the "shoo"

"echo, echo!" in the otter exhibit

riding a very lifelike "teetul"

much cuter than Daddy's Teetul face!

Tuesday some friends, D, A and I went to the Maryland Zoo. It was A's first experience seeing all these animals in person, after seeing them in books and an Elmo episode about wild animals (wiyud am-mals! raow!). He was transfixed most of the time, running from exhibit to exhibit, and afraid of birds bigger than himself. ('cared me, mommy! beeg bord, 'cared me!) He saw fa-fents, raffs, go-reelas, seebas, fogs, and ran around in some very creepy cave exhibits. I felt a panic attack coming on in the caves, literally, and was glad to be out. It was just so dark and close, and I didn't want to look up in them for fear of what I might see. Too much "Lord of the Rings," probably.