Taking my monkey to the zoo

 Minnie and I had the best time at the zoo today— such a great time, in fact, that I only took this one picture of our shadows:

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And then Ben goes oh look Grimace and a Teletubby went for a walk.

Seriously, though. I recommend you have 5 babies because the 5th one is a piece of cake. I only had a small purse with because what could we possibly need at the zoo? I remember packing huge bags of stuff for the other kids. I saw moms struggling under the weight of their backpacks and pushing these giant wagons that hold 4 kids at once and look kind of like tanks.  I went without a stroller or anything because I figured she would mostly want to walk but otherwise I could carry her. I love carrying her. Having such a huge age gap between kids is so amazing because Minnie is like a first baby, but I am not a first mom. When you have a first baby, everything is The Most  Difficult and Also the Most Important. By the time the 5th rolls around, you are fine with a cereal bar and diaper stuffed in your purse. And carrying  her is no burden because she is 25 pounds of delightful pudge but also because I have no other kids hanging off me like barnacles. I noticed that it was just me and grandparents who were letting their toddlers walk. We also walked at Minnie’s pace, meaning we were at the zoo for 2 hours and saw 5 animals. Her favorites were the porcupines and the seals, but she humored me and watched the rhino eat lunch for awhile.

We might go back tomorrow.