The Heckathorns: Perfect Day

It all started when Kevin came in from outside and said today is the perfect day.

Perfect day for what?

The zoo! he said.

Oh, but our little spirited Kaiden had other plans for us, so he thought.

I believe Kevin's exact words after about an hour and a half later when we finally settled Kaiden into his carseat were well, that was a rough morning.

My thoughts exactly, my friend, my thoughts exactly.

I didn't want to say it then, but I definitely had strong feelings that the zoo was going to be a waste on this perfect-weather morning. But luckily, my man was determined.

It started with the elephants. The big, yet gentle, smelly, yet beautiful creatures that usually have their butts to you. Ahhh, yes, you know the ones. Well, on this perfect morning, they were right at the fence and we had our own private viewing of this beauty.

Kaiden was impressed and focused on the facts. "Elephant eating." he would say in a nervous but proud voice as he stared at the giant animal in front of him transferring grass to its mouth with its loooong nose. "Yes, elephant eating, baby. How awesome is that?!?" Awesome.

It was a peaceful, magical sight and I focused more on its eyes. It had very peaceful eyes and I was mesmerized for as long as I could be with a toddler in tow. "Bye! Bye! Elephant!" he exclaimed and we were on to the next.

We saw several great and beautiful animals as Kaiden was screaming (with excitement) to see "Kunkeys!" and oh, did we ever luck out with the Gorilla. You know, the animal you NEVER see b/c they always seem to be too far away, hiding or sleeping or something. Well, at least at the KC zoo. =) But, not on our perfect day. We got there just as it was feeding time! The zookeeper called its name and he/she slowly walked up. Wow! I could not even believe it! Kaiden thought it was cool as he tried to catch apples and missed! "Missed it! Almost got it!" he would say in laughter. Then a loud and proud "Got it!" when the Gorilla finally caught one.

"Bye! Bye! Kunkey!!" and on to the next...

We didn't have much luck with the Lions, as the male was sleeping and the females were hiding. So we took this moment for a cute photo op. I love my boys!!

And then Rhinos, Giraffes, Zebras, oh my!

Kaiden was most excited about the Ostriches in this section though. I don't think I was even aware that he knew what an Ostrich was. That's my boy!!

"Bye, bye, Giraffe! Bye, bye, Zebra! Bye, bye, Ostrich!"

And our perfect day just kept getting better. We made it to the Hippos at feeding time, too!

I've never seen a Hippo out of the water. Geez! they are HUGE with tiny little legs. And wow! their mouths are insane. The zookeeper that was feeding them backed up slowly when she ran out of food and one of the hippos was not happy about it. lol. Not a job for the skittish, that's for sure.

And, man oh man, it didn't stop there! When we got to the Baboons, they put on a little show just for us. There was a wild one, a teenager it seemed, that was just running all around and chasing squirrels. He was a trip and that was entertaining enough to me and Kaiden! He was laughing up a storm!! Then this mama came out with a little baby who wanted to play, too. The baby and the teenager (as I'm calling it) were playing chase and the teenager bit the baby! Oh my! and then all of a sudden dada came out of nowhere and bucked up on the teenager and as I'm sure you could guess, the teenager backed off. The dada Baboon got a branch of leaves and went off with the baby to eat. It was so awesome!! I was too busy enjoying the show to take pics, but told Kev to get one so Kaiden could remember what happened.

Before we left Africa, we went around to see the Cheetahs a second time b/c they were hiding (like always) the first time around. I could only see the tops of their heads and their tales wagging. Kaiden got to see them, though, with his tall viewing spot on dada's shoulder. I'm so glad he got to see them because, you know, they are his favorite just like his mama. =) ..or so he said that day. ha!

After that, we made a pit stop at the birds. Kaiden LOVES peacocks and oh, on this perfect day, my baby got a show! I think it's safe to say that this was his favorite part of the day. The male peacock, you know, the pretty one, was putting on a show, looking for a lady (the zookeeper said). He would fluff his feathers, then turn around and kind of shake his little booty. Then turn back around to show off his feathers again. Kaiden thought this was hysterical!! He thought he was playing hide and seek and shaking his booty as a dance. Which I'm pretty sure is exactly what that little guy was doing. It was too cute! Kaiden was thrilled and we stayed and watched for a good while. He kept talking about it later that day, too. =)

We then stopped for a potty break and lunch.

Kaiden enjoyed making funny faces and taking pictures more than eating!

Here's the work of my little creative soul. He has talent, I'm telling ya!

We kept distracted long enough to see the Sea Lion show. Kaiden enjoyed watching the Sea Lion swim around, but got a little nervous when it got up on the rock.