Sonora's BFF Katelyn and Connie invited us to Lowry Park Zoo (Tampa) on Saturday. So we went and had a grand time. Xavier was determined to see the monkeys, we saw gibbons - which were extremely loud and energetic. I thought they would surely be able to swing out of their enclosure right into the crowd. I forced him to wear shorts (he is in a long pants and long sleeves stage), which was only accomplished by giving him periodic jelly belly infusions.

Sonora was much bolder than the last visit. She wanted to feed the giraffes, they have an observation platform that puts the giraffes right at eye level with an adult -and boy are they BIG. Their heads are bigger than Sonora, I think. Anyway, she held her ground with the "cracker" until the very last moment, when she threw it. They must be used to that, because the giraffe didn't blink an eye, just went right after the trajectory of the cracker.

Then, later at the little waterplay area, she ran voluntarily through the sprinklers and even stood over them. I had to peel her out of the waterplay area practically kicking and screaming. Wouldn't have happened that way 6 months ago.

Katelyn was my buddy, she sat on the caboose seat of the stroller all through the zoo, and Sonora walked pretty much through the entire zoo.