Stories of Gorillas

It's no secret that Addie and I LOVE the zoo. This year, bringing her to the zoo is even more fun that last. Now she really sees the animals in front of her and points and giggles and claps and LOVES turning each corner.

So, of course, we dragged Gramma and Aunt Janet across town to Gibbon Island and the Polar Bear Pool. We saw the tigers, the lions, the manatees, the flamingos, the bonobos, the rhinos, the giraffes, the storks, the blah blah, the blah blah, the blah blah AND the gorillas.

Gorillas are suddenly an animal that Addie is enamoured with. We read Little Gorilla over and over. In From Head to Toes, she loves the gorilla. When we read The Grouchy Ladybug, she wants to skip to the page where the ladybug challenges the gorilla.

If you ask her what a gorilla says she enthusiastically pounds her chest. (And every now and then, she pounds her chest saying BraBraBra over and over. That's her name for Uncle Brian - fitting don't you think??).

So, of course we went to go see the gorillas. She was awestruck. There were mommy gorillas, baby gorillas, daddy gorillas, small gorillas, medium gorillas and huge gorillas. The gorillas were eating lettuce, playing with vines and lounging in the sun. But most exciting to Addie was when the baby gorilla clung to the mommy gorilla and went for a ride.

She looked at me kind of quizzically, as if to say "Where's my ride?" and I quickly pointed to the stroller. I just don't think I have enough back hair for her to cling to...back fat, maybe.

We ended the zoo excursion with the obligatory (and always exciting) choo-choo train ride and a quick trip to feed the giraffes. (I thought feeding them was awesome and a bit creepy ~ Addie was really unsure and a bit nervous, but either way, it was worth the stop).

Gramma and Aunt Janet were in agreement with me and Parents magazine....the Cinci Zoo rocks.