Andrew's first trip to the Zoo

 Yesterday, Andrew visited the monkeys at the LA Zoo.  The Southern California April Bumpies planned a day to get together months ago (L-R: Mandi with Maddie, Andrew and I, Nicole with Avery, and Hannah with Xavier) and it was great to meet up again and talk baby talk.  Dave, Nicole's cousin and Mandi's husband came, so we had seven adults and four 13 month olds.  There was a lot of getting in and out of strollers during the day!  Unfortunately, this was pretty much the only time (other than lunch) when Xavier was happy :(  Hannah was a trooper though!

 First up was a baby possum. 

Andrew pointed and "ohhhh"ed and when the possum yawned, Andrew laughed.

 In the petting zoo, Andrew bravely went up and touched the goat (he was the only kid that was okay with that).  He kept pointing and "ohhh"ing.

 Avery loved being out in the open.  She was so cute and even walked holding my hand!

 We rode on the carousel, but none of the kids were too impressed.  Andrew stared, then jumped onto me.  Avery smiled at first, then cried.  Xavier cried then stared.  We can probably wait awhile before we do that again.

While the kids all ate their pouches and goldfish, we looked at a whole lot of sleeping animals and an elephant or two.  I must reiterate how WONDERFUL these food pouches are--not only does Andrew like them, but he can hold it and feed himself liquid without making a huge mess. 

 Andrew got really, really excited when he got to the chimp exhibit.  One of the two visible chimps decided to swing himself all the way around the enclosure over and over again.  Every time he got closer to us Andrew's "talking" got much louder and the pointer finger came out!

 As much as I wanted him to see the giraffes, they were kind of far away and barely moving so they did not catch his attention. We did get a good family picture!

Another monkey exhibit was really exciting.  The orangutan mommy and baby were right in front of where we stood and the baby was playing and eating enough to captivate Andrew for a good 10 minutes!  His little pointer finger cracks me up--he was so determined that I see it!

 We had some free running time!

After lunch (the kids all ate so well!), we headed over to the Lair.  I totally hate snakes and most other reptiles; they didn't move enough to keep Andrew's attention, but it was a good 'talking' time with the mommies as Dave looked intently at all each cage.

 By the end of the day (1:45 pm), the kiddos were out cold. 

Andrew and Avery slept soundly in their strollers.

 Bye LA Zoo!

p.s. The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park are superior in every way and we'll probably not go back to the LA Zoo.