visit to the zoo...

we spent the day at the national zoo yesterday... seriously, i think that was the first time in at least 15 years, if not more, since i was last there! couldn't even remember how it looked like from inside, but did have some flashbacks of elephant rides hehehe (it could have been a made-up memory though). we owed Amani a trip to the zoo as her birthday trip, but couldn't do it around the time of her actual birthday cos it was ramadhan then. we didn't fancy going there with a large crowd of holiday-makers, so had to wait to find a good day to go that was not a public holiday. ambitious me wanted to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, and decided to have our family portrait shoot done on the trip as well. suffice to say, it wasn't easy to get the kiddies to cooperate, as Amani didn't want to pose, while Adik was the Energizer Bunny in sneakers (but was more that happy to smile at the camera).

Amani's first visit to the zoo was last year with her nursery friends. she loved it so much, she talked about the visit for days. then she began making this comment:-

Amani: Kakak tak pegi zoo lagi
me: kan kakak dah pegi zoo aritu (she relates better when everything that has passed is 'aritu' or 'tadi'. last year doesn't really click for her heheh)
this was repeated a couple of times before she said this:
Amani: kakak tak pegi zoo lagi... dengan mama, dengan abah, dengan adik
me: ooooo (duh!!) nanti kite pegi la ok girl...

ever since we said ok to the zoo trip, every once in a while she'd repeat the whole conversation again. i guess to make sure her parents would remember their promise kot :p

so we finally made it to the place yesterday. my grand ambition was to reach there by 9am when the zoo opens, but as all parents with small kids in tow know, punctuality is not always easily attainable even with the best of plans. it wasn't too bad though, as we eventually got there at around 9.30 (when you can pick your parking spot to be as close to the entrance as possible, you know that you're still early :p) Amani was already excited about seeing the animals. she even promised the night before that she'd go to sleep early and wake up in a good mood, and she did! she woke up smiling and happy, and didn't spend too much time in the bathroom for her bath. Adik, of course, was more excited about the prospect of running... here, there, everywhere! before we actually went through the main entrance, he already fell down once (if you see how he runs, you wouldn't be surprised with the fall. he's got this funny, adorable way of running that makes his feet twist and turn around, and you just know that a fall is inevitable somewhere in the future.) luckily no mishaps took place inside the zoo, which could have been quite bad for us if they had. i guess you can't really blame the management, as the place was created years ago, but i personally feel they could improve a few things from the safety aspect, like the railings from the higher viewing point near the bears' area (a kid could easily fall through the bars there in the blink of an eye...) maybe that's something that they'll work on in the future kot... i hope so.

Adik really went all out! he walked most of the time (mind you, he's only a year and 10 months old at this point ok), ran here and there, and generally enjoyed himself. his little curls were plastered to his head with sweat, and he only succumbed to carrying when we've been walking for about 2 hours. Amani had already surrendered herself to the stroller before he did! with his bottle in his mouth, we continued walking around the zoo (me pushing him on the stroller and getting a really good workout - in the sweltering heat!), and by this time Amani was carried by her dad on his shoulders.

Kakak was moody after the initial euphoria had subsided... in retrospect, i guess we could have planned our walk a little better. the monkeys were a hit, but we should have covered the major animals ie elephant, lion, tiger first before the others. when we got to certain animals that didn't interest her, she didn't want to linger too long and kept saying, 'nak tengok animal lain pulak...' poor thing, we made it up to her with the final train ride around the zoo.

funnily enough, she was happier about the whole visit after we got back! she kept going over the animals she saw, the things she did - 'Amani bagi elephant makan tebu tadi' - so i guess it wasn't a total bust.

we were all bushed when we got back... Adik fell asleep in the car, and everyone else took a well-deserved 2-hour nap... my poor legs needed a rest, and i think poor hubby could really use a good massage!! now, the next time our darling girl wants to go to the zoo, i might think more than twice before i agree to the idea!!!