'Nake's new home

Lilah and I went to the Detroit Zoo because their 17 year old python had been built a lovely new home. I told Lilah about it after we got our Zoo newsletter, and she wanted to see it, as well as visit the fish their (having recently been denied a trip to the aquarium because we won't have time near New Year's). She has trouble saying "S" blends, so it was hard not to giggle when she kept asking to go see the 'nake.

I had a half-day yesterday, so I came home at lunch time. As soon as she was up from her nap, I asked her if she wanted to go to the zoo. She clasped her hands, jumped up and down, and said, "Yes! Yes I do want to go to the zoo!" Then she ran to get her rain boots.

Sans rain boots, we arrived at the zoo. I had two shirts, a sweater, and my pea-coat. Lilah had a tunic, leggings, a sweater, and a jacket. I hoped we'd be warm enough. It was 39 and sunny, but there was a winter chill in the air when the wind blew. We parked and fastened Lilah into the stroller (her clapping and wiggling the entire time, complete with sound effects. "Wiggle, wiggle! Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!"). The woman at the members gate was more astute than usual, checking not only my member card but my ID as well, and giving Lilah a visual once-over in case she...didn't look like a Lilah?

We went through the Butterfly House first. All of the elderly guides were bored with nothing to do, so they made over the baby and explained the butterfly life-cycle ad nauseum. There were owl butterflies nearly the size of Lilah's head. She didn't appreciate those very much. "I don't want them to wave at me!" whenever they'd open their wings.

We moved along to the Bird House. She saw a few parrots and watched them preen. She walked happily along the path, until I finally got her to look up into the canopy. She gasped. There were so many birds. Nearly 10 bright pink tropical birds with long beaks staring down at her with bright black eyes and craning their long necks closer.

We headed on to the otters next. There was one out chasing minnows. A dad was texting on the steps of the habitat while his two twin boys wreaked havoc. There is a station where you can push one of several buttons and it will play the noise of the corresponding animal. The boys were fighting and crying over who got to push the buttons. Eventually one boy came over to watch the otter. I made eye contact with the father, who shrugged and looked harried. "No naps today." I smiled weakly.
"Yeah, I here ya." Lilah narrated the otter's every activity happily between talking to him and asking how he was feeling about his snack of minnows. She asked if she could push one of the animal buttons. The little snot of a twin shouted in a whiny tone, "NO!" and brandished a stick at Lilah, baring his teeth. I took a deep breath.
"You can play with the buttons on our way out, my love. Let's watch the otter swim." Nearly 20 minutes later, we wrapped up with the otter and Lilah asked again to push an animal button. Both twins threw their entire bodies to cover the buttons. I looked at the dad and raised my eyebrows as a cue for him to get off his ass and handle his boys. He sighed wearily and walked over, stating in a bored tone, "Boys, be nice." The teeth-boy swung his stick again, coming too close to Lilah, so I relieved him of it and tossed it on the ground out of reach. He whined in the general direction of his dad, then swung at Lilah who was attempting to press a button while he was distracted. She took two big steps back and looked at me.
"He can't push, it's naughty."
"Yes, love. You're right." The father looked sheepish.
"They're going through an aggressive stage," he explained lamely as the boys threw their bodies over the station to prevent Lilah from having a turn. I picked Lilah up and moved on of the boys' arms neatly to the side so Lilah could have a turn while the boy collapsed into shrieks of rage. After Lilah pushed one button, the dad stroked the screaming boy's head and praised him for sharing. I tossed him a look of disgust and total parental judgement and thanked Lilah for being such a good girl. We left them and moved on to the reptiles.

The snake was very much enjoying her new home. The venomous snakes were very active, while the more friendly varieties were sleepier. We finished up just as the zoo was closing and packed up to go home. I buckled Lilah in to her car seat and she chattered happily about her visit to the animals. "My Mama took me to the zoo. I saw the animals. I'm a lucky girl." It was hard not to tear up. She was (barring her bad moods and days) so loving and well-behaved. Nothing pleased me more than making her happy, but she still wasn't able to get away with murder just because she had the capability of throwing a fit and making things unpleasant. In fact, that was all the more reason for us to continue to be strict with our expectations of the child. The more she got away with, the more she'd push the limits and rules and make our lives hell. The more firmly in place the boundaries are, the more comfortable she'll be in her world. And clearly we're doing something right.