Lions, Tigers, and (Panda) Bears! Oh, My!

Yesterday was my birthday. Last year at this time, I was recovering from staying up ALL night with sweet baby girl. It's amazing how time has gone by. It's a whole new world for us now.

We're on vacation this week, and while we are here in our nation's capital, I really wanted to visit the zoo. So, yesterday, we packed up 6 adults and 3 kids under the age of 2, and headed downtown to the Smithsonian Zoo. It's a little different going with small children, but I think we managed to hit all the high points. Specifically, that would be the lions, tigers and panda bears. We also witnessed the really cool orangutan exhibit. The orangs can actually swing over your heads to different parts of the park. We saw Batang cross over top of us while we were there.

Super cool for a girl who loves primates! But enough about me!

Cora had a lot of fun walking around the zoo. We found a neat little tunnel by the lion enclosure. She like to go up, peak through the window and then go down again. We had to spend a lot of time saying "Cora, hold my hand!" She's fiercely independent! Here she is with Dado going to see the lion for the 33rd time.

I like this picture because it looks like she's roaring. We're by the tiger enclosure, so it's fitting.

Speaking of tiger, look at this amazing picture that John took.

Sadly, a rain shower and a grumpy little girl forced us to leave after a few short hours, but I think we hit all the high points.

Later that night, the grandparents twisted our arms into letting them babysit the kids, and we got to go to dinner and a movie. It was a very lovely birthday!