At The Zoo With Uncle Hugh (and Aunt Sonny)

In June, Zach went to the Zoo with my cousin Sonny and my brother Hugh. It was a special Godparent day. I waited to do this post in case my Mom and I went with him on a separate trip (since Josh and I weren't there) but that hasn't happened and the trip was a month ago. I might not get every detail correct but here we go:

When I was pregnant, after they both confirmed how honored they were to be asked to be Zach's godparents, both Hugh and Sonny started talking about all the places they wanted to take Zach. Josh and I talked about it and we had two rules.

1. He had to be at least three (his birthday was 2 weeks earlier)
2. He had to have been babysat by at least Sonny a few times over the course of 3 months (this started last December)

The age was because we wanted him to be old enough to understand what was going on and the babysitting was so he would be comfortable being with them for these new experiences. These rules paid off as the Zoo trip was a success.

But we didn't know if he would like the animals or not. The only dog he's not afraid of is my in-laws dog. He also has General Anxiety Disorder (genetic) and even though he regularly sees me pet dogs and even hold two that belong to a neighbor (and I used to be very scared of dogs), he still doesn't go near them. So how would he respond to the animals? His favorite animal, even as a baby, appeared to be a lion. Go figure, right! To prepare Sonny and Hugh we packed what he would need and a few comfort objects. They included a taggie, his stuffed bunny, and George, the wocket that is his preschool friend (I mentioned him in a preschool post). But this is a small zoo, the same one his cousin, Michael works at, and they didn't have some animals like Lions and Giraffes (hey Mike, tell them to work on that).

It's set up with natural habitats but there are barriers to keep the visitors away. Josh and I talked while he was there and thought he'd like the train they have, the monkeys, the Aquarium and the Penguins. It turns out we know him well. He had a blast (although part of that is because Aunt Sonny and Uncle Hugh are just awesome) and did indeed favor the Monkeys, Penguins, Aquarium, and train. He did two train rides. They had a fun lunch together too. Both Sonny and Uncle Hugh looked tired when they got back after 4 hours but clearly enjoyed themselves. Zach was asleep and stayed asleep as Daddy carried him in. My suspicion was confirmed when Uncle Hugh pulled out a shirt they got him, with a lion on it. It's his swim cover up so he can wear it a lot because he loves it (It's short sleeves and in this heat he wears sleeveless when out and about but it's great as a cover up)!

Now they want to take him the Camden Aquarium. Josh and I are hesitant because Camden is unsafe but the couple upstairs take their 4 year old son there and they say if you follow the directions on the website you don't go to the bad part. Josh and I are still thinking about it. But if they choose something in a safer town they can do a trip like this again, it was so good for everyone. I am so glad they are bonding like this.