I never thought I’d get so much use out of this backpack when I bought it, but it’s seriously amazing for anyone whose kids like to run off. I got some weird looks at the zoo, but Micah was able to walk around and be far more involved in our visit than he would’ve been if he was in the stroller. Up until now our routine has been putting Jonah in the Ergo on my back and Micah in the stroller because the one day I let him try to walk he took off on me. He loves animals and I’m totally afraid he’ll try to climb into an enclosure, so the backpack leash keeps him in check and my sanity intact.

Micah decided to take charge of our visit yesterday. He grabbed maps for himself, me, and Jonah so no one would need to borrow his, and then every time we weren’t actually looking at an animal he had his nose in the map deciding what to do next.

I don’t think Jonah ever opened his, but he loved being included in the planning. Micah decided that the map could tell us everything —

even where animals were inside individual exhibits. The monkeys were really hidden yesterday, and so he kept looking at the map and telling me “Mommy, the monkeys are under the water, so we not see them.” And he would point at the water on the map, then the monkeys, and just look at me with this “I’m super smart and I feel super accomplished about it” look that totally killed me. Moments like this make me realize how truly grown up he is already…

I just can’t get over how stinking grown up he looks walking around with a map like an adult tourist! 😛 Also his wolf imitation was pretty adorable lol.

Since we couldn’t really see the monkeys we went to see the orangutans instead, which was a big hit. Some of the zoo personnel had a window open and were giving them treats through that screen, so we were able to see them really clearly for a long time. Micah loved the baby climbing up the screen, and Jonah was just excited to see “monkeys”.

They even asked to sit and eat lunch with the “monkeys”, so we relaxed for a while. I love that the zoo has no restrictions on bringing in food or drink, because we brought in a TON of food. The boys polished off 3 sandwiches, 2 bags of Cheerios, 4 oranges, and about half of my carrot sticks and tuna salad lol. They’re constantly asking for food so having to be anywhere without a purse full of snacks is unpleasant, and I’m just grateful that our zoo makes it easy for us.

There are so many kid friendly areas at the zoo that they never seem to get bored, which is amazing.

Around the time we headed to the car, Jonah asked to walk for a while and I decided to chance it. Micah is usually pretty good about holding his hand and he was being obsessive about holding onto Micah’s backpack rope, so I figured he wasn’t likely to run away. Micah decided it was time to run with “blazing speed!” (it’s from an educational kids show, Blaze and the Monster Machines) and I’m pretty sure watching them run together shouting “blazing speed!” (or in Jonah’s case, “bay spee!”) was the highlight of my day.

I feel so blessed to have days like today. We got to spend the day active and outside, and they learned just as much as if I’d sat them at the table and worked on letters or numbers. They worked on right vs. left, different animals and their abilities, colors, and even letters and numbers, and they basically spent the whole day playing. I don’t know if we’ll homeschool through high school, but days like today make me want to. 🙂