Jungle News: February 2011

January 26th was Australia Day here in Oz. It's the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet (11 ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts to establish the first European colony in Australia) at Sydney Cove. Obviously it was a national holiday with lots of celebrations throughout the country, and there was a lot going on in and around the great city of Sydney. In the past, we took part in the celebrations by going to the beach or having a BBQ with friends during the day. This year, however, it was WAY TOO HOT to do anything. If it hadn't been for our church's community group night, we would have gone to bed without a single "sausage sizzle".

But a week before Australia Day, Eleanor turned six months old! Now that we're a "new" family I felt like we should start new traditions to build memories for Eleanor to look back on with fondness as she grows up. So in celebration of her "First Half Birthday", we took her to the zoo. Yes, we know she's still too young for the zoo. But last month we came across this great deal for Taronga Zoo's Yearly Pass which was HALF OFF and I couldn't resist. Besides, not too long ago, Eleanor had been noticing Buddy more and more and even showed a great deal of interest in him. I thought, 'Hey, if she notices Buddy, she might at least look at the animals at the zoo, even if she doesn't understand what they are!'. So with that incentive, we took her to the zoo sooner than expected. To be honest, she enjoyed looking at the other children more than looking at the animals, but she DID look at some animals too. Here are pics of some of the animals Eleanor got to see.