Best Zoo Trip Yet!

The weather has turned into pre-fall...that perfect temperature of warm but not hot, breezy but not cold....ahhhhh, perfection. In honor of our perfect weather, Eddie and I took a trip to Brookfield Zoo....he loved the animals, I loved taking way too many pictures.

{Eddie's favorite, the Pigmy Hippo}

{I have a soft spot for Rinos after my mom and I went 'backstage' at Disney's Animal Kingdom and got to spend some time loving on a White Rino}

{oh, and the Rino pooped while we were watching. So now all Eddie talks about it the Rino pooping. Lovely.}

{eddie loves watching the Polar Bear swim, but the morning we were there he wasn't feeling the water. Eddie kept yelling "beaw! swim! jump in! go swimming! jump!"....poor guy didn't get his wish}

After some animal visits, we ate some lunch and I finally got brave enough to let Eddie go on the big playground. And that playground, honest to God, was like that TV show Wipeout: Toddler Edition. There was pushing and shoving and passing and stealing and kids climbing up slides and kids going down slides.....I really had to check my over-protectiveness and just let Eddie be one of the kids.

{he held his own!}

{It was choas, I tell you! And this was a slow day for the playground....I can't imagine when it is super crazy...}

 After the playground we took a trip the the Family Play Zoo, an area I've never been totally in love with, but it is included in our membership so we always stop there. On this trip, though, the play zoo was amazing. The staff was super fun and engaging and we played there for quite a while.

{we painted on the sidewalk}

{we misted plants in the greenhouse}

{we ran around the back garden, which we never new existed and is now my favorite place}

{eddie and his imagination decided this stump looked like a horse (and it did!) and he rode it for quite a while. It was so cute!}

{oh, and you can see a little bit of his face painting skills on his chin...the only place he painted :)  }

{my new favorite picture of us....the camera was on auto timer on another tree stump!}

{we found one of the peacocks, eddie's other favorites}

{and we also welcomed the pelicans to Chicago...they were rescued and rehabed from the oil spil}

{watched the monkies outside - I hate the inside part!}

All in all, our zoo day was wonderful. It gave me high hopes for the rest of fall!!