Da Zoo!!

 We went to the Woodland Park Zoo today.  Judging by our enjoyment, AND Chloe's, we will be doing that often.  We got up later than normal...Chloe slept LATE!!  And by "late" I mean 7:35AM.  So, we got moving, dressed, and breakfast, and got to the Zoo about 10AM.  We had a lot of fun.

We are also very happy with some of our choices.  Particularly the three-wheeled stroller.  Ours is narrower than a lot we saw and so we could go places others could not and the four-wheeled variety seemed to get caught on things.  Then again, maybe we are better drivers...

Chloe got to do a lot.  We played gopher in some caves, climbed a few trees, and in general just had a ball.

 we saw colorful birds and monkeys and giraffes and otters.  Of course, the best part was the valuable (to us) daughter time we don't get during the rest of the week.  This kid is a HOOT to have around!  She has quite a sense of humor, too.  She seems to find herself a comic genius and will sometimes laugh at the things she does, which then leads to us laughing, and then to her laughing because she made us laugh...yeah, she's a comic genius.

 Her mother made this dress and it absolutely looked great on her today!  It was covered by the jacket most of the day, but we knew it was there, and whenever the jacket came off, it was sweet to see.

 This is a sad excuse for a family portrait just outside of the bird cages.

 Here (below) we have just stepped into the "rain forest" and my camera lens has fogged up, but it caught in high definition the activity level of a certain little climbing monkey as she attempts to scale yet another tree many times bigger than she!

 The climbing potential of some of the viewing areas seemed to be more interesting than the inhabitants, but we don't mind.

 From time to time she'd take a break...but usually not for very long.

 After a brief nap on MOM, she road in the stroller again.  We waited for Mom to get us a snack, and so we played peek-a-boo and this is what she looks like when she brings the lovie off of her face.

 We also rode on the merry-go-round.  It was about pass six before she realized the people in the mirrors were her and me, that brought a quiver of realization and a giggle!  She also saw Mom, but that doesn't show in this picture...

 Oh, and did I mention she liked the otters?  She seemed to get a kick out of them!

She and her mom got to have some fun time, too!

 I don't like to do what is expected.  Chloe knows when i'm driving because there are bumps and turns and wheelies...and the less traditional driving backwards!

 Still, when we got back to the hotel, Chloe seemed to have a bit more energy left than Mom and Dad...it might have been because we spent a wee bit more time toting a steadily growing child and she got to rest during those times...Here she is in her dress, but the pretty clippy that was in her hair vanished somewhere around the flamingos...  Her mother was most distraught about the clippy loss.

 Dearest daughter had energy enough to climb the couch, even though Dad was attempting to engulf it and keep her from it.  I ended up going out to get dinner and bring it back...before I left we put every pillow in the room around the couch, since we could not keep her from getting up, at least we could provide a soft landing should her climbing abilities falter.

Time for bed...my back, feet, and legs are calling for a respite!