Animals

AJU5 has a love/hate relationship with animals. She loves to look at them. She hates to be close to them. And the definition of close varies based on the animal and parental closeness. She will say "kitty" and "Puppy" these days when she sees or hears them (in the case of the dogs). But, if they come close, she runs away. Earlier this week, we went for a walk and saw a very nice older cat whom we have pet before. We got him to come over, but he walked to close to AJU5 and they both got scared! So, we followed him across the street and sat down. He then was willing to come over to me so I could pet him. But AJU5 still wasn't sure. At one point he rubbed up against her and she did not like it. Luckily, this time he wasn't phased by her reaction.

Yesterday we went to the zoo for the first time. She seemed to like it. Some of the animals I don't think she saw because they were "hiding," but others she loved to watch. The ones that were most entertaining for us were the polar bears, cougar/mountain lion, small birds, and koala bears. We also spent a good amount of time at the seals and sea lions and ape exhibits, but I don't know how much she actually saw of the animals. The plan is to go back every few weeks. Hopefully by the end of the summer she will know at least the "fun" animals!