Baby-sized zooin’
My mom and I took Sophia to the zoo last Monday. Hurray for random holidays off of work! I didn’t really want to venture out to the huge Los Angeles Zoo for Sophia’s first trip, so we opted for the better-suited-for-babies Santa Ana Zoo instead. What a funny, random place! It’s a little rinky dink, but it served us well for some good 13-month-old distraction. They even have a little farm area where Sophia could meet goats, pigs and cows. It’s got monkeys and a few random animals that you don’t see very often, like porcupines and ostriches, but other than that, it’s pretty low-budget. I mean, even the elephant pit was empty. What’s up with that? I wanted to see some elephants! But I can’t complain — they had a cool sand pit where we played and took lots of fun pictures and a very beautiful, but small, bird sanctuary.
I’ve been really making the effort to get us out of the house this fall before it gets too cold. In the last week or so we’ve gone apple picking, pumpkin patching and zooing. I think I just get that cooped up claustrophobic thing if I don’t venture out often enough. I think it’s a little of the working-mom syndrome, too. Whenever I have a spare moment with my daughter, I want to make the most of it and want her to have as many cool experiences as I can provide during my precious time with her.
Whatever it is, I’m determined that while the weather is still beautiful, we’ll be out there exploring the many cool things to do around here. Anyone have some new and interesting ideas for toddlers in and around Los Angeles? We’re always up for a new adventure!
