washing
station after this exhibit!!!

Watching the monkeys! We probably should not
have let him stand up on this ledge, but he
really loved it so we just had to!:)

Watching the kangaroo's jump, jump, jump!:)

I really can't believe I even have this picture. We just put him up
to this piece of cardboard on a whim. I was for sure one of
us would have to get up there with him. He proved
us wrong. Not only did he not need us, he
enjoyed being up there on his own!
I think this one of him peeking
out of the hole is so cute!

But, this one is definitely the funniest! He just had
to see what was under that hole!

And finally... one of him smiling and waving! Gotta love it.
Cutest little cub I ever did see!!

I just had to end the post with this pic...

Exactly what I wanted to be doing after the exhausting trip to the zoo!
Isn't this just the cutest thing ever?!?

See ya next time Zoo Atlanta! Be ready for us!:)