Weekend Fun at the Park and the Zoo

We had another great weekend. On Saturday, the weather got a little warmer as the day progressed, so we decided to take Leah out to another park close by to enjoy the sunshine and get some fresh air. This park was a lot nicer than the last ones we tried so this is the one we'll be going back to. We finally decided to take the stroller out for a test drive. Our approach in terms of exposing her to new things, especially contraptions that are confining and where she has to be buckled in, has always been "one thing at a time". Since she's been doing a lot better in the car seat and the baby carrier lately, we decided to finally give the stroller a try. We took a little walk around the park first, and since it was a mildly breezy day, she even giggled when we faced the wind. She surprised us by not only tolerating it, but actually enjoying it. The only thing was that she is still a little small and we had to put something behind her back to prop her up so she could sit more comfortably. Then we went to the playground and there was a really cool swing for little kids that we put her in twice and she laughed and smiled. She didn't even mind being strapped into this. There was a little car she sat in with daddy and then he slid her down the slide a few times, too. The park and the stroller were such a success that we decided to take her to the zoo on Sunday! Our local zoo isn't the greatest, but she didn't notice. The point was just to take her out to see other things and other people, and enjoy the nice weather. It was great to see that she could handle a few hours out and about without a meltdown. She enjoyed riding in the stroller and looking around at all the new and different things and people. When she did get a little fussy, she rode around on John's shoulders which always cheers her right up. Since it was a very sunny day, we decided we better get a hat for her. So we stopped at the gift shop and the only hat we could find that fit her was this funny one. It made her look even more boyish, but we thought she looked really cute and it fit her perfectly. She tolerated it, but didn't really like it.


The funny thing is that when we got back home and showed her in the mirror, you could see her checking herself out and smiling at herself thinking she looked pretty darn cute in her new hat. Now she actually loves wearing her hat and doesn't mind having it on all day at home. I don't know if she paid much attention to the animals. When we were at the aquarium, she was actually more interested in the other members of her own species. We were standing holding Leah as she stood along a carpeted ledge in front a large fish tank window. But instead of watching the fish, she was more fascinated by this little red-headed curly-haired girl, and kept walking over to her and touching her. We had to pull her away several times. We were laughing but apologizing to the other girl's parents, joking with them saying "sorry, she doesn't get out much". We ended up having a great time at the zoo. She did great and we are looking forward to taking her all over the place this summer.