Before we get to the pictures from today I have a short story of Phoebe being cute over the long road trip we took during the holidays. We were in Chicago and since Phoebe had enjoyed aquariums before, we set aside some time for the Shedd Aquarium. The line was so long that Phoebe fell asleep in my arms while we waited to get in. I was a little nervous she’d be kind of cranky when we got inside. Throwing caution to the wind, we woke her up inside next to the first tank along the Amazon Rain Forest hall.
She blinked her eyes open, took one look at the fish that was easily ten times as big as she is, and got the biggest look of shock, surprise, and joy on her face. It was an expression of pure wonder that she kept on through almost the entire aquarium. We knew when we got back down to Mississippi we’d have to make some time to go the Hattiesburg Zoo which is a little over an hour and a half from our house.
We’d been working on getting better at gently petting animals which she demonstrated quite well yesterday with this puppy she met in the park.
She still was pretty taken a back at first when presented with the goats in the petting zoo.
She tried meeting them through the fence first.
Once we got inside she started to warm up to them though.
Then something clicked and she happily gave one a big hug.
Then there were these strange creatures that needed serious consideration.
Phoebe tried to make friends with every cat she met over the holidays. Betsy made certain we found the tiger enclosure and Phoebe was suitably impressed.
Across from the Tiger were the reptiles and Phoebe got as close as she could to investigate the tortoise.
Finally there was a helpful zoo attendant walking around with an alligator she said was also toddler aged.
We had bought tickets to ride on the train, but at the point Phoebe was pretty pooped after a truly fantastic day at a hidden gem of a zoo in Mississippi.
Phoebe's Phrolics 