We went to the Aquarium for Mother's Day last year and had such a great time that we decided to make it a tradition. My ideal Mother's Day is spending time with my family somewhere other than our house. The Aquarium is also not crowded at all on that day so it's a great time to go.
After church on Sunday, we ran home to change and then headed down there. Avery LOVES books about animals and fish so I thought she would have a blast. This picture pretty much sums up how much she loved the aquarium part...
She was so SCARED! I have no clue why. She literally clung to us as we looked at fish. Occasionally she would shudder like we were in a haunted house putting her through torture. I guess, in her defense, it is a little dark with random rainforest noises but I'm pretty sure every other child in there was having a blast. We kept at it hoping that she would loosen up.
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| She looks so happy, right? |
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| Somehow whatever little tiny thing that was in this tank even scared her! |
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| We finally found a winner! Once we got into the petting the stingrays room, she saw this little guy and decided not to be afraid. She is SO brave. |
At the end of the aquarium is the White Tiger exhibit which I just knew she would hate since they are so big. Well, of course, I was wrong yet again. She loved them! She could not get enough of these huge tigers. I was actually a little creeped out by the male that kept pacing right around us, looking directly into our eyes. He for sure would have killed us in an instant if the glass was not between us. Instead of being scared, she kept saying, "hi kitty!" and "how cute!" I was just glad that we had finally found something there that made her happy :).
After the tigers, she finally started loosening up. We went on the ferris wheel next. She was a little scared at first but had a great time towards the end.
Avery heard the train go by while we were on the ferris wheel and decided that we needed to do that next. She was pumped!
Well, pumped until we got into the shark tank area...
After the train, we tried out the merry go round. We sat in the chair because I just wouldn't have been able to stand her being scared yet again!
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| She had such a great time and loved waving at Daddy every time we went around. |
She decided that she wanted to try out the seal next. She clung to me big time but when we got off, she kept saying, "ride seal again!"
Since we got the all day pass, we zipped through the aquarium one more time to hang out with the tigers again. I can't express just how much she loved them.
And Ave took one more ride on the seal and loved every minute of it!
Despite her toddler fears, we had a really fun time at the aquarium, ate lunch on the way home, and enjoyed a long nap once we got home. There really is no greater job than being a mom. I love it so much and am so thankful that my job entails hanging out with my girl every day!
