Lions and Tigers and . . . Ferns!?!

Captivated by something, perhaps the ferns. :)

So this weekend we had a family outing to the Fort Worth Zoo. It was my Birthday/Halloween weekend, so extra excitement was in the air and even though it was a tad too warm for Reece to dress up in his little vampire costume, it was still a beautiful day to visit the wild animals. Everyone was excited for Reece to see bunches of animals from his books close up in real life for the first time. Even though he wouldn't be petting the soft fur of the roaring tiger or patting the shiny gorilla's nose like he does on the pages when I read to him, I was still pretty sure Reece would fully enjoy himself. :) And Reece did, only in a different way than I thought.

Upon arriving I felt like a small child again, pointing out and happily gazing at the kangaroos, giraffes, and monkeys, hoping Reece was as excited as me, and that he too loved looking at the tigers and wolves and blacks bears. But sometimes I found his gaze elsewhere, and as hard as I tried he just wouldn't look at say, the little baby elephant walking towards him, instead he was hypnotized by, yes, ferns. And at first I wasn't sharing in his enjoyment for the zoo's greenery, I would try everything I could think of for him to notice the big beasts standing a few feet away. But then slowly I got it: the ferns were Reece's elephants. They were something new, exciting and unlike anything he had ever seen before. And unlike the jaguar behind bars, the ferns right in front of him he was able to touch and hold onto. It was a plant petting zoo.

One happy fam at the zoo. :)

Pumpkin baby.

Carousel smiles. :)

Reece petting a cow! :)

From that moment on, I let Reece enjoy whatever he wanted. I let him pull on the leaves when he wanted or I let him stop and stare for a few minutes straight at a stick. He did have his animal moments though, he waved and got waved back at by a huge orangutan monkey and he went into a trance as he watched the blue butt/purple backside fur of a baboon walk by him, so all in all it was a fulfilling day. And yes, he ended up enjoying many other animals as well. Along with a fun carousel ride, and he got to pet a cow! The zoo was a Reece success.

Mommy and Reece at the zoo! :)

Silly Reecey. :)

It just goes to show though, there's wonder in everything around us. It should remind us all to stop and look at the little things in life: a child's smile, a thoughtful gesture, a couple holding hands, freshly planted flowers, or  . . . ferns. There's magic in everyday things everywhere that we never stop to think about. A child helps remind us of those things, so I will try to live my days as Reece now and looks at things through his eyes. Who knows what I'll find exciting on our next adventure. And even if it just turns out to be plants again, I know it will be worth looking at.

Reece riding on an elephant. Probably wishes
he were riding on a fern though. :)

Yes Daddy, I SEE PLANTS EVERYWHERE! :)

Me: Please look at that fox Reece.
Reece: (stares blankly at ferns)
Me: Fox?
Reece: FERNS!
(And yes, I know I'm ridiculous, haha.)

I look way too happy. YAAY CAROUSEL! I'm probably the happiest 

at the zoo. (If you could judge on overexcited faces.) Come to think of it, 

I also look like the Jenny version of the "Scream" mask, haha. Weird.

Finally looking solely at animals. Probably though,
because there are no plants at the petting zoo.

Grabbing Rumpa's face. :)

Came to the zoo with fresh happiness, left
with smiles. It was a fun family day!