The wonder of it all

Oh what a difference a few months makes when you have a new baby in the family.

In the fall we took Marisol to the Columbus Zoo, even in December for the Zoo Wonderlights. She was then 7 months old and thoroughly enjoyed gazing at all of the sights.

Marisol will be 10 months old tomorrow and what a difference in three months in the life of a baby.  Today in wondrous weather of over 70 degrees we ventured to the zoo again.

To see these zoo through her eyes is truly amazing.  Now no longer content to sit in her car seat that becomes her stroller, she now cranes her neck straining to sit straight up in her seat.

I unbuckled her seat straps and she sat upright in her car seat in the stroller, straightening her neck left and right like ET to view the trees, all of the other babies also in strollers, and anything that moved.

Marisol spots the Pronghorns in the North America exhibit.

Now having learned to wave, Marisol waved to the pronghorns, the cows, the otters, the flamingos, the elephants, the sea turtle, fish, rays and manatees.

The moose moving from the land to the pond drew particular attention.

Any animal that moved at the zoo not only could she see but it was now a friend.

The beautiful flamingo plumage and loud honking drew our attention.

I call her mother the animal whisperer, for she too loved any animal or creepy crawler creature that wanted to sit on her to do so.  She is the opposite of me, who is uncomfortable in a house with cats or dogs, little alone a Madagascan cockroach crawling up my arm.

We had never seen the sea turtle in a vertical perch before so Marisol gave him a big wave.

But today Marisol and I both loved the zoo.  For her, a new beautiful world is apparent through the wonders of the Columbus Zoo.  How blessed we are to live so close.  For me?  I too have a wonderful world of animals that I now see through the eyes of a 10-month-old.

The circle of life.