Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! (2 years, 2 months, 27 days old)

So maybe there weren’t actually any bears, and maybe the tigers were actually leopards, and maybe the lions were so well camouflaged within their habitat that there was no way they could be spotted by a toddler, but none of those facts stopped me from chanting the phrase over and over on our way home as Graham and I celebrated a successful and super fun trip to the zoo. 
We have been members at the zoo since Graham was a few months old but we have hardly gone because Graham hasn’t been at quite the right age, but now he is! 
Graham anticipated the trip with excitement and tried to name all the animals he hoped we would see and then he had so much fun looking at the different animals and walking the entire time (like a big boy).  His favorite things were watching the zoo train go by, looking at the elephants, and getting up close to a huge alligator. 
I only got a few blurry iPhone pictures.
Graham getting a close up view of the boa constrictor:

Graham making eye contact with the gorilla:

Graham LOVING the jeep safari ride.  The machine was out of order but it didn’t stop Graham from ‘driving’ around for a solid 15 minutes:

We are already looking forward to a weekend trip with Daddy, where Graham will actually get to ride on the zoo train instead of just waving as it goes by. 

Cute Antics and Noteworthy Tidbits:

• Graham’s cutest phrase of the week is calling himself “little one.”  When I put him down for a nap, he takes the words right out of my mouth and says “sleep well little one, have a good nap little one, I love you little one.”  
• Graham’s latest achievements in his efforts to develop into a baby genius are using his imagination and making up songs.  Graham will take a bite out of his food and then say “it looks like a dog” (or some other animal) then proceed to play with the bite of food and make it act like the animal he has decided his bite of food resembles.  When Graham woke up this morning, I heard him singing his beloved “wheels on the bus” song, but he made up a new verse: “The nap on the bus goes sleep, sleep, sleep.”
• For the past week or so, Graham has selected the same three stories in the same order to be read to him during nap and bedtime.  He starts with a Thomas Tank Engine book, then another train book, and finishes with his new duck book.  He gets into bed and says “Thomas Tank Engine.”  As I read the last sentence, he says “Chugga, Chugga, Choo, Choo.”  The second that story is over, he says “Duck in the Truck.”  When I finish the story, he does not skip a beat and says “you may not get up” because he knows after “Duck in the Truck” it is time for bed and he is not allowed to get up from his bed until he has successfully finished sleeping.  If only he would listen to his own advice.  Bedtime is still a piece of cake, but we have settled into a compromise routine for naps.  I finish the stories, he says “you may not get up,” I tuck him in and leave.  He bounces right up and entertains himself while winding down for 20-30 minutes, then I go back into his room and put him back on his bed and re-tuck him in and then he falls asleep.  I guess he needs the wind down time.  If I go in before 20 minutes he isn’t ready to go down and if I don’t go in, he can’t seem to pull himself away from the play and would probably miss his nap entirely, but considering that he still naps for 2-4 hours, I think he enjoys the rest once he is actually down.