Zoo Trips and First Movies

Loran scored the MN Zoo pass from the library this weekend, so we decided to visit the zoo after church on Sunday. It was a great day to go, sunny, 50 degrees, not crowded and the animals were out and about. Ella enjoyed seeing everything and really enjoyed walking all over the place. She was such a little trooper the entire four hours we were there.

In addition to our free zoo passes, Loran had some free IMAX tickets to use. Knowing we had Ella with us, we had to choose between seeing "Dinosaurs Alive! 3D" or "Under the Sea 3D". Loran was all about the dinosaur movie, until we watched the trailer, which in itself was somewhat scary. Deciding we'd rather not deal with a fear induced meltdown and a lifetime fear of dinosaurs, we went with the calming ocean movie. Since it was in 3D, we had awesome glasses to wear. Ella wouldn't wear her glasses. So, the Ella version of the movie was a lot like a toddler version of an acid trip. She also had her own theater seat, which kept folding her in half, so Loran had to hold it down the entire time. Eventually, she just slumped over 10 minutes in and fell asleep. Loran scooped her up and cuddled with her, eventually dozing off himself. I had popcorn, so I was happy.

It was a fun day, and both Loran and I enjoyed playing paparazzi with our new camera at the zoo - as evidenced by the 158 photos we took. All wrapped up in this shiny slideshow of 23 photos.

We continue to have potty successes everyday. Usually only once, but that's one less diaper to change. Ella's face just lights up when she goes. While she does earn a sticker, she could care less about those right now, she's mostly excited by getting to wash her hands at the sink when she goes. Or, "nk" as she calls it. She just likes splashing, as evidenced at the zoo's touch pool. Once Ella discovered she was free to put her hands in, crazy splashing ensued. There was no sea life venturing over to Ella's side of the touch pool...