Christmas Vacation

Jay had a little time off after the Christmas Event at church, so our family did a few fun things, but mostly rested.

Last week, we went to the zoo in Nagoya. Jay and I had been wanting to take Rowen for a long time, but the zoo is closed on Monday, which is our day off. So with Rowen's new winter wear packed (thanks Granny and Grandpa Vallely), we braved the cold and headed to see the animals.

Rowen likes monkeys and says "ooh ooh aah aaah" whenever he sees a monkey or hears the word "monkey."
He also has some awesome monkey pajamas that he loves (consistently cries when I take them off of him).

But when we got to the zoo, I think he was confused by the real animal. Maybe he didn't understand that a monkey was a real living thing. We kept asking him "Rowen, what does the monkey say?" He would just stare at them without responding. Finally, I think he started to understand that animals are more than just pictures in books.

This is my favorite picture from the zoo:

Rowen like the penguins the most (just like his dad). We finished off our outing with a trip to McDonalds, and then went home for a long nap!