Panda bears and lions and Anne at the Zoo!

We had a fun morning at the Zoo today! We got there early, so there were no crowds and the animals were all out and about. Check out the panda bear waving to us! Alexa loved watching the panda bears eat what looked like watermelon, here favorite fruit of the moment. We also checked out the elephants and flamingos! Alexa is shrugging her shoulders because I asked her what color they are!

When we headed to see the lions, Alexa got a surprise! We ran into my friend and Anne! Alexa and Anne were so funny. They each had their own snack trap and took turns inspecting what each other had in their snack trap and wanting what the other had. So cute!

After Alexa's nap, we went to a nearby park and met Daddy at our favorite new restaurant for lobster rolls! Alexa didn't eat much of her dinner. But she enjoyed ice cream for desert!

Cape May Zoo, train and carousel!

Another great day! To take a break from the beach, we headed to the Cape May Zoo. Alexa loved it! The zoo was great and very shaded, plus it was FREE! Alexa saw goats, camels, peacocks, flamingos, giraffes, zebras, deer, baby leopards, a tiger, a lion (who roared at us!) and an ostrich.

At one of the pens, the baby leopards were inside their den, so people were disappointed. But Alexa yelled: "COME OUT!" And they did! As we were walking away we heard a lady say, "We need that little girl to come back! She got the baby leopards to come out!"

After the zoo, we rode a little train along the outskirts of the park. It wasn't on tracks but Alexa liked it anyway. She kept saying "choo choo!"

Next, we headed to Grandpa Howard's store. On the way, Alexa had fun playing with a sticker book I bought her at the zoo. Yay for stickers! It was funny to watch her, she put them all on her legs! She had fun checking out the trinkets at grandpa's store before we headed to lunch!

Later in the afternoon, after lunch and Alexa's nap, we headed to the boardwalk to ride the carousel! Alexa fussed at first, but as we got going, she loved it! She especially liked the rings that I got every time we went around. She was happily holding them until a boy who worked at the carousel came up and took away the "golden ring" telling her that she had won a ticket for a free ride! She took the ticket but wasn't sure she was happy with the trade. Daddy, meanwhile, said getting the golden ring on her first ride was sure to be good luck. After the ride, Alexa gave her horse a hug. Awwww!

Zoo! And then a BBQ!

We had a busy but fun day today! It started with a trip to the National Zoo. Silly me, I thought everyone left Washington, D.C., during holiday weekends. I was wrong. The Zoo was a zoo! It was also HOT! Still, we enjoyed walking around and seeing the animals. Alexa got to see elephants, pandas, lions, monkeys and donkeys. What could be better? She kept saying "Anna-molls"!

After the zoo, Daddy's friends from his hometown in NJ came over with their kids for a cook out. Alexa had a blast playing with all the older girls! They played bubbles with her and played catch with her soccer ball. And, of course, it all ended with ice cream! Alexa loved the ice cream part.

Alexa visits the Honolulu Zoo!

This is the zoo I grew up going to! I have so many memories at this zoo. So naturally, I wanted to share my zoo with Alexa. Unfortunately, as usually happens, the zoo today is very different from the zoo of my memories. But we still had a great time! After looking at all the "ah-molls" we had a picnic lunch under a banyan tree in the middle of the zoo. Now that I'm getting the hang of slide shows, here's another!

Zebras at the Zoo!

Daddy and Grandma E took Alexa to the Zoo today. Apparently, her favorite animal was the Zebra! She kept staring at them. She also got to see the new baby lion cubs! So fun, wish I was there!

Alexa loved the Tucson Zoo!

Today was so much fun! Sunny. Beautiful. Wonderful day at the Tucson Zoo! We got an early start, hit a drive-through Starbucks (love it) and arrived at the Zoo in time to make the 10 a.m. giraffe feeding! Alexa was a little unsure of these giant creatures with long tongues, but she eventually gave them a carrot stick! (Carrot sticks, by the way, cost $1 each. Holy expensive! At least it's for a good cause, all proceeds go to benefit zoo conservation projects.)

Next up, Alexa enjoyed checking out these bald-butt monkeys. There were a ton of kids in this play room, coloring and listening to a story. Alexa wasn't interested in anything else but the monkeys! (Update: These strange-looking creatures are called lion-tailed macaques and they are endangered.)

Next up - another monkey! Or is it a gorilla? (Update: It's a mandrill, which is actually a large monkey.)

She also enjoyed checking out this ugly-looking creature. We're not really sure what it is... (Update: It's a capybara, the world's largest rodent. Basically, a very large guinea pig.)

And here she is peering into the water looking for otters! There's one, wait, there's TWO!

Next up - A llama! And anteater!

She also saw a black panther! Zebra! Ostrich! Bear! Tiger! Warty Pig! Oh, my!

Oh, and of course, Alexa saw elephants!

After all the fun at the zoo, we took Alexa on a train ride in the park next door. What a great day! Alexa loved hanging out with Aunt Kelly and Uncle Ben. Thanks for taking us to the zoo!

Daddy play date at the Zoo!

Day care is closed today and tomorrow for annual teacher training. So lucky Daddy is staying home with Alexa! Since everyone who goes to our day care is in the same boat, Daddy made plans with his co-worker and daughter, Avery (from one of last weekend's birthday parties) to visit the Zoo! A Daddy play date!

Daddy said that Alexa LOVED watching the animals. She got very excited when she saw the elephants, in particular, and made sounds like she does when she sees dogs. Avery had fun watching Alexa and kept saying, "Baby Alexa like elephants!" It sounded so cute. And the lucky guys were able to view the elephants in their NEW habitat, which wasn't supposed to open to the public until Friday. Apparently they got an unadvertised sneak peek! What perfect timing!

Alexa and her friends at the Zoo!

Our friend Coleen and Drew are moving home to Las Vegas, so we took the day off to spend it one one last play date with all the babies! Today was supposed to be HOT so we all met up early, at 8:30 a.m. and strolled the Zoo before it got crowded in perfect 70-degree weather. It was a blast!

Click to enlarge!

We saw panda bears, elephants, a tiger, a lion and the highlight... Oruntangs swinging over our heads along cables! Alexa saw them and got quite a kick out of it. She also loved the elephants! She fell asleep by the time we reached the tiger and lion and took a nice nap in her stroller as we walked back to the car. What a great day!

Note: This was Alexa's 2nd trip to the Zoo. Click HERE to read about her 1st visit to the Zoo back in November and marvel at how much she's grown!

A perfect ending to a busy but fabulous day

Today started off great. We slept in! Alexa and I did, at least. Daddy had to go to work. Then we went to the Zoo to meet up with some other moms I know from my prenatal yoga class. We saw elephants and lots of other critters...

On the way back, Alexa and I stopped in Rock Creek Park for a diaper change...

Then after a nasty spat of howling, she finally fell asleep. Here is the view I have of her in the back seat. (Taken while parked.)

Upon returning home, I got several packages! Her birth announcements have arrived! Then Aunt Chimmy came over, followed by Daddy's friend Billy, who both got a sneak peek at her birth announcement!

Then Mommy went out to a RESTAURANT for a birthday dinner with Aunts Chimmy and Elizabeth! Yay! Girls night out! (Yes... I left Alexa home with Daddy, Billy and a bottle...)

We got home at the top if the 7th, just in time to see Mo clinch the Yankees' 27th World Series title! Daddy showed Alexa, who was thrilled.