Hermann Park and the Zoo

On Monday, I took Grant and Drew up to town to meet my parents at Hermann Park. Our original plan was to ride the train and play at the park, but we ended up going to the zoo also. I actually became a zoo member for a year. I'm thinking I won't be back much before September, though....I don't think I'd want to brave a zoo trip alone with the boys when it's 95 degrees and schools are out for the summer!

When we first got there, we walked into the Natural Science Museum so I could use the restroom. There were tons of school groups there, and as we walked past them, a lot of little boys noticed Grant's cars in his cup holder and commented on them. Grant had to bring his Lightning McQueens (2 of them), Doc Hudson, and Chick Hicks (plus one more generic racecar) with him.....and it was funny seeing all these little boys stare at Grant's cars with looks of envy (I assume kids in elementary school can't bring racecars to school anymore!).

He feels complete when he stuffs all of his cars into his cupholder like this:

Once we let Grant loose from the stroller, it was hard to corral him. He had fun looking at all of the ducks and birds in the water (this was standing water left over from all the rain we've gotten lately).
And he got to chase a squirrel....he loves to do this and says, "come here, squal!" Hopefully he won't ever get too close and be attacked or something.....
Grant and Grandma.....
Time for the train ride. If anyone reading this is familiar with Hermann Park but hasn't been in about a year, it has changed a lot! They've built an amazing train depot, and the paddleboat lake is so nice!!
Grant was quiet during the entire train ride.....he looked around a lot, but was a little wary and had this intense look on his face. I did not expect that! I think he'll loosen up a lot the next time we go.


Then we went to the zoo. We had to move Grant to the stroller permanently, because he wanted to get into everything when he had the freedom to walk. And he enjoyed some of the animals, but he wasn't overly thrilled with it at this age. For example, when we saw this amazing giraffe that came and stood right in front of us (see picture below), he noticed a plane flying behind it in the distance and said, "look, it's a big jet!"