Lions and Tigers and well you get the point

One of the things on my mental "summer bucket list" was taking Hunter to the zoo for the first time. Well the summer sort of got away from us and I knew we were quickly running out of nice weekends to do this. So last Sunday I insisted we take advantage of the perfect weather and head down to the National Zoo.

I've been so excited to see Hunters reaction to seeing these animals in person. He can now recognize and say most of the bigger animals and I figured he would get so excited seeing them in the flesh rather than in his books and flash cards. Well to my surprise he didn't seem to be that impressed. He pretty much kept a look of part confusion and part concern the whole time. He did smile and laugh a few times, mainly at the little monkeys swinging around. But to be honest he got the most excited when he saw a police motorcycle parked on the sidewalk. I think next year he will hopefully get more out of it.

The weather really was perfect and I've decided the fall is the best time to go, when it's sunny and 75 rather than in the middle of July when it's 90 degrees and packed with tourists. Hunter did really well taking turns between riding in his stroller and walking while holding our hand. He only got fussy as we were leaving because it was naptime and he saw a toy car on a table that someone was selling that we refused to buy him.

Family photo in front of the turtle pond. This was pretty much his expression the whole time.

Checking out the Lions. He kept saying "Cat" and "Roar"

I always insist on seeing the Pandas. We weren't able to go into the Panda house because of the new baby panda but I did get to see on of the bigger ones relaxing outside.

The elephants were pretty cool.

Hunter enjoyed the Small Mammal House because he could go right up to the glass and see the little animals running around much better.

They have wires going across part of the zoo so that the Orangutans can cross from one yard to another and we got there just in time to see one climb the ladder and walk across. It was pretty exciting and slightly nerve wracking.

It looks like a monster!

 

I loved this elephant display and was happy we got a decent picture together.

Checking out the lions.

Towards the end of the day he was getting sick of his stroller and insisted on walking. He actually did really well holding our hands and not moving at such a slow pace. It helped that the zoo wasn't super crowded.

 

Even though Hunter wasn't quite as excited about the trip as I had hoped we really did have a wonderful time together. I've always loved the zoo and have been going since I was a kid and it was such a special thing to finally be able to bring my own child. I know we will be going back many more times as he gets older.