Let's Go See Fishies

We revisited the awesome Academy of Sciences after a long long break. The last time we went, the Boy was just starting to walk and I spent most of my time worrying that he may run off or get trampled. This time, he was totally in charge. He could walk right up to the exhibits and "talk" to the fish. He touched a sea urchin, a star fish and a live abalone. Do you suppose he made the connection that the abalone in the tank is the same species as the "bao yu" that he loved so much at the restaurant?

Our first stop was the rain forest. The kids' favorite thing to see in here are the butterflies. Last time we came, a butterfly stopped briefly on the Girl and she's convinced that the butterfly thinks she is so beautiful that it had mistaken her for a flower.


Right next to the butterfly, on the bottom of the flower bed, I spotted this little guy. Do you see him right in the middle, hidden in the back there?


We were really close to her. I wanted the kids to see so I kept pushing them closer to get a look. What I didn't realize/thought about was the kids were noisy and wanted to touch everything. Eventually, the Boy scared the birdie off and I saw her nest and eggs. So sorry bird. We won't bother you next time. Good luck to you and your babies.


After the rain forest, we took the elevator down to the aquarium. The Boy was, well, concerned. While the Girl has always been fearless, the Boy is much more cautious. He kept asking me if those giant fish are sharks and if they were going to eat him. I kept tell him no but he wasn't so sure. He was intrigued by what he saw but he was definitely on the defensive side.

"Mommy, big shark coming to me!" (Not a shark, just a giant catfish.)


"Is the shark going to eat the other fish now?"
"No, it's not a shark and it's not going to eat the other fish."
"It's LIKE a shark, right?"
"No, it's a catfish."
"It's like a cat?"
"Kind of."
"What about the whale shark in Piccono?"
"You mean Pinoccio?"
"Yeah, that one bad, like a shark and eat the daddy one."
Ah, the mind of a 2 year old!


After all the shark talk, I figured he would enjoy a happier tank. So we went in search of Nemo.


"Look, I found Nemo. It's in there. Where is Dory?"


"Let's see what we are looking at." (I kept thinking he looked like he was ordering sushi.)


Once it's established that there are no sharks in this tank, the Boy showed his true colors and started acting like a monkey again.


Then the Girl joined him.


And she did a little fishie dance.


Then they decided they wanted some Goldfish crackers for a snack. Good thing mommy is always prepared. We sat down, ate our snack and finished our visit by checking in on Claude the albino alligator. He was chilling out with the giant turtle this fine afternoon. Can you see the turtle? It's on Claude's right hand side.


Hope you had a good weekend too.