Nakita

The amazing thing about children is that it takes very little to really impress them. We become desensitized to things as adults, and things just don't amaze us much anymore. Today, however, I was truly amazed! We took Clara to the zoo today, and we got to see the new polar bear, Nakita. It was one of the coolest things I can remember ever seeing at a zoo. Nakita hopped in the water for a swim shortly after we arrived and kept swimming circles around the rock nearest to us and doing back flips in the water after pushing off the glass with his huge feet. He did this over and over and over. It was just so fascinating, I think I could have watched it for hours. The watch was clear blue, and it was just so relaxing watching this beautiful creature glide through the water. We stayed for quite a while--he even held Clara interest, which is quite an accomplishment. When we came back about 2 hours later, Nakita was swimming the same circles through the pool and continuing his back flips. The great thing about going to the zoo on a Tuesday morning in September is that there was hardly anyone there! All school-aged children were in school so it was very quiet. We stood right next to the glass where Nakita would swim up to, and we watched his huge feet push off the glass.
At one point, Clara looked over right as the bear came swimming towards us. It startled her, and she back up into me as fast as she could. I love that!

Imagine being a toddler and looking over to see thing coming at you...

Monster paws!