We Went to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

As it was Dan's last weekday of paternity leave, we had to do something special so despite the predicted high temperatures and the fact that Dagny was only ten days old...we packed up everyone and headed south to the Roger Williams Zoo which is in Providence.  We have closer zoos, but one is very small and the other isn't much to look at (literally) so I had always wanted to check out RWZ.  We listened to Raffi's version of "We're Going to the Zoo" and Finley sang along enthusiastically before taking a short cat nap.  We got there just as the zoo opened and put Dagny in my front pack and Finley in the stroller.

She slept for most of the zoo adventure and thanks to this lovely hat, didn't have to see/feel a bit of the hot sun.

Our first stop was the zebras and Finley, with zoo ticket in hand, was thrilled to spot them.

 

After about five seconds, he was quick to say "let's find some other animals."  This continued at exhibit after exhibit until we got to the area where the giraffes and elephants were and he finally showed some patience and fascination with the animals in front of him.

We watched the elephants for quite a while and then moved on to see some tortoises, seals, a moon bear, farm animals, a sleeping snow leopard, some bison, and a bald eagle.  

The next animal that really caught Finley's attention was a crowd-pleasing monkey who came right to one of the viewing windows and put on a show for all of us.

Finley couldn't resist climbing up on this dog statue and then once on top of it, pretending it was a horse saying "giddy up!"

 We went back to see the elephants again and this time, we got to see them getting hosed down for a bath and see the zookeepers feed them all sorts of fruits and vegetables.  Finley had to be torn away! Perhaps he'll be a Tufts Jumbo someday like his folks :)

We spent the last hour in the Big Backyard which was a kids' playspace that had water with boats and wooden fish, a giant treehouse, building materials, etc.  I went to find a cooler AC-ed space to feed Dagny while the boys played outside.  No photos, boo, but Dan reported that Finley had a blast checking everything out, especially the spot with tools and wood scraps and the treehouse, too.

All in all, we were there about three hours and assumed Finley would pass out in the car immediately between all the activity and heat, but to our surprise he only slept the last twenty minutes or so of our hour-plus ride home!  That worked perfectly to allow us to get him down for a real nap at home :)  Dagny was mostly sound asleep with minor bouts of crying, but after all she was only 10 days old, what more could we ask for? Never would we have taken newborn Finley on such an adventure, but perhaps it is representative of the excitement to come in Dagny's young life as the sidekick to an active toddler.