You know what? I'm still not even halfway through this project. That's just...wow.
Anyway, today was a trip to the fantastic Sedwick County Zoo. (By the way, sorry for no guest blogging. We'll try to get you something cool and not by me very soon) We went earlier in the day, zoo-ing from 11ish to 1ish. The plan was to get there around 10, so we obviously missed that, but we did pretty well nonetheless.
I have to say that it's nice to be in an environment with variety in its temperatures. It was downright pleasant outside for the first hour of our trip. Robbie loved the zoo for the most part, as there were plenty of places for him to run, buttons to push, steps and ramps to go up and down, and even some slides to go down. Oh, and there were animals that were occasionally interesting. So, after today's zoo visit and Tuesday's Jenks (Oklahoma) Aquarium trip, I'd like to present to you Robbie's Animal Picks of the Week!
* Turtles! Could not pry this kid away from the turtle feeding tank at the aquarium. (Note: the tank did not actually feed the turtles; rather, it was a tank in which patrons could feed turtles. I know, I know, it's a confusing name) We had to take his stuffed bear away from him to make sure he didn't drop it in the water. At one point, he almost leaned far enough over the railing to touch the slimy (yet appealing, of course) creatures. That would have been bad, becuase Kim says turtles have salmonella. And Kim took college classes in diseases, so I trust her.
* Mudskippers. They are kinda funny-looking, but I really think the appeal here was that Robbie thoroughly enjoyed saying "MUDKIPPER!" He kept running back to this one little tank in the big aquarium exhibit to point at these guys and yell "MUDKIPPER!"
* Flamingos. Whether it's the funny name, the bright colors, the unusual shape, or the familiarity with these creatures from his favorite 1-2-3 book, Robbie really got a kick out of the flamingos at the front of the zoo. He kept asking to see them again throughout the day. Good thinking putting them right by the entrance, zoo! That way we could say "We'll see the flamingos again before we leave" and NOT be lying!
* Bamboo! I know it's not an animal, but the first time the kid said the word "bamboo" he cracked himself up. I got video on my phone of him saying "Bamboo" over and over and making himself laugh. At several points in the day, when Robbie was starting to throw a fit, I'd pick him up and whisper "bamboo!" into his face, and then he'd start saying it, and then we were fine. Bamboo. I'd forgotten what an incredible word it really was.
* Grizzly bears. For those who don't know, Robbie has a small yellow bear he carries with him EVERYWHERE. Its name is Bear, and all it ever says is "GRRRRRR!" Bear eats Robbie's snacks, drinks Robbie's apple juice, goes to bed with Robbie, and spends a lot of time in Robbie's mouth. So, taking Robbie to see some REAL bears? Wow. That was cool. One of the few animals Robbie was still talking about around dinner time. "Robbie saw a bear! Robbie saw ANUDDER bear!" He even held his out to GRRR at them at one point, and wanted to go through the glass to touch them. We didn't let him.
* Water. Again, not an animal. But water is great. Waterfalls, puddles, tanks, water fountains. Awesome. Except when you're crouched down to get a close-up shot of some Australian bird in a walk-through exhibit and a sprinkler suddenly explodes to life directly above you. That's just scary.
* Orangutan. Fairly certain Robbie just liked to say this word, cuz he forgot about them pretty quickly.
* Octopus. Another fun word, but this one left enough of an impression that Robbie started seeing octopi in other places than at the aquarium. Example: "Robbie see octopus in the kitchen!"
* And finally, bamboo. Again. Seriously, you have no idea how funny this word is. Have a two-year-old, and you'll find out. Bamboo. Bamboo. Bamboo.
