Brayden needed an outing almost as much as his parents, so we packed a diaper bag and headed to the zoo. Brayden had suddenly developed an obsession with our dog, Lily, so we figured he would love seeing all the different animals roaming around.
I hadn’t been to the zoo in a LONG time. I forgot how many animals are camouflaged. My husband and I could barely see the turtles and alligators, so Brayden certainly couldn’t find them. The tigers and bears were sleeping, the flamingos were just standing around. We needed to find the big guys, the animals that would be easy for even a baby to see.
We breezed past the snakes and spiders–no thanks!–and eventually found them. The elephants and giraffes. It was so fun to see our little guy’s face light up when the huge elephant lumbered along and came to a stop right in front of him. The larger-than-life Sophie giraffes brought a smile to his face after a few moments of wide-eyed wonder.
Brayden was obviously having a great time, but my husband and I were also having a blast. Aside from a few trips to the park and short walks on a local trail, our outings as a family had been few and far between. As we strolled by the animals hand-in-hand with the babe tucked snuggly in his Baby Bjorn, we felt like we were on a date (albeit with a tiny chaperone). When you’ve been cooped up as long as we had, anything can seem romantic. Even if monkeys and hyenas are laughing hysterically in the background.
