Lions and tigers and bears, Oh my!

Though if Jaia were to be saying it it would be ‘Pandas and tigers and zebras, Oh my!’  Those are her latest faves.  And today she saw all three.  She and I are in Virginia, visiting my mom for her birthday, and today we all went to the National Zoo in Washington, DC. We dressed her up in her giraffe dress and drove into the city and a ‘not so hot day’ according to my parents.  At 85 degrees Fahrenheit (or 29+ degrees Celcius) and the humidity at about a million percent, I’d beg to differ.  But honestly, after the craptastic weather we’ve been having in Ottawa, this was actually a nice change.

I’ve been to this zoo once before, almost a decade ago – when the Giant Pandas had just arrived from China.  Now the zoo is all Panda, all the time.  And rightly so, they are GORGEOUS.  And adorable.

Jaia was smitten and wanted to see him from every angle.  We obliged.

She was also super impressed with the gorillas.  There were quite a few to watch, but seeing the big male stand up and beat on his chest and the mama with the teeny baby were the highlights.

Jaia had an amazing time.  We all did.  And just watching her face light up up as we went from area to area was enough for me.  But really, anyone would have enjoyed themselves.

Zoos are awesome.  And so are Red Pandas.

And Papoos are awesome too.  Just ask Jaia.