Two Face-Plants and A Pole: An hour at the Zoo

Yesterday I decided to wear Jack out with a late-morning visit to the Zoo.  I knew my best bet was the zoo playground, so we parked as close as possible and made our way there. I went sans stroller - which is brave, on my part, but makes sense for the mission.

Jack had the playground to himself for a while and that made him happy.  He immediately made his way to the biggest slide there. I had followed him up and quickly ran back down to catch him at the bottom. Unfortunately, my pregnant body doesn't move as quickly as my 20mth old son and as I approached the slide I saw him shoot out, head first, and face-plant into the wood chips. I'd like to say that I was worried, but he got up right away, dirt & wood chips all over his face and clothes.  It was HILARIOUS! He whimpered and cried a little - probably because he saw his mother laughing at him, but he quickly brushed himself off and continued to play.

In the picture above, you can see some dirt & wood chips still lingering on his face & clothes.  A few minutes after this picture was taken he face planted - yet again - while running. And then, while trying to keep up with some 4/5 year olds, he ran face-first into a metal pole.  It was at this point that I decided to calm things down a bit.

We headed off to the Penguin House to see the King Penguins getting their lunch and then stopped into the Butterfly Garden for a very serene ending to our Zoo visit.

The calming effects of the Butterfly Garden resulted in a nice long afternoon nap.