A Year of Firsts: This week's episode: The Zoo!

I have always loved the zoo...there is something so special about seeing animals close up and being able to interact with them in some way. I have so many fond memories from zoos as I've grown up. Here are a few:

- Patting a hippo's tongue

- Touching a starfish

- Dolphin shows

- The baby elephant Raja at the St. Louis Zoo

- Penguins in Tulsa

- The baby panda in San Diego

- and then there are the giraffes...

I have had a slight obsession with giraffes since I can remember. It used to be because they were so tall and I was so not, but now it is because they are so unique, beautiful, and hilarious all at the same time. Adam put it best when he said that we know the Lord has a sense of humor just by looking at them. ;) I mean, just look at them for a minute and you can't help but laugh.

These creatures were a must see every time I went to the zoo. I would make my mom take me there until she got smart enough at one point to make them our first stop-- otherwise they ended up being the last and by that point I was not a happy camper. Tired, cranky, and with sore feet/legs...the perfect combo for a small child and the zoo.

But this trip to the zoo was extra special. It was a first not only for Mackenzie, but the first time that Adam and I have actually been to the OKC Zoo together. (Can you believe it--almost 10 years together and not a single trip to the zoo?? I couldn't). We were more excited than her (she slept through most of it)...but here are some of our memories that we can tell her about when she's older.

- You saw the giraffes near the beginning just like mommy used to.

-Mommy tried to get over her slight fear of birds and make a lorikeet land on her finger-- the lorikeet then proceeded to bite mommy's finger instead of land on it.

They seem so sweet and innocent-- don't they?

- Mommy nursed you in the cat house (so many adventures in this area that I never thought I would have)

-Daddy helped change you in the said cat house.

- Daddy videotaped you watching the new baby elephant play with her mommy in the water. (she is only about a month younger than you!)

- You survived the Oklahoma heat on what we thought was going to be a cloudy morning. (Not a cloud in the sky when we arrived)

All in all...a successful family trip to the zoo!

Can't wait to make many more zoo memories with our little bug!