First trip to the zoo in 2010

Tuesday was extremely busy. With great weather in the forecast, I knew I wanted to get Jacob outside as much as possible. But first we had our weekly Gymboree class. We took off for class, where he played with the other little ones we see once a week. His class was larger than normal this week, which normally would have made Jacob timid. Instead, he ran around like crazy and shared all of the toys extremely well. Actually, he kept handing one little girl everything he had...early signs of flirting?!

After Gymboree, I swung through McDonald's for some lunch. I knew we wouldn't have enough time to go home for lunch and back out to the zoo, so we ate in the car. Each day I'm realizing more and more how much he is growing up right before me. Little things like being able to eat lunch in the car make Jacob seem more like a little boy and less like a baby.

Off to the zoo we went. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I decided it would be easier to go through the zoo without a stroller. I knew Jacob would want to walk a bunch, and I would be stuck pushing the stroller and trying to chase after him. So, we went off hand in hand. Jacob was quite pleased with the freedom.Seals, lions, tigers, polar bears...you name it, we saw it. We walked the ENTIRE zoo, except for the deserts because it's just too hot in that building for me to chase a toddler!Right after I took this picture, Jacob stuck his foot through the fence and pulled his shoe off.

After we saw the lions, Jacob was pooped. He had me sit him on a rock, and I gave him some water. Next thing you know, he put his head down and said, "Night, night." I guess that was his way of telling me it was time to go home!
Jacob was too tired to walk back to the car, so I carried him from the lions to our car. I'm not sure how far that was, but I'm pretty sure it had to be at least half a mile. And boy, my arms paid for it later! I am glad we left the stroller in the car. Jacob really enjoyed himself, and since the zoo wasn't busy at all it was pretty easy for both of us to have a good time.