Rule #1: Keep expectations low. No, you will not get to both the zoo AND a museum in one afternoon.
Rule #2: Keep a giant bag of snacks on you at all times. Options, people, options! But DO NOT feed the animals.
Our summer has been weirdly paced this year, the result of a job change now requiring Luis to be working over the summers we usually all had off. The result has been Jael and I doing a lot more day trips and traveling, because when Mama likes to travel, Baby learns to travel.
After a three hour car ride, Mama subsisting on iced coffee and an audio book and Baby crying and napping alternately, we made it to my brother's work and parked in the garage.
Packing a backpack full of snacks and rain jackets, we loaded up the stroller and Jael and headed to the metro.
Rule #3: Always check the backpack for stray pocket knives and make sure you use water bottles that can be taken if security so chooses. Fancy Nalgene stayed in my car and no random knives this time!
Getting on the metro was uneventful, thanks to the endless rolling fun of escalators and my quick folding stroller. We rode a few stops, transferred to another train, and walked uphill to the National Zoo.
We oohed and ahhed at the panda bears but Jael was more fascinated with the metal panda statue, hugging it and patting its nose. We imitated the bark of the harbor seals, watching them flop their bodies up the rock with muscular ease. We watched the tiger roar and roar.
Rule #4: Don't judge the parents with the leashes!
While I don't have a leash, having an active toddler has created an understanding of the challenge it is to keep eyes on the kids constantly. Jael took advantage of her many transportation options, riding on Uncle Micah's shoulders, walking, standing on the back of the stroller, and sitting/sleeping in the stroller as we meandered around the shaded paths.
Ever the mover (living up to that Mountain Goat name), Jael's favorite things were the water fountain, the water spritzers, and pressing the button to turn on the water features once she watched someone else do it. The ginormous elephants caught Jael's attention until she saw the ramp she could stand on to see how much she weighed compared to an elephant, and proceeded to run up and down it multiple times until she was firmly redirected by Mama's hand holding.
The bee hive themed playground was perfect for climbing through giant logs and sitting on flowers.
Rule #5: Avoid the dive-bombing birds.
We walked through the Amazon exhibit where we were given the rules of the birds. Expecting to be dodging macaws and other birds, I cautiously walked in. Exactly two birds were in there, two Roseate Spoonbills that happily perched on a fence by the water. They were not a dive-bombing threat, more so seeking attention as people snapped selfies.
Ironically enough after our underwhelming bird experience at the zoo, we were soon to be dive-bombed and jumped by an extremely confused pigeon trapped in the metro station. One who, after scaring the living daylights out of us, made a couple in front of us scream when he got them next.
Rule #6: Afternoon siestas occur any place and any position!
When you are tired, you are tired and there is just no monkey business about it! Just like the chimpanzees sleeping with a leg or arm in the air, Jael zonked out in the stroller with her neck at an odd angle. The child's position of course garnering more comments from concerned citizens...which leads us to Rule #7.
Rule #7: Eventually the watchers become the watched.
People just can't help themselves commenting on what you are doing - never mind the fact that I played on a playground and chased my one-year-old all over the zoo. No, "her neck needs checked" or "do you see her sleeping like that??" were the tunes of 75% of people walking by me. The other 25% said, "I wish I could knock out like that right now!" See photo for my neck adjustment Macgyver-ing!
And then there was the comment the man made about taking children to the zoo even when they are young, and in my defensive state, I thought he was referring to Jael in the stroller just like all the other people and blathered on. My brother just watched and afterwards told me, "That was awkward, I was trying to get you away because you were definitely missing the point!" So we had a good chuckle en route to the metro.
Rule #8 : Nothing beats post-adventure snuggles!
I often get told "She won't remember you taking her places." While that may be true, I'm training her to interact with the world and encouraging curiosity. Better yet, I'm training myself to not have limitations on what I do with my kids and to be bold in partaking of what the world has to offer.
“A child fashioned by a wonder-filled life will cultivate inner strength, a confidence in his own ability to think, evaluate, and know. But those who influence children must fight to protect time for the imagination to have space to work, to have time to engage.” ― Sally Clarkson, Awaking Wonder: Opening Your Child's Heart to the Beauty of Learning
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