Birthday Trip to the Zoo

I've recently realized that a kid's first birthday is great because its a perfect excuse to do fun stuff you normally like to do--in our case, a trip to the zoo. Its also great because it means that when the bookstore's kids club sends your baby a coupon for a free birthday cookie, you actually get a free cookie (I mean, he can't eat it anyways). And really, shouldn't all of the celebration for a child's first birthday really be for you, the parents, for actually managing to keep him alive for a whole year? That first year is no joke. We are survivors! And we will eat our son's free birthday cookie without shame. 

But right, back to the zoo---

Yes, so we figured that with how much Curran loves Remy and Marley as well as watching the seagulls flying along with the ferry, he would surely enjoy a trip to the zoo, and we would too. Because the weather was supposed to be gloomy his actual birthday weekend, we decided to go the week before--which actually worked out great because my ticket was half off for Mother's Day and Curran ended up being horribly sick the weekend of his birthday anyway. So it was a perfect day for a family outing in every way.

As soon as we got to the zoo we were greeted by this flashy peacock. Curran was definitely interested in him and kept saying "ahooooo, ahooooo" while he watched the bird turn and caw. Being the quiet observer he is, he calmly took in the sights and sounds, enjoying things in his own way.

He really took a liking to the aquariums and watching the fish and sharks swim about.

He wasn't quite big enough to reach the sting rays and little sharks, but he did pet a star fish!

This was so great! Elephants are one of my favorite so I was very excited when one walked right up to the edge and we were able to get an awesome look.

This picture of Curran sticking his tongue out while walking makes me laugh because my dad does it when he's working on or figuring out something, and my dance teacher used to tell me I did it too when I was trying to get a difficult step. Looks like Curran might be a Conrad tongue thinker too.

Once we stopped for a little break Curran made a bee line for the snacks. The man knows what he likes! And its so nice that he's finally wanting to really eat food now, though we have a long way to go (but more on that another time).

After a snack break we went to the amphitheater to watch the Indiana Bones show and see more gorgeous animals. The show had lots of audience participation which always took Curran by surprise and of course upset him, but once he got used to it he was fine. And he was so enthralled, he sat still for the whole show---I don't think that's ever happened! Now if only he would do that in church....

Happy boy! He's starting to really enjoy dancing and grooving to music.

Though a little hazy, we had a lovely view of Mt. Rainier while at the zoo. Seeing it never gets old!

We don't normally buy souvenirs from places like zoos or amusement parks but we thought we'd get Curran a special red wolf stuffed animal for his birthday and his first trip to the zoo. He enjoys petting him and carrying him around by the paw throughout the day.
We had such a lovely day with Curran and can't wait for future zoo trips as he gets older. Its a little thing, but I'm excited to see what animal becomes his favorite as he learns more about them. I love seeing who Curran is becoming and the things he's interested in. We love our bugaboo!