The Zoo with Two

Today Koen, Tavin and I went to the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. Thanks, Aunt Abbie! She's gotten us a membership for Koen's birthday the past two years and it is such an awesome gift that keeps on giving!

It is a beautiful Fall day here. I've been looking forward to hours outside in the good, crisp Fall air. The boys are still dealing with runny noses, so I bundled them up really well for the outing. The sun was warm though and it was completely comfortable spending that much time outside.

We met our neighbor and some friends at the zoo with their kids. Koen's best bud, Delia, was there and they had such a good time pal-ing around the zoo.

You can barely see it in the above picture, but Delia and Koen are spotting the tiger lazily laying in the sun. Not the most exciting first stop, but they were quickly off to the next. But first, Koen had to stop at the Zoo Map to chart our course. He loves maps and planning - a perfect combo!

So after the map we passed the rhino, the lions, a construction site, gazelles, ostriches and then on to the elephants. One of our family favorites. Above is a picture of the two little buddies watching the huge beasts romp around. Koen saw the baby and said, "he is so cute!"

Koen and Delia were excited to see if they were as tall as the Baby Elephant, Zuri. Just about!
The orangutang was in a crazy mood today. It had a new toy and was pulling it apart. The kids were mesmerized! The gorillas were kind of slothful today, so we hiked up the hill past the bears and then got to the aquarium. The penguins, polar bears and seals are our favorite in that area.
On our way out of the zoo the kids spotted this large rubber ducky and we put them up there. Delia was singing a song and Koen was just watching his friend sing. So cute.

There were not that many people at the zoo which was a nice change from our summertime visits. The animals were really active and interesting today, I think they were enjoying a beautiful Pittsburgh Fall day too.

Koen and Tavin both did very well. Tavin took a short nap in the stroller, which was a perfect help. Then he pretty much listened, watched and sucked his thumb the rest of the time. Huxley was also a perfect little cherub, just hanging out in his stroller watching the older kids. Koen did a pretty good job with "listening and obeying." He walked a lot with Delia, but also rode in the carriage eating and eating and eating. Man that kid can eat!

The boys are napping and I'm blogging (although about to start working and then getting some house stuff done). Ahhh....