Birds and Bees and Giraffes Making Babies

Yesterday we took a family outing to the zoo.  It was a beautiful day, and since we got there early, we were able to enjoy it before it got too crowded.  The new giraffe exhibit had just opened, and the butterfly garden (my favorite) had just re-opened.  I was so excited about the butterflies, so we went there first, and then we made our way over to the giraffes.  One giraffe was obviously "interested" in another giraffe, and the zookeeper told us the female giraffe was, ah-hem, ready to procreate and the male giraffe would not stop following her until he had, well, you know... She would move from tree to tree eating, and he stayed right behind her.  Every now and then he would nuzzle his head against hers, and much of the time he was unable to keep his intentions under wrap ;). The female was definitely flirting and teasing but was making him work for what he wanted.  Each time he got too close, she would scurry off, and each time she scurried off, he went scurrying behind her!  

We had bought a ticket to feed the giraffes, but the zookeeper told us she was afraid we wouldn't get to because if the lady didn't want to come over to us, then her gentleman wasn't coming either.  Luckily, there was another giraffe, and she so graciously came over for us to feed.  Also, luckily, we were done with the feeding before the other two "did the deed" with us there!

We were given 4 pieces of food to feed the giraffe.  Karl was holding Cooper and taking one piece of food at a time from me to feed her.  Coop watched intently, and when he saw one piece left in my hand, he grabbed it and fed it to her just like Karl did.  He held it out perfectly and didn't flinch when she took it from him.  Quite a fearless boy!

After our giraffe feeding, we made our way over to see the tiger, lions, and other predators.  Who would have known that out of everything, Cooper would love the bobcat the most?!  He ran up and down the glass with this bobcat for awhile, laughing hysterically the whole time.  If someone else came to admire the bobcat, Coop had no problem pushing them out of his way.  Finally, we ended up having to carry him away from his new friend!

After lunch, we ventured over to the lorikeets because that is Karl's favorite and not something I take Cooper to see when it's just the two of us.  That many birds in a closed space flying all around and landing on you... not my cup of tea!  However, the boys love it!

We had taken Coop to the zoo for his first birthday.  That was his first visit.  I had a little flashback while we were with the birds...

August 2011

April 2012

He's getting big so fast!  After the lorikeets and a little more exploring, I was ready to go, and it was nap time for Little Man, but since Karl is the adventurous one out of the two of us, he talked me into taking Cooper to the splash pad.  It was so pretty outside, and Cooper was hot, so I quickly agreed.  Wow, am I glad we did!  Cooper loved it more than I have ever seen him love anything (other than lawn equipment).  He was a hoot!!  We had no bathing suit or towel.  We decided we could use his Polo shirt as a towel though. :)  Once we got him stripped down to just shorts and diaper, he took off to the water.  Well, as soon as he got there, the water went down.  And he stood there very confused.  But then the water shot up all around him!  And he stood there very confused...and a little frightened!  After several seconds of standing like a statue, he turned towards us and ran!  These three pictures are my favorite sequence of pictures ever, especially that face in the last one!

Karl took him off to the side, and he loved watching the other children get wet and run around.  Karl kept nudging him and saying, "Get in the water!"  Each time, Cooper would giggle but grab tighter to Karl's shirt.  You could tell he wanted to go but was nervous.  Finally Karl took him over and got him a little wet, and Cooper loved it, but still clung on to Daddy!

But then he got brave and let go of Karl and went and stood on the edge and watched.

Within seconds, he was running towards the water laughing all the way!

He made the sweetest belly laugh the whole time!  He even would run to the water and put just his face in.  He was so happy!!  At one point, he stopped playing and ran over to us and started telling us about something.  He was really rambling and pointing his finger at us.  We have no idea what that was about, but it was hilarious.  After he was done, he ran back to play some more!

I love our quality time we have together as a family, and there is nothing I would rather do than spend time with these two!