Doggy, Doggy Doggy......

We took Allison to the National Zoo http://nationalzoo.si.edu/default.cfm last Tuesday evening. The zoo stays open until 8pm in the summer. So, we loaded up the stroller and hopped on the metro to the Zoo. The weather was wonderful. We barely broke a sweat, even though we walked a couple of miles round trip. We managed to keep Allison in her stroller until we were inside the zoo. We had to release her immediately upon entry!! She loves to walk and now run, as well. Here she is pointing out birds to her Dad. She can say/sign bird. So, we hear a lot about birds from Allison!! More birds.....

Here she is looking at one of the MANY doggies in the zoo. Allison can say/sign doggy, bird and squirrel (she says/signs other words but these are her animal words). So, most animals fall into one of these categories. The National Zoo is mostly filled with doggies and birds. Allison shouted doggy at most of the animals we saw-elephants, hippo, horses, gorilla, wild pigs, etc! It was pretty amusing.

On the look out for more doggies and birds.

She found the prairie dogs and their lair!

Allison had tons for fun crawling around in the kid size "hamster tubes". She has no fear! She crawled in and made her way through the tunnels! She finally came out and we were off to see more of the zoo!

We stopped for some posing and rest on a large rock. But not for long!

Next, we stopped at the huge foam pizza! This thing is really cool! I had to go in the pizza and rescue some little boy's trucks from Allison. She just walked over to him and gently took his toys away. He didn't seem to upset but Allison wasn't going to give them back on her own.

The kids can play on the pizza, jump around, fall down and no one gets hurt. Allison took a few good tumbles but didn't miss a beat!

Finally, we were all tired and hungry. We loaded up and headed back to the metro for home. I know it looks a little crazy to wear her and push the stroller. But when we head out into the city for a few hours. It's the only way to take everything we need and keep her happy for an extended outing. When she is tired and doesn't want to get back in the stroller. The ergo carrier works great. Also, when we stop to talk to people. She is at eye level with them and I think she likes that, too! (plus, it's great for the calf muscles-i.e. burning off ice cream/brownie calories!!)

I'm sure we'll have lots of post about zoo visits this summer. We didn't get to see all the "doggies" on this trip. We'll have to come back soon. Maybe during the morning, when they are all out and about!