Peacocks & Marcupials

Yesterday's trip to the zoo was even better than last time.

Tommy walked around for most of the time. He followed me from one animal to the next, pointing and looking and checking to be sure I was looking too.

Tommy & the Skunk-Monkey

Here are the things you should notice about this next picture: (1) Tommy's "you can't make me smile" smile. Is your heart melted? No? Click on it to see it bigger. Now is it melted? Good. (2) Tommy looks smaller than an infant gorilla, he's not. He's almost as tall as a juvenile and his arm span reaches just above his head. He wasn't into putting his arms out like the gorilla so I don't have a clue what it looks like spread all out.

The last time we saw the monkeys, Josh and I had finally pried Tommy out of our arms and forced him to stand in front of the glass without either of us holding his hands.Then one of those creepy rat-monkeys with the arms 10 times longer than their bodies* came running from the back of his enclosure shrieking and squealing and waving his arms above his head like a maniac. He lopsidedly ran right up to where Tommy was standing at the glass and hit the glass with his hands.

I don't think I've ever seen my baby so terrified. Ever. Josh scooped him up and took 10 minutes to calm him down.

To say I was nervous about taking him to the great apes all by myself is an understatement. But I'm brave, and he's brave and we went anyway.

There was 1 other group of people looking at this big fat beast and he was chilling in the back of his cage, not paying any attention to anybody. After the other people moved on to the next window, Tommy walked up to the glass (all by himself!) and the big ape slowly lumbered over to him. He planted his butt right in front of Tommy and the two just stared at each other.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Tommy and this guy just stood with their faces 2 inches apart for 5 minutes. Just looking at each other. 

Is it possible that monkeys like Tommy? 

Just outside the great apes building, it was feeding time for the birds. 

We watched Mr. Peacock shake his tail feather and do his best to intimidate all the birds around him. He strutted around like this for a long time and Tommy was perfectly happy to watch the pretty-bird chase all the ugly-birds around the lawn.

A quick walk up the hill took us to the camels. They were tired. So they just sat there in the snow. 

I thought of Nancy and Rachel (especially Rachel) who would've come to the zoo and wondered why the camels didn't have saddles on them, and where was the pyramid anyway? That's because 2-year-old Rachel's camel experiences looks like this.

Whattya think Nancy? Would Rachel even think the zoo was cool when she's spent Sunday afternoons floating down the Nile for fun?

While a trip to Egypt and a camel ride certainly aren't in the plans anytime in the near future, many many more trips to the zoo are.

*I looked it up to accurately paint the picture. It was a White Face Capuchin. See how creepy it is? This is the meanest picture google images had.