Date with Mommy and Daddy

Monkey hasn't had a lot of alone time with mommy and daddy since Lil Bit came along, so we decided to take her on a special trip to the aquarium since she loves fishies oh so much!  Nate had the day off work yesterday because he had been on call, so we decided to head on over.

Doc and GaGa kept Lil Bit so we could enjoy the day without having to worry to stop to feed and nap.  I know that Monkey loves her sister, but I never dreamed this would happen:

When they were putting Lil Bit in the car, Monkey lost it.  I thought it was because she wanted to go with them, but nope - it was because she didn't want them taking her sister.  She kept crying and saying "Lil Bit, Lil Bit" - "I want my sister" over and over again.  She cried for a good while after they left until I told her that she could watch Frozen in the car - that helped!

We only wanted it to be a day trip, so we only planned to do the Aquarium.  We started with the River part because we wanted her to see the otters.  They were just switching out the otters when we got there so we had to wait a little bit, but then we got to see them feed.  They were pretty cute.  She doesn't have a very long attention span - so with everything - after a few minutes she would say OK I want to see something else.

It took us awhile to get through the River part and by the time we were through - she was ready for lunch.  We had a picnic lunch outside, then headed to the Ocean area.  She was pretty much done when we walked in the door.  She got to see the penguins then started falling apart from there.  It was a little past normal nap time, so that wasn't a shock, but I thought the trip would be enough of a distraction that she could handle it.  Nope!  She got more and more obstinate and whiny as we went through.  But we made it through without a full out fit and she got to pick out a souvenir.

Waiting on the otters with daddy

We had a good seat so she got to see them up close!

Probably my favorite pic of the day, just wish there were more fish swimming by at that point.

The jellyfish were probably my favorite part - they had so many different kinds and they were all so beautiful. 

These were some HUGE crabs.  One poor little girl didn't realize where she was and she turned around to see the one rared up on the glass and screamed really loud as we were walking over there.  They were pretty scary.

She was starting to break down, but she did crawl through and stand up inside with me.  She liked it and would have stayed longer, but there were other kiddos waiting.

The last place we sat.  It was so peaceful to sit and watch all the animals swim by.

After we left the aquarium, I forgot that they had the "creek" that runs between the two buildings.  I meant to pack a swimsuit and I forgot.  However, I didn't pack changes of clothes.  So when Monkey asked if she could go in the water - I said sure.  So glad I did.  She LOVED it.  I do remember being young and thinking it was so much fun to swim in your clothes.  I guess because you aren't "supposed" to - it makes it more fun.  Most of the other kiddos were in their swimsuits, but she didn't care.

She was so hesitant at first and I kept encouraging her and telling her I had dry clothes.

She got her dress a little wet and walked back out.

Then she just went for it and followed the little boy who was enjoying snorkeling in the shallow water.

It was sheer bliss - well worth a little wet clothing!

After we got our dry clothes on, we headed to Ben and Jerry's and grabbed some ice cream.  Yes, she will eat ice cream now - but only chocolate.  I don't blame her!  She still won't eat a ton, so we shared, but she loved it just the same!

I thought for sure she would pass out on the way home, but nope - we just had an early bed time!  It was a lot of fun, but will probably be even better when she is a little older.