Wild Boy

This morning we made a last minute decision to go to the zoo. It's actually below 100 today and there was a great breeze and a cloudy sky, so we knew we had to do something outdoors with our crazy child.

He has a need to run and climb and cause trouble, which is just too much to deal with in the house.

As Jacob finished breakfast I packed our lunches, and soon we were ready to see the animals. He still doesn't really care for the animals, except for the Meerkats since they tackle each other and play, but he does enjoy riding in his wagon and watching the humans.

We skipped the birds, hoofed animals, and monkeys in hopes that the cooler weather had gotten the bears and cats to decide to play. No luck with the tigers and lions (which have been laying in the same spot every time we've gone this summer, so I'd like some proof they're alive), but the Andean Bear was rolling around and itching, and the smaller cats jumped around.

It felt like we circled around a million times, but we finally made it to the part Jacob knows means fun - the African Exhibit. It's the newest exhibit at the zoo and doesn't really host too much, but it's on the way to the children's section, and has a soft walk area with 3 Pygmy Huts for the kids to play in. That's seriously all it is and Jacob could spend hours there. When he first gets there he picks out a hut and stands in it watching everything while he gets comfortable with the situation, then he runs from hut to hut with a crazy scream while racing between them. In the large hut there were three older kids who I guess were pretending to be some sort of attack animal and they growled at Jacob, but he really couldn't care less.

He cried when we took him away.

Our next stop was his first ride in he carousel. As we stood in line I decide the Baboon would be the best one for us to ride. There were cuter animals, but he was on the outer edge and Michael wanted to video us as we came around. Waiting for everyone to get on was ok, and Jacob like sitting on the back of his monkey, but then we started to move and he wasn't sure what to think. On the back side of the carousel it was nice, but once you it the front half the wind was blowing like crazy and a new ride, plus the wind blowing through his hair was too much. By the end of our 4 times around the kid in front of us was off his ride and crying, Jacob was off the monkey and in my arms, and the kid behind us wailing.

Finally we made it to the playground for, in Jacob's opinion, the whole reason you go to the zoo. It was crowded, but he didn't care and still did his laps through all the equipment, up and down the stairs and several trips down the slide. Luckily we were able to woo him away from the playground with the promise of lunch. We found an isolated bench near the mini lake and had our sandwiches, then he was ready to go again, but getting cranky.

As we left the zoo we decided to let him get a little more energy out by running around the park, and feeding the ducks. By the time we got in the car he was out.

I let Michael drive home since he drives faster and we'd have more of nap time at home instead of in the car. Good idea in theory.

For two hours Jacob sat in his crib and talked while all mommy and daddy wanted to do was nap. Guess 30 minutes of nap is all that a wild boy needs.