North Carolina Zoo

We love the ZOO!!!
Me with the crew I brought to the zoo.
Macy and Mia...bosom buddies!
My sweet good friend Julie McG with her little girls Mia and Gracie.
Silly girls on the praying mantis...
McGraths and Gebhards kiddos (at least half of our twelve!!)
The NC Zoo bore little resemblance to the L.A. Zoo when it came to size of the exhibit. This was just one of the larger ones.
The stubborn way to fall asleep. "I will NOT lay down...I will NOT lay down...I will NOT lay down!"
("Ostrich eggs") Macy: "MOM!! I want to go climb into those EYEBALLS!!"
Sweet second grade pals Gracie and McKinley.
So on the way home from the zoo we were reviewing animal sounds (especially for Dax's benefit). "A lion says 'RRAAAAAHHHHHHHRRRRRR'" (complete with throat growling). Dax, on cue, growls just like a lion.
"A cow says 'MMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOO'" (I know that's not a zoo animal, but I was staying in Dax's range). Dax, again, moos like a cow.
"A bear says 'GGGRRRRRRR'" (or whatever). Dax mimics the sound.
"A leopard says 'mama'" (stick with me). Dax, confused but caught up, said "MAMA" for the first time!!!
YES!!! I did it! It was SO sweet to hear that little boy call me Mama!! Okay, so he wasn't really calling me mama, but I heard that sweet little voice say it! Music to my ears!
He's brilliant, but very stubborn. Once he realized that I tricked him, he refused all night long to tell me what a leopard says...