Of Fawers,Mukkeys,Giaafs And Aanas

This Valentine’s Day,we completed 8 years as a couple.After 8 years together,of which 5 years married and a baby ,for the first time,Sanj gave me flowers-Red Roses :)I love flowers and he knows it,but he had never bought flowers for me.Sometimes,if I wanted flowers,I would buy them myself,but he never offered to buy them for me..So,this was a pleasant surprise.His reasons being,’he wanted to keep me happy,so that I keep him happy ,when he is OLD’..well,I said,”Keep the flowers coming,till you get old..and even then 🙂 and I will think about it.” And then,the moment was broken,by an impatient bachcha,demanding Fawers!
We were wondering what to do,for V-Day-last two years,it was just quiet dinners.This year,I wanted to do something fun and special.He offered a fancy shmancy dinner..but,I didn’t want to do that..I would rather indulge once,on my b’day..than twice in a week.So,we decided to do something kid-friendly and decided on the Zoo instead.
We set off Saturday morning,after breakfast to the Melbourne Zoo .It was a 35 minute drive,so we weren’t in a hurry.Sanj was relaxed,we were listening to music,singing along,even Aadya was happy.And we got lost.And we kept getting lost over and over again.We were lost for well over an hour.Thank God for GPS -mobile phones.Anyway,it was a nice day,sunny,but not hot-windy but not too windy.We bought the tickets and got inside.It was nice to see so many other young parents,with their babies and toddlers.We saw some grandparents babysitting toddlers and I imagined their parents,out in the city,spending some couple time.

We decided to see the Gorillas first.Another Good Choice..Aadi was super-excited.All the Gorillas,Apes,chimps,everyone was a Mukkey in Aadya-speak.She decided to walk..And we saw the Zoo,from her prospective.Everything was so exciting.All the monkey-business was interesting enough to spend long spells,watching them.Each monkey had to be waved at.2 little boys and their grandparents were following us.At each enclosure,Aadya and one of those little boys were standing next to each other.She took a fancy to his “Glasshes” and he to her hat.Sometimes,he would leave his group and linger around Aadya and at other times,Aadya would turn her cute little Butt towards us and chase after him.

After the mukkeys,we saw the crocodile,Coco in Aadya-speak.Anything that looks scary,roars(in her world) It was a fake crocodile..Aadya looked at it and roared,trying to warn the other bystanders.That was our next pit stop.Roaring for the crocodile.We spent quite some time there.When we asked the roarer to pose with the Coco,then,of course,she was Shcared!We walked around leisurely,playing catch behind the trees,stopping to pick up a leaf or a stone.Then,we saw the tiger..and some more roaring was done.Then,it was time to run,run.And then,Ms.Aadya  spotted ice cream.So,it was time to get the “ice”.We got her some ice cream and went to see the elephants.

As soon as she spotted the first stone elephant,she screamed,”Aana!”(Elephant is called Aana in Malayalam) She dug in her ice cream cup,as we watched the elephants,play in the water and grab a bite of hay and apples.We then stopped to eat lunch.After a leisurely lunch of chai lattes and Satay wraps,we went to see the Giraffes.Giaffs were Bigg and the little miss wanted to give them huggies.Before the whining turned into a full blown tantrum,we decided to move on.She saw the zebras and got distracted.Next came the Kangaroos.They were kept in open range.Aadya tried to sneak under the railing,so I took her outside,while Sanj walked around a little.The Koalas were there,too..but we didn’t get to see them.
Aadya was getting tired,and so were we.We decided to call it a day.Sometime during the day,Aadya needed a diaper change and asked for it.So,I decided to leave the stroller and backpack with Sanj and just take the diaper and wipes and her blankie.She wanted to help -so I carried her blanket and the wipes ,while she carried the diaper.On the way out,she held the blankie and wipes both,saying she wanted to help Mumma.At that moment,it hit hard,how much my baby girl has grown.My baby is not a baby anymore..I had memory flashes,of a six-month old Aadya ,in Dallas Zoo,when my dad was visiting.Sanj was carrying her diaper bag,I was carrying the baby..my dad was pushing the stroller…And now she wants to help 🙂 Time really flies.As I was typing this..I wiped away the tears..Aadya saw that,she came running,”Mumma crying…Sorrieee” My baby has really grown up.
It was lovely day and we came back with happy memories.