Bruno, Gabe, "Neena," and I had a wonderful time at the Dallas Zoo this past Sunday. As you can see from Gabe's expression in the picture above, he was ecstatic to see one of his all time favorite animals, the giraffe! Gabe has been able to say, "gwaaaff" for awhile now and will point one out to me anywhere we go (on posters, clothing, in books, etc...). We spent a lengthy amount of time with the giraffe so that Gabe could study this creature he finds so intriguing. Bruno attempted to take Gabe to the zoo last November and due to Gabe's anxiety at the time, they only lasted about five minutes before leaving. Gabe never even had the chance to see any animals! We were so excited to spend an hour and a half during this visit. We consider that amazing progress! Gabe did have to control the entire outing as a means of coping with his anxiety. We could only go on certain routes and could not get him to look at many of the animals we passed. We even had to force him to go in front of the elephants and the giraffe, but once we did, he was truly amazed at the sight of these enormous animals.
Our trip to the zoo was fun and a fantastic learning opportunity for Gabe. We do not get to experience many "typical" family outings, so this is a day that we will cherish!
