Growing up at the Zoo

You know how in life it's a lot easier to take for granted the things/places/people that you are the closest to?  Maybe you don't tell your parents you love them often enough.  Maybe you get so excited about a new job that you forget to be thankful for the one you have.  We have been to SeaWorld twice and I blogged about it here and here. We had an amazing time each time we went.  Like I said though, we've only gone twice.  We visit our home zoo, the Minnesota Zoo, almost once a week! We've been doing so for over a year now.

Part of my major inability to blog about it is simply that I haven't been sure what exactly to say.  Marine life is great but it isn't the only life we should care about.  It occurred to me that I've basically been raising my child at the zoo, without really paying attention or being totally aware of it.  It's so easy to get caught in the moment and the day to day that you forget to stop and really appreciate it.

When he was 25 weeks into my tummy, my husband took me to do a dolphin encounter and it was incredible! I knew that I needed to involve the zoo in Evan's life as much as possible.  We received our zoo membership as a gift for his first birthday and I had no idea how much he would love it. The fall of 2013, we started our weekly visit to the zoo!  I noticed right away that Evan made a new connection almost every time.  As soon as he became strong enough to run, a stroller was old news for us.  This past year and a half, we have rarely made it past the Tropics Trail, Minnesota Trail and Grizzly Bears but we enjoy it every time we go.

My point is this, bring your little kids to the zoo!!!  Even though the little ones may not be able to ask the questions or even look at an animal for more then a few seconds, they are learning.  That small learning seed is so important for creating future conservationists.  You don't have to be a zookeeper or marine mammal trainer to help conserve.  Teaching kids to care at a young age helps them to get motivated to do the small things like recycle or help out the animals in their own back yards (Foxy Bunny). Every time we go, Evan attempts to say more of the animals names and remembers those names.

So without further any further rambling, here is our past year and half at the zoo! Yes there's lots of similar photos (he loves the bears and the river otters) and yes it's very difficult to get a photo of a moving toddler and a moving animal!

Thank you Minnesota Zoo for taking such great care of the animals and providing us with a place to learn and be inspired!