Zoo & Aquarium

Every so often there is an itch to do something different; when work and life seem to be the same ol' everyday. When this happens we usually go on a little trip or vacation. With an almost 2 year old and a 2 month old, this was not going to happen this time. So, we decided to take a couple of days (spaced out a few days) and do something fun. The idea was to do things we might do on vacation but in our own "backyard". Even though it wasn't a full vacation or weekend getaway, it was still a lot.

Last Saturday we chose to go to the zoo. The weather was nice and so we thought we would take advantage of what might be one of the few nice days left this year. We went in the morning and so Nate did not get his nap. Mistake number one. Well, this really was the only mistake and the cause for all the meltdowns the rest of the day. He did have fun petting the goats, playing at the playground, and finding sticks, but he was not interested in the rest of the animals and was not happy about sitting in the stroller. There were times that he was good about holding hands and walking, but this was not the case all the time and so it resulted in lovely behavior.

Yesterday we went to the Newport Aquarium. This is a longer drive and so we left in the morning resulting in yet another day with no nap (at least not before the activities). You would think we would have learned, but nope, not us. The aquarium was beautiful but again, Nate was not interested. The frog section has an indoor play area (like a McDonald's play land) and he didn't even want to play in that, if that gives you any indication of his mood. I think this visit was worse than the zoo. There were some exhibits that he liked: the penguins and the jellyfish. He also like splashing in the shark pool until we got "lectured" that these are wild sharks and the fingers can appear like squid to the sharks and we have to follow proper petting techniques. Okay, no I don't want my child's fingers bitten off, but honestly the little bit of splashing was scaring them more than enticing. So there was another meltdown when he couldn't play in the water anymore. Thank you aquarium staff.

While it was nice to get away and do something different, until they get older we will have to plan these all day excursions AFTER nap time, even if that means just going for a little bit. We both agreed that these could have been much different experiences if that had happened. Lesson learned. :)